The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine Read Free Page A

have a packed house.”
    â€œHow about you, son?” Amelia inquired. “Will you join me for a batwing cup of bubbling potion punch?”
    â€œBubbling?” She’d surprised him.
    â€œDry ice under the cauldron,” Grace said, giving away the secret.
    Cade eyed Amelia. “Your party sounds fun. But I don’t do Halloween. Not since—” His voice dropped off.
    Amelia finished her salad, dabbed the linen napkin to her lips, and completed his sentence. “Not since mischief night, seventeen years ago. I remember costumed skeletons and pre-Halloween tricks.”
    He raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Good memory.”
    â€œYou pranked me.”
    He blew out a breath. “That we did.”
    Grace’s eyes rounded. She huffed. “What did you do to my godmother? To the inn?”
    Cade’s jaw worked. “Six junior high school boys raised early Halloween hell. Minor vandalism. Two a.m., we toilet-papered Rose Cottage, used soap to write on the windows, and egged cars in the side lot.”
    Amelia pursed her lips. “All to impress girls, I believe.”
    â€œThirteen-year-old mentality, and the girls got upset we chose the inn. They adored you, Amelia, and hated us afterward.”
    â€œI slept through it all,” Amelia recalled. “The neighbors phoned in the disturbance. Marlene Litton swore she saw skeletons and heard bones rattle.”
    Cade ran one hand down his face, admitted, “The six of us were known for mischief making. The cops caught up to us in under an hour at Billie Murdock’s house. Our costumes gave us away. We confessed, returned to the scene of the crime, and had the area cleaned up before first light.”
    Grace was stunned. “Why didn’t I hear about this?”
    â€œNothing was made public,” said Amelia. “No formal police report, no juvenile arrest.”
    â€œNo punishment?” asked Grace.
    â€œNot by law enforcement—only from Amelia,” said Cade. “She requested we each serve twenty community-service hours at the inn. We did odd jobs, two hours a day for ten days.”
    Amelia smiled fondly at the delinquent skeleton. “Cade returned long after his sentence was completed. He raked leaves in the fall, shoveled snow off the front walk during winter, and mowed the grass, spring and summer. He even took up guard on the front porch every mischief night throughout high school, protecting the cottage from pranksters.”
    â€œNo more skeleton costumes,” assumed Grace.
    â€œNo more costumes, period.”
    â€œI can understand your aversion,” Amelia said. “However, your buddy Billie Murdock doesn’t feel the same. He and his pregnant wife plan to join the fun. They’re dressing up.”
    â€œI rented them costumes,” said Grace. “A pirate and his sidekick green parrot. The parrot suit was stretchy. Sue is in her sixth month.”
    â€œShould you change your mind, there’s always room for one more,” Amelia told Cade. “People come and go, a rotation of Disney characters, superheroes, ghost busters, mad scientists, and evildoers.”
    â€œWhat costume did you finally choose?” Grace asked Amelia. She’d selected three choices for the older woman: a fairy godmother’s gauze and glitter gown, a good fortune gypsy, and a fringed and boa flapper. Amelia would shine in whatever she wore.
    â€œGypsy,” Amelia said. “I’ll play the part, setting out the crystal ball and reading tarot cards throughout the evening.”
    â€œAlways a highlight,” said Grace. She could already picture Amelia in the black off-the-shoulder blouse, wide gold-and-red-metallic embroidered belt, and full, multilayered skirt with fringe and lace accents. Amelia would sparkle in a sequin knit headband and her own jewelry.
    Amelia glanced at Cade as she pushed back from the table. “Last lobster roll?” she offered