Page 31 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“Well drop on by tomorrow and we’ll give you a taste, you and your boy,” Mr. Gibson assured him.
JD finally managed to untangle himself from the postmistress, and he and Carter erected the tent that would provide shade for the Gibsons and their sweets. Once the tables were moved into position and chairs added, including a comfortable rocker on a thin carpet out front where Mrs. Gibson would read spooky tales to the children on the hour, the two men went looking for their next assignment, heading toward the old Victorian off the south side of the square where Erin was supposed to be setting up the town haunted house. Along the way, JD was pulled aside by Lily to help unload a trailer of hay bales. From the looks of the buckets of mums and various other decorations, Carter figured the bales would be the foundation for photo-taking areas in front of the courthouse.
The credit union next to the Drunken Otter was setting up bouncy houses in their parking lot. The crew gave him a wave as he walked by, as friendly as everyone else he’d met in town. Everyone except Erin, at least. Too bad that sassy mouth turned him on instead of turning him off.
At the corner he made a right and walked down two lots to find an old Victorian-era building that needed little in the way of decoration to be perfect for a haunted house. The white paint was chipped and peeling in places, the green roof covered in dark spots where the trees scraping over it had piled their fallen leaves. The fish-scale siding along the upper peaks of the house were still present, as was the elaborate molding along the wraparound porch and the dark eyes of the windows staring out onto the street. As Carter watched, lights flickered inside, shining in the dusk, adding to the impression of eyes. He imagined the place in bright sunlight instead of dark, with sunny flowers instead of the spooky cemetery planted in the front yard, and got a small taste of what he thought it must have looked like a couple hundred years ago.
Walking up the front steps, he realized that despite the aura of neglect, the house was solid. The steps didn’t creak or give beneath his feet, and the newel post was strong beneath his hand. He crossed the porch, noting the cartoon style Erin had chosen for what JD had explained was more “fun” haunted house than scary. This attraction was intended for younger children, and each room inside had been matched to a Dr. Seuss–style story to entertain the groups as they were led throughout the house. Apparently this was a regular feature at the harvest festival, one JD said Erin took special interest in and one the children of the town looked forward to every year.
“There you are. Where’s your sidekick?” Erin asked as he pushed through the door.
“Got sidetracked by his fiancée.” He glanced around the foyer, draped in spiderwebs and shadows thrown by spooky lighting.
“Don’t look up,” Erin whispered as she passed by. So of course he did. Hanging from the two-story-high ceiling was a massive spider, its eyes glowing in the darkness. He grinned when he spotted the glow-in-the-dark bow tie around its neck.
“Cute.”
She smiled over her shoulder.
He followed her into the room to his right. A witch’s workroom waited inside, complete with smoking cauldron and eyes of newt blinking inside jars on the shelves. The stories might be a little young for him, but Carter couldn’t wait to see Thad’s reactions to the decorations here.
Erin led him through a cavern that was home to a massive basilisk (and its hundred babies) and a mad scientist’s lair complete with a variety of experimental beakers foaming in supernatural colors and a few animals whose characteristics were oddly mixed—a raccoon with squirrel ears and tail, a bear with reptilian scales, a bird with fish fins, all of them weirdly cute. Carter was thankful there weren’t any mechanical spiders running around with baby-doll heads, at least. He thought watchingToy Storywith Thad for the first time years ago had scarred him permanently, though Thad had never seemed bothered by the neighbor kid’s creepy creations.
“This is great, Erin.”
She shrugged ahead of him as she started up the stairs. “The kids seem to like it.”
“I can see why.” It had him thinking…and wanting to ask. He shouldn’t, he knew. The less he delved into her personal life, the better.
Oh, fuck it.
“You never had any children?” he probed carefully.
The straight line of Erin’s shoulders ahead of him sank the slightest bit. “No.” At the top of the stairs, she half turned toward him. “Stephen and I were both only children, so no nieces or nephews either. Just me.” She shrugged again, but he sensed a downturn in her mood.
“You obviously have an aptitude with kids,” he offered. “Thad can’t stay away from you.”
“It’s my magnetic personality,” she joked. Gesturing into one of the rooms off the hallway, she asked, “Wanna help me hang some lights?”
They chatted easily—surprising in and of itself—as they worked together. He’d expected more tension between them, but the only tension he felt rising was sexual. Having Erin so close to him, her body brushing against his, her fingers tangling with his as they worked to get the lights strung and cords hidden made things below his belt tighten in a way he was glad JD wasn’t here to witness.
“Where is that last box?” Erin said absently, searching the corner of the room where various boxes and packaging had been piled. “I don’t see it.”
“Where is everything stored? I’ll go get it.”
Erin waved away his suggestion. “It will be in the attic. I’ll go.”
He decided to tag along anyway. He could even admit to himself that he wasn’t ready to part from her company. Hewouldn’tadmit that his gaze was glued to her backside the entire climb—though what a backside it was. Most of the time Erin was dressed in baggy coveralls that hid the details of her curves, but maybe because they’d been to the pub tonight before coming over to work, she was wearing snug jeans and a sweater that stopped at her waist, giving him an excellent view. He had to deliberately train his gaze on something else before they reached the attic or he’d surely give the game away if she granted him a single glance—his body wasn’t keen on hiding anything at the moment. Thank goodness she went straight to searching the remaining boxes stacked around the floor. Carter crossed the room to stare out of the fan-shaped window that faced the front of the house, hoping to give himself a bit of breathing space.
“Wow.” The view that greeted him was far lovelier than he’d anticipated. The window was wide enough that it allowed for a view encompassing the east side of downtown at one end and the mountains and valleys in the distance to the other. It was a panorama anyone could appreciate, especially with the last hints of sunlight peeking over the mountains to glint off the autumn colors of the trees at the farthest reach of his gaze.
Erin came up beside him and set down a cardboard box before putting all her attention on the view. “Right?” The sigh that crossed her lips was almost wistful. “The house belonged to the original mayor of Black Wolf’s Bluff, so when it went vacant several years ago, the town bought it, but they haven’t invested funds to fix it up yet.” She glanced around. “We get to use it for the haunted house each year, but the idea of seeing it in all its former glory…”
That was definitely wistfulness in her tone. “Have you ever thought about doing it yourself?”
Her gaze swept the floor. “I can’t afford a pet project like that. I’d need to live here, and I can’t move away from Scott and Ruth.”
“Why not?”
