Grave Misgivings (3 page)

“Why are you packing?”

Olivia Graves popped into view, her gaze immediately falling on the open suitcase on Maddie’s bed. Even though her mother died months before, Olivia’s soul remained behind, popping in from time to time to visit. Maddie was glad to have her any way she could get her, but she missed being able to hug her.

“I’m going out to Aaron Denton’s house for a reunion party this weekend,” Maddie said, smiling at her mother. “By the way … we need to work out a system for you to pop in once Nick and I move to your bedroom. Things might get … awkward … otherwise.”

Olivia smirked. “Don’t worry. I always listen before I leap. I won’t embarrass you. In fact, I think it might be wise to have a ‘no bedroom’ rule from here on out.”

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s necessary,” Maddie said.

“Well, how about we make a rule that I can’t pop in unless I’m sure you and Nick aren’t doing anything,” Olivia suggested.

Maddie’s cheeks flushed with color, and she averted her eyes from her mother’s ghostly orbs. “Mom.”

“You’re so cute sometimes, Sunshine.” Olivia’s ghostly hand brushed against Maddie’s cheek, and her daughter believed she could almost feel the touch. She definitely felt the love behind the gesture.

“Thanks, Mom,” Maddie said dryly.

“So … why are you going to Aaron Denton’s house?”

“He invited us, and Nick really wants to go,” Maddie said.

“Don’t you want to go?”

“Not really.”

“Maddie, you can’t go through life being scared of your own shadow,” Olivia said. “You’re not the same girl you were when you left after high school. You’ve grown as a person, and you’re a strong woman. This is going to be good for you.”

“Why does everyone keep telling me that?”

“Who is everyone?”

“Christy and Nick.”

“Maybe because those are the two people who know you best … other than your grandmother and me, that is. Speaking of, where is Mom?”

“I’ll get her,” Maddie said, sticking her head out the bedroom door. “Granny? Mom is here if you want me to share messages before I go to the bonfire tonight.”

“Oh, it’s the Fourth of July bonfire,” Olivia said. “I always loved a good bonfire.”

“I know,” Maddie said. “That was one of the town celebrations you refused to miss every year.”

“Is Nick picking you up?”

“Yeah. I decided to get a head start on the packing for tomorrow because I figured we would be out at the bonfire late tonight. The problem is, I have no idea what to pack for a weekend at someone’s fancy mansion.”

At that moment Maddie’s grandmother, Maude, shuffled into the room with a wide smile on her face. She must have heard the tail end of Maddie’s statement because she instantly started searching through Maddie’s dresser. “Tell your mother I said hi.”

“Granny, she can hear you,” Maddie said. “You can talk to her like you normally would and I’ll just repeat what she says back to you.”

“Don’t get fresh, missy,” Maude said. “I know how it works.”

The magical peculiarity that flowed through the Graves genes skipped Maude, and while the elderly woman had always been happy about that development, now that her lack of supernatural powers kept her from talking to her only daughter, she was mildly bitter. Maddie internally chastised herself for forgetting how desperately her grandmother wanted to hear Olivia’s voice. “I’m sorry, Granny.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like it when you call me that?”

“Just a few hundred more, Granny,” Maddie teased, smiling at her persnickety grandmother.

“How long are you going to be staying at Aaron Denton’s house?” Maude asked.

“A few nights … three, I think. Are you okay with that, or do you want me to stay home with you?”

Maude made a face. “Oh, please, you are not using me as an excuse not to go,” she said. “I’m perfectly happy to stay home alone. It will give me a chance to walk around the house naked.”

Now it was Maddie’s turn to make a face. “Excuse me?”

“I like to free my bits from time to time,” Maude said. “I’ll be able to do it as much as I want when my apartment is finished, but since you came home, I’ve had to be careful because you’re such a prude.”

“I am not a prude,” Maddie protested. She turned to her mother for support. “Tell her I’m not a prude.”

“Of course you’re not a prude,” Olivia said.

“She said … .”

“She coddles you,” Maude said. “That’s why she said it. You’re definitely a prude.”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Do you want to help me pack for the weekend, or are you going to … be you?”

“I’m going to help you pack,” Maude said, her eyes sparkling. “I think you’re going to need my help so you don’t pack a whole suitcase of Amish clothing.”

“I don’t have Amish clothing.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” Maude said, turning her attention to Maddie’s closet. “Do you know what you’re going to be doing while you’re out there? I hear they have a river that runs right up to the back deck, by the way. That sounds really cool.”

“It does,” Maddie agreed. “As for what we’re doing, though, I honestly don’t have a clue. I’m guessing I should take a mixture of stuff.”

“I’m betting there will be a few dinner parties,” Maude said, shifting toward the closet. “You have that nice black dress Christy loaned you, but I don’t think you own anything else that’s not Amish.”

Maddie growled, causing Olivia to giggle.

“I miss you, Mom,” Olivia whispered.

Maddie glanced at her, her expression sober.

“Don’t tell her I said that until you’re leaving,” Olivia said, never moving her eyes from Maude. “I want that to be the last thing she hears before I leave tonight.”

Maddie nodded silently. “Granny, what about that blue dress?”

Maude pulled the dress in question out of the closet and immediately started shaking her head. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh, good, I’m not too late,” Christy said, breezing into the room with a garment bag in her arms.

“Oh, it’s Christy,” Olivia said, her face brightening. “I love her hair. She always has such good energy. Did I tell you how happy I am that you two became friends?”

“I’m happy, too,” Maddie said.

“What are you happy about?” Christy asked.

“Oh,” Maddie said. “I was just … .” She broke off, unsure how to answer.

“Olivia is here,” Maude said, not missing a beat. “She was probably saying something to her. What’s in that bag?”

“Well, I got to thinking after Maddie left the salon today,” Christy said. “I knew she probably didn’t have many dresses to choose from that didn’t make her look like she should be churning butter on a farm with no electricity.”

“I told you that you looked Amish sometimes,” Maude said, lifting an eyebrow.

“Thank you both so much,” Maddie grumbled.

“I have some dresses for you,” Christy said. “Oh, and hello, Olivia. I really do miss you.”

“I can’t borrow more of your dresses,” Maddie protested.

“You’re not borrowing them,” Christy said. “I’m giving them to you.”

“What? No.”

“It’s fine,” Christy said. “I have a dress problem. For years, I kept buying these tiny little dresses that I knew I would never be thin enough to fit into – and yet I kept buying them. In the back of my mind, I think I honestly thought my boobs and butt would miraculously shrink.”

Christy unzipped the bag.

“Now, I’m a good four inches shorter than you, but I have three dresses here that I think are going to be long enough on you,” she said. She pulled the first out, a spaghetti strap floral dress that boasted simple lines and bohemian tassels along the skirt. She held it up against Maddie’s body and smiled. “Perfect.”

The dress fell to the middle of Maddie’s thigh, causing her immediately to start shaking her head. “It’s too short.”

“It’s a perfect length, dear,” Olivia said. “The tassels make the dress look longer than it is. The pinks, blues, and purples are going to make your eyes pop, too. It’s beautiful.”

“Mom, I can’t wear this dress,” Maddie said. “I’ll feel … naked. What would I even wear underneath it?”

“See, I knew that was going to be your first response,” Christy said, wagging her finger. She shuffled over to Maddie’s dresser and opened the third drawer, rummaging around until she returned with a glittery blue tank top. “You can wear this underneath it. The colors match perfectly, and it will allow you to keep your modesty intact.”

Once Christy paired the tank top with the dress, Maddie saw the ensemble’s potential. She wasn’t quite ready to give in, though. “I don’t know … I think that’s going to make me look slutty.”

“You have no idea what slutty really is,” Christy said. “This dress is actually quite modest. It’s simple enough that you’ll feel comfortable, and dressy enough for a dinner at the Denton house.”

“But … .”

“Nick wants to parade you around, Maddie,” Christy said, pulling out the big guns. “Don’t you want him to have something to be proud of?”

“Oh, that was well played,” Olivia said, silently applauding.

“Don’t encourage her,” Maddie grumbled.

“Your mother agrees with me, doesn’t she?” Christy asked.

“Of course she agrees,” Maude said. “I do, too. What other dresses are in there?”

Maddie only kept half an ear on the rest of the conversation. She was resigned to packing whatever else Christy had in the garment bag. She didn’t even put up a fight when Christy and Maude started picking lingerie out. By the time they were done, the entire suitcase was packed – including shoes.

“I think that’s everything,” Christy said, dusting her hands off. “You’re going to be the belle of the mansion.”

“You’re so funny,” Maddie deadpanned.

“I try.:

“What’s going on up here?” Nick asked, stepping into the room and glancing around. “Is this a … girl thing? Should I wait in the hallway?”

“We were helping her pack for the weekend,” Christy said. “I brought some dresses over that I think you’re going to love.”

Nick flashed Christy a grateful smile. “Thanks. I always like it when you pick out her clothes. You know how to show her assets off in the best possible way.”

“I am gifted,” Christy agreed.

“My mother is here,” Maddie hissed. “You can’t say stuff like that in front of her.”

“I take it back,” Olivia said. “You are a prude.”

“I’m not a prude.”

Nick smirked. “I happen to love my prude,” he said. “Did you make sure to pack regular clothes, too? I figured we would be spending half our day in the river.”

“I packed a bathing suit, shorts, and my J-41 recreation shoes,” Maddie said. “That should be good, right?”

“That’s should be fine,” Nick said. “The good thing is that we’re going to be close enough to home to pop over to get something if we need it.”

“Call before you pop,” Maude warned. “I have plans.”

Nick narrowed his eyes. “What plans? You’re not planning on doing something to Harriet, are you? If you get arrested, I’m leaving you in jail until the holiday weekend is over.”

“My love for you goes as fast as it comes,” Maude said.

Nick grinned. “Seriously, what are your plans?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Maude said. “I’m not doing anything scandalous.”

“You told me you were going to air your bits out and walk around the house naked the whole weekend,” Maddie said.

Nick’s face colored at the visual while Christy burst into hysterical gales of laughter.

“You have a really big mouth sometimes,” Maude chided, wagging her finger in Maddie’s face.

“I’m sorry, Granny,” Maddie said. “You did say that, though.”

Maude wrinkled her nose, and Maddie could practically see her mind working. She had a feeling Maude was thinking of something to say that would embarrass Maddie … and she was right.

“Don’t worry, Nick. I’m the one who picked Maddie’s lingerie for the weekend. Every time she puts it on, I want you to think of me picking it out for her.”

Nick swallowed hard. “I … .”

“Oh, that’s so cute,” Olivia cooed.

“I just want to bottle the look on Nick’s face and sell it,” Christy said. “It’s priceless. I’d be a rich woman if I could manage that.”

“Okay,” Nick said, clearing his throat. “On that note, I think we’re done here. Maddie, my love, are you ready for our first bonfire night as a couple?”

Maddie smiled. “I’m ready for everything we do as a couple.”

Nick’s face softened and he extended his hand. “Come on, then. I figured we could walk. Since I’m off duty, I thought a few drinks would benefit both of us. If you’re a very good girl, I might even dance with you.”

“We’re trying to make her less of a prude,” Maude said. “We don’t want her to be a good girl.”

“Okay, I think I’ve had just about enough of you for one night,” Nick said. “Behave yourself.”