Page 16 of Love’s Harvest (Lilace Lake #3)
Sarah stood outside the store greeting the children and their parents.
Wearing a black gown and a witch’s hat with a sprig of flowers sewn onto it, she handed the children a candy bar and invited their parents to have refreshments while April and Wyatt, dressed alike, ushered the kids who were old enough inside for games.
April and Wyatt had decided to dress as construction workers, with aprons, tool belts, baseball caps, and their store T-shirts. It was the perfect way to appear as helpers. Sarah had a suspicion her mother had helped them make that decision.
Looking at the constant stream of families walking down Main Street, Sarah was touched.
The Halloween Walk, unlike the Holiday Walk and Festival, was low key, more a small town affair just for locals.
She liked it that way. Christmas was a time to draw people to town to celebrate.
This quieter scene brought people in town together.
Her mother came out front to take Sarah’s place so she could walk along Main Street with her girls.
Each storefront window was filled with decorations among their offerings.
Halloween flags, fall flowers, orange and black ribbons wrapped around the streetlight poles, all lent a festive look to the street.
For children like Mia and Emily, it was a fairyland.
That, and receiving the treats from people at various locations was a child’s dream come true.
At Poppy’s store, Sarah accepted a cup of wine from Blake, who was helping Poppy out. Smiling, she thanked him and oversaw the treats handed to the girls. Poppy was adorably dressed like a kitty cat, complete with a whiskered half-mask. Blake wore a pumpkin hat.
“I hope you’re enjoying your first Halloween Walk,” Sarah said to Blake. “April is doing a fantastic job at my store.”
He chuckled. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it, but it’s nice.”
“Have fun,” she said, leading the girls next door to the flower shop.
There the girls were delighted to get a flower pinned onto their costumes.
When they returned to the hardware store, Sarah’s mother took the girls inside so they could watch the other kids playing games in the window.
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By about eight o’clock, the younger children were ready to go home. Sarah said goodbye to her parents, thanked the staff members who’d helped out at the store, and headed home with the girls.
“There you are!” came a familiar voice.
Sarah turned to find Aaron walking toward them.
The girls jumped up and down saying, “Look what I got!”
Aaron smiled at Sarah and spent some time with the girls while they showed him their treats and prizes.
Watching him, she was touched by how kind and gentle he was with them.
“Carry me,” said Mia. “I’m too tired to walk.”
Aaron glanced at Sarah and then said, “Okay. I can take one of you.”
“I’ll take the other,” said Sarah.
With a child in his arms, Aaron walked steadily beside Sarah, keeping the conversation light.
Before they even reached Sarah’s house, both children fell asleep.
“Guess the celebration was a success,” said Aaron.
“It’ll take more than one day for them to recover from the excitement and sugar, but it was worth it. Everyone pitched in to make it a nice, safe Halloween for the kids. Will you come inside? I’m ready for a glass of wine and some peaceful moments.”
“Sure. I’m glad I ran into you. I was late getting to the Walk. I’d promised Whitney and Nick that I’d help them by passing out candy at their house while Nick worked and Whitney took Timothy out to see the sights.”
“I love that everyone pitches in to make it a special event for the kids,” said Sarah, patting Luke on the head after she unlocked the front door.
Inside she led Aaron to the girls’ room to put them down for the night. This was one time they could skip brushing their teeth. She took off their shoes and got them out of their costumes and then covered them up.
Aaron stood by watching her. “You’ve got this down to a routine. Very impressive.”
Chuckling, she said, “I had to learn how to handle two babies pretty quickly. C’mon. It’s a nice night. We can sit on the deck.”
In the kitchen, Aaron opened the bottle of wine she handed him. “I’ll be right back. I have something to show you.”
She returned to the kitchen to find him already outside on the deck. She turned the deck lights on low, then took her seat, and lifted her glass. “Here’s to our friendship. It goes back quite a way.” She handed him the photograph she’d found recently.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a picture of us lying on a towel on the grass at the Lilac Lake Cottage before the Gilford girls fixed it up. We’re facing one another smiling and there’s a poetry book open. I remember that day so well.”
“Wasn’t that the first time we kissed?” Aaron asked.
Sarah nodded. “We’ve always been such good friends, even when it became a little more than that.”
“Yes, I know,” Aaron said quietly.
“Saying goodbye to you on my way to college was one of the hardest times ever,” said Sarah. “But when I came back home for Thanksgiving break, you’d already moved on.”
“Not exactly. I was dating casually, but it was nothing serious. Just killing time until you came home again. And then you and Jesse became a couple.”
“Jesse and I should’ve waited before we married,” Sarah said, not for the first time. “But here you and I are now, still friends. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“You know how I feel.”
“For the first time since Jesse killed himself, I’m optimistic about the future, excited to see how things unfold.” Sarah gave Aaron a steady look, hoping he’d see how much she cared.
But he’d turned and was staring out at the woods and the river beyond them.
When he faced her, he said, “I was lucky you understood me when we first met. It was weird for a big kid like me to play football and spend time reading poetry and enjoying other things guys my age weren’t doing.
You know, like taking long walks in nature. ”
“You told me you did some of those things to honor your mother and what she taught you,” said Sarah. “That made you very special in my eyes.”
“My mother would’ve liked you,” said Aaron. “She would tell me you and I knew one another in a past lifetime.”
“I sometimes think that too,” said Sarah. “That’s why I don’t understand why we seemed to drift apart so quickly after high school.”
“It wasn’t our time,” said Aaron, his dark eyes focused on her.
“And now?” she asked.
“We shall see,” Aaron said. “We’ll know when it is.”
They sipped their wine in quiet and stared out at the woods, hearing the sounds of night creatures in the rustle of leaves, the cries of an owl.
Sarah took a deep breath and leaned against the back of her deck chair. Just spending time like this with Aaron was as pleasant as it had always been.
“Do you want children of your own someday?” Sarah asked.
He turned to her. “Yes, as many as we desire together.”
“I’m glad,” Sarah said and let that idea settle between them.
“I’ll be going away for a few days,” said Aaron. “At this time of year, I usually take time to go visit my grandfather who is living with the Abenaki tribe near the Canadian border. It’s a promise I keep for my mother. It’s where I grew up.”
“It’s important that you do that,” said Sarah.
“Yes, though we’re busy at work, I need to go before the winter weather arrives and hunting season starts for me.”
“I’d forgotten you lead hunters into the mountains during that time,” said Sarah.
“Hunting is a good sport but only if you’re respectful to the animals you kill. I like to teach hunters how to take care of the bodies correctly, so it benefits other creatures.”
Thinking of Tessa’s remarks about wanting to be with a real native, Sarah’s stomach twisted. There was so much more to Aaron than a large, fit, handsome man who wore his dark hair loose or tied back.
“I’m glad I found you for a friend,” said Sarah. “It still means a lot to me.”
“I know,” Aaron said, tugging on her hand until she rose and climbed into his lap, like she’d done in the past.
She leaned her head against his broad chest and let out a long satisfied sigh. She’d made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks. She’d work on herself until she was ready for much more with Aaron. He was her home.