Right before she reached for the knob, Kylie experienced a bit of deja vu. She'd been right here before -walking into the office thinking she was to meet the Brightens. Of course, that turned out to be her real grandfather and aunt. But the point was, she recalled with clarity the fear and anxiety she'd felt then.

A crazy sense of accomplishment tugged at her heart. While she'd just admitted to being worried and either wanting chocolate or a good cry, what she felt now was so much more manageable.No matter what happened in there, Kylie would be able to deal with it. She could almost hear Nana, her mother's mother, whispering from the outskirts of heaven, My little Kylie is growing up.

Suddenly feeling a bit more confident, and deciding that maybe all she'd need this afternoon was some good chocolate, Kylie walked into the office.

Holiday came rushing up to her. "Burnett has the Brightens in the conference room sipping tea. He took the sword to my house and locked it in a closet so ... maybe that won't happen again. I explained the whole pregnancy situation to the Brightens, too." Holiday bit down her lip in concern. "Oh, Kylie, I'm so sorry. All this is my fault. I got you into this jam."

"It's fine," Kylie said.

Holiday gave her a quick soothing hug. "Are you really okay?"

Kylie inhaled. "A little nervous, but yeah, I'm okay."

"Do you want me to come in with you?"

Kylie considered it, and then said, "No, I ... I think I can handle it."

Holiday sighed. "You are growing up."

Kylie stared at the fae. "I could swear I just heard my grandmother say that."

"She did," Holiday said. "She was just here."

Kylie grinned. "Really?"

Holiday nodded. "She pops in at the oddest times."

Kylie felt her Nana's love stir inside her. "Tell her I love her," Kylie said, and went to meet the people who had raised her father and probably contributed to the great man, and ghost, that he turned out to be.

* * *

When Kylie walked in, Burnett was already standing up, ready to excuse himself. "I'll let you three visit."

As he walked past, he rested his hand on her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. It was a cold touch, but came with warmth and a feeling of go get 'em, girl. She was hit again with how lucky she was to have the people at Shadow Falls in her life.

The moment Burnett left, and she felt both Mr. and Mrs. Brighten's gazes on her, the flutters in her stomach returned full force.

She gave herself a second just to study them. Mr. Brighten was balding, with brownish gray eyes, and he had a kind face. Mrs. Brighten had a head of thick gray hair and what looked like hazel eyes. She had a gentle, kind look about her. A little plump and with a likable face. Like someone you would pick out of a crowd to play the part of loving grandmother.

"Hi." Kylie forced a smile, but she didn't force it too hard. She took one step into the room and decided to clear the air first. "I just want to reconfirm that you know that I'm not pregnant."

Chapter Twenty-five

"Your principal explained that." Mrs. Brighten continued to stare.

"I also want to say that ... that I know you might think my mom and stepdad are nuts after witnessing the whole parking lot scene, but..." She remembered to breathe. "But ... well, sometimes they are a little nuts, but for the most part, they're really good people." Emotion tightened her throat and she swallowed.

"They both love me."

Mr. and Mrs. Brighten nodded again. A strange kind of awkwardness filled the room. One Kylie hoped to send packing. She really wanted this to go well. And not just for her dad, she realized, but for her.

"I'm sorry we're staring," Mr. Brighten finally said. "It's just ... you look so much like your father. It's amazing."

Kylie smiled again, this one completely genuine. She moved in and sat down across from them at the table. "I know."

"You've seen pictures?" Mrs. Brighten asked.

Yeah, his real father and aunt brought them to me when they were pretending to be you. Yeah, she had to lie. "My mom had a few photos of him." Then Kylie remembered her mom had kept the obituary clipping that had Daniel's image.

Almost a frown appeared on Mrs. Brighten's expression. "I do not understand why she wouldn't have contacted us about you. We could have ... we would have loved to have seen you grow up." She paused.

"It would have helped ... helped with our own loss of your father."

Kylie remembered her mom saying that the Brightens would hate her for this. "She knows it was a mistake," Kylie said, recalling her mom saying almost as much. "But in her defense, she was young, pregnant, and scared. My stepdad, he was someone who knew her and loved her. He agreed to marry her, but he wanted ... he wanted to raise me as his own." She paused. "He was wrong, too, but they were both just trying to do the best they could."

Mrs. Brighten nodded. "I imagine that was a hard place to be."

Kylie's knot of worry lessened. "I hope you'll forgive her. Because ... she's been a pretty amazing mom."

"I'd like to chat with her."

Kylie tensed. "I'm sure that's possible. If you don't mind, I'll check with her ... and get back to you on that." Kylie sent up a prayer that her mom would be agreeable. But oh, lordy, that was going to be a hard conversation.

Tears filled Mrs. Brighten's eyes. "I brought some more photos with me, if you'd like to see them."