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She led me toward a display of elaborately carved pumpkins, her long dark hair swinging against the back of her jacket. Music drifted from the nearby bandstand, mingling with laughter from the corn maze and the delicious smell of cinnamon-sugar donuts.

Duncan followed with our drinks and a paper bag of treats. He’d insisted I take the evening off, which was a generous position for a man who’d spent most of the afternoon checking the specialty effects at Factory of Screams.

Not that I was complaining.

I’d spent the morning reviewing a Chicago client’s production schedule from my desk at home. After finishing my last call, I’d closed the laptop, changed into my favorite lilac sweater and jeans, and happily surrendered the rest of my Saturday to these two.

Sienna stopped in front of a pumpkin carved into a snarling wolf. The artist had cut narrow openings beneath its heavy brows, allowing the interior light to make its eyes appear almost alive.

“Look at that,” she said. “The shadows make it look like it’s watching us.”

Duncan crouched beside her to examine the carving. “That’s clever. See how the artist cut those openings at different angles? You could try something similar on the creature you’ve been making.”

Sienna leaned closer, studying the technique with obvious interest.

I watched them for a moment, smiling. Last Halloween, Duncan had finally begun showing Sienna how to bring her creature designs to life. These days, their workshop conversations could last longer than some of my production meetings.

Duncan straightened and slipped his arm around my waist, drawing me comfortably against his side.

“Having a good time?” he asked.

I looked up at the gorgeous, bearded man I loved and smiled.

“The best.”

He bent to kiss me, and I happily forgot about the pumpkins for a moment.

By the time we turned back toward the display, Sienna had moved around to the other side of the wolf, where the light caught the ridges of its carved fur. She was examining it with the same serious concentration Duncan wore whenever he discovered a particularly interesting piece of machinery.

“I think I figured out what’s wrong with my creature’s face,” she announced. “I’ve been trying to make his eyes look meaner, but I keep making them too big. If I put the shadows underneath like this, maybe I won’t have to change the whole thing.”

She pointed toward the wolf’s heavy brows, careful not to touch the display.

Duncan came around beside her and studied the carving from her angle.

“Before you change the sculpture, we could try moving the lamp tomorrow. You’ve already got some good depth around the eyes, and different lighting might give you what you’re looking for without having to reshape anything.”

Sienna considered his suggestion, then stepped several feet sideways to see how the wolf looked from another position. She smiled when the expression appeared to change.

“That’s what I want mine to do. He should look kind of funny when you first see him, but creepy when you get closer.”

“Then we’ll start with the lighting,” Duncan said. “If that doesn’t work, you can decide whether you want to change the face.”

She seemed satisfied with that arrangement and hurried toward the next display, where a family was admiring a pumpkin carved into an elaborate haunted castle.

I slipped my hand into Duncan’s and gave it a squeeze.

Duncan still had firm rules about power tools, unapproved materials, and the workshop’s more dangerous equipment. But now he asked what Sienna wanted to make before deciding how to help her do it safely.

Duncan passed me my cider, and we followed Sienna through the rest of the pumpkin exhibit. Beyond the tent, the evening crowd had thickened. Families wandered beneath strings of lights, children hurried between activities, and a nearby food truck sent the mouthwatering aroma of grilled onions and sausages drifting through the chilly air.

A breeze carried a scattering of leaves across the path, and I pulled my coat closer around my sweater before taking another sip of cider.

Duncan noticed immediately.

“Getting cold? We can head inside somewhere for a while if you want.”

“I’m fine. This cider is doing an excellent job keeping me warm, and I haven’t finished enjoying my evening with my favorite people.”