Quinn nodded and then held up his phone. “Quiet, everyone! They’re going to announce the election results.” He increased the volume on his phone while everyone pulled out their own, tuning into the live announcement at the town hall. The results were coming in earlier than anyone had expected. They’d planned to head to the town hall in an hour.
Em walked over to Josh. She wanted to be with him when the announcement came in. He pulled her onto his knee. There was a reason they could announce the winner early. Winter had won by a landslide. Everyone cheered, and there were a lot of relieved faces, including Josh’s, and she imagined her own.
Or maybe not, she thought when he gently clasped her chin. “Winter won, babe. You’re supposed to be happy. Our jobs are safe.”
“I am. It’s just that Raine and Quinn are getting married and… Is that what you really want, Josh?”
“I love you, Em, and I want to marry you. But only when you’re ready, and I don’t care if it takes you a year or two or the next decade to decide.”
“I do want to wait but it has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. There’s nothing I want more than for us to be together forever. I just need a little time.”
“Take all the time you need,” he said, reaching for his guitar.
“Are you going to sing for me?” Em and her brother always joked that a sure sign Josh was going to make a move on a woman was when he picked up his guitar.
“I am.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“You never sang for me before, Josh Callahan. You’d better make it good,” she said, moving to the arm of his chair so he had room for his guitar.
“Every song I ever sang was for you, Em. I just didn’t know it,” he said, and then he took off his sling and played his guitar, singing Lonestar’s “Amazed” for her.
Epilogue
Halloween, one year later
There’d been a change of venue this Halloween. The party after the parade was being held at Seaton House instead of the community center. It had taken nearly the entire year but the house had been returned to its former beauty and, as far as Em knew, was ghost-free. She kind of missed Clara, May, and Willy but was happy that they’d been able to go to the light. Not that everyone in town believed that they had, thanks to Abby.
Jenny had decided to open the house as a museum and a tribute to the Seaton sisters. Abby was doing her podcast from there tonight, hence why she’d resurrected the Seaton sisters, at least in the citizens of Highland Falls’ imaginations.
The change of venue worked out well for Em. All she had to do was walk up the road to take part in the festivities. And unlike last year, she was looking forward to it. The past year had brought quite a few changes to Sugar Maple Road.
“Hi, Em!” Neil called out as he jogged across the road. “Nice costume!” These days, Neil and Mike basically lived on Sugar Maple Road with Charlie and his mom. Mike and Charlie were inseparable as always, and Neil and Charlie’s mom seemed happy and in love.
“Thanks. I like yours too,” Em called out. She was Sarah Sanderson again. It wasn’t like she’d gotten much use out of her costume last year. But she had a new addition to her costume this year.
“Hi, Em!” Jenny, Steve, and Charlotte called out as they hurried across the road. They were dressed respectively as Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Wicked Witch of the West, and their baby boy—named Emerson after Em—was a lion.
Steve had served only a short jail term because it was their property and no one actually lived in the house at the time, and it had been obvious to the judge that Steve felt deep remorse and hadn’t meant to hurt anyone. Em imagined Steve’s lack of priors and the fact he was in all other ways an upstanding citizen were also reasons for his relatively light sentence. Steve had taken it upon himself to do community service, and he and Jenny were in couples’ therapy. They’d bought the house they’d been renting, and they seemed to be doing well.
“Hey, Aunt Em!” Izzy called as she got out of a Ford Explorer. She was dressed as Hermione Granger again. “Hi, Em!” Drew waved. He was dressed as Harry Potter.
Em waved at the couple. They’d been dating for a year now. Drew was no longer the quarterback on the varsity football team but he never missed a game, cheering for his former teammates. His mother had filed for divorce from Peter after Drew, with some encouragement from Josh and Em, had finally told her how his stepfather had treated him. After losing the farm to Jenny, Peter had left town for greener pastures two months before.
Izzy was waiting for Em at the gate. “Aww,” Izzy squealed. “You dressed her as a witch.” She peeked into the stroller. “Hi, Baby Willa.”
Yes, Em had a baby girl. She was two months old, and just like Granny MacLeod had predicted, she had beautiful sky-blue eyes like her daddy, whose hair was the color of ravens’ wings.
As though he sensed they were there, Josh turned, and a smile lit up his face. He was working at the bonfire, which was fine with her. She always loved how he looked in his uniform. He didn’t volunteer with HFFD as much as he used to though, just like she’d didn’t take extra shifts. They didn’t need a lot to make them happy. They had Willa, each other, Gus, and their family and friends. They’d bought the bungalow on Sugar Maple Road, and Josh sold his house on Marigold Lane, moving in with her and Gus a few months before their wedding in May.
“Here they come,” Izzy said, at the stampede of excited women headed their way.
Ten seconds later, they were surrounded by cooing members of the Sisterhood. “My turn first,” Patsy said, leaning in to unbuckle Willa from the stroller. “You don’t mind, do you, sweetheart?”
“Of course not.” Em smiled. She couldn’t ask for better in-laws. “While you cuddle her, I’ll go cuddle my husband.” She leaned in and kissed her daughter’s soft, sweet-smelling cheek.
Josh, who was talking to their family and friends, lifted his arm as she approached, wrapping it around her as soon as she got close. He ducked his head, giving her a quick kiss. “How are my little witches?”
Em laughed. “We’re fine, thanks.” She looked around. “Where’s Gus?”
“Chasing Todd and Matteo’s cat.”
Yes, Todd and Matteo were back together. They were getting married in December. Em was Todd’s best woman, although he’d threatened to replace her with Josh if she didn’t stop siding with Matteo over the wedding plans. She frowned. “When did Todd and Matteo get a cat?”
Josh grinned. “Five minutes ago. They adopted the black cat from Seaton House.”
“Nice. We don’t have to worry about Gus hurting him, do we?”
“Nah. The cat looks like he can handle himself. He lived in the house with raccoons after all.”
“And ghosts, rats, and spiders,” she said, leaning against him, enjoying the heat from the fire and the low murmur of familiar voices.
“Are you planning on falling asleep on me?” he asked, sounding amused.
“I might,” she said, relaxed and happier than she’d thought possible a little more than a year before. And as she stood with the man she loved, surrounded by their family and friends, she looked up at the starlit sky and whispered Thank you. I hope you’re as happy as I am.