Page 65 of Ghostlighted
He smiled down at her. “Lessen the wow factor.”
“Yeah. That.” She met my gaze. “Mom gets kinda weird sometimes.”
“Don’t we all,” I murmured. I stood up. “Come on in.”
As the Vlahoses mounted the steps, Jillie pointed to the swing. “Uncle Dom, can we get a porch swing for Jenkins House?”
“We already have a gazebo. It has bench seats all the way around it.”
“Yes, but that’s in the backyard. This could be on the front porch.” She gazed up at him with wide puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”
“I’ve got to say,” I said, “it’s one of my favorite parts about this place.” I chuckled a little weakly. “Of course, all parts of the place are my favorites. That happens when you get a windfall like this.” I opened the door wide since I didn’t have to worry about Gil making a run for it, and gestured for them to enter. “Be my guest.”
As Jillie passed me, she was humming “Be Our Guest,” and Dominik, following on her heels, spread his palms. “She’s been singing that ever since we signed the papers. I think she’s more excited about running a B & B than Bernadette and me, and we’ve been fantasizing about it for years.”
I stepped inside to find that Jillie had frozen in the middle of the entry, staring through the french doors opposite the stairway. “You have alibrary.”
Her enthusiasm was so infectious that it pulled a real grin out of me. “I do.”
She turned to Dominik. “Uncle Dom, can we?—”
“Hold your horses, Jillie-bean.”
She scowled at him. “Don’t call me that. That’s a kid’s name.”
“Then stop acting like a kid.” Dominik scrunched up his face. “No. You know what? Go ahead. Act like a kid as much as you want.”
She pointed through the doors. “Do you mind?”
“Not a bit.”
She walked through the doors and squealed. “It haswindow seats! Uncle Dom, can we?—”
“Put it on your list, Jillie.” He shot me a sidelong glance and mouthedher very long list. “We’ll talk about it later.” After she sprinted across the room and flung herself onto the window seat, Dominik gestured for me to step back out of sight. His expression was a combination of defensive and embarrassed. “Sorry. She’s just really excited to finally nest. While I was away at college, she and Bernadette moved three times in five years, trying to keep one step ahead of Bernadette’s ex. Every time she thought she’d shaken him, he’d show up again, like some drug-resistant bacteria.”
“He’s stalking her?”
“He’s extorting her. Trying to squeeze money out of her by threatening to sue for custody of Jillie.” He snorted. “As if. No family court judge with half an ethic would let that guy near a kid, and now that I’m back, he’ll keep his distance again.” He leaned closer and dropped his voice. “Jillie doesn’t know. I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I didn’t want you to judge her too harshly or think she’s some entitled brat.”
Although terror for Ricky had all but paralyzed me, I managed a smile. “No worries there. She seems like a great kid.”
His shoulders dropped about an inch as tension visibly drained from him. “Thanks. She is. But we shouldn’t take up more of your time. Jillie,” he called, “let’s keep moving. We still have to stop at the bakery.”
“Okay.” Jillie made the word sound as though she was the furthest possible from okay.
“Drama llama,” Dominik said. “Comes with being eleven.”
Sure enough, when Jillie emerged from the library, she was dragging her feet as though they weighed a ton. Each. But then she spotted one of Gil’s catnip mice and bloomed like a morning glory.
“You have acat?”
“I do. His name’s Gilgamesh. Gil.”
She turned to her uncle. “Uncle Dom, can we get?—”
“Jillie. Slow your roll. We’ll talk about it after we’ve had more than ten minutes to settle in, okay?”
She faced me again, her clasped her hands under her chin. “Can I meet Gil? Please?”
