Page 17 of Trick or Tease

SAbrINA

I heard Billy’s voice before I saw him. I didn’t know who he was talking to, but he was giving someone a blow by blow of his maze design. When he got like that, he was a kid again. The years fell away.

When he had gotten a new toy as a child, he would go on and on. We used to tease him back then. He would know every detail about whatever toy or card he got and then we got to know all those details.

I smiled and shook my head as he rambled.

I was working on the placement of a fake skeleton that kept falling over every time the wind picked up.

It wouldn’t stay upright. I was getting dirt under my fingernails trying to secure it properly to the wooden stake.

Maybe I could just wrap the stubborn little guy in duct tape, call him a silver mummy.

“This is where we’re going to have the scarecrow village,” Billy said. “Over there Sabrina’s setting up her creepy stuff. She’s got great ideas.”

I straightened up, brushing my hands on my jeans, and peered through the corn. Sure enough, there was Billy practically bouncing on his heels as he led someone through the entrance of our maze. When I caught sight of his companion, I nearly dropped the zip ties I’d been wrestling with.

Garrett was actually following his brother into the cornfield.

I blinked hard, certain I was seeing things. The last time Garrett had ventured into the field, it had been that night. The night that we scared him. I still felt guilty about that.

But I wondered if he was checking out the maze so he could criticize.

That would be Garrett’s way of doing things.

He would have some hotshot ideas that were of course a million times better than what us hicks put together.

If he dared talk shit about our hard work, I was going to use the zip ties and tie him to a post.

He could be our newest scarecrow.

I crouched lower behind the cornstalks, straining to hear every word as Billy gestured wildly with his hands. From my hiding spot, I could see Garrett’s face clearly. To my surprise, he actually looked interested. Not the polite, condescending interest I’d expected, but genuine curiosity.

I watched him and felt a bit like a creep. He was hard not to look at. He was wearing a pair of jeans again and a polo shirt. He looked like he was about to go out on a yacht or to a baseball game. The man could make faded jeans look like high fashion. His rocking body helped.

Dammit. Why was he so hot?

I glanced down to see what I was wearing.

Unfortunately, it was exactly what I remembered putting on.

My standard uniform of jeans with little tears and maybe even a stain.

My work boots. And I glanced down and shit.

Yep, I was wearing a Metallica T-shirt I bought at a second-hand store like five years ago during my metal phase.

Now, it was just a work shirt and it was beyond fashionably faded.

Shit.

Of course.

He was going to see me in my farm finest.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, chastising myself for getting all worked up. There was no reason to worry about how I looked. Nothing I did would make him stay.

“So this is just the entrance area,” Billy was saying, sweeping his arm toward the wooden posts we’d hammered into the ground yesterday.

“We’re still working on the arch that’s going to go over the whole thing.

Sabrina thinks we need something bigger and more dramatic than just the little sign our scarecrow’s holding. ”

I bit back a smile. Billy was making it sound like the arch had been my idea, when really it had been his stroke of genius after we’d both stared at our pathetic little entrance sign for twenty minutes yesterday, realizing it looked more like a lemonade stand than the gateway to a spooky family adventure.

We were trying to create a professional operation and a chicken-scratched sign was not screaming professional. No one was going to post our maze on social media bragging about it with a dinky sign like that.

We had to get better.

“Makes sense,” Garrett said, and I was surprised by how normal he sounded. Not snooty or dismissive. “You want people to know they’re entering something special. The spectacle is part of the experience.”

“Exactly!” Billy practically shouted. “That’s exactly what we’re going for.

But here’s where we’re stuck.” He walked over to our current scarecrow, which was leaning at a precarious angle despite my best efforts with the zip ties.

I grimaced because Billy was going to see I put the mask back on the scarecrow.

“We can’t figure out what this guy’s face should look like. ”

I knew Garrett was never going to be okay with the clown mask. His reaction in the parking garage made that clear.

I watched through the cornstalks as Garrett studied our creation. We’d been debating the face. I put the mask on. They took it off. I put it on. I wasn’t really all that invested in the damn thing but I liked messing with them, telling them the mask kept reappearing on its own.

“The thing is, we want spooky but not scary, you know? This is supposed to be fun for families. Little kids. We don’t want some five-year-old having nightmares about our scarecrow.”

“I know a little something about that.” Garrett walked directly over to our scarecrow and, without any hesitation, pulled off the clown mask.

“Jack-o’-lanterns,” he said simply, holding the mask at arm’s length like it might bite him. “Use carved pumpkins for the heads. You’ve got an endless supply, it fits your whole pumpkin theme, and it’s Halloween-appropriate without being too intense for little kids.”

I had to admit, that was actually brilliant. Why hadn’t we thought of that? We’d been so focused on finding the perfect scary face that we’d completely overlooked the obvious solution sitting in our fields.

Billy’s eyes lit up. “Holy shit, that’s perfect! Sabrina’s going to love?—”

“I’m right here,” I called out, pushing through the cornstalks with what I hoped was a casual smile. “And you’re absolutely right. That’s a great idea.”

Both brothers turned toward me. I caught the way Garrett’s jaw tightened slightly when he saw me approaching. I couldn’t resist reaching out and snatching the clown mask from his hand, holding it up between us.

“Though I have to say, I’m a little disappointed you don’t appreciate my artistic vision here,” I said, waving the mask playfully in his direction. “This is a genuine vintage piece. Probably worth dozens of dollars.”

Garrett took a deliberate step backward, his expression stone-cold serious. “It’s not funny, Sabrina.”

The edge in his voice made me pause. I’d been teasing, the same way I would tease Billy or Lucy about anything, but there was something in Garrett’s stance that said he really didn’t like the mask.

Poor guy.

“Just throw it away,” he said, turning back to Billy. “The pumpkin idea will work better anyway. More cohesive branding.”

Lucy pulled up on a four-wheeler, a box of supplies strapped to the back. “What’s up, party people?” She spotted the mask and rolled her eyes. “Not him again. Someone douse that thing in holy water.”

“Pumpkins, babe!” Billy grinned. “We’re going to have jack-o’-lanterns for the scarecrow heads.”

“Hey! That’s a good idea!”

“Garrett came up with it,” Billy said, eyebrows waggling. “He’s getting into the Halloween spirit.”

“Let’s not go that far,” Garrett said.

“Where are we getting these jack-o’-lanterns?” I asked.

Billy flashed that boyish grin. “We’ll carve them. Like we used to. Best one goes on the main scarecrow at the maze entrance. Worst one goes by the toilets.”

I rolled my eyes. “Your designs are always lame. I’m going to win. Get ready for toilet town, pal.”

Within twenty minutes, we’d assembled quite the pumpkin-carving crew.

Lucy had called Tyler and Madison, two of the high school kids who’d been helping us set up the maze.

They showed up with three more friends in tow.

The carving station was part of the festival, so it was already set up.

We had eight people gathered around it with carving knives and spoons, surrounded by pumpkin guts.

“Okay, ground rules,” I said, picking up my carving tool. “No peeking at other people’s designs until we’re done. And no copying.”

“What’s the prize?” asked Tyler, a lanky seventeen-year-old who’d been helping us move hay bales all week.

“Winner gets bragging rights and their pumpkin becomes the official scarecrow head,” Billy declared. “Plus, I’ll throw in a hundred bucks.”

I glanced over at Garrett, who was studying his medium-sized pumpkin with far more attention than a pumpkin deserved. Was it weird I was jealous of a pumpkin? I wanted him to look at me like that. I tried not to notice how his forearms looked as he gripped the carving knife.

Focus, Sabrina.

“You sure you remember how to do this, city boy?” I teased. “It’s been a while since you’ve gotten your hands dirty.”

He shot me a look that was half annoyed, half amused. “I carved plenty of pumpkins growing up. Some of us just don’t feel the need to broadcast our artistic abilities.”

“Oh, so you’re confident then?” I grinned, already plotting my design. I was going to crush them all.

“Let’s just say I’m not worried about the competition,” he replied, making his first cut.

“Famous last words,” Lucy chimed in, scooping seeds out of her pumpkin. “Sabrina takes Halloween decorating very seriously. She’s been perfecting her jack-o’-lantern technique since we were kids.”

“It’s true,” I said proudly. “I’ve got this down to a science. The key is in the planning. You can’t just start hacking away.”

Tyler snorted. “It’s a pumpkin, not rocket surgery.”

“That’s brain science, genius,” Madison corrected him.

“Whatever. How hard can it be?”

Famous last words from Tyler too. I could already tell his was going to be a disaster from the way he was stabbing at it.

For the next hour, the sound of pumpkin guts splattering into buckets and grunts as we sliced and diced filled the air.

Billy kept up a running commentary about everyone else’s technique while somehow managing to get more pumpkin guts on himself than anyone else.

Lucy was going for something intricate and geometric.

The high school kids were trash-talking each other mercilessly. I was completely in my element.

I was going with the classic spooky face, but with some sophisticated touches. I arched one of the eyebrows that gave it personality, and instead of the silly single tooth grin, I gave mine a crooked grin that was more mischievous than menacing.

Garrett worked in focused silence, occasionally glancing up to observe the rest of us but mostly absorbed in whatever he was creating. I found myself stealing looks at him. There was something oddly attractive about seeing him so concentrated, his usual uptight demeanor replaced by genuine focus.

“Time!” Billy called out after what felt like both forever and no time at all. “Everyone step back from your pumpkins.”

We all moved away from the table. I was pretty confident in my work, but you never knew what surprises people might pull out.

“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got,” Lucy said.

Tyler’s pumpkin looked exactly like I’d expected.

The boring and very traditional triangle-eyes-and-jagged-mouth face that a five-year-old could have carved.

Madison’s was better, with some cute details around the eyes, but nothing spectacular.

Lucy’s geometric design was impressive from a technical standpoint, but maybe a little too modern for our old-fashioned scarecrow. And there was nothing scary about it.

Billy’s made me laugh out loud. He’d attempted some kind of elaborate scene with multiple faces all around the pumpkin. It looked a hot mess.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” Tyler asked, squinting at Billy’s creation.

“It’s a family portrait,” Billy said defensively. “See, that’s Mom, that’s Dad, that’s me, and that tiny one is supposed to be Garrett but I ran out of room.”

“It looks like someone sneezed while carving.” Madison giggled.

“Art is subjective,” Billy replied with wounded dignity.

My turn. I felt a surge of pride. It had turned out even better than I’d hoped. The face had character and charm, exactly the right mix of spooky and approachable.

“Damn, Sabrina.” Tyler whistled. “That’s actually really good.”

“Thank you,” I said smugly. “Years of practice.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got, Garrett,” I said. I just knew it was going to be lame.

He turned his and my jaw literally dropped.

It was incredible. Not just good—incredible. He’d carved an intricate haunted house scene, complete with tiny windows, a detailed door, and even little bats flying around it. The level of detail was insane. Somehow he’d managed to make it look both spooky and awesome.

“Holy shit,” I breathed.

“How did you even…” Madison started, then trailed off.

“Dude, that’s not fair,” Tyler protested. “You’re like a professional pumpkin carver or something.”

Garrett shrugged, looking almost embarrassed by the attention. “I just remembered doing something similar with Mom when I was a kid. It’s not that complicated.”

“Not that complicated?” I repeated incredulously. “Garrett, this is museum-quality work.”

“Well, I guess we have our winner,” Billy announced, though he didn’t sound upset about it. “Garrett takes the hundred dollars.”

“No,” I said quickly. “Mine should still be on Hollow Hank. We should put Garrett’s on display somewhere else. Maybe here at the carving station. That is not a face.”

Garrett nodded slowly. “She’s right. Hers is better suited for a scarecrow head.”

“Mine can go on the refreshment table,” Billy said cheerfully.

“That’s not going anywhere near the refreshment table.” I laughed. “But we can find a spot for it. Doesn’t someone collect the pumpkins for their pigs?”

“Hey!” He protested before laughing.

“Come on, we need to let these dry before we put them on the scarecrows in the maze,” I said. “I do not want bugs.”