Chapter Nineteen

After Kylie had given her mattress a good beating, she got dressed, apologized to Socks for acting silly, and left her cabin in search of Holiday. The mornings were getting hotter and muggier. Welcome to July in Texas, Kylie thought as she made her way to the office to ask questions.

The frustration buzzing in Kylie's gut encouraged her to run, but as eager as she was to find answers about the dreams, she was equally uneager to ask the questions. Holiday, with her emotion meter, would probably read what kind of dreams Kylie was talking about.

However, her need for answers obviously weighed in more than her need to avoid embarrassment, because she kept walking.

The moment Kylie stepped onto the office cabin porch, she heard angry voices coming from inside. She stopped by the white rockers where she and Derek had eaten pizza last night and listened. Not to eavesdrop, but to make sure Holiday was okay.

"What the hell is wrong with my money?" a male voice boomed, and Kylie immediately recognized it as Burnett.

"Nothing is wrong with it," Holiday answered. "I didn't say I wasn't going to accept it. I said give me a few weeks to decide."

"A few weeks to try to find another investor, you mean. Tell me that isn't what you're doing."

"Fine," Holiday answered back. "That's what I'm doing, but-"

"Do you hate me and vampires so much that you'd risk having Shadows Falls shut down?"

Kylie flinched when she realized she had shifted from concern for Holiday to ... eavesdropping. Not wanting to infringe on Holiday's privacy any more than she already had, Kylie stepped off the porch and moved a good fifteen feet out of hearing range.

"I'm not going to let Shadow Falls close down!" Holiday's voice still reached Kylie's ears. Wincing, Kylie turned and moved another twenty feet back.

"But you won't deny hating me, will you?" Burnett snapped.

"Hate is pretty powerful word," Holiday said.

Kylie looked at the office in the distance, frowned, and moved another ten feet back.

"Damn it," Burnett said, his voice, loud and clear, still reaching Kylie's ears. It was as if ... as if he stood right next to her.

"Not good," Kylie muttered, realizing she shouldn't still be able to hear Burnett and Holiday. They were inside. She was outside. And a good-she measured her distance-a good fifty feet from the office.

Oh crappers! Things must be changing ... again. Kylie grabbed her boobs to make sure they hadn't grown another cup size. Thankfully, they felt the same.

"I just want to help," Burnett continued, and so did Kylie. She continued to move back. Back. Back. Back far enough so the conversation wouldn't reach her ears.

"Then help me by trying to understand," Holiday countered. "What the hell am I'm supposed to understand? That you'll do anything

to get rid of me? That's why you're doing it, isn't it?" "I don't..." Holiday's voice wavered.

"Because you're afraid if you take my money you'll have to put up with me. Are you so attracted to me that it's that difficult to be around me? Hell, let's just have sex and get it out of your system. Maybe then you can stand being with me!"

"You are so arrogant," Holiday snapped. "Having sex with you is the last thing I want."

"Ahh, finally. Now, I know you're lying," he said. "You are attracted to me."

"La, la, la, la." Kylie started singing and covered her ears. She didn't want to hear this. Nope. Not even a little bit. She turned away and started back to the trail that led to her cabin.

Seconds later, she heard a door slam shut. Felt a whish of air. She blinked and when her eyes opened Burnett stood there raking a hand through his hair. "That woman is the most difficult, the most stubborn redhead I've ever had the displeasure of meeting."

He shot off, leaving only a blurry streak in his wake.

"And you're falling in love with her," Kylie whispered. She didn't know how she knew it, but she did. And somehow she realized she'd sensed it back at the falls, too. The genuine emotion she'd heard in Burnett's voice and seen in his eyes had been what encouraged Kylie to tell him the truth about Holiday's past. Not that it nullified the fact that it wasn't her place to tell. Still ...

Kylie looked back at the office and remembered her questions about her dream, remembered her newly discovered hearing abilities, too.

Was this a werewolf talent? She recalled asking Lucas if he could hear her heart beating and he'd told her that weres' hearing wasn't really set to do that, but to hear enemies approaching. What kind of hearing ability had Kylie just experienced? Was it werewolf or vampire?

Turning her head to the side, she listened to see what else she could hear. Nothing. Sure, she heard the normal noises, but nothing seemed too loud or out of the ordinary. Della had said she could hear the animals at the wildlife park. Kylie couldn't hear that. So why had she been able to hear Holiday and Burnett's fight? What did this mean?

Staring up at the sky soaked with pale early morning colors, she tried to accept all the things about herself that were changing. Problem was, to completely understand, she needed to know what the hell she was!

With a chest full of emotion, she started walking back to the office, praying Holiday might have the answers.

"Holiday, it's me." Kylie called out when she stepped inside the main office ten seconds later.