by Elle Rush
“Grab a bowl of candy and join me,” Lucy said in greeting. “We have tons, so give it out by the handful.”
Brooke checked out the offered pail of goodies. Inside was a hodgepodge of gums, jelly candies, and mini-candy bars. “What? No toothbrushes? No sugar-free snacks?”
“You don’t have to help with that attitude.”
“I’m kidding. It’s practically perfect.”
“Practically?” Lucy asked.
“No licorice.”
“That’s it. Back to your apartment, young lady, until you can behave yourself.”
“The chocolate will do.”
Lucy tossed her a mini-bar, and they settled in for the next wave.
The trick or treaters travelled in packs, descending on houses with the porch lights on like ravenous candy-beasts. Princesses and superheroes were by far the costumes of choice, but Brooke’s favorite of the elementary school crowd was a short-haired kid in an oversized yellow sweater with a black zigzag stripe on it, and his sister in a blue dress and black wig, carrying a football. Snoopy was a toddler who was passed out in a stroller on the sidewalk, his blackened nose tilted up and the floppy ears on his hat askew. She had no problem putting a handful of candy into his little basket, even though he wasn’t awake to say thank you.
“Look! Isn’t Owen’s son darling?” Lucy whispered, as a familiar masked criminal held hands with a little Spidey who was racing up the sidewalk.
“Trick or candy!” the tiny superhero shouted.
Owen Daye slapped his hand over his face. “Richie, we discussed this.”
“Close enough,” Brooke announced as she gave the boy a handful of chocolate bars. “Be sure to share some with your daddy, okay?”
“Okay!”
A police cruiser pulled to the curb. “Hey, look, Spidey. Here’s the police. Do you want Sheriff Gillespie to take this robber off your hands?”
“No, he’s my dad. It’s just pretend.”
Brooke couldn’t help herself. She elbowed Lucy in the ribs. “Yeah, it’s just pretend.”
“I forgot. Have a happy Halloween, Spidey.”
“Do you happen to know if By the Cup is open tonight? I promised Pops I’d bring him home something warm since he got stuck with candy duty on the front porch,” Owen said, scratching at his blond hair beneath his mask.
“I think Rachel’s staying open till nine o’clock tonight. I assume your webslinger will be in bed long before then if you can make a caffeine run later.”
“My dad can watch him,” Owen said. “Do you know if Miss Best herself will be working tonight? She doesn’t seem to like me much.”
“I thought that Rachel liked everybody,” Brooke said in surprise.
“I must be the exception to that rule. We keep running into each other at antique shows in the area, but all I get is the cold shoulder,” Owen said. “I’ll brave the chill, though. Pops said she has the best coffee north of Minneapolis.”
“Tell her that,” Lucy suggested. “Maybe she’ll warm up to you.”
“I can hope,” Owen said.
“Dad, we have to go get more candy. Bye!” Richie yelled.
Owen waved as his son dragged him away, saluting the sheriff as they passed on the sidewalk. “Sorry about the shouting. He only has one volume.”
Brooke laughed. “I remember those days. Have fun tonight, Owen.”
It was Lucy’s turn to elbow her. “Take Aaron for a walk around the block. I’ve got the door.”
Brooke met Aaron on the sidewalk. He took her hand and quickly pulled her around the corner of the building, where he gave her a toe-tingling kiss. “Happy Halloween to you, too,” she said.
“That was a thank you for the treats you’ve left for me around town.”
“How did you figure it out it was me?” she asked.
“I am a trained investigator.”
She knew Aaron was going to have a busy night, with calls for everything from accidents to hauntings, so she’d decided to make it worth his while. With a little help from Poppy Zimmer, she already knew some of his predetermined stops. Brooke guessed at a couple of others. Then she spent an hour after work running around, dropping off care packages for run-off-their-feet sheriffs. They weren’t much: usually a baggie with two or three gummy candy packages or mini-chocolate bars tied with a ribbon and a little “Happy Halloween” card from a variety of female detectives, from Miss Marple to Veronica Mars to Olivia Benson. “Are they helping?”
“They’re keeping my sugar levels up tonight, which is all I can ask for. I’m going to crash hard in the morning.” He looked tired, but it wasn’t the bone-tired exhaustion he’d worn a few days ago. Brooke had called him every evening and checked to see if he was on call and if he was going to bed at a reasonable hour. The difference even in two days was noticeable.
“Want to have a late lunch tomorrow?” she asked. “I can swing by when I get off work.”
“That sounds like a great way to kick off my vacation.”
“Do you know what we could do later?”
“I’m intrigued and terrified at what you might suggest.”
“Glenna Jackson is mowing down the corn maze. Do you want to go watch with me?”
Aaron laughed long and loud before he kissed her. “Sure. That sounds like a good way to say goodbye to a month filled with terrified and terrifying screaming goats, a band of roving, destructive partiers, an abandoned ramshackle shack that went up in a blaze of glory, and a confession-extracting scarecrow, although Detective Hayseed will definitely be back next year, because that guy is good.”
“On the other hand, it was also a month of successfully raising funds for our children’s graduation, acing some tests and assignments, remembering how to relax, helping a young man get on track, and starting a pretty decent romance,” Brooke countered, kissing him again.
“Pretty decent? I’d say one that deserves celebrating all year round, but I’ll settle for saying it was the best Halloween ever.”
* * *
Are you ready for Holiday Beach’s next romance? Antique dealer Owen Daye is about to find out why barista Rachel Best has been giving him the cold shoulder this winter. Will working with her at the town’s Christmas fundraiser thaw her heart?
Find out in TINSEL AND TEACUPS, a Holiday Beach Christmas novella that’s part of A KEEPSAKE CHRISTMAS. It is one of eight all-new sweet holiday romances in this anthology that’s only available for the Christmas 2021 season.
About the Author
Elle Rush is a contemporary romance author from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. When she’s not travelling, she’s hard at work writing books which are set all over the world. From Hollywood to the house next door, her heroes will make you sigh and her heroines will make you laugh out loud.
Elle has a degree in Spanish and French, barely passed German, and has flunked poetry in every language she ever studied, including English. She also has mild addictions to tea, her garden, bad sci-fi movies, and HGTV.
Keep up with her new releases by subscribing to her newsletter or following her on Twitter or Facebook.
Also by Elle Rush
SWEET CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
North Pole Unlimited
Decker and Joy
Hollis and Ivy
Nick and Eve
Rudy and Kris
Ben and Jilly
Frank and Ginger
North Pole Unlimited Collections
(also available in paperback)
* * *
Collection 1 - Decker & Joy, Hollis & Ivy
Collection 2 - Nick & Eve, Rudy & Kris
Collection 3 - Ben & Jilly, Frank & Ginger
Holiday Beach
(also available in paperback)
Shamrocks and Surprises
Pumpkins and Promises
Tinsel and Teacups (part of A Keepsake Christmas Anthology, available only for a limited time)
Hopewell Millionaires
Doctor Millionaire
Fall a
Million Times
A Million Love Notes (coming Spring 2022)
Resort Romances
Cuban Moon
Mexican Sunsets
Dominican Stars
Mayan Midnights
Complete series 4-book box set
COOKBOOKS
* * *
Heartmade Collection
Brunch
Mains and Sides
Holiday Table
