"Not again," Holiday said.

Kylie looked up and saw Burnett James walking into the room. He wore a huge frown on his face and she didn't have to be supernatural to know something was very wrong.

Holiday pul ed out her phone and dialed a number. She frowned and then dropped it in her pocket. "Why is it half the time when he shows up, Sky manages to be unavailable and I have to deal with him by myself?"

Kylie didn't think Holiday was expecting an answer so she just shrugged and didn't say anything.

"Excuse me," Holiday said. "Looks as if I have another battle to win."

Seconds later, Kylie watched Holiday and Burnett walk out of the room together. Checking her watch, Kylie considered giving her dad a cal and making sure he hadn't had a flat tire or something. Of course, she knew her dad was completely capable of changing a tire, because he spent hours teaching Kylie how to do it.

My girl is never going to be stranded. Kylie smiled, remembering how they'd held a timed tire-changing contest. As the good memories played in her head, she decided she had to forgive him for his recent indiscretions. He'd been too good of a dad to hold a few slip-ups against him. She smiled again, knowing her father would total y agree that she should stay with him if her mom was going to be traveling. Nevertheless, Kylie wasn't smiling an hour later when he stil hadn't showed. With crazy thoughts like car accidents running though her head, she pul ed out her phone and dialed his number.

He answered on the third ring. "Hel o, Pumpkin," he said.

Her chest eased just hearing his voice. "Hi, Dad? How close are you?"

"How close am I to what?"

Kylie's throat tightened. She recal ed his words. I'll be there at ten o'clock sharp. "Didn't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

The knot in her throat started crowding her tonsils and her sinuses stung. "It's parents day at the camp. You said..." She bit down on her lip and prayed he'd laugh and tel her he was right around the corner.

Only he didn't.

"Damn." She heard him inhale. "Honey, I can't come up there today. I'm up to my eyebrows in paperwork from the office. It's been a crazy week."

"But you said..." Kylie jumped up and started walking through the dining room before she completely lost it and broke down in the middle of a room fil ed with parents.

"I said what?" he asked.

"I gotta go." Kylie closed her phone and shot through the doors seeking a place to be alone. Only she wasn't alone. She felt the cold presence fol owing her al the way to the cabin. Anger and hurt fil ed her chest so ful , Kylie could hardly breathe. Hand on the doorknob, she paused. The cold seemed to press against her back, so she peered over her shoulder.

Not only was he there, but like her, he was crying. Only the tears rol ing down his face were the color of blood. Fear tried to find room in her chest, but her anger knocked it out of the way. "Go away!" she yel ed at the ghost. "Leave! Me! Alone!"

Chapter Thirty

The next morning Kylie stepped out of her bedroom and was shocked to find Del a typing at the computer. Del a was never here in the mornings.

"You didn't have an early morning thing to attend?" Kylie asked.

"Not real y," Del a said. Her mood came off as somber. Actual y, al three of them had been pretty somber since yesterday. They hadn't even participated in their usual before-bedtime-chat at the kitchen table. No doubt, after parents day, they al had demons to deal with, and demondealing was usual y best done solo. Not that Kylie had been alone for a big part of the night. Soldier Dude had popped in and out al night. She hadn't seen him exactly, but she'd felt his cold presence. She only hoped that she caught on to the whole meditation thing soon so she could put a stop to this.

Del a's hands paused on the keyboard and she looked over at Kylie. "I'm sorry if my dad was rude to you. And thanks for coming and getting me like that."

"He wasn't real y rude to me." It was you he was rude to, Kylie almost said, but decided Del a probably already knew that about him and didn't need to be reminded.

"Yeah, wel , he's hard to take sometimes. But believe it or not, he means wel ."

"At least your dad showed up." Kylie remembered how she'd walked a thin line between lying and changing the subject last night to avoid tel ing her mom that her dad hadn't come. Her mom would have had a fit if Kylie had told her about his no-show. And her mom's fits weren't pretty. Stil , a part of Kylie almost wished she had.

After al , her dad had acted as though he'd never promised to be there.

"Do you want to check your e-mail?" Del a asked. "I think you got one from your dad."

Kylie's chest gripped. "No. I'l ... check it later. Or not. Right now she wasn't ready to hear any excuses. Kylie looked around. "Where's Miranda?"

"She's outside. She's hoping to catch a glimpse of Chris but she said she'd wait for us. You ready to go?"

Kylie nodded. "Sure."

Seconds later, she and Del a stepped out the door to find Miranda standing at the side of the cabin. Miranda glanced toward them. "Hey guys, there's a baby bird that looks like it fel from its nest. Oh crappers, I think its wing is broken, too. Poor thing."

Del a and Kylie hurried over to join her. Miranda, palms outstretched, had the smal bird held up to her face. One of the bird's wings was hanging at an odd angle.