Chapter 19
NINETEEN
GABE
There is nothing Kip Island loves more than Halloween. The township holds a house-decorating contest, and most residents observe it like they would any other important holiday. The island as a whole tends to go all out, and as a result, so does the fire station.
We’ve spent the past week decorating. Now that the big day is finally here, Connor and some of the other guys are going to hang out and hand out candy.
Despite how surly he can be at times, I have to hand it to my brother, he’s good at community-building.
Besides the obvious aspect of putting out fires, the fire department has many responsibilities, including public safety education.
Luke’s good at finding opportunities to make that happen without it feeling like school.
I may get annoyed by his role at times, but I respect the hell out of him as my boss.
Poking my head into Luke’s office, I say, “Hey, Connor’s going to take my shift on the second. I’m going with Hallie to her half sister’s wedding.”
While my family doesn’t know that Hallie and I have been pretending to be engaged, they’re all aware of Kevin’s recent presence in her life.
And like me, they’re a little wary. Whether she knows it or not, they’ve fully embraced Hallie as one of us, and that means their protectiveness extends to her, too.
“How’s Hallie doing with all this?” my brother asks. Worry lines his brows. Though the expression isn’t uncommon for him, it’s nice to know that there are other people looking out for her, too.
I sigh. “It’s a lot, but you know her. She’s trying to focus on the good.” Even if she has to set aside Dana’s disdain to do it.
“And you’re going to the wedding as her what? Date?” This time, there’s a hint of a smile on Luke’s lips.
“Her platonic plus-one,” I say. “And what about it?”
He shrugs, returning his attention to his computer. “Nothing, just curious.”
I shake my head. “You’re a shit liar. If you’re trying to get information so you can report back to Mom or Clara, you can fuck off.”
Luke only chuckles, and I leave him to his paperwork. Outside the front of the station, I find Connor digging into a box of chocolates.
As I walk by, I pluck the mini Coffee Crisp out of his hand. “Save some for the kids, asshole.”
He snatches the chocolate back and quickly unwraps it, stuffing it in his mouth. “Kids don’t even like coffee,” he says with his mouth full. “Ergo, they’re free game. I’ve had, like, ten already.”
“Don’t come crying to me when you get a tummy ache, Lee,” Jodi Booth, our deputy chief, calls.
Connor pats his stomach. “I’ve got intestines of steel, don’t you worry.”
She sends me a flat look. “I wasn’t.”
I grin as I help Connor finish setting out the candy. Luke certainly didn’t skimp on the sweets this year. Knowing him, it’s probably because Delilah and her sister will be swinging by.
“Daddy!”
Abbie comes running toward me, already dressed in her costume. I pick her up and spin her around before setting her on my hip.
“Where’s Aunt Clara?” I ask. “You didn’t leave her at home, did you?”
Abbie giggles. “No, silly. She’s over there.”
She points down the sidewalk. Clara, like Abbie, is dressed in some elaborate costume, complete with shiny wings.
But I’m more drawn to the woman walking beside her.
When my eyes settle on Hallie, my mouth runs dry.
I’m not sure what she’s supposed to be dressed up as, but whatever it is, I am a fan.
Her dark purple dress is long, the hem hitting her ankles, and the sleeves flare out at her wrists. The bust is fitted, and it’s cut low enough at the front to give a hint of cleavage.
Fuck, she’s pretty .
When Clara and Hallie reach us, Clara sets a crown made of flowers on Abbie’s head. “There, now you’re complete.”
“Guess my costume, Daddy!” Abbie demands. She and my sister have been scheming for months now, and they both refused to tell me what they picked. Even Larissa doesn’t know.
I make a show of inspecting her pink dress and multicoloured wings that resemble stained glass. Clara must have spent hours making them. “Hm. A butterfly?”
She giggles again. “No! Me and Sophia are fairies ! We’ve got matching dresses. And Clary is the fairy grandmother.”
“ God mother,” my sister corrects. She taps Abbie’s nose with the tip of her flower wand. “And Abbs and Soph are my protégés.”
Behind me, Luke comes out of the station.
He waves to Clara and Hallie before crossing the parking lot to greet Delilah and Sophia, who have just pulled up in Delilah’s car.
Sophia is wearing a dress identical to my daughter’s, and Delilah appears to be dressed as Wednesday Addams, the total opposite of Clara’s sunshiny persona.
“And what are you tonight?” I ask Hallie.
She sets a black, pointed hat atop her head. “A witch.”
Abbie gasps. “But witches are bad, and you’re so nice.”
“I don’t know, I think witches can be good,” Hallie replies. “Just like regular people, they’re not all the same. Even if they look the part.”
My daughter thinks for a moment. “I think you should be a good witch,” she declares.
Hallie nods. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”
When Abbie spots her mom, she wiggles to get out of my hold. She hugs Larissa’s waist and slaps a high-five to Chris’s palm, then drags them both over to us by the hand.
“Happy Halloween,” Larissa says. “Hallie, I love your costume. You look hot .”
I’ve never agreed with Larissa on anything more.
Hallie smiles, her cheeks pink from the compliment. “Thank you. I love yours!”
Upon closer inspection, I realize Larissa and Chris have come dressed as Daphne and Fred from Scooby-Doo . They’re definitely the type of people to go for a couple’s costume.
Connor ambles over and throws an arm around Clara. “Lookin’ good, girl of my dreams.”
I slap the back of his head. “Don’t hit on my sister.”
Clara pats his chest. “Sorry, Con. You know you couldn’t handle me.”
“But you could handle me,” he says with a wink.
Thankfully, Abbie has migrated over to Sophia, where she stands with Luke, Delilah and Jodi, so she isn’t present for this overly suggestive conversation. I’m not sure how I’d explain if she had questions.
“Where’s your costume, Gabe?” Larissa asks.
I gesture to my work clothes. “Right here.”
Normally, I make an effort to wear some sort of costume, because it makes Abbie smile. But with everything that’s been going on lately, the end of October crept up on me, and now it’s too late to find something.
“I’ve got a cowboy hat in my truck,” Connor offers, because of course he does. “Then we could slap a sign on your chest that says, free rides . Problem solved.”
Chris snorts, and Larissa lets out a laugh. Clara rolls her eyes as she disentangles herself from him. Hallie stifles her giggle with a hand over her mouth.
I cross my arms as my lips flatten into an unamused line. “I’m not going trick or treating with my daughter wearing a sign offering free rides.”
He shrugs. “I thought it was a good idea. What about you, Hallie? Don’t you think our boy Gabe would make a good cowboy?”
I expect Hallie to be embarrassed, being put on the spot like that, but a streak of mischief shines in her eyes instead. She makes a show of dragging her eyes up my body, from my feet to my head. I don’t move a muscle, letting her drink her fill. I like her eyes on me.
Finally, her gaze meets mine. “I imagine you’d have a pretty long waitlist for those free rides.”
Connor whistles, grabbing me by the shoulders and giving me a shake. “ Oh , boy! Giddy up!”
I shove him away from me as he dissolves into laughter.
As the group gets ready to head out for trick or treating, my eyes can’t help but trail after Hallie.
It’s not even the way she looks—though that is undoubtedly part of it—but the way she interacts with my family.
Like we’ve been working on a puzzle for years, and now that she’s home, we finally have that piece we’ve been missing.
Connor slaps me on the back. “You are down so bad , dude. It’s not even funny,” he says.
I glower. “And here I thought you’d be helpful.”
He throws his hands up, though his lips twitch with a grin. “Hey, I can do both. But someone has to give you shit.”
“I don’t need shit. I need…”
What do I need? Her . Always her.
One of the houses on Hawberry Lane, just down the street from where Delilah and her siblings live, sets up a haunted house in their garage every year.
Like the rest of the town, they spare no expense, building an addition to their garage in their driveway to make the haunted house as big as possible.
The family that lives there has been putting this together since I was a kid, but they change it up slightly so you don’t know what exactly to expect. It isn’t overly scary, but it can make you jump.
“We’ll sit this one out,” Delilah says, taking hold of Sophia’s hand at the entrance to the haunted house. While Abbie has loved this since she was a toddler, Sophia is visibly apprehensive. “Have fun, guys!”
Luke stays back with them, but the rest of us keep going. I’m a little surprised Hallie didn’t choose to opt out. When we used to go out on Halloween, she would stay outside, holding our bags of candy for us.
As Abbie charges forward, holding Larissa’s hand, I hang back with Hallie. Bumping her shoulder, I say, “First rollercoasters, now a haunted house. Maybe you really are turning into an adrenaline junkie.”
She shrugs. “I figure it can’t be that bad now. I mean, we were, like, twelve the last time we came here.”
We round a corner, and Hallie immediately runs face-first into a giant fake spider hanging from the ceiling. She lets out a shriek, jumping back. Then she trips over her boots and slams into me, and I grab her waist to steady her.
“Careful,” I murmur in her ear.
I swear I feel her shiver.
“Thanks,” she says, looking up at me sheepishly. “I guess I was a little overconfident, huh? Maybe I should turn back.”
“Or you could hold my hand,” I offer without thinking. I don’t take it back, though. “Would that help?”
There’s hardly any light in here, but a purplish bulb casts a glow over half of her face and neck. I watch as she swallows, considering.
“Okay.” She clears her throat, projecting her voice a little louder. “Yeah. That would help.”
I hold out my palm. Slowly, she slides her hand into place, and I link our fingers.
Her skin is soft, a sharp contrast to the roughness of mine.
I’ve held her hand before, but something about this time feels different.
Maybe it’s the way Hallie instinctively leans toward me when we turn the next corner, bracing for another jump scare.
Or maybe it’s simply the fact that I don’t want to ever let go.
Is it possible to fall in love with the same person more than once? Because every day, I feel like I’m falling for Hallie all over again.
I know I have to push these feelings away, though. The last time I voiced them, I lost her. And I don’t think I can go another ten years without her in my life.