Page 145 of Dead Heat

Steven stared in silence.

“You can see me?” Nana Pratt’s voice cracked with emotion.

“Every wrinkle. No offense. Can I hug you or will my arms go straight through?” Ashley asked.

“I’ve learned to make contact with solid objects,” Nana Pratt replied. “It’s not an exact science, but I think we can manage a hug.” She held out her arms and Ashley folded into them.

My heart stirred as I remembered how it felt to see my parents at the abandoned church in New York City. I’d been so desperate to hug them too, but it wasn’t to be.

Steven joined them in what became a group hug. I wasn’t sure who started to cry first.

It might’ve been me.

They stood holding each other for a solid five minutes. Ray dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve.

“You know you can’t actually produce tears, right?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“They feel real.”

Nana Pratt cupped Ashley’s face in her knobby hands. “You look so much like your father.” She released her to hold Steven’s face next. “And you are the spitting image of your mother. It’s like looking at the past in a funhouse mirror.”

“That’s how I feel right now,” Steven commented.

“It’s really great to see you again, Nana,” Ashley said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. I’ve been wishing I could tell you to your face and now I can.” Lines of black mascara streaked her cheeks.

“Dearest, you know I’d do anything for you both. Absolutely anything.”

Like stay tethered to the mortal plane for eternity, I nearly said, but quickly thought better of it. There were some things her grandchildren didn’t need to know. It was up to Nana Pratt how she chose to spend her afterlife, even if she could be drinking beer straight from the tap in a place like Helheim.

“How do you feel about Ashley’s choice of career now?” I asked.

The elderly ghost closed her eyes in reverence. “I’ve never been prouder.”

Ashley frowned. “What do you mean ’now?’ Did she not approve before?”

“Your grandmother has been learning a lot about magic and the supernatural world,” I explained. “It’s changed her perspective.”

“I’ll be honest,” Steven said. “I’m still finding all this hard to process.”

“That’s because you’re a man of logic, just like your grandfather,” Nana Pratt said.

Steven smiled at her. “Sounds like you might’ve been a woman of logic.”

“Not me. I was more of a doubting Thomas.” She gestured to the black orb. “But the proof is in the pudding, as they say.”

“As much as I hate to break this up, we need to go,” Steven said. “I have an appointment.”

“Already?” Ashley asked.

“I told you before we left, but you insisted on coming now anyway.”

“Fine.” Ashley used the hem of her shirt to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“Don’t forget your orb,” I said.

“Do you mind if I leave it here?” Ashley asked. “It isn’t like I can speak to her at our house.”

Nana Pratt jerked toward me. “Unless you command me to go there, which you can do.”

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