Page 50 of A Second Chance

“I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself,” Gwen said, annoyance rose at their concerns.

“You ran out of here like the devil himself was after you,” Tristan continued. “What changed?”

“Yeah, what changed?” Megan asked.

Standing in the middle of the workroom, Gwen took a deep breath and reminded herself that they only had her best interest at heart and this wasn’t an attack. The morning sun streamed in through the windows and glinted off the colorful stained glass ornaments hanging in the windows. The light cast rainbows across the old concrete floor. Everything changed, she wanted to say.

“We had a run in a few years ago, and I held a grudge for a long time. But he’s apologized and I’ve chosen to move on and forgive.”

“What happened?” Megan asked.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“If he hurts you, I will kick his ass,” Tristan said. Gwen and Megan stared at him. “What?”

“You’regoing to kick ass?” Megan asked.

Tristan looked offended at her skepticism. “I can kick ass.”

“Just because you can grow a beard doesn’t make you a badass,” Megan said.

Gwen giggled, but she wasn’t as dismissive of Tristan as Megan. Turning glass wasn’t a job for the weak. So while he might not appear intimidating on first glance, she wouldn’t write him off, either. But she also wouldn’t feed his ego, so she patted him on the shoulder, “You guys need to get ready for the hordes of kids.” Gwen went to the sink to retrieve water for the vase.

Eighteen

The third-annual Boo on the Square was in full swing with the White Oak town square decorated for Halloween. Pumpkins, gourds, and hay bales galore dotted the landscape around the courthouse and the surrounding shops. White fabric ghosts hung from filament and danced lazily in the cool breeze. Tiny goblins in a wide variety of costumes were everywhere with sacks and plastic pumpkins of treats they were collecting from the shops and the neighborhood. Another example of how things changed since he’d left. It now seemed like the town square celebrated every holiday on the calendar, not that it was a bad thing. These events brought people into the stores and, from the looks of it, helped the town thrive.

Jason drove like his grandmother through the traffic circle and exited onto Gwen’s street, mindful that children on Halloween could be sugared up and exuberant. Like deer, they could dart from nowhere and land in front of your car before you would see one. The street lights had only recently illuminated and left him staring into the shadows for an errant child. He waited for a family to cross Gwen’s driveway before he pulled in.

Families with small children filled the streets. All of them getting to the annual treat give away early in hopes of still getting the little ones into bed at a decent time. Jason smiled at the memories of his family trick-or-treating around their neighborhood when he and Autumn were kids. His sister always wanted to be something stupid, like a princess or a unicorn, while he understood Halloween was for guts and gore. He liked scary masks and machetes. It’d been more than a minute since he’d dressed up in costume.

Gwen appeared on the front porch wearing a black fuzzy sweater, jeans, and a purple witch hat with a black lace overlay. He hoped there was more black lace underneath those clothes. She held a black plastic cauldron that she distributed candy from and appeared to be cooing over the costumes. A snaggletooth jack-o’-lantern lit from the inside sat on the step at her feet. He smiled. As the kids dispersed with their treats, she stared over at his truck and waived. His heart did a flip in his chest.

He crossed the yard. “Trick or Treat,” he said, sliding her a sly smile.

She laughed. “A loaded statement coming from you.”

“It’ll be fun no matter which you pick.”

Gwen shook her head and moved to the porch swing and he followed, watching the way her hips swayed when she walked. He slid in next to her on the swing and leaned in for a quick kiss; she smelled of something he couldn’t place.

“Is that a new perfume?” he asked, though the scent wasn’t flowery.

Gwen shook her head. “It’s sage.”

“Making a giant vat of stuffing?”

“No,” she laughed. “Mom and Avery burned sage… like incense.”

He nodded like this made perfect sense. It didn’t.

“They say it rids the house of negative energy…”

Sure, he didn’t know to respond, but Gwen looked at him with concern in her eyes. Was she worried if this would affect his feelings? “Well, negative energy is no good,” he said leaning over to kiss her cheek, then whispered in her ear, “I’m thinking we can help by making some positive energy in your room later.”

Gwen giggled and pushed his shoulder, feigning embarrassment. The sound of children laughing and feet crunching leaves in the lawn neared. He sat back and Gwen stood to move to the steps and hand out candy to the group.

After a barrage of children and parents that he’d never seen before, he recognized one little bear toddling up the walkway with his sister and best friend in tow. Danny wore a brown fuzzy onesie with a hood that had bear ears sticking up.

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