I understood him more than he would ever know. “Goober, you’re a special person. Gram always liked you, and I do too.”
“Thank you,” he said. “The feeling is quite mutual. Give me a call tomorrow when you’re ready to make arrangements. I’ll leave you to say goodbye now.”
Goober turned and quietly walked back down the hall. Behind the closed door in front of me was Gram… kind of. Her body was in there but that was all.
Opening the door, my breath caught in my throat. She was so small and frail, but she was still beautiful.
“Hey, old lady,” I whispered as I took a seat next to where she lay. “You picked a bad time to kick the bucket. I still need you.”
Gently tucking her hair behind her ears the way she liked it, I made a mental note to tell Goober. Gram liked her ears—said they were perfectly shaped. Her hearing aids were still in. I smiled. As much as she bitched about the little nuggets, she did indeed wear them. Slipping them out of her ears, I put them in my purse. Maybe they could be donated. I’d have to check that out.
“I’m carrying a shitty purse and wearing sweats,” I told her as I laid my head on her silent chest. “However, the sweatshirt has no holes and only a little splattered paint on the sleeves.”
The room was too formal for Gram. She liked cozy and comfortable. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that I knew Goober would take good care of her.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” I told her as my eyes welled up again. “I love you so much. I’m going to miss you forever.”
Gram’s silence tore through me. I knew I had some voice messages from her saved on my phone. The thought of forgetting what she sounded like scared me. Lindsay’s words rang in my ears. The only way a person lives on is in the memories of those who loved them. Gram would live on until the day I died.
“So… umm… Hell was weird,” I told her, fully aware she couldn’t hear me. “I brought Gideon back. That didn’t go so well. He’s a dick and I hate his guts… except I don’t… but I do.”
What the heck was I doing?
Who cared?
It was cathartic to lay it out.
“It’s a hot mess, Gram. I screwed up bad, and then he hit a home run of screw up with the bases loaded. Bottom line, we’re too screwed up for each other. Plus, he is millions of years older than me. And he’s a dick.”
I laughed and shook my head. Gram didn’t appreciate that kind of language. But she was gone, and it made me feel good to say it.
“He’s a dick-dick-dick-dick-dick.” I slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle my giggles. “I’m sorry, not. I just have the worst taste in men. My husband was gay and my ex-boyfriend is the Grim Reaper. Not sure I could do much worse.”
I knew I was making light of the fact that my heart was broken for so many reasons right now, but I was in survival mode.
Picking up the folder Goober had left, I flipped through the selection of coffins. I hated coffins. When I died, I wanted to be cremated and have my ashes spread on the farm. Steve was the exact opposite. He had wanted to be buried, as did Gram. It felt morbid to me, but I’d followed Steve’s wishes, and I would follow Gram’s.
“I like the gray one with the silver on it,” Gram said. “Goes with my hair.”
“Really? It’s kind of gaudy,” I said, squinting at the picture—then froze.
“I’ve finally lost it,” I muttered. My gaze jerked to Gram, who I was fairly sure was dead.
“Can’t believe you walked out of the house lookin’ like that. And to a funeral home, no less,” she chastised me.
I’d lost my mind for real. I stood up, the brochure slipping from my fingers and falling to the floor. I put my hand on Gram’s heart to check for a beat. I quickly thanked a God I was starting to believe in that she hadn’t been embalmed yet. Was there a horrible mistake? Was she still alive?
“Gram?” I said, shaking her. “Wake up. I can get you out of here! I’ll have a chat with Goober and Heather can drive us home.”
“Daisy girl, I’m over here,” Gram said from across the room. “Haven’t quite got the hang of flyin’ yet. Keep bashin’ into walls. Hurts worse than listenin’ to William Shatner sing.”
“What the fu…” I gasped out as I whipped around and saw Gram hanging upside down over the makeshift altar in the private visitation room.
“You’re gettin’ a real mouth on you, girlie,” Gram said with a laugh as she tried to right herself. “Can you gimme a hand here? I’m kinda stuck.”
“Umm… sure,” I said. I didn’t know whether to cry for joy or laugh. She was dead, but she wasn’t gone. I was able to converse with her like I did with Steve when he’d first come back. I chalked that up to our closeness during life. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d hang out for a bit and make sure Goober doesn’t put that awful red lipstick on me he seems so fond of. That boy makes every dead woman in town look like a drag queen. Can’t be havin’ that. I want a nice burnt orange. Better with my skin tone.”
“Makes sense,” I said, taking her by the feet and spinning her like the wheel on The Price is Right.
“Wheeeeeee,” she squealed. “Do it again!”
“Okay.” I giggled as I spun my tiny Gram like a top. “You’re going to get dizzy.”
“Lordy at a pig roast on the Fourth of July,” she said as she came to a stop with her head and feet where they should be. “Haven’t had that much fun in ages.”
I stared at her in awe. She was semitransparent, but not decaying at all. But then, she had just died this morning.
“Do you have unfinished business, Gram?”
Anything she wanted or needed, I would do. I didn’t care how illegal. If she wanted me to sneak her into Bob Barker’s house, I would do it. I wasn’t sure how I would do it, but I’d figure it out. I was just so happy she was here.
“No, baby girl. I don’t,” she said, floating awkwardly over to the couch and seating herself. “Tell you what, this furniture is fugly and uncomfortable. Goober needs to get a decorator in here. All the pink and green is givin’ me gas.”
“I’ll let him know. And I’m pretty sure you don’t have bodily functions anymore.” I was perplexed that she had no unfinished business. “If you don’t have a reason to stay, how are you here?”
She scratched her head. “Don’t rightly know. I suppose it might be because I know I can be here. Working with the dead all those years taught me a thing or two.”
I thought about it. Maybe she was right.
“Can you stay?” I asked, holding my breath.
“You bet I can. I’m not quite ready to go, and you said you needed me,” she replied, winking. “I also heard all the bull-honky you spouted.”
“I didn’t spout bull-honky,” I told her with an eye roll.
“You most certainly did,” she said, wagging her finger at me. “Never should have hidden all my boyfriends from you over the years.”
“You had boyfriends?”
“Yep,” she said with a grin. “And I feel right bad you never saw a healthy relationship between a man and a woman, Daisy girl.”
“Wait,” I said, trying to absorb her words. “You had boyfriends? As in plural?”
“I was a looker when I was young—still am,” she informed me with a little shimmy that knocked her right off the couch.
Picking her up and placing her back on the couch, I sat down next to her and put my arm around her so she didn’t take another tumble. “Why would you hide that? I don’t get it.”
“Well, mostly because I had no intention of marryin’ any of them,” she explained. “We had enough to live down with your mamma doing what she did. We didn’t need everybody in town thinking I was a hooker.”
“I’ve got a squatter that you’re gonna love,” I muttered, digesting the news. “I wish you hadn’t hidden anything. I feel bad, like it was my fault.”
“Oh, sweetie child, we can’t be at fault for the actions of others. Only our own,” sh
e said.
“That was kind of profound,” I commented with a raised brow.
“Bob Barker said it,” she informed me with a cackle of glee.
“Of course, he did.”
“Anyhoo, you never saw the good and you never saw the real,” Gram told me.
“The real?” I asked, not following.
“Yep, the parts that aren’t so pretty. The stuff you gotta work through.”
“I turned out fine.”
“Did you?” she asked, giving me a look.
“You’re saying I didn’t turn out fine?”
“You turned out perfect, child,” Gram said. “But hear me out.”
“Okay. Hang on.” I crossed the room and locked the door in case Goober popped in. I didn’t need him to think I was nuts. I knew I was nuts, but I didn’t want it getting out. This freaking town was small and gossip was the most popular hobby. “Speak, old lady.”
“If you don’t have enough of a foundation to rock, then the first time something goes wrong, the house falls down.”
“You lost me,” I said.
“You and Gideon weren’t together long enough to deal with what you dealt with. Trust takes time, although you do tend to jump the gun and think you know what’s goin’ on when you don’t,” she pointed out.
She was correct and I was working on that.
“So, the fact that he made me feel like dirt is fine?” I asked, getting annoyed.
“Nope,” she said. “That is not fine at all. Both of you need to yank up your panties and realize it ain’t all big prize wheels and houseboats.”
I sighed and held Gram close. Her scent was gone, but she was with me. That was all that mattered. And she didn’t get it. She hadn’t seen what had gone down and there was no way I was going to share the details. Gideon and I might not have had a solid foundation to rock, but what we had got decimated in an F5 tornado mostly of my doing. It was gone.
“Want to come home with me?” I asked, resting my chin on the top of her head.
“Well, I’m not goin’ back to the nursin’ home, so that sounds good to me,” she said with a laugh. “You have an extra TV in the guest room, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Thank Jesus in a jockstrap—got that one from Jennifer,” she informed me with a wink. “I’m gonna need my own TV to watch my shows. Those ghosts only watch reality shows. Drove me nuts.”
“You’re one of those ghosts now,” I told her as I gathered up the folder and my crappy bag.
“I’ll be damned,” Gram said, slapping her knee, missing and falling over. “You’re right. Are any of the men single?”
“Oh my God,” I choked out as I helped her up. “Are you serious? They’re dead, for the love of everything weird.”
“So am I, Daisy girl,” she reminded me with a grin. “So am I.”
I shook my head and realized that one of the worst days of my life hadn’t turned out so bad in the end. “Heather’s going to crap her pants,” I muttered as I unlocked the door and turned out the light.
“Should I sneak up on her?” Gram asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
“Umm… no,” I said, taking her ghostly hand in mine. “She’s had a rough day too. Let’s go hug her.”
“Can I do that?” Gram asked, confused. “Won’t I just go right through her?”
“Actually, yes,” I said. “But it’s the thought that counts.”
“Amen to that, baby girl. Amen.”
Chapter Eighteen
“He shouldn’t be here,” Heather hissed as she pulled the car to a stop and glared at the man sitting on my front porch swing.
My stomach filled with butterflies. Gideon’s raw power and beauty would forever fascinate me. Heather was correct. The Grim Reaper should not be sitting on my front porch framed perfectly in the late afternoon sun, but I was secretly delighted he was.
“Heather, I love you like a daughter, but you need to relax your crack or I’m gonna have to tan your behind, which would be damn hard right now since I’m dead,” Gram said, with half of her body in the car and half of it hanging out of the passenger window. “This is Daisy’s fight and she needs to take care of business.”
Heather sighed and banged her head on the steering wheel. “You love me like a daughter?” she asked, sounding more vulnerable than I’d ever heard her.
“Yep,” Gram said, patting her back.
Of course, her hand went right through Heather, but as I’d told Gram earlier, it was the thought that counted.
“You might be a little older than me, but I love you hard,” Gram said as Heather laughed.
“A little older is an understatement,” Heather pointed out. “I love you too, Gram. I’ll back off and let Daisy do her thing. However, if Gideon steps out of line again, I’ll take his ass out.”
“You can do that?” I asked as I watched Gideon squint in surprise when he saw Gram’s head pop through the roof.
The motion of the swing was steady and slow. However, I could see the tension in his body. His eyes flashed red and the muscles in his neck were taut. It should have scared the hell out of me—pun intended. Instead, I found it heartbreakingly sexy. I needed my head examined.
“I can’t end him,” Heather admitted. “But I can make his existence very unpleasant.”
“I can do that without your help,” I told her. “I believe I already have.”
“Gotta build that house before you let the Big Bad Wolf of Life blow it over,” Gram announced as she floated awkwardly right through the windshield of the car. “Did y’all see that? I’m magic!”
“She’s going to be a handful,” Heather said with a laugh.
“Understatement,” I shot back as I opened the car door and helped Gram off the hood. “Old lady, you’re a hot mess.”
“Thank you, Daisy girl,” she replied with a whoop of joy as she turned summersaults through the air and landed with a thud at Gideon’s feet. “You’ve got some work to do, boy.”
Gideon nodded his head and smiled at Gram. “I’m aware of that.”
“And not just you,” she said, glancing back over her shoulder and giving me the eye. “Both of you need to get your building permits and some better hardhats. Y’all have been as ridiculous as tits on a bull.”
“Okay,” Gideon said, shooting me a look of puzzlement.
I couldn’t help him. I knew what most of Gram’s bizarre analogy meant, but I wasn’t sure I could help myself right now, much less the Grim Reaper. Gideon was on his own this evening.
Tomorrow? I wasn’t sure. One step at a time.
“Would you like to be more specific?” Gideon asked Gram as she held on to the railing so she wouldn’t float away.
“Where would the fun in that be?” Gram inquired.
“A hint?” Gideon asked, observing Gram negotiate her new weightlessness with amusement.
“Fine,” Gram huffed, tumbling over the railing and falling into the bushes. “Knocking on the door might be a good ice breaker. Son of a biscuit! Need a little assistance here. Dang near lost my head. Just wouldn’t do to meet all my suitors without my noggin.”
“Good God, old lady,” I muttered with a groan as I pulled her out of the shrubs and helped her up the front porch steps. “I’m not running a dating service.”
“Not to worry. I’ll handle that,” she announced with a squeal of delight as she floated right through the front door.
“I really don’t want to leave right now,” Heather said, leaning on her car and narrowing her eyes at Gideon. “But Gram is right. This is not my fight. That being said, I’m the backup and I’m armed with weapons that will make you regret your existence for the rest of time.”
“Noted,” Gideon replied tightly. “Good evening, Heather.”
“Remains to be seen,” she muttered as she got back into the car and flipped off Gideon. “Daisy, call me if you need me.”
“I will,” I promised.
We stood in awkward silence as Heather slowly dro
ve away with one last middle finger salute to Gideon.
I wanted to say a million things, but I was terrified.
“Daisy, I—” Gideon began.
I pressed my finger to his lips and shook my head. “We need to talk. A lot,” I said, tempted to trace his full bottom lip. “But tonight is not the night. I can barely keep my eyes open and falling asleep on you right now isn’t the best way to build a new foundation.”
“Is that what Gram was referring to? Starting over?” he asked.
I nodded, afraid if I spoke, I’d suggest making out like teenagers on the swing. That was not the way to earn trust even though my desire for him was making me dizzy.
“Trust,” I whispered, pulling my gaze from his sinfully beautiful mouth and raising it to his eyes. “We have to build it before we can put it through an F5 tornado.”
“I see,” he said with a lopsided grin.
I stared at him. He stared at me. I would’ve been happy to stay like this for the rest of time. However, the day had kicked my ass and I needed to make sure Gram hadn’t started pairing off my squatters.
“Go inside, Daisy,” Gideon instructed.
“Umm… okay,” I said, confused. Guess he was done staring. I didn’t blame him. I was a disaster in my messy outfit.
“Stay by the front door.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because,” he replied. “Just do it. Please.”
“Okay,” I said with a shrug. “Bye, Gideon.”
He said nothing. Simply stood there and grinned.
He was nuts, but that wasn’t a deal-breaker. I wore the nuts title just as well or better than he did.
Closing the door behind me, I screamed when a rush of magic shot through my body and almost brought me to my knees. Glancing down, I gasped, and then giggled.
Gone were my yoga pants and the paint-splattered sweatshirt. Now, I was wearing the sexy little black dress that I’d worn on our first date. Gideon had clearly not forgotten anything, including the toe-crushing black stiletto heels and the diamonds in my ears and at my neck.
The butterflies in my stomach had now progressed to a herd of clog-dancing baby dinosaurs. I stayed by the door as instructed and waited to see what would happen next.
Whose Midlife Crisis Is It Anyway? : A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: Good To The Last Death Book Two Page 18