Page 51 of This Kind of Forever

He shrugs, returning his attention to his computer. “Nothing, just curious.”

I shake my head. “You’re a shit liar. If you’re trying to get information so you can report back to Mom or Clara, you can fuck off.”

Luke only chuckles, and I leave him to his paperwork. Outside the front of the station, I find Connor digging into a box of chocolates.

As I walk by, I pluck the mini Coffee Crisp out of his hand. “Save some for the kids, asshole.”

He snatches the chocolate back and quickly unwraps it, stuffing it in his mouth. “Kids don’t even like coffee,” he says with his mouth full. “Ergo, they’re free game. I’ve had, like, ten already.”

“Don’t come crying to me when you get a tummy ache, Lee,” Jodi Booth, our deputy chief, calls.

Connor pats his stomach. “I’ve got intestines of steel, don’t you worry.”

She sends me a flat look. “I wasn’t.”

I grin as I help Connor finish setting out the candy. Luke certainly didn’t skimp on the sweets this year. Knowing him, it’s probably because Delilah and her sister will be swinging by.

“Daddy!”

Abbie comes running toward me, already dressed in her costume. I pick her up and spin her around before setting her on my hip.

“Where’s Aunt Clara?” I ask. “You didn’t leave her at home, did you?”

Abbie giggles. “No, silly. She’s over there.”

She points down the sidewalk. Clara, like Abbie, is dressed in some elaborate costume, complete with shiny wings. But I’m more drawn to the woman walking beside her. When my eyes settle on Hallie, my mouth runs dry. I’m not sure what she’s supposed to be dressed up as, but whatever it is, I am a fan.

Her dark purple dress is long, the hem hitting her ankles, and the sleeves flare out at her wrists. The bust is fitted, and it’s cut low enough at the front to give a hint of cleavage.

Fuck, she’s pretty.

When Clara and Hallie reach us, Clara sets a crown made of flowers on Abbie’s head. “There, now you’re complete.”

“Guess my costume, Daddy!” Abbie demands. She and my sister have been scheming for months now, and they both refused to tell me what they picked. Even Larissa doesn’t know.

I make a show of inspecting her pink dress and multicoloured wings that resemble stained glass. Clara must have spent hours making them. “Hm. A butterfly?”

She giggles again. “No! Me and Sophia arefairies! We’ve got matching dresses. And Clary is the fairy grandmother.”

“Godmother,” my sister corrects. She taps Abbie’s nose with the tip of her flower wand. “And Abbs and Soph are my protégés.”

Behind me, Luke comes out of the station. He waves to Clara and Hallie before crossing the parking lot to greet Delilah and Sophia, who have just pulled up in Delilah’s car. Sophia is wearing a dress identical to my daughter’s, and Delilah appears to be dressed as Wednesday Addams, the total opposite of Clara’s sunshiny persona.

“And what are you tonight?” I ask Hallie.

She sets a black, pointed hat atop her head. “A witch.”

Abbie gasps. “But witches are bad, and you’re so nice.”

“I don’t know, I think witches can be good,” Hallie replies. “Just like regular people, they’re not all the same. Even if they look the part.”

My daughter thinks for a moment. “I think you should be a good witch,” she declares.

Hallie nods. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

When Abbie spots her mom, she wiggles to get out of my hold. She hugs Larissa’s waist and slaps a high-five to Chris’s palm, then drags them both over to us by the hand.

“Happy Halloween,” Larissa says. “Hallie, I love your costume. You lookhot.”