Chapter 9
NINE
The last Friday in October, just after Caitlin slid a tray of muffins from the oven, Shane knocked on the back door. Still wearing her oven mitt, she held the door open and gestured for him to come in.
“I’d better not. My boots are covered in sawdust.” He inhaled deeply. “I thought I smelled something tasty while I was working.”
“They’re pumpkin spice muffins. I don’t usually bake so often, but I’ve got extra time on my hands lately, so I’ve sort of turned my kitchen into a muffin factory.
You know how it is when you’re single—it’s impractical to make an entire pie or cake for yourself.
But muffins freeze well, so I can thaw a single serving whenever I want a yummy homemade treat,” she rambled before she realized that Shane probably wasn’t interested in her latest culinary practices.
“Anyway, they’re still too hot to eat right now but if you want, I can bring a couple to you with a cup of cocoa in a few minutes. ”
“Thanks, but I was coming to tell you I need to take off for the day.” He explained, “I wouldn’t usually interrupt one client’s scheduled project to go work on someone else’s, especially not at short notice.
But unfortunately, this client urgently needs his wheelchair ramp repaired, so I have to make an exception. ”
“Of course,” said Caitlin. “And if you need to work on the ramp next week, too, please feel free. The windmill can wait.”
“Nah, the ramp should only take a couple hours. I just need to finish it before his family brings him home from the hospital around six o’clock.”
As they were chatting, Marion and Pepper came up the walkway behind Shane. “Oh, good, you’re both here,” Marion said in a singsong voice.
They greeted her and Shane kissed the elderly woman’s cheek, which Caitlin thought was quite sweet of him.
“It’s good to see you. I take it you’re feeling better?” he asked Marion as Caitlin stepped outside and bent down to gently scratch Pepper behind his ears.
“I feel fantastic—and just in time. Tonight’s the Halloween costume party at the cranberry farm, and I’m hosting the refreshment table.
As I’ve mentioned to both of you, all the proceeds from the party benefit the community center,” she said in a rush.
“Even though I’m on the committee I’ve been a bit derelict in my fundraising duties.
So I thought I’d better pop over to remind both of you to show your support for a very good cause.
There’s a suggested donation of ten dollars to attend, and another five to go through the hay bale maze, which you won’t want to miss. ”
Caitlin stopped petting Pepper and straightened into a standing position. She was about to tell Marion that she’d be happy to make a donation to the community center, but she’d decided not to attend the party.
However, Marion didn’t give her a chance. “Shane, you’ll have to give Caitlin a ride since she doesn’t have a car and I have to be there early to set up,” she directed him, as if the matter of their attendance had already been decided.
Mortified by her neighbor’s obvious matchmaking attempt, and aware that Shane resented being set up by his cousin, Caitlin objected, “I can’t go. I don’t have a costume.”
“Neither do I,” said Shane. “Although I’m sure I could put something together after work. What time does the party start?”
“The festivities for children and their parents or caretakers run from six thirty to eight o’clock, but the adults-only party doesn’t start until eight thirty,” Marion countered.
“So, you two bright, creative individuals will have plenty of time to make costumes by then. Just wait till you see mine—it’s inspired by Pepper. ”
Hearing his name, the little dog barked and sprang to his feet. He gazed up at Marion as if to say, “it’s time to go now.” She bid them goodbye, waved her hand, and allowed Pepper to lead her toward the driveway.
Shane turned back to Caitlin. “What do you think? You want to go?”
“It sounds like a lot of fun and I’m tempted, but, you know, I…
” Caitlin let her sentence dangle. She didn’t know how to express her reservations about going to the party.
It wasn’t as if she could say she didn’t think it was a good idea to date someone who worked for her, since he hadn’t exactly asked her out—Marion had been the one to suggest it.
And of course, she couldn’t explain how mortifying it would be if someone recognized her or remembered her name and started talking about the accident, especially in front of him. So she offered a minor excuse, instead.
“I’m kind of keeping a low profile while I’m on the island, remember?
” Even as she said it, Caitlin felt ridiculous; it wasn’t as if she were a celebrity dodging paparazzi.
“I mean, I still don’t want people to find out that I’m here to remodel the cottage before I put it up for sale, but I also wouldn’t want to be rude if someone asked an innocent, friendly question about who I am or why I’m on the island or whatever. ”
Shane’s face fell. “Yeah, I can see your dilemma.” Suddenly his expression brightened again. “But with the right costume, you could go completely incognito!”
“You mean, like if I wore a bedsheet over my head and went as a ghost?” Caitlin laughed, amused at the idea of dressing up as a ghost so she wouldn’t be seen.
But Shane was being earnest. “Yeah, although you could do something a little more involved than that—like wrapping your head and body with strips of a cut-up sheet and going as a mummy,” he said enthusiastically.
“Or, you could be an old-time Wild West outlaw and wear a kerchief over your face. Or if you want to be more respectable, you could go as a surgeon and wear a mask.”
His suggestions were fun and doable, but Caitlin hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of going to the party.
On one hand, completely disguising herself to go to a party seemed to defeat the purpose of socializing.
On the other hand, it would allow her to get out of the cottage for the evening, and she’d get to spend time with Shane, who really seemed to want her to go.
But wasn’t that potentially a red flag, too?
He might only consider this a platonic night out together, but just in case he doesn’t, I don’t want to give him the wrong impression—I think I’d better just say no.
“Those are excellent costume ideas,” she began. “But?—”
He didn’t give her a chance to continue. “Before you say you still don’t want to go, can I just emphasize that the party’s for a very good cause? And I get the feeling Marion’s counting on us to be there?”
He’s really putting the squeeze on me , Caitlin realized, and his eagerness to take her to the party was so disarming that she decided to throw caution to the wind.
“You didn’t let me finish.” she replied. “I was going to say, those are excellent costume ideas, but I’ve got something else in mind, since I have everything I need for it already.”
Shane’s eyes widened. “So you’ll come with me?”
“Yes, thanks. Count me in.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up at eight fifteen. Not sure what I’ll be dressed as yet, so don’t be frightened when you see me.”
She laughed. “I’ll try not to scream.”
When Shane showed up at precisely 8:15, Caitlin was dressed from head to toe in black; black leggings, black turtleneck, and black socks and shoes. She used mascara to draw thin whiskers beneath her black-tipped nose, stretching toward her cheeks.
But as she opened the door and saw Shane, her heart sank: he was wearing overalls and work boots. He had a hammer hanging from one of the loops and the pockets on his bib were filled with an assortment of small tools, and he was nervously fiddling with a couple of long, black wires.
“Hi, Shane,” she said cheerfully, trying to contain her disappointment. Apparently, he still hadn’t finished repairing his client’s ramp. “Don’t tell me—you didn’t finish the job, so you can’t go to the party after all?”
“No, I finished a couple hours ago. But I was sort of hurting for ideas, so this is my costume.”
“You’re going to the party as a carpenter?”
“Not quite…” He affixed the pair of black wires atop his head, so they bent forward at an angle. “I’m going as a carpenter ant .”
Caitlin cracked up. “I see. And those must be your antennae, right?”
“You got it. Originally, I’d planned to wear sunglasses, too, for a more ant-like appearance, but since we’ll be outside in the dark, that idea didn’t pan out.” He cocked his head at her. “So you must be going as something feline… a panther?”
“Close.” She donned a black balaclava over her head and adjusted it over her face until only her eyes, nose and whiskers were showing. “I’m a cat burglar. Get it?”
It was Shane’s turn to laugh. “I hope they give out prizes for the cleverest couple, because you and I will win.” The tips of his ears turned pink as he said, “Not that I’m trying to imply we’re a couple…”
“You shouldn’t even imply we’re clever,” teased Caitlin, taking his slip-up in stride. “Although if they award prizes for the cringiest, punniest costumes, we’ll be shoo-ins.”
“Hey, now.” Shane feigned offense. “It took me upward of three whole minutes to make my antennae.”
Caitlin giggled. “That’s two minutes more than I spent on my costume.
Like I said, I’d brought this entire outfit with me, so it was easy and inexpensive.
” She pulled the door shut behind her, and started down the driveway with Shane, activating the outdoor light sensors along the way.
“Best of all, I’m completely unidentifiable.
I figure if I don’t talk, no one will even know if I’m a man or woman. ”
“Mm, I think they’ll know you’re a woman,” mumbled Shane, giving her a sidelong glance that made her face flush with warmth. “Speaking of being unrecognizable, how do you want me to introduce you when people ask who you are?”