"Drink your coffee. All that sex makes you a little slow. You need to hydrate."
I took the iced coffee and frowned. There was a paper straw in it. It had already started to disintegrate. I fished out little pieces of paper.
"What are their costumes?"
"It's a surprise!" Hazel said. "I’m convincing Meg to wear hers, and Archer's going to convince Hunter to wear his."
"Great," Penny said. "Then they'll be back together and I can drink a milkshake without all the extra fiber."
61
Penny
The big Harrogate Halloween festival was in two days. Over the past week, Garrett and I had spent time rehearsing, hanging out at the old Victorian house or his estate, and working on costumes.
"I can't believe how much more relaxed Garrett is," Weston said the Thursday before the festival. Garrett's Manhattan brothers had come into town for the festival, mainly to help corral the kids.
"You always see me tense because dealing with you and your bullshit stresses me out," Garrett retorted.
"This is going to be the best Halloween ever!" I said to Garrett. I was putting the finishing touches on his younger brother Ellis’s costume. He wanted to be Rocket the Raccoon, and none of the store-bought costumes was going to do it for him.
"You're such a Halloween snob," Weston teased Ellis while I adjusted the straps on the space suit.
"Do any of your other brothers need help?" I asked Garrett.
"Hazel is working on their costumes. I think the kids are more interested in the food and games than in the Halloween costume contest."
"Speaking of," I said, lowering my voice. "Is the coast clear? I want to try the costumes on the horses."
Garrett was going to be a Nazgûl, or Ringwraith, fromLord of the Rings. The Nazgûl were the phantom ghost kings who were cursed by the rings. They wore black capes and hoods, carried swords, and rode horses. They were creepy and terrifying and made a perfect Halloween costume. I was going to be Arwen the elf princess because I wanted to look pretty and ride a horse.
"Along with the armor, Morticia and Lilith made these special harnesses and saddle blankets for the horses," I whispered to Garrett when we were in the stables. "Hopefully Merlin doesn't freak out with your costume."
Merlin was a patient horse and allowed himself to be bribed with apple slices while I fitted the harness to him. Garrett shrugged on the black robes, put the plate-metal greaves on his legs, and swung onto Merlin. I stood on a stool to arrange the stiffened black hood of the artfully tattered cloak around Garrett's head.
"Ooh!" I exclaimed, stepping back. "You look sooo creepy!" I couldn't make out Garrett's face. His tall form and broad shoulders filled out the cloak. He had Merlin walk a few paces. "You look like you just stepped out of the movies."
Garrett brandished the sword that Morticia had made.
I shivered. "It's chilling. We are so going to win."
Midnight's harness wasn’t as elaborate. It had the intricate, feminine Celtic swirls of the elves. In the movies, Arwen's horse was white, but Midnight was dark, not a nice cream color. But it would have to do. I wasn't dyeing my hair, either. But I did have pointy elf ears and a curved sword.
After making Garrett take pictures of me so I could see the full effect, I packed the costumes back up. Garrett carried the boxes into the house after the coast was clear.
"I guess I'll take this to my room," he said, going into the house through a side door, not the main doors that led out onto the terrace.
"Your room is so much nicer than mine," I said, squeezing his bulging biceps.
"What? I kind of like the cobwebs, the asthma-inducing layer of dust, and the creepy puppet that’s hanging from the ceiling," he said as we walked into his room. He set the boxes down and wrapped me in his arms, pulling us down onto his bed.
I hit him lightly then buried my face against the spot on his chest.
"I wish Morticia and Lilith weren’t selling it," I said, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice.
"It needs quite a bit of work," he said.
"Yeah. It's probably for the best. The house will go to someone who can properly take care of it."
