Daniel shook his head. “You know better than that, Rose,” he said with concern.

“What? Oh, there’s nothing to worry about. He knows my dad.”

“I’m glad to hear it. What are you doing wandering around in the dark, anyway?”

The sun was just a small bright chink between the trees. “There’s no curfew, is there?”

“Should be.”

“If you’re so worried, why not walk me home?” Rose blurted out before she lost her nerve.

But he was already leading her along in a protective way.

“So what are you doing up here?” she asked.

- “Looking for you.”

“Come on.”

He put up his hands. “Truth. I phoned and your mother said you were at Muriel’s. I went to Muriel’s and she said you were walking home. So here I am. And lucky thing, too, or you might have been abducted.”

“I told you, he knew me. Really, Daniel, what will happen if we start suspecting everybody?”

“Not everybody. Just strangers in dark blue Shadows.”

“I didn’t know you were so poetic.”

“The car that guy was driving … blue Dodge Shadow.”

“Oh.” It seemed so typical that a male would know the make of a car. Maybe he even had memorized the license plate while she’d acted the female airhead, eager to be helpful, oblivious of danger, just ripe for being saved by a knight in shining armor. Well, she didn’t mind if the knight was Daniel.

“I never got your message when I was sick. My brother forgot.”

“Wasn’t anything important.”

“Bet you wanted to give me Keller’s history assignment.”

“I phoned because I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

He stopped walking. “Because I missed you.”

She could feel a wisecrack ready to pop out of her mouth. As if she needed to make fun of his honesty, to make herself feel less creepy. She’d learned that from Jerram: cover up feelings by acting contemptuous or bored. Well, now it was time to unlearn. She took a deep breath and tried to do what Muriel was always saying to do: get in touch with the real feelings inside. Get in touch and don’t be ashamed to reveal them.

“I … missed you, too, Daniel.”

He looked into her eyes, and she forced herself not to turn away.

“Good,” he said. “That’s settled.” He leaned over to kiss her.

It was a right kiss, a feeling kiss even though they were hardly touching, even though their lips were cold. It was soft and tender. It was the kind of kiss she’d always dreamed of.