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“I had a wonderful time.”

“Me too.”

I watched her disappear inside with Esther, her duffel bumping against her leg.

As Duncan and I walked back toward his truck, he reached for my hand.

“Thank you for today,” he said.

“You don’t have to thank me. I loved spending time with you both.”

He stopped beside the passenger door and turned toward me.

“I know you did. That’s why I’m thanking you.”

Then he kissed me, right there on the sidewalk, with the cold wind blowing leaves around our boots and the last of the afternoon sunlight warming his face.

I curled my fingers around the front of his jacket, reluctant to let him go when he finally lifted his head.

For two days, I’d been working beside Duncan, kissing him when we could steal a moment, and discovering how badly I wanted another night in his arms.

Today, though, I’d gotten to know him in a different way.

And I was beginning to want the mornings too.

***

By eight-fifteen that evening, I’d traded my lilac sweater for a clean dark one, collected my work bag from the cottage, and returned to Factory of Screams with Duncan.

The park was busy again, but the mood around the haunted house had changed.

Friday had been opening night, when everyone was still nervous about whether our hurried renovations would hold up. Tonight, the entrance crew knew their assignments, the performers had settled into their routines, and several guests were already waiting outside the ropes before we’d begun admitting anyone.

Some had come back after visiting the night before.

Others had apparently heard enough about the Human Assembly room to want to see it for themselves.

I checked the entrance schedule while Duncan went inside to examine the mechanisms.

Lisa found me near the admission table with her radio in one hand and a paper cup of cider in the other.

“You should hear what people are saying about the Factory.”

“I’ve heard a few things already. Has anybody complained about the volume or the wait?”

“Not tonight. I’ve had three people ask whether we’re running again tomorrow.”

I shook my head. “I wish we could. Unfortunately, my performers might mutiny if I told them they had a third overnight shift.”

Lisa smiled. “I told them tonight was the last one. I also told them to get here early if they wanted tickets.”

“Good. We’re expecting a bigger crowd, and I’m not shortening the intervals between groups just because people want to get inside faster.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”

She took another sip of her cider and looked toward the building.

“You really did turn this around, Goldie.”