Page 59 of Second Chance Baby

I popped out my teeth. “Good thinking, kid. You want to get all this stuff up tonight?” Gamely, I put my vampire of the manor costume in the cart. “Maybe it will take a couple days to get it all arranged. I’ll do my best. And I intend to have Gideon build us a massive roof spider too, but that’s going to take a little time.”

“Nope. Tonight,” she pronounced decisively, putting her hands on her hips in her most often used stance. “Dad, it’s already October. Any later and we might as well not bother. We’re going to miss the freaking holiday entirely.”

“Whatever you say,” I mumbled, pushing the cart yet again. Apparently, that was my job.

At least this one didn’t make shrill squeaking sounds like the damn one at the Halloween store.

We checked out and put our purchases in the back of the Equinox with the rest of the crap we’d picked out. “Holy shit. We got a lot of stuff.”

Carrington nodded and leaned up to give me a one-armed hug. “You’re the best, Daddy.”

I returned her hug. “I kind of am. Even if I’m running late. As usual. But your mom is the best too,” I added, locking gazes with Bridget over our daughter’s head.

“She is,” she agreed, her words muffled against my shirt.

But they were still enough to make Bridget smile mistily, and she lifted her fingers to her eyes to discreetly whisk away tears.

“Tonight is just for decorations and perfectly witchy displays. Or perfectly skeletonized displays,” I improvised.

Carrington shook her head. “What does that even mean?”

I slammed the back shut. “Just roll with it, Care.”

“Rolling.” She shrugged and slipped into the backseat.

On my way to open Bridget’s door, I caught notice of a huge lit-up Jack Skellington blowup figure standing guard beside the other doors on the other side. Carrington loved Jack Skellington. I had no clue how she’d missed seeing that one.

“Be right back, babe.” I brushed a kiss over Bridget’s temple before she climbed in the truck, and I closed the door.

Then I went to get my girls that Jack Skellington. And maybe me too, because that thing frigging rocked. I already knew exactly where I’d put it in the yard in a tucked-in spot right beside the driveway so if anyone drove up, he could salute them.

As for the rest of the stuff? No clue.

But then I turned my head and saw a ghost peeking around a fake tree, so of course I needed that too. And a blowup of three grinning pumpkins and some kind of tall spooky ghost and pumpkin hybrid deal, so I grabbed the nearest cart and shoved them in it, along with a few of the tropical flamingos peeking out of a nearby cave-like thing with skeletons beside them. All of them and the Jack Skellington dude all went into my new cart, which I quickly pushed to the self-checkout.

But then there were the glowing hands meant to stick up from the dirt I’d neglected to snag from Spirit, and we had our crazy beach scene to put together.

In the cart they went too.

Then I realized we hadn’t gotten any chairs for our beach scene yet. But those could be sourced from the hardware store on the way home. They still had the last few of their summerchairs on display outside because it had been so warm into the fall.

I was almost embarrassed at my gluttony at this point.

Then again, why the hell not? Why shouldn’t I go absolutely over the top just to make Bridget and my daughter smile? Was anything worth more?

It would also make the townsfolk smile too. Maybe we’d even be able to give a few fun frights while we were at it. I’d never really gotten to do the big over the top family decorating thing, mainly because I was always coming back from working somewhere else or planning to go again soon.

Here and now, my entire world was right here.

I returned to the self-checkout, looking only at my wallet as I removed my credit card. Honestly, I didn’t trust myself to not buy more at this point, so even looking was off-limits. I unloaded my purchases and quickly paid before dumping them back in the cart and heading for my truck in the parking lot. Carrington let out a loud sound verging on a scream when she saw me, and I couldn’t help laughing before I held up my hands in a pseudo apology.

I wasn’t actually sorry for anything. I hadn’t been able to spoil my girl nearly enough.

Both girls, really.

I popped open the back again and made a show of sighing heavily, as if most of this stuff wasn’t due to my clear insanity. Carrington leaned over the backseat, laughing outrageously as I worked to make enough room to load in all my impulsive purchases. Once I’d packed things in as tightly as Halloween-shaped sardines, I came around to slide in behind the wheel.

“Don’t say it,” I said to Bridget, who only laughed softly.