Page 105 of Their Forever Daddy

After Edie’s announcement, they decided to go into town and celebrate with breakfast. Which was a milestone in and of itself, as it marked the first time Edie had been willing for all three of them to be seen in public together.

God, he was so fucking proud of her. Leaving behind everything she knew and loved wasn’t an easy decision, and he’d already promised himself he and Jesse would do whatever it took to make the transition as painless as possible.

Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before moving to the sink and grabbing his toothbrush. The mirror was covered in fog, so he wiped it away with his hand—and froze at the sight that greeted him in his reflection.

Behind him stood another man. Slightly older, though he couldn’t remember if the lines on his face were from an actual age difference or simply time spent out in the sun. There was plenty of salt mixed in with the pepper of his hair, adding to the impression he was much older.

“Hello, Ken.”

How he managed to get the words out, he wasn’t actually sure. It wasn’t fear, exactly, keeping him frozen in place. Though he would have been justified in feeling absolutely fucking terrified at finding the ghost of his girlfriend’s ex-husband staring at him in the mirror.

Ken didn’t speak, just simply stared at him, a sad smile on his lips.

Swallowing hard, Grant licked his own suddenly dry lips, his gaze still locked on the apparition in the mirror. “I’ll take good care of her, I promise. I know it’s hard for you to let her go, but she’s in good hands. I love her, you know. It’s not the same, but I promise I’ll try every day to love her as well as you did.”

A breeze came through the window, sending the damp ends of his hair fluttering. And though the face in the mirror didn’t move, he heard his voice as clear as day.

Thank you.

Grant blinked and the image disappeared. Spinning around, he stared at the spot where Ken should have been if he’d been real.

Empty. No random man standing behind him in the tiny bathroom.

“I’m losing my fucking mind,” he muttered, turning back to the sink. But as he finished brushing his teeth, he looked over at where the breeze had come from just a moment ago.

At the window, which was not only closed, but locked up tight.

Jesse

* * *

The stairs creaked under Daddy’s weight and Jesse looked up from the puzzle she and Edie had been putting together while they waited for him to finish his shower. Her welcoming grin died on her lips at the look of pure shock on his pale face.

“Daddy?” Jumping up from where she’d been kneeling by the coffee table, she raced to the bottom of the stairs. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine, baby. I’m… just a little rattled.”

Edie joined them, worry clouding her expression. “What’s wrong?”

Running a hand through his still-damp hair, Daddy let out a strangled laugh. “I don’t know. I-I think I just talked to Ken.”

If he’d told them he’d been abducted by aliens, held on a ship for five years for testing, and then somehow dropped back into the exact moment in time he’d been captured, it would have been less of a shock than what had actually just come out of his mouth. “Did you say you talked to Ken? As in, Edie’s husband, Ken?”

“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know.” His tone was utterly baffled as his gaze darted between them before landing on Edie. “I got out of the shower and when I wiped the fog from the mirror, he was there. Standing behind me. So I told him I’d take care of you and that you were in good hands and that I love you. And I swear to god, I heard him say ‘Thank you’. Then he was gone.”

“That bastard.” Hands planted on her hips, Edie frowned. “I can’t believe he let you see him and all I got was a warm breeze.”

“A breeze?” Jesse wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Daddy’s face paled even further. “You felt a breeze when you… when he…?”

“Yeah. Down by the lake. And sure, it could have just been a normal breeze, but it was different. Warmer than it should have been. Don’t ask me how, but I could just tell it was him, you know?”

“I do, actually.” Daddy swallowed hard. “When we were… talking, a breeze came through the window of the bathroom. Except, when I looked, the window was closed. And locked. So the breeze couldn’t have come through the window but I definitely felt it.”

“Not fair!” Now it was Jesse’s turn to pout. “Why doesn’t Ken wanna talk to me?” Realization dawned, growing into horror. “Oh no! What if he hates me cuz of what I did to Edie?”

Tears blurred her vision as Edie slipped her arms around her waist, pulling her close. “He doesn’t hate you, babygirl.”

“But how do you know?” she cried, maybe a little more dramatically than the situation called for. “He didn’t come to me in a mirror!”

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