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And there were more than enough ghosts in his house as it was.
* * *
“I needto get some more work done.”
There was a stiffness to Dean’s voice as he rose to his feet that had the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Had she done something to upset him?
“Oh, um, okay. Thank you for playing with me.”
“Any time.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, not the way it usually did, which just served to convince her she must have donesomethingto piss him off.
Maybe it was the Daddy stuff. She shouldn’t have asked.
“Idiot,” she mumbled under her breath, making sure to wait until he’d disappeared from view. Even though he’d been very adamant that he wouldn’t spank her, she still didn’t like the way her tummy felt when he lectured her about the rules. If he would just get angry or yell or something, that she could handle. But she didn’t know what to do with that firm but quiet tone or the understanding in his eyes.
Deciding to give him some space, she returned to her pretty little room and curled up on the couch again. Disney called to her, but she forced herself to select a different channel. It was time for her to act like a grown up and stop making Dean’s life more difficult than necessary. Just because he was a Daddy didn’t mean he was interested in beingherDaddy, so she needed to stop pretending like that was even a remote possibility, even if it made her chest ache almost as much as it had when she’d learned who Nate really was.
There wasn’t really anything that caught her interest, however, until she stumbled across a series she remembered Patty going on about before MaryAnn had lost her job. It was about a bunch of people spending a whole month in different haunted houses. The way Patty talked about the show, it was the best thing since sliced bread.
It was worth a shot, right?
Less than ten minutes into the first episode, she was already regretting her decision. And yet, she couldn’t seem to force herself to quit watching. Morbid fascination kept her rooted to the spot, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrors on the screen.
Okay, sohorrorsmight have been a little melodramatic. But it was still creepy as hell, watching things move on their own, hearing those static-filled voices through the speakers.
How could anyone just sit there while an actual ghost talked to them or worse, threw things around? One of the ‘entities’ as they called them had thrown a whole chair down the stairs!
She would have been out of there before the sun set on the first day. But not these people. They were just sticking around, waiting to see how bad it got.
Something almost like jealousy filled her as she watched episode after episode. The people in the show were so brave. MaryAnn was scared of her own shadow half the time. What was it like to just live life so fearlessly?
Maybe it was silly to be jealous of people who, the logical part of her brain told her, were probably just acting anyway. But the more she watched, the more the feeling grew. Actors or not, they were doing somethinginterestingwith their lives, and didn’t that take just as much courage as facing down a ghost?
“What the hell are you watching?”
The sudden, sharp voice caught her so off guard she screamed. Heart hammering against her chest, she twisted around to glare up at the intruder. “What the hell, Dean? You scared the crap out of me!”
“I wouldn’t have scared you if you weren’t watching this garbage.” Scowling, Dean rounded the couch and picked up the remote to turn the TV off before turning back to her, his arms folded across his chest. “What happened to Disney?”
“I got bored.” Guilt twisted her tummy into knots even as the lie slipped easily from her lips. But she wasn’t about to tell him the real reason she’d stopped watching.
“Then you should have found something else. Shows like that aren’t appropriate for Little girls.”
Embarrassed heat flooded her cheeks and she mirrored his stance, crossing her arms and tilting her chin defiantly. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a child. I’m a grown ass woman, and if I want to watch spooky shows, then I will.”
As if she’d flipped a switch, his expression immediately softened. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That was—call it a reflex.”
A reflex? Did that mean he didn’t let his Little girl watch scary shows? How many rules did he have? How many Little girls had lived in this house with him?
“Apology accepted,” she said, pushing away the questions crowding her brain.
“I was actually coming up to tell you that dinner was ready.”
Already? How long had she been watching that show? “Oh. Um. Thanks.”
Suddenly looking as uncomfortable as she felt, Dean shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “Right. Well. It’s just chicken curry with some rice, so help yourself whenever you’re hungry. I didn’t make it super spicy, since I don’t know what you like, but I can doctor it up for you a bit if you want. And if you give me an idea of what you like to eat, I can have some groceries delivered to the house tomorrow.”
“Curry?” Perking up, she straightened in her seat. “I haven’t had a good curry inages.”
