"Did I sense a new spirit earlier?" Holiday asked.
"Yeah." Kylie leaned back in the chair. "She's still not making sense. Says she's confused." Kylie recalled the angry-looking stitches she'd seen on the woman's head. "I think she died of a brain tumor or something. She had a shaved head and scars."
"Hmm," Holiday said.
"And I think she's buried at Fallen Cemetery."
"Really? Did she tell you that?"
"No, but that's where I felt like I picked her up. Driving here this morning, my mom had just passed the cemetery when the spirit popped into the backseat."
"I guess that could be it."
"But you don't think so?" Kylie asked, unsure of Holiday's logic.
"I'm not saying it can't be that simple, but I've found the majority of spirits that come to us have ... connections more than just our driving by a cemetery. Now, I'm not saying we don't get random ghosts sometimes, because we do. The other day, I got a dripping wet, elderly man, naked as the day he was born. He died in the shower at his nursing home. Wanted me to tell the nurse to please come get him out." Holiday shook her head.
"What did you do?" Kylie asked.
"I called the nursing home and said I was a friend of the family and had tried to call Mr. Banes in his room and he wasn't answering."
"And he went away?"
"Crossed right over."
"I hope this spirit is that easy. I could use a break." Then Kylie remembered what the spirit had said. "You know ... the spirit said that there were people who wanted her to tell me something."
"Tell you what?"
"I asked, but ... she said something like, some people live and some people die. It didn't make sense."
"They seldom do at first."
Kylie bit down on her lip. "Could it be my dad trying to tell me something? He tried to appear right before I saw the Brightens-or whoever they were."
Holiday stopped rocking. "What did he say?"
"He couldn't completely manifest. All I got were a few words." Kylie frowned. "Why does he have to stop coming to see me?"
Holiday's expression filled with sympathy. "Death is a new beginning, Kylie. One can't begin the new until they let go of the old. He has held on to the past for a long time. He needs to move forward. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Kylie stopped her chair's swaying. "Understand it? Maybe. Like it? No." Sighing, she stood up. "I told Miranda and Della I'd meet them back at the cabin."
"Sure." Holiday hesitated a moment. "I thought now might be a good time to chat about your new gifts."
"What's to talk about? Just because I ran through a concrete wall?" Kylie used sarcasm to cover up her unresolved feeling.
Holiday grinned. "And you healed Sara. And Lucas."
Kylie sat back down. "We hope I healed Sara."
"From what you said, I'd be surprised if you hadn't." Holiday continued to stare. "If one of your gifts is that you're a protector, Kylie, this could only be the beginning of your talents. I'm surprised you aren't peppering me with questions."
"Maybe I'd like a few answers before I start asking more questions. And I don't even mean about what I am, but about who the Brightens are. And what my dad wanted to tell me."
Holiday's eyes filled with understanding. "It's all happening very fast, isn't it?"
"Yes, and talking about it's not going to change anything." Her chest swelled with emotion.
"It could. Sometimes things don't feel real until we talk about them."
Kylie released a breath. "I'm not sure I want it to feel any more real right now."
"Perhaps we should take a walk up to the falls?"
"No," Kylie said, unsure she could go there and not get upset if all she got from those magical waters was a voice telling her to be patient. Hadn't she been patient long enough? "Can we just talk later?"
"Fine." Holiday started to touch her and then pulled back. "But only a temporary postponement. We really need to talk."
"Yeah, I know." Kylie popped back up and reached for the envelope.
"Can I keep these for a while?" Holiday asked.
Kylie's heart clutched. "I..."
"Just for a few days. I'm sure Burnett is going to want to check and see if they are originals or copies."
Kylie nodded. "They're important to me."
Holiday smiled with honest understanding. "I know."
Kylie took one step off the porch and turned back around. "You will let me know the instant you hear something from Burnett or Derek, right?"
"The instant," Holiday assured her.
Kylie started to leave and then turned back, walked over to Holiday, and hugged her. Hugged her really tight.
"Thank you," Kylie said.
"For what?" Holiday sounded confused, but it didn't stop her from hugging Kylie back.
"For being here. For being you. For putting up with me."
Holiday snickered. "You're beginning to sound melodramatic, and that's just a hair away from pathetic."
Kylie broke the embrace, smiled back at Holiday, and took off down the trail to her cabin.
* * *
She hadn't gotten halfway there when the hair on the back of her neck seemed to dance and she felt the unmistakable sense of being watched. She glanced to the woods on her left but saw nothing but trees and underbrush. She fixed her stare to the right and found the overgrown terrain to be equally empty. But she still felt it-even stronger.
Glancing up at the cloudless blue sky, she blinked. A bird soared high overhead. The broad wingspan, the hooked beak, and the white splash of coloring on his chest identified him as an eagle. She studied the creature, slowly gliding as if taking his sweet time, as if he were transfixed by ... the view?
What view?
Did he watch her? Was the feeling she got from the bird? Was it just your average eagle? Or was it like Perry, who could change his form into anything he desired? She continued to watch him, feeling uneasy.
Without warning, the eagle changed course. His movements quickened as he charged. Close. Closer. She met his eyes. The fierceness made her shudder. Or was it his thick talons held out as if prepared to attack?