“Yes, she will,” he says in a baby voice, then his phone vibrates. “Guess I’ll have to take a rain check on the lipstick test. Sadie and Annie will be here in fifteen minutes.”
They arrived last night and stayed in a hotel next to the airport. Then this morning, they checked out and will be staying with us tonight.
“Awesome!” I say. “You don’t think Annie will be mad that I have an entire giant-size bag of candy for Sadie, right?”
Archer shrugs. “We can spoil our niece any way we want. There’s nothing she can do about it.”
I pull him into a hug. “I love that you call her our niece.”
“She is, sweetheart. That ring on your finger says so.”
Before we get too caught up in the moment, I pull away and take Sassy outside. Archer fills the pumpkin bucket to the brim with candy. Moments later, there’s a knock on the door.
Archer grabs his shield, and we answer it together.
“Trick or treat!” Sadie says with a big grin.
“All treats!” I tell her, wrapping her in a hug. “Your costume is amazing.”
“I’m Black Widow!” she squeals as they enter.
“I know, and she’s a bada—“ Archer elbows me before I can continue. I clear my throat. ”Bad to the bone!”
“We got you something,” Archer admits, handing over the plastic holder filled with full-sized chocolate bars. Sadie’s eyes are as wide as saucers as she starts digging inside.
“Mommy, they're big ones!” she gasps with excitement.
Archer meets Annie’s annoyed gaze. She purses her lips then smiles. “Tell Uncle Archer and Aunt Everleigh thank you.”
“Thank you!” She squeezes me, then Archer, and that’s when I noticed Annie is dressed like Dark Phoenix. She’s wearing a bright red wig and a one-piece suit that fits her like a glove.
“Wow, you look incredible.”
She laughs. “I guess I understood the superhero assignment.”
“I’d say so. Gonna get some dates tonight,” I tease, and she shakes her head with a smirk. Before I can say anything else, Sassy makes her big reveal.
“Aww,” Sadie says, bending down to pet her. The giggles that escape Sadie as Sassy tries to lick her are adorable. “Is she coming with us?”
“Yep, she is! As long as there are no fireworks, she’s good in public. She loves kids,” I say as Archer places his hand on my shoulder. I give them a quick tour of the house, and Archer helps them unload their things. He places everything in my bedroom since we’re still sleeping in his room.
As we make small talk, Annie glances at the time on her phone. “Oh we should probably get going.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Sadie jumps up and down as I grab Sassy’s leash.
Annie meets Archer’s eyes. “And that’s her level of hyperactivity before full-sized chocolate bars.”
I chuckle. “I was kinda to blame too.”
“Thankfully, someone’s staying at Aunt Everleigh and Uncle Archer’s tonight!” Annie sing-songs as Sadie skips outside.
We load into my car and drive to the event center. This year, all the local businesses, churches, and nonprofits got together to make the Tenth Annual Trunk or Treat bigger than ever before. The Chamber of Commerce even hired a food truck to serve free corn dogs, and there’s a hay maze and pumpkin carving contest too. When we drive through the town square, I’m shocked by how many cars are parked on the street.
“I think we’re gonna have to park and walk, babe,” Archer says when we notice how packed it is. Once we’re out of the car, Sadie grabs Archer’s hand and holds it until we get to the entrance. In the distance, I can hear a band playing spooky-themed music and smile at how amazing everything looks.
“Hey!” Tyler walks up. He’s dressed like Batman, and Gemma is Catwoman. I nearly choke when I see they’ve dressed Scarlett like the Joker in makeup and all.
“She’s going to kill y’all for this when she’s older.” I let out a howl of a laugh.
Gemma crosses her arms. “Just know, we played paper, rock, scissors on who got to pick her costume, and I lost. She can be mad at her father for the pictures that’ll circulate at her wedding.”
“Whatever. I know she’s gonna look at these pics and think how freaking cool her dad is for dressing her like this!”
“It’s only her second Halloween!” Gemma reminds him.
“And she’ll have many more where she can choose to be whatever she wants.” He lets out a chuckle as he picks Scarlett up and shows her off.
“Okay, I have to say, it is adorable,” Annie speaks up. I introduce her just as Katie and Noah come over with the kids. Sassy tries to lick everyone that passes us and loves all the attention.
Owen’s dressed like Thanos and is wearing a huge glove with jewels on his hand. Noah’s the Hulk, but I can’t quite place who Katie is. She’s wearing a red leather coat and boots.
“Okay tell me,” I say, pointing at her outfit. “Who are you?”
She reaches below the stroller and puts on a mask. “What about now?”
“Are you freaking Star Lord?”
She snorts. “Yes! I wanted to match Owen and the twins.”
I then noticed they're dressed as Groot and Rocket. “Guardians of the Galaxy. Super cute.”
I look over at Noah and chuckle. “What happened?”
“I was originally supposed to be Yondu, but I got an allergic reaction to the blue paint. This is all the Halloween store had left,” he explains with a shrug. “Only took thirty-something years to figure out that latex paint ain’t for me. Probably not a bad thing, though. It’s kinda humid. I’d probably look like Genie from Aladdin that you all bought off Wish with as much as I sweat.”
“Wow, at least you found something last minute, geez!”
He nods. “Yeah, I looked like a creep without the paint.”
Owen holds out his hand and shakes Sadie’s. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Sadie says, staring up at him like he’s her new big brother.
“Okay, so tell me how this works,” Annie says. “It’s like a maze in here.”
Gemma laughs and points. “So we start at this end, then go all the way around to the pumpkin carving and hay maze, then end at the booths.”
“Oh my goodness, there’s so many! Hopefully, she’ll be good and tired by bedtime.” Annie glances around, and I can just tell she’s already having a good time.
“Probably not by the time they eat all the sugar in their bags.” Katie snorts. “But I’ll say a prayer for you and me both.”
We wait in line for our first stop. Little ones surround us, and they’re full of energy. When we finally show up to the boutique booth, Lexie beams with excitement.
“Oh my God. I have to get a picture of all of you. And Sassy! Pure freakin’ cuteness.” She pulls out her phone and snaps pictures like she’s the paparazzi. Heidi and Sandy, my new employee, are giving out candy to the children and boutique coupons to the parents.
“Trick or Treat!” Owen and Sadie say in unison to the girls.
Lexie grabs three big handfuls each and fills their bags.