"You know what I mean. Besides, I know a hickey when I see a hickey." She pulled her shirt down to expose a rose-colored mark above her right breast.

Kylie laughed and then sighed. "I swear, you two are such bad examples for me. I'm not sure I can stay in the same cabin with you. You two might taint my reputation."

"Oh, please," Della said. "You've had more action than a wind-up doll on speed since you've been here."

"I have not," Kylie said.

"You've made out with three different guys since you've been at Shadow Falls."

"Three? I have not."

"You're forgetting Trey came here."

"Oh, hell, Trey doesn't count. Besides, I've never even had a hickey."

"Oh, you poor thing," Della said. "Did you know you can give yourself one with a vacuum cleaner? I gave myself my first hickey in sixth grade and told everyone an eighth grader gave it to me. It was a doozy, too."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you made out with a vacuum cleaner."

"Yeah, and it was better at it than my first boyfriend. He was totally hickey impaired."

Kylie and Miranda started laughing. Then Della got somber. "Gawd, it's so good to be back!" She jumped on her bed and bounced twice. Then Miranda and Kylie both dove onto the bed with her.

"So you aren't going to explain the hickey?" Miranda asked, and snatched one of Della's pillows and hugged it.

"Nope," Della said. "No hickey talk."

"At the very least tell us who gave you the hickey?" Miranda insisted.

"Okay. I'll tell you." She stopped smiling and cleared her throat. "I ran into my old vacuum cleaner.

And we took a trip down memory lane. It was so romantic," Della said, and grinned.

That grin didn't fool Kylie. She saw something in Della's eyes. A glimmer of pain. Della really didn't want to talk about this.

"Was the vacuum cleaner named Steve?" Miranda asked.

Della frowned. "Forget the hickey."

"But that's not fair, we tell each other everything," Miranda said.

"It's okay," Kylie said, enjoying the easy banter and not wanting to lose it just yet. "How about let's talk about me seeing Perry's ass?"

"You said you didn't see his ass," Miranda said."Wait. What?" Della asked, and stared at Kylie. "You saw Perry's ass?"

"Just a quick glimpse," Kylie said. "But I think everyone else got a really good long look."

"Of Perry's ass?" Della asked.

Miranda nodded and then told the story about how heroic Perry had been coming to Kylie's aid by dropping his drawers.

Della smiled ear to ear. "I knew I liked that shape-shifter."

"He is sweet, isn't he?" Miranda sighed and got that droopy-eyed look.

"So what's up with you?" Della asked Kylie. "Have you kicked Lucas's ass and decided to forgive him yet? He looks like a puppy who lost his only chew toy."

Kylie frowned. "Let's not talk about that."

Miranda bounced up and down on her butt. "You should have been at dinner. Derek and Lucas both sat with her. I swear, I thought they were going to go to fist city. And then Lucas told Kylie he loved her, right in front of everyone. It was sooo romantic."

Kylie's chest grew heavy. "It wasn't romantic. It was ... It was sad."

"Sad pretty much describes him when you left," said Miranda. "It was as if someone had reached in and yanked out his joy."

"I don't want to talk about this," Kylie said.

"So you're still mad at him?" Della asked. "I don't blame you."

Kylie cut Della a stern look. "Hey ... I respected your wishes not to talk about the hickey. Now you should respect mine."

Miranda dropped down on her belly and grunted. "This isn't fair. I tell you guys everything. I don't hold anything back."

"Believe me, I know," Della said. "I know more about you and Perry's relationship than the law allows."

"Don't start on that." Miranda frowned.

"Why don't we go get a Diet Coke?" Kylie offered before the two of them started bickering in full force.

They all bounced off the bed and started for the kitchen. For the time being she wanted to forget all her issues. She just wanted to sit around the kitchen table and laugh some more. Laugh with friends, tell a few jokes, and remember that no matter what issues life dealt them, it would be okay as long as they had each other.

Della got to the kitchen first. "What the hell is that?" she mouthed out.

The moment Kylie saw what rested on the kitchen table she realized that forgetting her issues wasn't going to be that easy.

"Crap," Kylie muttered. "Can someone please call Burnett and Holiday and tell them to get here ASAP!"

Chapter Seventeen

"How did it get here?" Holiday asked, standing a few feet from the kitchen table and staring at the sword in disbelief.

"You tell me and we'll both know." Kylie gripped her hands together with concern. "How ... how could this happen?"

"How?" Burnett bellowed. "It's obvious. Someone brought it here to play a practical joke on you, but I'm not laughing and neither will they when I'm done with them." Burnett's frown deepened into a scowl.