Page 74 of Wood You Knot

Daphne, Bella, and Brielle all groaned with disappointment. Auntie Em put her arms around their shoulders. “Cheer up girls, we’ll have our own ball!”

I’d been on the fence about going to the Witches’ Ball, but Auntie Em and Uncle Ed had successfully talked me into it, mostly by inviting Daphne, Brielle, and Bella over for a sleepover. Laurel and Keith had offered to take Bryson for the night so Parker and Tabitha could join us.

Nellie was ecstatic to attend. “Oh, we are so doing that! I’ve never been to a town ball before,” she’d said when I broached the idea to her. I’d never been either, and I was more than a little curious. As the leaves had started to change colour, the Witches’ Ball was the talk of the town.

Apparently, it was a long-standing tradition in Hartwood Creek. Babysitters were booked months in advance for the occasion. They started selling tickets for the Witches’ Ball at the Fall Fair in September, and by the end of the month…tickets were sold out. You couldn’t just randomly show up.

The town allotted a small chunk of tickets for out-of-towners, but the majority of attendees were residents of Hartwood Creek, and the out-of-towner tickets sold fast. I’d managed to score one for Nellie from Tabitha, who ensured Annalise set one aside for her when she realized one of the reasons I was hesitating was my friend would be in town.

“See you girls soon,” Auntie Em said, pressing a kiss to Daphne’s forehead before she pulled me in for a hug. We had to get the girls something to eat beforehand, and we had to stop off at the apartment to pick up Daphne’s overnight bag.

“Yes! Get the popcorn ready!” Daphne instructed with a toothy grin.

“Of course!” Uncle Ed winked, and the two of them headed out.

Tabitha handed a squirming Bryson over to Laurel while Keith took the diaper bag from Parker, shouldering it and tickling under Bryson’s chin to make him giggle. “Thanks again for taking him overnight. I didn’t want to overwhelm the Alcotts too much. They’ll have their hands full with the girls,” Tabitha remarked.

“It’s our pleasure,” Laurel said while Bryson snuggled into her and blinked sleepily. She practically melted, pressing a kiss on his forehead. “Oh, how I miss this age. Don’t you, Keith?”

“Sometimes,” Keith admitted, sending a warm smile to his grandson. “But having grandkids is pretty neat. We can send them back when we get tired.”

Parker followed Laurel and Keith out to transfer Bryson’s car seat while the rest of us debated on where to grab dinner.

“We could pick up a pizza on our way back to the apartment,” Nix suggested. He’d pulled up his fish mask so he could breathe.

“Catch you guys later at the ball!” Paxton said, waving his gloved hand at us as he dragged Preston out. Once Parker returned, we made our way back to my apartment, stopping briefly at Pizza Picasso to pick up dinner.

After everyone ate, Parker drove the girls over to Auntie Em and Uncle Ed’s before returning to grab the rest of us.

Finding parking at the inn was almost impossible, but Parker and Tabitha lived a few blocks away, so we parked at their house and walked over.

The Hartwood Creek Inn looked spooky with all the elaborate Halloween decorations. The inn was covered in fake-but-realistic looking spiderwebs with massive creepy spiders. Hundreds, if not thousands, of pumpkins in varying sizes lined the walkway leading to the front door. Gravestones were scattered throughout the front yard to make an old-timey looking cemetery, with skeletons bursting out of graves. Ghosts and ghouls hung from the tree branches, and the upper windows facing the street had a projection display of zombies trying to break out.

The eerie green and purple light show happening from within made everything creepier. Music was pumping, and people dressed up in costumes were coming from every which way, walking up the sidewalks toward the inn.

“You guys are going to love this!” Tabitha squealed with excitement, practically skipping ahead of us and dragging Parker behind her. “If you think the town went all out for the Halloween Spook, just you wait!”

Nix took my hand, sending me a wink before he pulled his Gillman mask down over his face.

We followed the trail of people inside, stopping long enough to give our tickets to the tall burly man dressed as Lurch. He stamped our hands with an exaggerated moan, and we continued inside.

Each room had a spooky theme. Tabitha led the way to the bar. The extensive drink menu boosted Halloween Sangria, Bloody Mary Syringes, Black Magic Margaritas, Frankenpunch, Jekyll & Gin, Witches’ Brew Lemonade, Sweet Poison Cocktails, Black Magic Jell-O Shots, the Zombie Cocktail, Pumpkin Spice White Russians, Salted Caramel-Apple Cider, and Fireball Sangria to name a few.

Overwhelmed, I let Tabitha order. She insisted we try the Halloween Sangria first. “Although, the night is young and you have to sample like, all of them,” she insisted, passing it to me. Nix and Parker ordered Fireball Sangrias, then the five of us made our way to the dance floor.

Annalise had told me they’d cleared out a lot of furniture to create a makeshift dance floor in the front room, living room, and dining room. There was a live DJ set up, with speakers throughout the main floor. A long table was pushed against the far wall in the dining room full of hor d’oeuvres and other Halloween themed finger foods.

I sipped at my drink, taking in the sights with wide eyes. It was impressive and intimidating all at once. Nix wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping close to me as if he sensed it was overwhelming for me.

Preston and Paxton found us a few drinks later, when I’d relaxed enough to allow the others to drag me off to the dance floor. Lilah, Annalise, Ophelia, Isla and her husband appeared. Lilah came as Medusa, Annalise was dressed as Cleopatra, Ophelia as a Shield Maiden, and Isla and her husband were dressed as Ariel and Prince Eric.

I complimented Annalise on the amazing setup, and she grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. It’s a lot to pull off every year, but it’s worth it!” she yelled into my ear over the music.

Soon, Igor and the Mad Scientist were joining our dance circle and pulling some elaborate dance moves that made us all burst into laughter.

I was a little shocked Nix seemed to love dancing with me, but the Hutchinson brothers didn’t seem to shy away from the dance floor. Even Parker embraced it as he danced with Tabitha. Parker and Nix’s moves weren’t as ridiculous as Preston’s and Paxton’s, but they were all having fun.

We were later joined by three more of Nix and Parker’s friends, Noah Wood—who’d dressed as the Witcher, Donovan Ashe—who wore a VooDoo Man costume, and Mr. Robertson—who’d dressed up as Hercules.

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