“Whatever’s in there is lucky to have you,” she finally said.
It was a good thing she wasn’t looking at him, because Ashwas sure that he flushed red all the way to his ears, and not in a cute way like when the tip of Cassidy’s nose tinged pink.
Right then, Jordan sprinted out of his house. “Emergency! Emergency!”
Cassidy whirled around, but her expression was calm. She was used to her little brother’s drama. Even Ash was familiar with it from overheard backyard conversations.
“What is it, buddy?” she asked.
Jordan motioned urgently for her to squat. She did, and he whispered something into her ear.
Her eyes went wide. “Ricky didwhat?”
Thinking that she hadn’t heard, Jordan explained again, but loud enough for Ash to hear this time. “He took your mask and hid it in the haunted shack.” Jordan jabbed his finger in the air in the direction of the abandoned house. “Ricky said you’re too much of a scaredy-cat to go get it yourself, but he’ll make you a deal to rescue it for you if you take him to the Halloween party tonight.”
Ash tilted his head in amusement. “Wow. Ricky’s blackmailing you.”
But Cassidy didn’t seem to find it funny. “Yeah, and it’s gonna work, because he’s right: there’s no way I’m stepping foot in that house by myself. And I have to get that mask back. All the girls on the team bought the same leopard masks online so we could go to the gala together.”
Jordan held Cassidy’s hand. “I would go with you, but that house is too spooky.”
She sighed. “I know, little man. Thanks.”
“What if I go for you?” Ash blurted.
Cassidy stared at him for a second, as if she hadn’t understood.
Then she shook her head, and Ash’s heart plummeted. He was such a moron for thinking he could come charging in like a chivalrous knight.
Cassidy looked from him to the abandoned house, and back to Ash again.
“I’m not going to make you go in there by yourself,” she said, her voice shaky. “I’ll go with you.”
Skeleton Shack. That’s what True called the abandoned house when they were kids, because of the lightning-struck tree, standing like a rawboned sentinel. She liked hiding in the shack and making ghost sounds to scare the neighbors. Onny loved Skeleton Shack because the overgrown yard grew strange plants she couldn’t find anywhere else in Moon Ridge, like Our Lady’s flannel flowers, star-shaped wild garlic, and feverfew. And Ash loved the house because it didn’t look like anything special, but itwas,for those who dared to see.
“Is it safe to go in there?” Cassidy asked, as she and Ash stood at the back porch of Skeleton Shack. She’d sent Jordan home, but they knew he’d be watching with his face pressed to his bedroom window, as if he could guard his big sister from afar.
“It’s structurally sound,” Ash said, at the same time beating himself up for saying it like such a dork. Who talked like that?
A kid whose stepdad was a carpenter, that’s who. Ash rolled his eyes at himself.
At least he was telling the truth, though, and not just feigning bravery for a girl. While other kids had treehouses, The Coven had used Skeleton Shack as their playground. Ash knew every nook and cranny in the place.
The wind stirred the few brown leaves left on the half-dead tree, and that helped Ash get out of his own head. He was standing here with Cassidy Rivera, girl of his dreams. Even though she was scared of the house, Ash swore he could smell the beginnings of Halloween magic in the air—clove and honey with a hint of moonlight to come.
“You know,” Ash said, “rumor has it that Mr. Brightside wanted to have his wedding in Skeleton Shack. But Mayor Grimjoy vetoed it.”
Cassidy forgot her fear for a moment and laughed. “Whatever witchcraft brought those two together, I want it.”
Ash’s mind flitted to Onny’s love potion, sitting on his desk in the studio.
But it wasn’t as if he could use it on Cassidy to make her fall madly in love with him. The potential already had to be there for it to work. This was not, Ash suspected, the same situation that had sparked the romantic smash hit of Mayor Grimjoy and Mr. Brightside.
Better to change the subject now.
“So, about going into the shack…?” Ash stepped up onto the back porch, making sure to skip the rotted stairs.
A black cat peeked at him through a shattered window.
