EPILOGUE
The three boxes of cookies, brownies, and cupcakes teetered in Megan’s arms as she waited for Caleb to open the door. Recently renamed, Starfire Lake Books was hosting the first ever Halloween Books and Bash for local kids and teens. In fact, two parties in one day.
The first party was just before noon, for all the kids not yet in school. The second party would start at five and go until nine tonight. Caleb had spent months planning and preparing for both parties, doing his best to leave nobody out.
Megan had gotten up at an ungodly hour to make sure the cupcakes were decorated, and the brownies wrapped individually. The sun had only just come up a few minutes earlier, but the rain had started overnight and had turned into a deluge just as she’d finished loading the boxes into the back of her SUV.
Megan was grateful for the awning over the front of the store. Caleb appeared and opened the door. Megan slipped inside.
“Hey, Megs,” he gave her a quick kiss as he took the boxes from her. “Are there more in the car?”
“Yes, in the trunk. I’ll be right back,” she said.
“No, I’ll get them in a minute. Come in and dry off.”
The soft light shimmered on Megan’s engagement ring as she locked the door behind them.
Megan couldn’t stop her smile as she followed Caleb to the back storage room. The books were a familiar sight, but she took in the Halloween decorations. There were bats, ghosts, and even a couple of witches riding broomsticks strung up from the ceiling all throughout. A few plastic skeletons hid among the aisles of books in the teen and adult sections.
There were colorfully painted pumpkins in the kid’s area, with at least five plastic bins of tiny pumpkins stacked against the wall.
“What are the little pumpkins for?” she asked Caleb as they passed.
“Painting for the little kids. There’s a few boxes of paint in the back room.”
“Is that why Tony asked me about pumpkins last week when I dropped off their order at the farm?” Tony McCulloh and his wife Sarah had taken over his family’s farm, Willowwood Farms, over the summer. Megan opened the storeroom door and held it as Caleb eased his way through with the boxes.
“Yep. He called me after to confirm how many pumpkins I needed.”
“I told him you were the person to ask. Anyway, the decorations look great, Caleb. What time did you come home last night?” Megan had given up fighting her heavy eyes just after midnight.
“Around one. You were already asleep.”
Megan stuck her tongue out at him as she sorted the boxes and made sure the desserts were still intact. There were a few bumps on the roads to the store from their house. She still had trouble believing they lived together. “What time did you get up?”
“Five thirty. I still have a lot to do.”
Satisfied all the desserts were safe, Megan closed the boxes again and asked, “What can I do to help?”
“If you want to get the painting supplies out of the boxes in here, that would be great.” He pulled her in for a too-short kiss.
“No problem. Rose is going to meet me here before we meet Abbie for breakfast at the diner.” The Starfire Lake Diner had the best omelets in town. The three of them got together as often as possible, which hadn’t been much lately, so Megan was excited to catch up and chat with her best friend and her cousin. “I’ll bring something back for you.”
Caleb blew her a kiss before he went to get the rest of the desserts. There were more at the house. In fact, the kitchen and dining area had been taken over by cupcakes, brownies, and cookies shaped like the usual Halloween favorites: ghosts, pumpkins, and black cats. Megan would bring them later that afternoon before the second party.
Megan spent the next hour organizing the painting supplies while Caleb hung more decorations and made sure the store was ready to open.
In the last year, Caleb had transformed the store from struggling to thriving, and still found the energy to support her in her own endeavor to open a bakery.
The storefront she’d originally wanted had fallen through, but her realtor found one that was even closer to the bookstore and the heart of town. Renovations were underway, and she had plans to stop there after breakfast to talk to the contractor about the schedule.
A knock at the front door made her jump and drop the paint sets in her hands. Megan cursed but was glad the lids were so secure. She peeked over the shelves and saw Rose. Megan ignored the scattered plastic kits around her and went to let Rose inside.
“Hey!” Megan hugged her cousin and locked the door behind her.
“It’s insane out there. I haven’t seen so much rain in a while,” Rose said. Megan led the way back to the kid’s area and cleaned up the extra paint kits and set them aside. She had also set up a table with an orange tablecloth and set up the pumpkin-themed paper plates, cups, and napkins.
“I hope it stops before the party. Caleb worked so hard to set it up, I don’t want people to skip it because of the rain.” Megan glanced out the giant front windows. She watched as a car drove through a puddle and a wave of water splashed up.
