"Yes, it's okay. It's more than okay." Lance smiled. Then, realizing they were standing in the doorway, he stepped back. "Come in. Sorry, it's a mess. Haunt was in the tub, heard the doorbell and…" He waved his hand, not needing to explain.
"I'll go find Haunt." Angus laughed. "Welcome home, Jackson." He quickly took the towels from the floor and headed to find Haunt.
Jackson and Kel walked inside, and Lance shut the door. He nodded to Jackson's large duffel bag. "You know where your room is. Make yourself at home. If you need anything…" His voice trailed off as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around his brother. "I'm so glad you're home."
Jackson hugged him back. "It's good to be home. I still can't believe it's happening. It hasn't hit me yet that I'm not just on leave and won't have to go back." He pulled away. "You are soaking wet."
Lance laughed. "Sorry. Blame the dog." Then remembering the bath, his eyes went wide. "Shit, I left the shower running." He took off down the hall, smiling at Bethany, Ray, and Kel as he passed by where they were talking in the living room.
Luckily, the sprayer in the shower had fallen so it hadn't sprayed water outside the tub. They already had a big enough mess already to clean up. He made sure everything was off, then walked back out to see his brother. He was so happy he was here, even if he'd shown up without warning. Jackson knew he was always welcome, and Lance knew that Angus felt the same way.
"Don't go near the window," Ray warned Lance as he walked into the kitchen to find Jackson, Kel, and Bethany all laughing as they stood at the now closed sliding glass door that led into the backyard. "You won't like what you see."
Lance narrowed his eyes. "What?" He quickly went to the window that was over the kitchen sink and looked out into the backyard. He sighed heavily when he saw Angus sitting on the lawn, holding Haunt, who was once again covered in dirt. She'd obviously raced back outside the first chance she had and started to dig again. "What is she after? This isn't like her."
Jackson turned toward him. "Let's go look."
"You just got here. You sure you want to deal with this the moment you walk in the door?" Lance asked.
"I'm curious." Jackson stepped out into the backyard.
Lance followed, closing the door behind him. He followed Jackson and the three ghosts over to where Angus held a very muddy dog. "I'm not taking her back in the house like that. We'll use the hose. We just have to find a way to keep her out of the dirt after we spray her off. Once we get the mud off her, I'll give her a normal bath inside."
Angus sighed. "I'm now as muddy as she is. You may have to hose me off as well."
Lance took in Angus's mud smeared face and arms. His chest was also splattered with mud. "This is insane. What has her acting this way?" He looked over at the area Haunt had been digging and saw she'd torn up over half of the flowers and had a hole several inches deep dug into one area.
"You've got gophers, voles, or something similar." Jackson squatted near the hole. "I'm afraid she's going to keep digging until we figure out how to get rid of whatever is burrowing here."
"Just what we need." Lance sighed. "I just wanted to come home from work and take a shower. Instead, I get to give thisbeast a bath twice." He glared at the dog he loved so much. "This must be what having toddlers is like."
Angus laughed. "God forbid. What will she be like when she's rebelling like a teenager?" He stood, lifting Haunt as he got up. "I'll carry her back to the bathroom. You go get more towels."
Lance glanced over at his brother and the ghosts who were standing with him. "Anyone know how to get rid of whatever it is now living in the flowerbeds?"
"I'll do some research tonight," Jackson told him.
"You just got here. You don't have to—" Lance started but was interrupted.
"I need something to keep me busy. Go deal with Haunt and we'll talk after. For now, I think it's best you keep her out of the yard or on a leash when you bring her out to do her business." Jackson gathered a handful of dying flowers from the ground.
Lance sighed.
"Martin will know what to do. We can go talk to Lizzy," Bethany offered.
"No, don't. The last thing I need is everyone rushing over here tonight. Angus can call his dad, but if you go over, I know Lizzy and Betty. They'll rush over here to solve the issue and spend the night replanting flowers." Lance smiled. "But thanks for offering."
"Sorry we can't do more to help." Bethany leaned toward Ray, causing their ghostly bodies to merge a bit where they touched.
"I had shrews in my yard once. We had to trap them. Maybe that's what you need to do here," Kel suggested.
"We'll talk about it over dinner. I need to get Haunt taken care of first, then I'll order pizza. We can figure it out then." Lance gave a last look at his destroyed flowerbeds and shook his head, then refocused, reminding himself that despite the destruction in his yard, he did have something to celebrate.Jackson was home. He smiled at his brother. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too." Jackson laughed. "Even if your life is in chaos."
"It's not usually this exciting," Lance told him as he headed inside, then he sighed. Who was he kidding? His life hadn't been normal for a long time. Today was just another adventure in his crazy world. Ghosts, mud covered dogs, and creatures living in his flowerbeds—who could ask for anything more?
CHAPTER TWO
