Page 29 of Having the Time of My Midlife

That wasn’t great at all.

“Should we try it now, Daisy girl?” Gram asked, zipping over to me and hovering in the air by my side.

“Hold that thought,” I told her with a smile. I glanced over at Candy. “How will I make sure Alana Catherine is with me?”

“Reaper, you wanna handle this?” Candy Vargo asked.

Gideon closed his eyes for a hot sec then walked over to me and sat down on the ground. “I can bind her to you with a spell.”

“Literally?” I asked, confused.

“No, not as in she’s glued to you. It just means for the next twenty-four hours she will be where you are.”

I took it in and thought about it. “Will it hurt her?”

He shook his head. I could tell he wanted to say more. I had a gut feeling I knew what it was…

“But it will hurt me,” I stated.

He nodded. His expression was grim and I could tell he wanted to put some more holes in the plaster. He wasn’t happy. “It is painful,” he said tightly. “You have the ability to take both your pain and hers.”

It was the first time I smiled with relief all day. “That works for me.”

“It doesn’t sit well with me. Seeing you suffer isn’t my idea of a good time,” Gideon said flatly. “But it can be done.”

“Think about it this way. My pain is our baby’s gain.”

Gideon cupped my cheek in his hand. “I love you, Counselor.”

“I love you more, Reaper,” I replied, placing my hand over his.

“Not possible.” He raised a brow and kissed my nose.

I wasn’t going to fight him. I’d call it a draw. “What about Gram? Can you bind her to me as well?”

He shook his head. “No, she’s dead. It only works with those who breathe.”

The pain I was about to go through would suck. Hard. But if the icy daggers and whatever agony Gideon’s spell would cause would be worth it. No pain, no gain.

I had a lot to gain if this worked and too much to lose if it didn’t.

Stealing Cecily’s catchphrase, again, I leaned over and kissed the man who made me feel whole. “Let’s get this party started.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Everybody, back the fuck up,”Candy Vargo announced.

The Keeper of Fate was glowing orange. It was a crazy look, but I was getting used to it. My normal had become anything but normal. Charlie’s eyes were silver. He’d been warned by Candy if he let his power get out of control and made it difficult to breathe, she’d kick his ass so hard he wouldn’t sit for a decade. He heeded her warning and tamped it back. Tim was glowing as well. The look was eerie, and I was beginning to wonder how bad this was going to be. It wasn’t often that all my friends were lit up at the same time.

The ghosts had been asked to leave the room before the spell took place. There was a chance that it could open a portal and suck the dead into it. That was news to everyone except Gideon. I wanted to inquire as to how he knew it but decided that I didn’t want the answer. The gift of keeping Gram, Mr. Jackson, Lura Belle, Dimple and Jolly Sue safe would have to suffice.

“Jennifer,” Candy Vargo said, running her hand over the back of her neck. “I’m gonna say you should leave as well.”

“Cause I might get sucked up into a portal?” she asked, looking bizarrely excited about the prospect. My buddy watched far too many movies.

“Nope,” Candy told her. “Cause what’s about to go down ain’t nothin’ you should see. It’s gonna be bloody and gnarly.”

“Roger that!” Jennifer high tailed it up the stairs with the dead. She had a hair-trigger gag-reflex, and so did I. If she hurled, I’d hurl. Puking was the last thing I wanted to do right now.

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