Page 113 of Half Dead

If only the gods granted all of us the confidence of a teenaged Alicia.

“If you’re happy about it, then I’m sure your grandfather will be, too. He needs time to process, that’s all. He was expecting the reconciliation, but not the move.”

“I get it.” She looked longingly at the empty doorway. “I guess Mom and I will come back later to check on him… or say goodbye. Will you talk to him about coming with us?”

“I will, but I can’t promise a particular outcome.” I’d sworn to Ray and Nana Pratt that I wouldn’t make them do anything against their will.

“Thanks, Ghost Lady. I appreciate you.”

“I appreciate you, too.”

I expected Ray to reappear once Alicia left, but he remained hidden.

“Should we search for him?” Nana Pratt asked.

I shook my head. “He needs space for now.”

“Must’ve been quite a shock. I know it shocked me, and she isn’t even my granddaughter.”

“Change is hard for some people.” I was accustomed to it, but I could understand how difficult it might be for someone like Ray. He was fairly content for a dead man.

“On the topic of change, did you give any thought to my question before the trial?” Kane asked.

Nana Pratt gasped. “My goodness! Did he pop the question?”

“Out,” I told her.

The ghost winked out of existence. I spotted Claude peering out from behind the blender. “You, too. This is a private conversation.”

The revenant scrambled to the window over the kitchen sink and climbed outside.

I returned my attention to Kane. “I would rather have this conversation once the trials are over, not because I’m unsure, but because I want to make sure you’re not offering out of some misplaced sense of guilt.”

Kane gave his head a firm shake. “That isn’t it, not in the slightest.”

“Well, there’s only one trial to go. After that, if you’re still in favor of it, we can discuss the details.”

“I’ll still be in favor of it, but I’m happy to wait. I’ll even hire a decorator to draft plans to make my place less masculine, if that’s important to you.”

I choked on my mouthful of Puck’s Pleasure. “You’d expect me to move into the lair?”

“It isn’t a lair. While I admit, it’s arguably a bachelor pad, it has the potential to become a wonderful family home.”

I waved my hands wildly around the kitchen. “Thisis a wonderful family home.”

He copied my gesture. “Thisis a crowded house. My place affords more privacy.”

I laughed. “With all the nightclub guests upstairs and the Assassins Guild’s monthly meetings? Sure. Very private.”

“I’ll close the nightclub.”

My jaw dropped. “You would shut down your livelihood for me?”

“It isn’t my livelihood, remember? It’s my retirement scheme. I don’t need to operate a club. I don’t need to do anything at all except luxuriate in your presence.”

Drowsiness began to claim me. “You’d get very bored very quickly.” I stifled a yawn. “Let’s table this discussion for after the trial. If I die, it’s a moot point anyway.”

“You won’t die, Lorelei, and if by some calamity you do, I will search every nook and cranny of the universe until I find you, if only to finish this conversation.”

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