“No, it means I’m having seconds.” I laugh as I take in the sights.
The entire street is congested with bodies as the local high school band plays near the gazebo. Cider Cove shines in all of its fall glory, as heaps of maple leaves outline that overgrown wooden octagon. And there are enough pumpkins sitting on and around it to qualify it as a pumpkin patch.
The crowd sounds cheerful as voices clash with intermittent laughter, and the scent of turkey baking in every oven in the vicinity warms our senses and gets our stomachs growling at the very same time.
Mackenzie Woods steps into the gazebo, and the microphone in her hand gives a squeal.
“Hello, Cider Cove! Happy Thanksgiving!” she shouts, and the crowd goes wild. I spot my brother a few feet away from the gazebo looking up at Mack as if he actually admires her. I wonder how much he would admire her if he knew she was sneaking around behind his back? “I want to thank you all for helping Cider Cove celebrate its one hundredth magical year.” The crowd gives another wild cheer. “Enjoy the parade, enjoy the meals you’ll be having in just a little bit, and most of all, enjoy your families.”
“Huh,” Emmie muses. “She almost sounds as if she has a heart.”
“Almost being the operative word.”
“And”—Mackenzie holds up a small plate of the apple cider mini donuts—“I want to give a special thank you to the Country Cottage Inn for providing these delectable treats for us all.” The crowd howls with approval while Mack looks directly at my brother and nods. See there, Huxley? I didn’t say one mean thing about that dump your sister runs.
I scoff at the thought. “She just called the inn a dump.”
Emmie huffs a breath. “Reason three thousand for Huxley to dump her.”
“Too bad you didn’t find my brother all that amazing,” I tell her. “You could have spared me from a fate worse than death. But then, if I’m right, and Mack is two-timing him, the nightmare should be over sooner than later. Even if I have to make sure of it myself.”
A little girl runs up and hands Mackenzie a bouquet of red and orange balloons, and Mack holds them just outside of the gazebo.
She leans into the mic. “And here’s to many more birthdays to come on the horizon! Happy Founders’ Day and Happy Thanksgiving. Let the parade commence!” She lets go of the balloons, and the crowd screams with delight as they dot the sky.
The band starts up, and I catch Mackenzie scouring the crowd before she settles on someone to the left. I follow her gaze, only to find the same dark-haired man she was with the other night.
“That’s him,” I say to Emmie. “That’s Elliot, the guy Mack is cheating on my brother with.” The marching band moves into the street as the parade begins and effectively blocks our view before Emmie could see him.
“Don’t worry, Bizzy. If she’s this sloppy, your brother will be a free man before the pies hit the table tonight.” Her phone bleats, and she pulls it out. “Shoot. The kitchen needs me. There’s a stuffing emergency. Someone added too much liquid to the batch, and they’re trying to save it. When Leo shows up, tell him I’ll be right back.”
She takes off, and I crane my neck as I try to spot either Leo or Jasper.
Jasper said he had some business to tend to at the station but would try to be here before the parade began. And Leo mentioned he would be patrolling the grounds—much the way I am now.
I spot the door to Suds and Illuminations sitting wide open, and I waste no time in speeding that way.
“Knock, knock,” I say as I head into the shop that holds the sweet scent of a vanilla candle. And to my surprise, I see four women I know quite well, each with a broom in hand.
“Mom, Macy, Juni, and Georgie?” A tiny laugh pumps from me at the sight. “Do I want to know what’s happening?” The four of them look a bit bedraggled with their hair mussed, their sleeves rolled up, and the look of abject fatigue in their eyes.
Mom shakes her broom in the air while letting out an exasperated groan.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Bizzy. Why couldn’t I have taken a page out of your father’s book and spent the holiday being catered to on a cruise ship?”
Georgie bumps her hip to my mother’s. “Because you’d rather go into business with me.”
My mouth falls open. “It’s finally happening, huh?”
Georgie pretends to shoot me with her fingers. “You bet your cutie patootie.”
Juni stalks over like a zombie. “Need donut now.”
“Sorry, Juni.” I wince. “I don’t have any on me. But I’ve got kittens.”
No sooner do I say the word than Juni excavates Cookie from my brand-new wonky cat carrier.
“This tasty little snack will do.” She gets right to nibbling on her cute little ear.
“Hey, Macy.” I head over to where she’s examining a box full of candles that’s packed away and ready to vacate the premises. “Happy Thanksgiving,” I say, pulling my sister into a warm embrace.
“That depends.” She makes a face. “Are you still married?”
“Very funny. Why are you in enemy territory?”
“I just bought some of Willow’s choice inventory for half of what it would have cost me. Ember may have been a vindictive witch, but she sure had good taste.”
A framed picture of a bear sniffing a candle falls off the wall and the glass shatters with a horrific bang.
Fish lets out a hair-raising yowl. It’s the ghost! She dives deep into that wonky quilt papoose while both Pumpkin and Spice do their best to use her back as a stepping stool.
Where? Where? Pumpkin all but crawls onto my shoulder to get a better look. I want to see it!
Spice gives her sister’s tail a sharp bite. You can’t see a ghost,
