“Trick or treat,” they finally yelled.
“What wonderful costumes you have.” Ivy dropped a cookie package into each bag. “These are homemade cookies from the Seabreeze Inn.”
The mother thanked them. Emboldened, the kids turned toward the neighboring house, where Darla was dressed as a witch with a black pointed hat. She waited on her front porch, seated beside a steaming cauldron and flickering pumpkins.
Halloween was one of Darla’s favorite holidays because she loved dressing up. Every year, she spent the entire day in costume, going to Java Beach with her friends and buying candy.
As the children scampered away, Shelly appeared at her side, dressed as an apple tree, complete with leaves and apples hanging from her costume bark. She placed athermos of hot cider on the table next to a stack of paper cups.
“Mitch and I finished setting up the ballroom. We made a spot for the DJ and his equipment.”
“Perfect.” Ivy saw Vanz walking through the hall toward them, dressed in ghoulish black. The transformation in him over the past weeks was remarkable. His posture showed more confidence, and his eyes met hers without immediately darting away.
“You look great, Vanz,” she said. “Want to help with the trick-or-treaters?”
“Sure.” He seemed happy to have an important job to do.
The doorbell chimed again. “You’re on. Here are the cookies. Offer the adults a cup of hot cider from that thermos. Help yourself to the cookies we haven’t wrapped yet.”
The doorbell rang again. And again. Within half an hour, a steady stream of costumed children flowed onto the porch. Ivy spied princesses and superheroes, ghosts and witches, and an elaborate octopus that required parental assistance to navigate the front steps.
From the kitchen doorway, Sunny called out, “A fresh batch is ready. Sounds like we need more at this rate.”
“Told you so,” Shelly replied, packaging the cooled cookies.
Inside the ballroom, guests were arriving for the private party. A couple had booked every room for a Halloween party when their travel plans fell through.
Dr. Caleb had met them at breakfast, where they’d talked about their horses and Maltese puppies, so they’d invited him to the party.
Caleb arrived downstairs dressed in his real scrubs witha stethoscope around his neck and a plastic snake draped over his shoulder.
“Some might call your costume cheating,” Ivy teased as she passed through with empty platters.
His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Maybe a little, but I prefer to think of it as authentic.”
Caleb stopped to help Mitch hang fake cobwebs before going to the party.
“He looks pretty good in scrubs,” Shelly whispered. “Who do we know for him?”
“If you’re thinking of Sunny, she already told me he’s not her type. And Poppy has been talking to Andrew, Viola’s nephew and attorney.”
“No kidding?” Shelly brightened at the gossip.
“Don’t mention it to her. You know how she wants to keep her dating life private after those guys from L.A. that she and Sunny dated.”
“What jerks they were. Caleb seems like one of the good ones, though. Seems a shame to let him go to waste.”
Ivy laughed. “I doubt that he is. But he’s also focused on establishing a practice here and finding a place to live.”
Shelly inclined her head. “Why here, I wonder?”
“He told me his parents used to come here on holidays, and he loved it. He said he’s tired of big cities and the L.A. scene. Evidently, a woman broke his heart.”
“An age-old story. Her loss, someone else’s gain.”
They were all having a good time, and the doorbell’s chime became nearly continuous as dusk settled. The trickle of trick-or-treaters quickly became a flood. Families were making a visit to the historic inn part of their Halloween tradition.
Vanz held up a nearly empty bowl. “We’re almost out of cookies.”
