He sighed. “It’s complicated. Life wasn’t easy for my Rosie. Choosing me…made things hard for her. Her own family abandoned her, you know?”
Skylar’s hand flew to his mouth. “Oh no.”
A corner of Pops’ mouth lifted. “It was different back in the day. Anyway, your gran wanted you to have an easier life than our Cecily did. Even after talking to them, she thought maybe one of the reasons your mom made some of her decisions was because not only were her parents a biracial couple, but we were known for being a tad eccentric.”
An involuntary guffaw escaped me. “So Gran thought we somehow appeared normal?” I thought back to when she still left the house willingly, to all the walks through the woods, sitting out here next to this very pond, and how she’d been known to walk up to people and deliver strange messages.
Pops joined in my laughter, cackling so hard his body rose in the air and fell backward, which set off Skylar next to me. When Pops sat up and floated back down to the log to resume a normal seated position of us heartbeaters, he wiped moisture at the corner of his eye. “She realized eventually that she’d gotten a little more…eccentric with my passing instead of less.”
I grinned. “All that mumbling to herself, she was talking to you, wasn’t she?”
He smiled softly. “I used to tell her to knock it off, but my Rosie…”
I turned to Skylar. “You don’t know it yet, but Gran is a yapper. Don’t give her your phone number unless you want her chatting your ear off.”
Pops snickered. “He’s not wrong.”
Skylar beamed. “Perfect. I’m always down for a good gab sesh myself. Plus, I have like, a million and one questions to ask her.” To my pops, he said, “I’m not sure if you know this, but like, I found out ghosts exist and magic is real like ten minutes ago.”
Pops nodded slowly. “That’s what Harry said, but my girl will get you up to speed before you know it. Especially with Elyse’s guidance.” He cocked his head. “Guess that means you haven’t met any cool supernaturals yet, then?”
Skylar’s eyes widened, his hand clenching my knee reflexively. Not gonna lie, but my own pulse sped up. “Cooler than spirits? Like what?”
“One thing at a time. You’ll find out soon enough.” Pops merely gave him a silly grin.
“Really?” Skylar spun to me. “Kingston Porter, you better tell me,” he screeched.
I shrugged. “I wish I knew. Hell, I’d never even heard of a Dreamwalker.”
Pop’s face went serious. “We should talk about that. It comes down through my bloodline, and it’s no small task.”
“Oh, good,” Gran said, strolling up the path arm-in-arm with Chance’s mom, Elyse. “We got here right in time for the good stuff.”
Elyse settled in on the other side of Skylar, and Gran snuggled into Pops’ side. I’d seen Harry and Buck get close and personal on several occasions, but I hadn’t realized that a spirit and a live person could…you know…snuggle like that.
Gran must’ve read my mind because she smirked. “We’re special. Our soul mate connection, plus all the times we linked to walk in the veil between wakefulness and death, has afforded us a little more.”
Skylar’s head turned toward Elyse, but I still heard him whisper harshly, “Soul mates?”
Elyse grinned at me over the top of his head while shushing him, and when I looked back to Gran, she had a cat—a black cat with streaks ofgold, of all things—curled in her lap. “Uh.”
She stroked her gnarled hand over its back, drawing a large rumbling purr. “Meet my sweet Duchess. Of course, she knows you well, honey. She’s very protective of you.”
The large cat turned her head toward me, opened one eye, and regarded me, well, regally, then closed it and put her nose in the air. Gran swatted her large rump lightly. “Duchess, be nice. You didn’t even greet Skylar or Elyse.”
“Hey there, sweet kitty,” Skylar said, getting down on one knee in the dirt and holding his fingers out their direction.
Duchess stood up, walked in a circle, and plopped back down with her back toward Skylar. Gran giggled. “Sorry, dear. She hates being mistaken for a cat.” She stroked her…animal again. “It’s okay, sweet girl.”
Skylar and I exchanged a confused glance as he sat back down between me and Elyse. It was then that I realized that Pops and Elyse were smirking like Gran had.
“What are we missing?” I asked.
Pops pointed at Duchess. “Not a cat.”
My gaze slid to Elyse, who shook her head.
“Then what is she?” Skylar asked, exasperated.
