Tasha’s expression morphs from playful to sad. I swallow,readying myself for whatever emotional goodbye is to come. I’ve turned into a giant sap these days.
She takes a deep breath and looks down at her feet. “Tell her she was the best sister and that I wish it had been me who got leukemia.”
Savanna’s head shakes back and forth, eyes wide in something resembling horror. “Not a chance. She needs to finish that song and head to Nashville. If she doesn’t, I’ll find a way back to earth to haunt her ass.”
This ghost isn’t too bad. If she wasn’t determined to head toward her next chapter, I wouldn’t mind her sticking around. I’d take her over Billy any day.
“Savanna says to finish the song and go to Nashville or else she’ll haunt you.”
Tasha’s entire face lights up and a smile I didn’t think she was capable of appears. “On it.”
The relief that washes over Savanna is tangible. The air feels lighter, and I’m able to breathe easier.
“Thank you,” Savanna says, offering me one last smile before she blips out of existence.
“She’s gone,” I tell Tasha, who continues to smile as if this brief interaction has changed her life.
It probably has. Goodbyes aren’t given to everyone.
We head back into the room and I take my seat next to Lanie, offering her a tight-lipped smile as I level Tasha with a look that threatens maiming if she speaks a word of what just happened, and she nods, signaling she got the hint.
She jumps back into her job, talking animatedly to the other pedicurist. The entire vibe of the room has shifted. Tasha’s demeanor is light and carefree, and the other woman appears taken aback by the change but rolls with it. I might’ve complained about having my day interrupted by Savanna, but in truth, it feels good to help.
I feel lighter too.
Speaking with ghosts no longer feels like a curse. Not after seeing what it can do for others.
I’ve been thinking that I need to get back out there and find something to fill my time. I can’t live off Garrett’s life insurance forever, and I wouldn’t want to. I need purpose in my life. That thing that lights me up inside.
Maybe I could find a way to use my gift of communicating with the dead?
That’s a contemplation for another day.
Eight of Cups... Reversed
“I GOTTA SAY,you don’t look horrible,” Billy muses. “You might actually be considered pretty now.”
“You’re still annoying,” I singsong, unwilling to allow Billy to get to me anymore.
I don’t care what his opinion of me is. I feel better than ever. Forty feels like a fresh start and I’m about to make this next decade the best one yet.
“Love that yellow sweater, and those jeans actually complement your figure. Who dressed you? Was it Lanie?” He continues to attempt to grate on my last nerve, pretending he cares about my outfit. It’s just another way for him to insult me, but it doesn’t work.
Not today, jackass.
“You’re all set to march next door and declare your love to Detective Dreamboat.”
He bats his lashes and puckers his lips, making kissing noises, which manages to flip my switch and pull the desired ire from me.
The glare I shoot in his direction has zero effect on the irksome ghost. If anything, my reaction to that comment has him beyond thrilled with himself.
“Why are you glaring into space?” Corinne asks as she types away on the computer.
She’s been browsing the website Crime Solvers, an amateur sleuth site where the participants solve crimes and present their cases to local authorities. Corinne thinks it could help us build a case to pitch to Nick.
I think she’s wasting her time.
These online sleuths fastidiously study recent crimes, uncovering things based on a plethora of evidence. Billy’s case has been closed for almost two years. We’ve got little to nothing.
