Page 5 of Halloween Haunting
Grace shook the woman’s hand. “Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of blown tires in the middle of nowhere without a car in sight. Luckily for you, it was reason enough for me to learn how to change a tire myself.”
“You’re quite the woman, aren’t you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say –”
SLAM!
Thunder crashed as a bolt of lightning cracked against the horizon. The sudden clap made Grace flinch, her eyes wide as she stared into the distance. The sound still echoed down the valley, carried through tunnels and across mountains.
“GoodLord.” Grace pressed a hand to her unsteady heart. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard thunder like that. Like –”
“Like it’s right above you.”
Grace eyed the woman closely. She hadn’t moved an inch, entirely unbothered by the oncoming storm.Maybe they get thunderstorms frequently around here. It’s hurricane season, isn’t it?She cleared her throat as she tried to regain her confidence.
The woman smiled sweetly. “My name’s Caroline Shepard.” She raised her arm to eye a stunning sleek watch at her wrist, her brow furrowing as she considered the time. With a sigh, she let her arm fall. “I called my brother a while ago, and he said he was coming, but –”
“Brothers,” Grace interjected with a smile. “I’m Grace Baker. If you’re not in the mood for waiting, I can change your tire.”
Caroline beamed. “Only if you show me how to do it, too.”
“Deal.”
Grace ducked back toward her convertible, popping the trunk to get her tools out. She gathered the old car jack and the rusty lug wrench she took from Chuck’s toolbox. Caroline helped collect the spare tire, not at all complaining as she carried the heavy thing with her neat nails. They waddled toward the punch buggy before setting the tire against it. Grace got to work swiftly, loosening the lug nuts before moving to lift the car with the jack. Caroline’s eyes watched her closely, even if she wasn’t quite jumping in to try it herself.
“Looks like you’ve got a packed car,” Caroline mentioned as Grace pressed down on the jack, raising the car. “Are you moving?”
Grace nodded. “Just me and every last thing that belongs to me.”
“When does the rest of your stuff come?”
“Rest of my stuff?”
Caroline jutted her chin to the car. “That can’t be everything you own!” Her eyes widened. “Can it?”
“I’m afraid to say that it is!”
Her jaw went slack. “Well that justwon’tdo! Where are you moving to?”
“Oh,” Grace drawled, crouched on the ground as she peered up at her, “You haven’t guessed yet?”
Caroline frowned and tapped her chin before realization flooded across her face. “I can hardly believe it!You’removinghere?” She slapped her cheeks, her eyes almost as wide as the sun. In the distance, the sky was lit up by another few bolts of dangerous lightning. “Seriously?”
“I hope you’re not on the welcome committee,” Grace teased with a nervous laugh.
Caroline reached for her in the same second, crouching down despite the hem of her dress dipping into the dirty ground below. Her cold hands clasped down around Grace’s arm before givingher a reassuring squeeze. “Believe me,” she said, “I will be the first person to vouch for this town. I’m just surprised! I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since someone moved to Holiday Hollow.Actuallymove here.”
“Why’s that so hard to believe? It’s picture perfect, isn’t it?”
“Touristslovepicture perfect,” Caroline replied. “But sometimes, gimmickycanbe a bit too gimmicky for some people. It’s a diverse town – believe me – but it’s more than a town for us. It’s more like…well, it’s actually like a –”
“Haven,” Grace murmured.
Caroline beamed from ear to ear. “Yeah! Just that. A haven.”
As Grace rolled in the new tire, pushing aside the popped one, she chewed on the inside of her mouth, ruminating over her new friend’s words. Something about the woman felt familiar, though she was sure she never knew her before. It was deeper than knowing someone. It was a comfort, an easiness, a simplicity, as if they had already been friends for years. Connections that were as natural as that were rare and difficult to come by. Grace almost hardly believed that it was happening for her, right there.
“Where in Holiday Hollow are you moving to?” Caroline asked.
