Page 65 of Halloween Town

The thought was a spear through his ribs. What aren’t you telling me, Pops?

Earlier, he’d felt something dangerously close to optimism. Like maybe they were finding their way back to something steady. Something real.

Now? Now he felt like sand was shifting under his feet.

Ruby

Since Ruby’d been on Cedric-duty lately—the guy was definitely infatuated, not yet obsessed, but she was keeping her eye on him—this was the first conversation she’d heard, okay, eavesdropped on, between Poppy and Thom in a while. She stood just outside the kitchen door, her arms folded tight. She’d thought she’d do a quick check in, but their conversation, the ease of it, captivated her, and she’d stayed longer than she meant to.

Thom kept amazing her, in big ways or small. And it wasn’t only his words that affected her, she was entranced by the way he treated Poppy, the way he held her, listened to her, the steadiness in his voice and his unwavering, solid support. He simply rocked up to every occasion and gave Poppy what she needed. He didn’t stop to work out the cost-benefits, whether he was coming out ahead or not, what was in it for him. He was simply, consistently present. Poppy didn’t realize what a gift that was.

Something twisted in the space that used to be Ruby’s stomach. She’d never experienced support on that level and wouldn’t have known how to handle it if she had. And she didn’t trust that sort of emotional safety, that amount of all-in. Not then, and not now. But she couldn’t deny that, for Poppy, Thom was her safe place to land. Her backstop and safety net.

But Ruby suspected Poppy wasn’t ready for what Thom could give her. Because Poppy still wasn’t being fully truthful and was still holding back. How could she be when she was still untangling Benji, and the reasons she’d fled the wedding?

Ruby’s biggest clue? She still hadn’t spoken the truth to anyone about why she ran, not even to Wren. Ruby figured she either hadn’t worked it out, or she hadn’t had the guts to face it yet.

Poppy was still editing her life in H-Town, still caught up in being back in the town, in this house, with Thom. She was bobbing on the surface and ignoring the churning mess underneath. Ruby instantly recognized the pattern: it was one she knew intimately. Focus on the good. Ignore the bad and uncomfortable.

Get hit by a semi.

A swirl of cold air whipped around her, a portent of something heading their way. It wasn’t evil but it would be disruptive… A catalyst.

For better or worse? Only time would tell.

Chapter Fourteen

Poppy

Poppy, paint on her fingers and in her hair, a cup of cold coffee in her hand, skipped down the stairs on the way to the kitchen for a fresh cup and, hopefully, to find a snack to restore her flagging energy levels. She’d been working on Melody’s map for hours now, and she was happy (ish) with the progress she was making.

It needed refining and a lot more detail, but she thought she might, just might, have captured the vibe of Melody’s fantasy world. God, she hoped so because this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Stepping into the kitchen, she felt her phone vibrating and pulled it from the back pocket of her jeans. “Bird, are you back in H-Town?” she asked, dumping her cup in the sink and pulling a fresh one from the cupboard. She jammed it under the coffee machine’s spout and smacked the button with the side of her hand.

“Still in Nashville,” Wren told her.

Poppy yanked open the door to the fridge and scowled at its emptiness. Was it too much to ask for some leftover pizza or Chinese, a slice of cheesecake? Why were there only apples and anemic-looking cheese?

“I was hoping you’d come to the Tag & Thank event with me,” Poppy said.

“Uh … that’s the day after tomorrow, right?”

“Mmm, Friday night.”

“I should be back.”

“I was also hoping you’d hang out with me at the square after everyone went home.”

“Are you mad?” Wren, as expected, scoffed. “There’s no way I’m going to stay up all night to watch for ghosts. Take Thom.”

Poppy pouted. “He doesn’t believe in ghosts.”

“Neither do I.” Fair point. Why was she surrounded by the spiritually constipated?

“Is that a no?” Poppy asked.

“Let me think about that … snuggling up to my man or freezing my ass off with you, being bored to tears? Uh … that’s a hell, no.”