She paused and looked around in surprise. “I’ve been here.”
“You have,” I told her. “Last week when you were a baby.” The sentence was bizarre. The fact that it was true was nuts.
Gram continued to zoom around the playground, hooting and hollering. I spotted Mr. Jackson watching her from a slight distance with a wide grin on his macabre face. He was politely giving Gram her space for family time. Her beau was very much the gentleman. I squinted as I tried to gauge if he was fading. That would devastate Gram if he went into the Light. Heck, I’d be devastated if he went into the Light. He’d become part of the family. I’d never seen Gram so happy with a man-friend. Growing up, she didn’t date at all. It was just me and her against the world. When I was a child, I never really noticed. As an adult, it broke my heart that she hadn’t found a companion to live life with… until now.
In death, she had found her soul mate. The irony wasn’t lost on me. It sucked that they couldn’t physically touch each other, but it didn’t stop them from hugging, kissing and holding hands. Granted, their bodies went right through each other’s since they were dead, but it didn’t seem to bother them. They spent all of their time together. Gram had even confessed that she found Mr. Jackson far better looking and sexier than Bob Barker. That was about the highest praise Gram could give. She had it bad for the sweet ghost, and the adoration was returned.
Maybe Mr. Jackson just needed a little tune-up. I had boxes upon boxes of superglue in the pantry, and I knew how to use it. I’d have a sit-down with my buddy later this evening and check him over.
Right now, Gram, Mr. Jackson and Alana Catherine’s skunks were the only ghostly beings in our home. A gaggle of dead were squatting at my old farmhouse for the time being. I felt guilty that I wasn’t hosting them here, but it was too dangerous right now. It was unclear if the zombies could harm my deceased guests, and I wasn’t about to risk it and find out.
Soon. Soon they could come home, and I would help them.
Gideon clapped his hands, and a picnic table appeared. Unfortunately, he stuck with the pink and purple color scheme. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was gaudy. He was too dang proud of himself. I sat down, plopped my elbows on the table, and rested my chin in my hands. Gideon sat down next to me, his leg touching mine. We watched our grown-up daughter go down the slide with Gram and build a sand castle. All was right with the farked up world at the moment. It didn’t even bother me that five Demons had placed themselves at a discrete distance to watch over the little girl who wasn’t so little anymore.
“Does it get better than this?” I whispered as Gram directed the design of the castle made from sand.
“No,” Gideon answered thoughtfully. “But… I hate even voicing this… but I miss not getting to watch her grow up.”
I glanced over at him.
He quickly continued, “I mean, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she’s here with us. I shouldn’t complain.”
I cupped his cheek with my hand and leaned in for a kiss. “I’ve had the very same thoughts,” I said against his lips. “Nothing about our lives is normal. I’m trying really hard to embrace the abnormal.”
Gideon pressed his forehead to mine. “So, I’m not being a selfish ass by saying that I wish I’d been able to take her to her first day of kindergarten?”
“Nope,” I assured him, glancing back over at the sandbox and smiling. “I wish I could have taken her shopping for a prom dress and been the room mom for elementary school.”
“I would have killed it on the PTA,” Gideon said with a grin.
I laughed. “All the soccer moms would have shown up in droves if you were on the PTA.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Honestly, I’m glad it’s not just me,” he confessed. “I was thinking I was being an idiot.”
“If you’re being an idiot, then I’m in the same club,” I told him. “I say we secretly set aside one night a month to bitch and moan about all the stuff we didn’t get to do with her.”
He threw his head back and laughed. The sound was music to me, and I craved it. The man was stupidly gorgeous, but he was even more beautiful on the inside. “Deal, Daisy. Once a month.” He stared at Alana Catherine for a long moment. “You know…”
“What?” I asked, watching his wheels turn.
“It’s dumb,” he admitted sheepishly.
“I like dumb,” I replied, lightly elbowing him.
He nodded slowly, then went for it. “There’s really no reason that you can’t go prom dress shopping with our girl. We could have our own prom. Here. I would bet good money that Candy Vargo, Tim, Heather and Charlie have never been to a prom. I know I haven’t been to a prom.”
“Oh no! You’ve never been to prom?” I asked. That was so sad.
“Never,” he told me. Snapping his fingers, he produced a stunning bouquet of multicolored daisies. He got up from the picnic table, then got down on one knee. His grin was so sexy, I felt dizzy. “Daisy, will you accept these daisies and go to prom with me?”
I squealed. This was insanely exciting. I grabbed the daisies from his hand and tackled the love of my life to the ground. We were now on the grass—Gideon on his back and me on top. We were laughing like dummies. “Yessssss! I’ll go to prom with you. I’m also going to hedge a bet that Zander, Catriona, Tory, Gabe, Rafe, Prue and Abby have never been to prom either.”
He was as excited as I was. “Good bet! And I’d surmise that the drag queens have never had an opportunity to go to prom,” he said.
I squealed again. The queens would look to-die-for in prom dresses. “And, I would bet the entire house—including furniture, our cars and all of my clothes that Shitty Ritchie has never set foot in a prom.”
“Fuck,” Gideon said with a groan. “Does Shitty Ritchie have to come to prom?”
