Keeping Kennedy by Debra Webb

never over until it’s over,” she told Martin with a
look that she hope relayed half the meaning her boss could put into
those words.
    “But—” A slow, knowing smile stole across
Martin’s face. “You might just be right, little girl.” He stroked
his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s not too late.”
    “It’s never too late,” she repeated as she
gave her uncle another affectionate hug.
    “Excuse me, Kennedy.”
    Cassandra again. Kennedy cringed as
she pulled away from her uncle.
    The witch giggled like the idiot she was.
“Kennedy, I just wanted to remind you to pick up the revised
information packet at the sign-in table before you leave for the
evening. You’ll need it,” she added emphatically.
    “Revised what?” Kennedy went on instant
alert. Cassandra never did anything helpful without an ulterior
motive.
    “The information packet,” Cassandra repeated
impatiently, then smiled sweetly. “It outlines the rest of the
week’s activities in more detail, including tomorrow’s scavenger
hunt.”
    “Scavenger hunt?” Sounding like a parrot,
Kennedy wilted with instant apprehension.
    “A last minute addition,” Cassandra explained
with obvious pleasure. “Not to worry. Everyone’s hunt has been
especially designed for them. I’m sure you’ll find yours to your
liking.”
     
    ~*~
     
    “A scavenger hunt!” Kennedy glared at the
paper in her hand, then crumpled it. “I can just imagine who
thought up that brilliant idea!”
    She stopped halfway up the sidewalk to her
parents’ front door and whirled on Drake. “I’ll tell you who,” she
said, answering her own question. “Cassandra. She knows how I hate
the woods and anything creepy-crawly.” She shook the crumpled
information sheet at Drake as if this were his fault. “She set me
up as sure as I’m standing here.”
    “What’s the big deal, Kennedy?” He shrugged.
If he’d had any idea Cassandra would return, he would have never
have left Kennedy alone with her uncle. But Drake had felt like an
intruder and thought maybe they needed some privacy. He’d
definitely needed a few moments away from her. “So we’ll do a
little hiking in the woods. I don’t see the problem.”
    “The problem” she glared at him as if he were
dumb as a post “is that I don’t do hiking in the woods. Cassandra
knows that’s the one situation I can’t hold my own in. I’m telling
you, she set me up!”
    Drake grinned before he could stop himself.
Damn, she was a pretty thing all riled up, even if he wasn’t
supposed to be noticing that undeniable fact. “Ah, but Cassandra
doesn’t know about your secret weapon.”
    Kennedy frowned petulantly. “What secret
weapon?”
    “Me.”
    She rolled her eyes dramatically. “That’s
supposed to make me feel better?”
    Ignoring her jab, he slung his arm around her
slender shoulders and guided her toward the door. “I’m right at
home in that kind of environment.”
    She turned to him, the porch light
spotlighting her sweet face. “That’s right.” Her smile slowly
returned. “You’ve been in jungles and rainforests all over the
world. Bowden Park and the surrounding woods will be a breeze for
you.”
    “Precisely.”
    “That’s a relief.” She reached for the
doorknob, then paused, lines pleating her smooth forehead. “I can’t
shake the feeling that something’s going on with my uncle. I’ve
never heard him talk like that before.”
    Drake shrugged, remembering the conversation
Kennedy had repeated to him between her bursts of anger at
Cassandra and her stupid agenda. “Maybe he was offering the only
advice he had to give.”
    “Maybe.” Still looking far too worried,
Kennedy turned the knob but nothing happened. She frowned, then
turned it again. “It’s locked.”
    “Don’t you have a key?”
    “No,” she snapped. “My parents never lock the
house.”
    He plowed a hand through his hair. He was
ready for this night to be over. Too much he hadn’t expected had
happened.