His words hurt, but she knew he could be right. But why would anyone go that far to convince her they were Daniel's parents? What could they possibly gain by doing that?
He looked down at the pictures she held in her hand. "Can I see?"
Nodding, she passed him the stack of photos.
He slowly flipped through them. "It must be weird looking at someone's face who you look so much like and not knowing him."
She gazed up at Lucas. "But I do know him."
His brows arched up. "I mean ... in person."
She nodded, understanding his inability to grasp the whole ghost thing, but wishing it weren't so hard for him.
"Burnett will get to the bottom of this." His gaze lowered to her mouth. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he stiffened and looked up toward the woods.
Fredericka, scowling at the two of them, walked out from behind the bushes. "The pack is looking for you."
Lucas frowned. "I'll be right there."
She didn't move. She just continued to stare. "They shouldn't have to wait on their leader."
Lucas growled, "I said I'd be right there."
Fredericka walked away, and Lucas looked down at her. "Sorry. I should go."
"Is something wrong?" Kylie asked, noting the concern filling his eyes.
"Nothing I can't handle." He pressed a quick kiss on her lips and slid the photos back into her hands.
* * *
"Are you going to be okay?" Holiday asked when Kylie walked back onto the office porch.
Kylie plopped down in one of the large white rocking chairs. The sticky heat seemed to cling to her skin. "I'll live." She set the envelope on the small patio table between the chairs and pulled her hair back and held it off the back of her neck. "Do you really think they were impostors?"
Holiday sat in the other rocker. Her red hair hung loose around her shoulders. "I don't know. But Burnett won't let it rest until he gets to the bottom of this. He feels guilty that he wasn't more on top of things and let Mario get to you. I imagine after this, he's not going to want to let you out of his sight."
"He had no way of knowing what the creep was up to," Kylie said.
"I know that. You know that. But Burnett has a tendency to be a bit harder on himself."
"Aren't all vampires?" Kylie considered Della and the emotional baggage she carted around.
"Not really," Holiday said. "You'd be amazed how many vamps refuse to take any responsibility for their actions. It's always someone else's fault."
Kylie almost asked if Holiday was referring to a certain vampire who'd broken her heart in the past. But her thoughts went back to the Brightens. "You were there. Didn't you read their emotions? Weren't they sincere? I felt somehow ... connected to them."
Holiday tilted her head as if thinking. "They were very guarded, almost too much so, but ... yeah, they read sincere. Especially Mrs. Brighten."
"Then how could they-"
"Reading emotions is never a hundred percent certain," Holiday said. "Emotions can be disguised, hidden, even faked."
"By humans?" Kylie asked.
"Humans are masters at it. Better than supernaturals. I've often thought that since their species lack any superpower to control their worlds, they have worked harder at controlling their emotions."
Kylie listened, while her heart chewed on concern for the Brightens.