"Let's heat some water in those big old copper kettles and fill that gorgeous old claw-foot tub."

"That'll take time, but"-Morgan raised a brow-"I brought a deck of cards. Care for a game of strip poker while we're waiting for-dare I say it-the pots to boil?"

"And you thought you were gonna play solitaire, in more ways than one."

He handled the stove's firebox while she filled a copper kettle at the big old copper sink. "Morgan, this boiler says it holds thirteen gallons. Is it too heavy for you to carry to the bathroom?"

He hefted a full boiler and approved its weight, so she filled them all. Three copper boilers nestled on the six-burner stove, while Morgan dealt the cards. "We'll have water before we get down to our underwear."

Destiny winked to raise his blood pressure. "If we're wearing any."

Fifteen minutes later she laid down her second winning hand, a full house.

"You're a cardsharp, Kismet." Morgan stood to take off his jeans.

"You could have taken off a sock. In a hurry, Boy Scout? You have great taste in boxers, by the way. Black. Yum. And so nicely filled at this moment."

"I came preboiled. If you don't know how to lose, just be a sport and take off that Any Witch Way T-shirt."

She pulled it off over her head, and he nearly swallowed his tongue.

"Don't tell me you didn't know I'd gone braless?"

"I was preoccupied."

"Sad man. You haven't felt up enough women. You need practice."

"Come, sit on my lap. I'll practice."

By the time the water boiled, they boiled, too.

Morgan started filling up the tub, and the doorbell rang.

"Slam it," he said, as he looked daggers at the door.

Disappointment filled Destiny. She looked down at the claw-foot tub promising an afternoon of hot sex.

"Let's pretend that nobody's home," Morgan suggested.

But Destiny suddenly remembered what day it was.

Morgan's day, and Meggie's, too.

Wonderful. She'd spelled Meggie away for a day and a night.

She began to chant, despite Morgan's frown: "White light, elliptical in flight,

Dissolve and free Meggie Bee.

Time limits counter clock, n'er to be

Bring Megs and company back, all three.

Back to where she'll be pleased to be."

"What are you doing?" Morgan snapped.

Destiny sighed. "Answering the door."

"Don't. No, wait," he said grabbing his pants. "Is Meggie back?"

"Don't you wish you knew the answer without having heard my spell?"

Chapter Thirty-eight.

"HAPPY Birthday, Morgan," Reggie and Jake shouted as Destiny opened the door and then stepped aside.

Reggie came in carrying a birthday cake that must have had all thirty-one candles on it. Jake followed but stopped short. "Who's this?"

He circled Meggie, or Meggie circled him, hard to tell which.

Destiny gave Morgan an I-told-you-so elbow. Further proof Meggie was here. "She's Morgan's sister, Jake. Her name is Meggie, but she's like the lady you saw in the elevator at the castle a few months ago. Remember? Meggie's a ghost."

"Cool. But I can tell that she's not a mad ghost like that lady." Jake shrugged at Meggie. "Hi, Meggie. Do you wanna play?"

Reggie squeaked, but Destiny quieted her with a head-shake.

"Yes, please," Meggie said, and both children smiled.

Destiny didn't want Reggie to stifle her son's openness to new experiences. Okay, so he didn't understand death as a loss, yet, but he accepted the spirit world, and for now that was enough.

"Meggie does want to play," Destiny said, letting Morgan and Reggie in on the decision. "But today is Meggie's birthday, too, Jake, because she's Morgan's twin, so let's light those candles, Reggie, and we'll sing 'Happy Birthday' to Meggie and Morgan."

Reggie lit the candles, while Morgan shut the bathroom door on a cooling tub of delayed satisfaction.

Meggie slipped a finger into the flame of a birthday candle.

"Don't!" Jake snapped. "You're gonna burn yourself."

"It's okay, Jake," Destiny explained. "Ghosts can't get hurt."

" 'Cause they're dead, you mean?"

So much for him not understanding.

"Did you cry, Uncle Morgan, when your little sister died?"

Morgan bent to Jake's level and squeezed one of Jake's shoulders. "I sure did, Jake. I miss my sister every day."

Jake stepped into Morgan's arms and got a crushing bear hug. "You can be sad, Uncle Morgan," Jake said patting his back. "It's okay to be sad when you miss someone."

Morgan swallowed hard as did Destiny and Reggie. Wow. They didn't call Jake Baby Einstein for nothing.

He started singing "Happy Birthday" first, not nearly as shaken as the adults. Horace joined in, while Buffy, the angel, watched. When they finished singing, Morgan and Meggie blew out the candles together, though Morgan didn't realize it.

Jake hopped up and down. "Boy, do we got a present for you, Uncle Morgan! Oh, but we don't have a present for Meggie."

"Playing with you can be Meggie's present, okay?" Morgan said. "She hasn't had a chance to play in a long time."

"Okay! Can I get 'em now, Mom? Can I?"

Reggie pulled up the five-year-old's droopy shorts. "Go ahead."

When Jake went out to the porch, the barking that erupted raised Morgan's head, and his suspicions, by the looks of him.

Jake came back with two pups on leashes. He released them, and they ran in circles around Meggie, Horace, and Buffy. Like Caramello, the pups saw the ghosts, too.

Morgan bent to catch the ecstatic silver schnoodle in his arms, like they'd been reunited or something, and Meggie got close, petting the pup somewhere over her back, and winning the pup's wild, tail-wagging enthusiasm.

"I know you can't tell, Morgan," Destiny said, petting the pup as well, "but you're sharing your birthday present with your sister."

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me," he said, his voice breaking. "She wanted a schnoodle more than anything. I was saving to buy her one for her thirteenth birthday, but the day never came."

"She thanks you, Morgan," Destiny said. "She's touched."

Meggie kissed her brother on the cheek, or as close as she could get, and Morgan touched the very spot a moment later, whipping his head her way.

Destiny nodded.

"Really?" he said. "I felt her touch?"

"You felt her kiss."

Morgan blew out his breath and swallowed. "Thank you, Jake, Reggie, from me and my sister."

"Oh, it's not from us," Reggie said. "Thank Destiny. It was her idea and her money. On the other hand, I have a bone to pick with her. When we went to get your little girl teddy bear pooch, Jake wanted Einstein, and I fell in love with him, too, so now Jake has an early birthday present."

"Einstein?" Destiny and Morgan asked.

Jake was holding Einstein so Meggie could pet him. "I wanted a real nickname, so I decided to call him Einstein, so nobody could call me that anymore."

"Nothing gets by my boy," Reggie said.

Morgan took Destiny's hand and brought it to schnoodle licking level. "Thank you for my birthday puppy. I was trying to wait until after I bought the lighthouse, but I don't think King will mind if I move here from my no-dogs Boston apartment before the paperwork is done."

"By the looks of the affection passing between you, I think she was meant to be yours. What are you going to call her?"

"I hadn't thought about it," Morgan said.

Destiny cupped the pup's sweet little face. "Meggie just suggested a name."

"This is the dog she always wanted, so what's her name, Meggie?"

Reggie leaned near Destiny, everyone on the floor with the pups. "Does he actually believe Meggie's here?"

"Sometimes," Destiny whispered.

"He seems less and less like the grouch I met at the castle."

Destiny chuckled. "Thank goodness."

"I can hear you," Morgan said.

"It's too bad you can't hear Meggie, because she suggested that we name the pup after her doll."

Morgan nodded. "Samantha, she is. Hear that, Samantha, girl? You're named after a doll, who was named after a sitcom character on Bewitched, of all programs." He looked at Destiny. "Don't tell me that Meggie believes in witches."

"Okay I won't, but cheer up," she said, winking at Meggie. "It's not a conspiracy."

"You're sure about that?" Morgan asked, but he didn't seem to expect an answer. "Nevertheless, Reggie, we need to hitch a ride to town in your boat to pick up some dog food and supplies."

"Nah," Jake said. "We got all that stuff in the boat already. Destiny thought of everything."