"You all need to dress up," Garrett said to Isaac, Bruno, and several of the other teens who were lounging on the sofa.
"Halloween is stupid," Isaac said.
"Halloween is a huge deal in Harrogate. Everyone has to participate. You could go to the Grey Dove Bistro to help. Rose and Minnie are going to be there handing out candy, too," I told them. "They're going to be disappointed if you aren't in costume."
"Neither of you better even look at them!" Hunter warned.
The teen boys jumped up, gears spinning. "We need costumes! Penny, help! What do we do?" they begged.
"You can always be a ghost or a zombie," I said. "That's just makeup and tattered clothes."
"We need something that makes us look nice," Isaac complained.
"Vampire?" I suggested. "Dark elf? Viking warrior? Spartan?"
"They're so scrawny!" Archer laughed. "They can't run around shirtless!"
"None of you are running around shirtless," Hunter declared. "I don't want people getting sick."
The doorbell rang, and I had to physically restrain Henry before he went tearing off to the front door.
"I thought you were going to break them of this habit," Greg said to Hunter.
"Maybe it's part of the charm of our household," Hunter snapped.
"They can't behave like animals," Greg said, crossing his arms.
"Archer turned out okay."
"Did he?"
"The deputy mayor is here!" Andy announced.
Meg walked in, heels clicking on the floor.
Now that I knew that there was a thing between Hunter and Meghan, I was enthusiastically aboard the train of trying to get them back together.
"You came all this way to see Hunter?" Billy asked.
"I can assure you that is not the case," Meghan said firmly. "I thought I'd stop by with some good news for you all. Due to his community service with the play, Garrett has earned his license back early."
"Finally," Garrett said.
"Don't talk on the phone and drive!" Meghan ordered, handing him the license.
"Curbside delivery?" I asked.
"I thought Garrett might need it, since the town is basically shut down for Halloween tomorrow and then it's the weekend. Also, I understand Penny is starting a new job. We want her to concentrate on that, not drive Garrett around," Meg said, laying the paperwork out on the dining room table. "I'm a big fan ofThe Great Christmas Bake-Off!"
"We're going to have a bunch of exclusive content," I promised while Garrett signed his forms. "It's going to be amazing. After Halloween, Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday!"
84
Garrett
"Are you honestly already thinking about Christmas?" I asked Penny late Halloween afternoon.
Since she didn't work for Svensson PharmaTech anymore, Penny had spent the morning in my office on the phone with Dana Holbrook, my brother Gunnar, Belle Frost, and Evan Harrington, talking strategy about the magazine interfacing withTheGreat Christmas Bake-Off.
