"Wel , she thinks I have a thing for another girl."
Kylie felt her stomach tighten. "Do you?"
"No."
Okay, that hurt, but she tried to deny it. Oddly enough, the advice she'd been giving to everyone else, to be honest, seemed almost impossible for herself. Maybe in part because she wasn't even sure what she felt.
"But," he continued, "I think I sort of led her to think that."
"Why?" Kylie asked.
"I hoped she'd be jealous. Maybe appreciate me a little more."
"And how did that work for you?" Kylie asked, believing those kinds of games didn't end wel .
"I don't know. Did you get jealous?"
Kylie looked up at him. "I ... you mean, me?" She shook head. "But you and Mandy are-"
"Friends," he said.
It stil wasn't fitting together. "But you ... she kissed you."
"You obviously haven't ever noticed her in a crowd. She's a serial kisser. I think her parents are French."
Kylie tried to digest what he was saying. Harder yet was digesting what she felt. She liked Derek. Real y liked him. And she was attracted to him. Maybe it wasn't the same intensity that she'd felt for Lucas at the creek, but it was real. And in some ways even more real than the explosive attraction she felt for Lucas.
And Derek hadn't left, the little voice in her head said.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes. No." She shook her head. "I'm just befuddled." Okay, there. She'd given honesty a shot.
"I know," he said.
She remembered he could read her emotions and real y wished he wouldn't. The fact that he figured things out before her didn't feel right. A breeze stirred her hair and a strand got caught in her lips.
He gently brushed the stand back. "I'm just relieved you're not mad at me."
"Give me a few minutes," Kylie said. "It could change. My emotions are al over the place lately."
He grinned.
She felt herself being lured again by his smile. She shook her head. "Derek, I just-"
"Kylie, I didn't tel you this to pressure you. I'm tel ing you this because I realized how stupid it was trying to make you jealous. It occurred to me that it could total y backfire. What am I saying? It did backfire, because you wouldn't even get within ten feet of me."
She bit down on her lip. "I'm sorry. It's been a crazy week."
"You're going through a lot. That's another reason I wanted to see you. I sensed you're stressed."
What al could he sense? Kylie wondered. Did he sense her stress involved Lucas? Had he sensed she was jealous? Kylie remembered the day she'd seen Mandy kiss Derek.
"You're right. I was jealous of you and Mandy. But I stil don't know if ... I don't think-"
He held up his hand. "I'm fine with being your friend. But I'm not going to lie to you this time. I'm hoping it becomes more. But until it does, I'l respect your wishes."
She looked at him and found herself fal ing for him a little more. "You can do that?"
"You bet." He leaned back on the rock and put one hand behind his head. The position did wonders for his arms and chest. "Especial y now that Lucas is gone," he said, and from his tone, Kylie somehow knew that Derek suspected a lot more than she wished he did.
Chapter Thirty-five
Oh, God. Did Derek somehow guess that she'd kissed Lucas? Could her emotions give that much away? Kylie didn't know. But neither did she want to ask.
So she lay back on the rock and looked up at the trees. The sound of the nearby waterfal s seemed to stir in the trees. Her mind went to the legend for a second, but then Derek's nearness was a much more intriguing thing to think about. They didn't talk. Derek shifted his arm closer until the back of his hand brushed up against hers. That little touch sent tingles coursing through her body.
"Your mom coming tomorrow?" she asked.
"Of course. She never turns down an opportunity to embarrass me."
Kylie giggled, remembering how Derek had blushed when his mom had straightened his hair. "She loves you."
"She treats me like I'm three." He paused. "Your mom or dad coming?"
"Both," Kylie said. "Or so they say." Her dad had lied once. "Did you know the world might end if they accidental y have to be in the same room together?"
"Is that what's got you so stressed?"
"Some of it."
He turned his arm over, slipped his hand into hers, and offered her a gentle squeeze. "I care about you. I don't like seeing you upset." His warm hold on her hand tightened again. He'd promised to behave, but she supposed he didn't see holding hands as misbehaving. She wasn't sure she could cal it that, either. She did know it felt good-sort of like a hug. His palm felt warm, not unnatural y warm, but just one person reaching out to another. "I care about you, too."
"Good," he said, and she could almost hear the smile in his voice. They didn't talk for the next few minutes, and then he asked, "Is the ghost another part of what's stressing you out?"
"Yup." Feeling safe with him, she told him about the dream she'd had of the ghost, and how she thought the ghost wanted her to help exonerate him of a war crime he didn't commit.
Derek listened as she rambled. Realizing she'd done most of the talking, she asked, "Do you stil want to turn your back on your gift of communicating with the animals?"
"Yes. I'm getting real y good at tuning them out. Holiday says if I keep this up, soon I won't even notice them. Of course, she says that as if it's a bad thing." He paused. "What about you? You stil want to kick your gift back?"
The fact that Kylie had to stop and think about her answer left her a little surprised. "It scares me," Kylie said. "I don't think I'm brave enough to do it. But since the dream, I just keep thinking about the soldier. How brave he was. He knew when he went back to save the woman that he wouldn't live through it. I wish I knew his name so I could find out if he was accused of doing something he didn't do. And if he was, then I want to find a way to make it right." She closed her eyes for a second. "But you know what's weird?"
"What?" Derek's fingers wiggled in her hers.
"Every time I see him, he looks familiar. Like I know him from somewhere."
"Maybe you do."
"Maybe," Kylie said. "But I've even asked my mom if we had anyone in our family who ever served in the military and she said no."
Derek shifted beside her. "Did Holiday say how a ghost picks the person they attach themselves to?"