Derek answered on the first ring. "You survived?"
"Barely," Kylie said.
"How did you lie to Burnett?"
"By avoiding the truth."
He sighed. "Speaking of the truth. I reread the articles about Roberto's mom. The cause of death had been listed as multiple stab wounds. Oh, and her name was listed as Lucinda Esparza."
"Thanks." Kylie repeated the name in her head.
"So what's the plan with my problem?" he asked.
So he considered Jenny his problem, did he? "I don't know, but would you mind continuing to hide her until I brainstorm a plan? Since you don't have a vampire rooming with you or Burnett doing walk-bys.
She has less chance of being detected with you."
"I planned on her staying here," Derek said, sounding almost insistent. It was then Kylie knew for sure.
Her old flame had managed to fall out of love with her and was on his way to falling for Jenny. Kylie felt their connection, just like she'd felt the thing between Burnett and Holiday, Perry and Miranda, and Jonathon and Helen.
She could almost hear Derek and Jenny telling their kids how they'd first met. "Your mom just jumped out of nowhere expecting me to give her a piggyback ride!"
Jenny was lucky. And Derek deserved to be happy.
And so do I. And her happiness was tied to Lucas. It was as if something switched in her head and she realized how wrong she'd been. She shouldn't have been trying to push him away. She should have been pushing him to find a way to make it right. "Hey ... uh, I just realized I need to do something. Can we talk tomorrow?""Do what?" Derek asked, obviously reading something from her.
Convince someone I'm worth fighting for. "Bye." She hung up, and then went to dial Lucas's number.
An instant before she hit the last number, she changed her mind. There was another way. A better way.
* * *
It took ten minutes to fall asleep, and another few to get in control and dreamscape her way to Lucas's cabin and into his bedroom. He looked adorable asleep in his bed. The sheet came low on his waist and she couldn't help but wonder if he had anything on at all. She really doubted it.
Mentally dressing him in a pair of long boxers, she slipped into his mind and into his dreams.
"Lucas," she whispered his name. While she could have taken him anywhere, she hadn't. They remained in his bedroom. She eyed his bare chest again and wondered why she hadn't dreamed him in a shirt. Probably because she liked seeing his bare chest.
Then she looked at his bed and her mind went to joining him there. That's when she decided she needed to get them away from here.
Lucas sat up. "Hey." His voice came out deep and sleepy.
"Come on, let's go," she said.
"Go where?" he asked.
"Somewhere to talk," she answered.
He patted the bed and looked at her through his dark lashes with a sexy grin. Had he read her earlier thoughts? she wondered.
"We could talk here," he said in a husky voice.
She rolled her eyes. "Nice try."
He laughed. Then he pulled up the sheet and glanced beneath it. "At least they don't have smiley faces on them," he said, referring to the time she'd dressed him in another dreamscape.
She concentrated and moved the dream to behind the office where they often went to talk.
He looked around, and then back at her. The night was dark; only a few stars brightened the sky. "I think I liked the lake dream better," he said, talking about the dreamscape they'd shared of them skinnydipping.
Reaching out, he caught her shoulders and pulled her against him. His chest was so warm. So inviting.
She would have loved to stay there. To explore all the things she wanted to explore between them. But not yet.
"Behave," she said, and pulled loose.
His smiled faded. "Is something wrong?"
"No. Well, yes, it's wrong. Everything's wrong." She inhaled. "You have to get on that Council, Lucas."
"I'm not marrying Monique," he growled.
"Not by marrying Monique. You have to find another way."
"I need my father to vouch for me, Kylie. He's not going to do that now."
She gritted her teeth. "Talk to him. You said he's protective of you. He obviously cares. Maybe if you -"
"You don't know him," he said.Fury rose in her chest. "Then find another way. Find someone else to vouch for you. Or talk to the Council yourself. You've told me all the young people want change. Make the elders see this. They were young once. Can't you make them remember what it was like? I mean ... who was it that said if the door is locked, find a window. If the window's locked, well ... break it. If it won't break then find a freaking sledgehammer and make a new one."
He shook his head. "You don't how they are."
"Yes, I do! The elders of the chameleons are just like your elders. They want to arrange marriages and tell all the young chameleons what to do. I don't know how I'm going to change things, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to try."
"It's not the same," he said, as if taking offense to her accusation.
"Maybe it's not exactly the same. But you're still giving up."
"I'm not giving up on us," he said. "That's what matters."
She shook her head. "But you are giving up on us. If you don't get on the Council, Lucas, there is no us."
"You don't mean that!" he said, his anger thickening in his voice.
"Don't think I want it," she said. "But I know if you lose who you are and all you ever wanted, you will resent me for it. Maybe not now, but someday you will. And I can't go into this knowing that you'll hate me someday. I can't."
In a flash, Kylie ended the dreamscape and shot up in her bed. Then she cried herself asleep. But right before she did, she heard her father one more time.
Soon. Soon we will be together.
She couldn't help but wonder if, when she was dead, would she still ache for Lucas?
* * *
The next morning, Kylie, running on only an hour of sleep, stood with the crowd waiting for Chris to do his dog and pony show and get Campmate hour under way. Perry, her official morning shadow, stood beside her, with Miranda leaning against him. Della had a vampire meeting and was going to miss out.
Lucas wasn't here. But she'd gotten a text from him that read: I think I found a window. Hope gave her energy. Energy to reminisce over how good Lucas had looked in the bed last night and how tempted she'd been to curl up with him and let things just happen. Pushing the sexy were from her mind, she searched for something else to think about-like figuring out how to proceed with Lucinda, who was standing in the crowd as if she belonged but wasn't speaking to Kylie. Was Kylie's fighting Mario honestly what the spirit needed Kylie to do to pass over? Pass over to hell?