It’s A Plunderful Life Read online

  He reached out with one hand and brushed a clump of soap bubbles off my arm.

  Sigh.

  “It would really help me out,” he said.

  Turning the faucet off, I grabbed a dishtowel and dried my hands. “Wilder, why in the world would you think I could help you with plumbing stuff?”

  He cocked his head to one side, looking for all the world like a very adorable, very confused Labrador retriever. “Because you fixed the pump station in, like, twenty minutes.”

  Oh.

  Oh, right.

  “You know, I, uh—”

  A knock at the door interrupted me.

  Whew. Saved by the bell.

  “I should get that,” I said, setting the towel on the counter and hurrying for the door.

  Please don’t be whoever brought that board, please don’t be whoever brought that board, please don’t be—

  I opened the door to find my daughter standing there, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her eyes darting all over the place, her hands shoved into her pockets.

  “Margot! What are you doing here?” But I was already pulling her in for a hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  She let me hug her for a minute, then stiffened. I stepped back.

  “Sorry to just drop in on you, Mom, but I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “Oh, it’s the best surprise. Come on in. How long did it take for you to get here? Are you tired? Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Water would be amazing, thank you.” She followed me down the hallway to the kitchen. “So this is Grandma’s house? It’s adorable.”

  I’d almost forgotten she’d never been there. “I can’t believe you drove all the way down here,” I said.

  Wilder was standing right where I’d left him, but he pushed away from the counter when we walked in. “I guess now isn’t a good time?”

  For me to do some plumbing? No, it definitely wasn’t a good time. “Wilder, this is my daughter, Margot. Margot, this is Wilder O’Shea. He’s the head of the park’s maintenance department.”

  “Your mother and I go way back,” he added, totally unnecessarily. But a little warm spark ignited inside me. “Anyway, I’ll let you two catch up. Cass, I’ll see you around.”

  Yes, you will, Wilder, I thought.

  I mean, obviously. Because he worked at the park. But also maybe because he wanted to see me?

  Margot caught my eye. “Wow,” she mouthed.

  I shook my head a little, which was meant to convey that I hadn’t noticed anything special about Wilder O’Shea because I was still in the process of a divorce from her father and wasn’t emotionally available for anyone but her, and I would always put her first. But I don’t think that’s the kind of message a head shake can convey.

  We both watched Wilder walk away because it was impossible not to appreciate that view. Then she turned to me. “There’s something I wanted to tell you, and I felt like it was best done in person.”

  That couldn’t be good. I gave her a careful smile. “Everything okay?”

  “Oh, yes. It’s—well, I think it’s good news.”

  But her tone was unsure, and I definitely did not feel reassured.

  She looked at me, her brown eyes direct. “Mom, I’m gay.”

  Oh. “Is that all?” I blurted out, wincing even as the words came out of my mouth. “Sorry—that’s not how I meant it. It’s just you sounded like it was something bad or some huge thing and…” I took a breath. “I’m glad you told me. I love you, and I’ll be happy as long as you’re happy.”

  She looked relieved. “Oh, good.”

  I was just about to suggest we go into town for some candy—regular, non-pot candy, thank you very much—when she started talking again. “There’s more.”

  “Okay.” Why did she look even more nervous? What could be harder than coming out to your mother?

  “I got married.”

  “You what?” The world practically spun around me, and my knees almost buckled.

  “I eloped.”

  My baby girl had gotten married…without me. Without even telling me.

  Without even telling me she was seeing someone, for Pete’s sake.

  Get this right, I told myself. Because whatever had happened was done, and if I was going to be a part of my married daughter’s life, I couldn’t start out by driving her away.

  “Oh, well. That’s…” Say the right thing, say the right thing, say the right thing. “How exciting,” I finished weakly.

  She looked wary. “You’re not mad?”

  Mad? No, of course I wasn’t mad. I’d only imagined my daughter’s wedding day since she was a little girl. When she went through a princess phase, I thought she’d wear a big poufy dress and arrive at the church in a horse-drawn carriage. When she was really into horses, I looked at country weddings in barns, with mason jar centerpieces and groomsmen in cowboy hats. And when she dabbled in marine biology in college, I pictured her getting married at the aquarium, a penguin serving as the ring bearer. (Okay, that last part might have been a little bit of a stretch.)

  But in all of these wedding visions, the one constant was that I was there.

  So, no, I wouldn’t say I was mad. Devastated, maybe. But mad?

  Nope?

  But I pasted on a smile. “Are you happy?”

  “Very.”

  “Then I can’t wait to meet her.” There. I’d done it. I’d been the bigger person, handled the whole thing just like some advice columnist would tell me I should.

  Whew.

  But Margot’s eyes slid away from my face. “Oh, um…”

  “Margot?” I said.

  And then, through the screen door out front, I heard a jingling sound.

  Oh, no.

  “Margot,” I whispered. She was still studiously avoiding all eye contact.

  Oh, please, no.

  The front door opened, and there were footsteps in the foyer. Moving of their own accord, my legs carried me to the front hall. And there stood one of the last people I wanted to see. Just grinning at me.

  “Hi, there,” Georgie said. And then she added, “Mom.”

  Thank You!

  Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed It’s a Plunderful Life and want to leave a review on Amazon—well, you’ve probably read enough of these requests to know how helpful reviews can be to an author.

  I’d love to keep in touch with you! You can find me on Facebook or visit my website to sign up for my newsletter.

  Looking for more? Cass’s adventures in Gallows Bay continue in Book Two, Girls Just Wand to Have Fun, available September 7.

  Finders keepers, losers weepers…

  Since moving back to my family’s theme park in Gallows Bay, my life has been a teensy bit weird. But that’s okay because I’m finally settling in.

  I’ve reconnected with my family.

  Impressed my childhood crush with what he thinks are mad plumbing skills.

  And even gone on something kinda like a date. Sure, it was with a ghost.

  I’m still calling it a date.

  But then my daughter shows up unexpectedly. Am I happy that she’s married? Yes! Would it have been nice if she’d invited me to the wedding? Also yes!

  The problem is, she’s married to the absolute worst person for her, and now she’s on the verge of ruining her life.

  That’s when the fairies show up.

  Now I’ve got to help my mother keep the fairy mischief to a minimum. Oh, and it would be great if we could avoid any bloodshed once a rival group of fairies crashes the party.

  But I’ve got to be careful. Because if I’m not, I may end up losing what I love the most—in more ways than one.

  Girls Just Wand to Have Fun is the second book in the Gallows Bay Series, for people who believe in new beginnings, the power of female friendships, and the wisdom that comes with growing older.

  Dedication

  For my younger and yet obnoxiously wiser sister, who never tires of offerin
g good advice even if I don’t always take it.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Copyright © 2021 by Ginger Kidd

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  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

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