They inclined their heads in greeting, Dan saying, “You wouldn’t happen to know the way out of here, would you?”

  “Nay,” Kolby said, motioning with his own wizard’s staff to the sky, “or we would be out of here by now.”

  Rosalie smiled. “He won’t tell me the way out either.”

  Dan smiled. “Aye, a wizard who cannot keep his secrets is not worthy of being one of us.”

  Then the three of them passed Kolby and Rosalie. “I’m so glad everyone dressed up for this,” she said. “This is so much fun.”

  “We all love costume time for Halloween or for other fun occasions. I don’t think there’s anyone in town who doesn’t like to participate.”

  “That’s wonderful.”

  Before they made it very far, they saw Dr. Kate, her nurse, Mandy, and their veterinarian, Vanessa, dressed as the Witches of Eastwick.

  “Ladies,” Kolby said, giving them a wide birth.

  They smiled at him, waving their wands and passing them by.

  “I love their long gowns,” Rosalie said.

  “I love your sexy short dress,” he said.

  “Oh, thanks. Do you think we should have told them Ricky was looking for Mandy?” She paused.

  “Nope. After all the twists and turns in the maze that we made, I have no idea where Ricky could be, and knowing him, Ricky’s just playing a role. If he really wanted to find Mandy, he’d ring her up.”

  “Okay. We’d better not get in trouble with your brother if that’s not the case.” Rosalie charged ahead again. “I think I sense the opening this way.” She pulled Kolby down the path and came to a dead end. She laughed and he laughed too. “I guess I don’t have any spidery senses to help with finding my way out of mazes.”

  They turned around and she led him down three more different paths, but then she was certain this one was the one that exited from the maze. She raced to the end and sure enough, they were outside, and she hugged Kolby. “That was great!”

  “Do you want to eat now?”

  “I want to go to the haunted greenhouse first. I’m dying to see how it was decorated.”

  “Okay, if you’re ready to get scared…”

  She smiled. “I am.” How scary could it really be?

  15

  Kolby opened the creaking door to the greenhouse, and they heard rats squeaking. They were probably from a soundtrack, but the squealing sounded like it was coming from real rats. Hot air blew over their heads, and then cold. She shivered and Kolby rubbed her arm. A glowing, blue neon skeleton hovered near the entrance. Two skulls sat next to bubbling potions lit up with neon green lights. Several leathery bats were suspended from the ceiling, swaying as if in flight. Old books were stacked on one of the garden tables next to a bunch of colorful, bubbling, potions bottles lit up with neon rainbow lights. Someone’s arching, black Halloween cat was near the potions, its yellow-green eyes glowing as it stared at them, appearing eerily real.

  Even ghosts made of sheets flowed up above in a fan-generated breeze, making them appear even more realistic. Ghostly sounds whispered through the building, and they heard moaning nearby. Okay, she didn’t think she could be spooked, but she was. What if the real ghost was upset by all the partying here?

  Sheet lightning alternating with forked lightning lit up the dark greenhouse windows, the sound of rain pouring down, and thunder crashing adding to the scary atmosphere. Then a blood curdling scream made Rosalie jump half out of her skin. She was ready to remove her clothes and shift into her cougar to protect herself, despite knowing that this was just all pretend. She hoped. It was perfect.

  Kolby took hold of her hand and she figured he could smell her anxiety. She bumped against him and smiled. Until a mummy came at them, startling her and she gasped. In protective mode, Kolby hurried her out of his path and past one of the garden tables. But then a zombie toddled toward them, wrapped arms outstretched to grab them, and Kolby pulled Rosalie under the table and out the other side.

  Omigod, this was too great. A vampire jumped up onto one of the tables and Rosalie let out a strangled cry. The vampire grinned, showing off his menacing teeth, then said, “Such sweet blood I smell close by.”

  After Rosalie and Kolby were standing again, she pulled him toward the door in a rush, but another zombie came after them. The Hocus Pocus witches entered through the other door and the first zombie and mummy went after them. The ladies all screamed.

  Her heart pounding, Rosalie laughed, but she and Kolby were trying to dodge the second zombie. Luckily, these zombies and the mummy moved slowly, giving the “good” guys a chance to escape the monsters. The vampire seemed to be having fun just hopping up on tables to scare all the newcomers to the haunted greenhouse.

  Two more zombies appeared from under a table and Rosalie screamed again. She couldn’t help it. They just startled her, and they were only inches away from her. Kolby ran her around another table to get away from the other two. It was like a different kind of maze. One to escape the monsters.

  The sound of a wolf howled, and they heard moaning, and a scream, not from anyone actually in the greenhouse, but more soundtrack spookiness.

  Her heart racing, she shot straight for the back door of the greenhouse and pulled it open, and then jerked Kolby out of the haunted house. He shut the door to keep any of the monsters from coming out to get them.

  She started to laugh. “This has been the most fun ever. I would never have come up with such a scary haunted house. I really didn’t believe I’d be scared.”

  He hugged her. “We had a blast making it and making the costumes. The ranch hands will talk about this forever. Well, everyone will. We’ll have to go the séance in the greenhouse later.”

  “I look forward to it. After we eat and dance.” They headed inside the mansion to enjoy the food and then after eating chicken wings, deviled eggs, and rolls—though there were a ton of other foods to eat that they could sample later—they walked into the ballroom to dance.

  Disco lights were flashing all over the room, making it appear wild and spooky, and fantastical, perfect for a Halloween party.

  That’s when she saw Eric dancing with Avery. He appeared to be having the time of his life, smiling, carefree. Rosalie was so glad for him.

  Even little kids were dancing. Everyone was having so much fun. Rosalie and Kolby kicked up their heels, or waltzed to the slow dances, even dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”!

  Once Rosalie and Kolby had danced to several songs, she asked him, “Do you want to learn what awaits us? We can have Nina or Ava read our fortunes.” She was so hoping they might learn more about the appearance of the intruder.

  “Let’s do that,” Kolby said, taking her hand and leading her into the meeting room where Nina was finishing up a reading for Shannon. Chase’s wife smiled at them and headed out the door. It looked like Nina had good news for her.

  Curly, the vampire ranch hand was next in line for a reading, and she looked up at him and he flashed his wicked vampire teeth at her.

  “Okay, Curly”—Nina cast a smile in Rosalie and Kolby’s direction—“you will be moving up in the world.”

  “I get Kolby’s master bedroom at the ranch house!” Curly laughed. “But Ted already told me that. What I want to know is since Ted stayed there and ended up with a beautiful white cougar, and Kolby stayed there and found just as lovely a cougar to mate, what does my future hold?”

  “I see nothing yet, but maybe in the future, I will.” Ava smiled at him.

  Curly shook his head and smiled at Kolby and Rosalie on the way out, showing off his fangs again.

  “I never had a fortune teller tell me that I’d meet the love of my life either, but congrats on getting my bedroom.” Kolby slapped him on the back as Curly headed out. “You go first for your reading,” Kolby said to Rosalie.

  Nina had Rosalie take a seat in front of her decorated table featuring a crystal ball, the table covered with a purple brocade cloth trimmed in gold fringe. Both she and her sister, Ava, were starting to look pregnant, both carrying twins. Neither Dr. Kate nor Dr. William knew what the gender of the babies were yet. “I know what you want to learn about,” Nina said.

  “The intruder, if you can see anything about him,” Rosalie said.

  “Let’s see.” Nina took Rosalie’s hand and held it, then released her hand. She whispered, “He’s close by.”

  Chill bumps crawled up Rosalie’s spine. She and Kolby both looked around as if they would see him standing near the table watching them. He couldn’t be. Nina would have arrested him on the spot.

  “Where?” Rosalie whispered back.

  “Here. Watching. Waiting. He’s here.”

  “What does he look like? What is he wearing?”

  “He’s wearing a lightweight, waterproof, black jacket, black hiking boots, blue jeans, and a black shirt. His hair is dark, but I can’t see his face. He…he smells like a…snow leopard.”

  “No.” Rosalie hadn’t wanted to hear what she was afraid she would hear. It had to be Eric’s dad.

  “Hey, I’ll be your shadow,” Nina said.

  Rosalie took a deep breath. “But you’re manning the booth.”

  “Ava will take over for me.”

  Rosalie looked at Nina’s pretty, silky mauve costume. She wasn’t wearing handcuffs, zip ties, or a gun. How did she think she was going to apprehend the housebreaker?

  As if Nina read her mind, she said, “Don’t worry. I have a way of apprehending people that doesn’t require a gun or handcuffs.”

  “Your hands are lethal weapons,” Rosalie said.

  “They are. My feet are too.”

  “And you’re carrying twins,” Kolby reminded her.

  “True. But we also have so many law enforcement agency types here, we’ve got you covered. First, though, do you want me to give you a reading, Kolby?” Nina asked.

  “Yeah, and then we can go and check out the séance in the greenhouse,” Kolby said.

  Rosalie sure hoped they didn’t cause the ghostly gardener any more trauma than she might already be experiencing from the invasion of the mummy, the vampire, and the walking dead!

  Nina took hold of Kolby’s hand and frowned. “You…you plan to adopt Eric. You and Rosalie.”

  Rosalie looked sharply at Kolby. He smiled. “Well, I want to.”

  “But we have to get Eric’s father’s approval if we’re going to do it.” Rosalie smiled at Eric. “We haven’t even talked about this.”

  “It’s been uppermost on my mind,” Eric said.

  “Thank you.” Rosalie gave him a hug and a kiss. But then she asked, “Do you see an outcome, Nina?”

  Nina shook her head. “No. Just that Kolby has the paperwork, and he was filling it out.” Nina waved at Ava. “Hey, sis, I need you to take my place. I’m going to watch over Rosalie, Eric, and Kolby.”

  “Why?” Ava sounded worried.

  “I saw the intruder. He’s here. Somewhere. Out of sight. Waiting for the right time to approach Rosalie or Eric, I suspect. We’re going to the séance. The guys are all law enforcement, and they can be there for them.”

  “Are you going to call Dan?” Ava asked.

  “Yeah.” Nina got on her phone and called Dan to warn him that the intruder was somewhere on the premises, at least in her vision.

  Then Nina, Kolby, Eric, and Rosalie went outside to the greenhouse where all the ranch hands terrorizing visitors there had settled down and waited for Chase to begin the séance with Stryker and Leyton.

  Rosalie, Eric, and Kolby sat down at the table with the men and several others joined them. Even Andy, who could see ghosts, was there with his spidery ghost senses. Kolby squeezed Rosalie’s hand. She shivered and squeezed his hand back.

  Then Chase began the séance, and everyone was deathly quiet. “She’s here,” he said. “Mrs. Charity Squire. She’s busy gardening, concentrating on her flowers. She’s been ignoring us with all our wild Halloween hauntings.”

  Kolby was sure Rosalie wanted to ask a million questions. He certainly did, but he didn’t think he was allowed to speak during the séance without interfering with the process.

  “She passed on here. She put her hand on her heart,” Chase said.

  She had died of a heart attack, Kolby figured.

  “Would she be upset if we garden in here?” Rosalie asked, surprising Kolby.

  “She would welcome it,” Leyton said, his brother agreeing.

  Chase nodded. “She has waited many years to see her gardens come to life again. She…she just left.”

  Chase, Leyton, and Stryker took deep settling breaths. Chase smiled. “She is a good spirit and is glad someone has come to restore the mansion and her beloved greenhouse to its former glory.”

  “Yeah,” Stryker said, “she said she loves roses. But any flower that grows here in Colorado will do.”

  “Red roses are her favorite.” Leyton smiled. “We have a group who grow a community garden every year. I’m sure everyone would love to start seedlings early in the greenhouse and will enjoy helping you to grow other things.”

  “Oh, that sounds like a great idea,” Rosalie said. “Maybe the kids who are homeschooling would be able to grow some plants for a science project.”

  “Good idea,” Chase said.

  Andy finally said, “She loves sunflowers too.”

  “Yeah,” Chase agreed.

  “We’ll be sure and put a number of flower varieties in for her then.” Rosalie sounded eager to take on another project.

  Kolby was glad that everyone was including Rosalie and Eric in all the happenings in Yuma Town. But this business with the intruder? That was another story. He was sticking to Rosalie the whole night through.

  “Oh, and I’m staying the night for your protection,” Stryker said.

  Leyton shook his head. “My brother beat me to it.”

  “You’re just slow, old man.”

  “But first, we have a couple of birthdays to celebrate,” Addie said. “Rosalie’s and Dan’s.”

  “Oh, wow,” Rosalie said. “I’d forgotten all about it.”

  Dan laughed. “Addie swore we were going to have the belated birthday party for me tomorrow.”

  They made a mass exodus to return to the mansion and celebrate birthdays then. As soon as they walked inside, Addie and Mrs. Fitz brought out the cakes Ava had made to the smaller dining room. A big cookies and cream cake for Rosalie was shaped like a big heart, decorated with a spell caster, wand, and sparkles. It was magical. She loved it. Dan’s was a chocolate mud cake—an Australian dark chocolate cake with coffee-flavored liqueur—decorated with a sheriff’s badge and a cougar family of four, his four greatest loves, and some orange pumpkin candy for the Halloween theme.

  Once everyone sang happy birthday to both Rosalie and Dan, they opened their presents. Addie’s exquisite gift to Dan had been a beautiful guitar. He was delighted. Kolby and Eric had gotten Rosalie a brand-new computer and a laser manuscript printer for working on her stories. She couldn’t have been more thrilled. Then everyone ate cake and ice cream. Most everyone ate a slice of both cakes because they just looked too good not to eat one of each.

  “Hey, is everyone ready for a run?” Dan asked, once everyone was finished with their dessert.

  They were all in agreement.

  They began removing their clothes, shifting, and then they all headed out the front door or the back door to run as cougars, except for Eric running as a snow leopard, and Stella also stood out in her beautiful white cougar coat.

  For a while, they ran on their property and then they headed to the Havertons’ ranch to run across their acreage since it was much larger, using the new entryway from the Squire’s estate to the Haverton’s ranch, using the walking path on either side of the cattle guard, perfect for a bunch of cougars, and a snow leopard.

  They were having such a ball, playing tag, sprinting with each other to certain points, pouncing on each other on the way. Kolby was having the best time ever. He loved playing with his mate, and he relished the idea that Eric was having a ball with the teens as they tackled him and he tackled them back, everyone racing each other to try and beat one another.

  When they finally finished their run, they headed home to the mansion, and everyone was shifting and dressing and getting ready to go home for the night. Kolby realized that some of the people had stayed behind and cleaned up the kitchen and left food in their fridge and took the rest. Others were taking care of young ones that had fallen asleep on napping mats in one of the meeting rooms, all tuckered out from their wild Halloween party.

  The band had packed up and left. Even the spiderwebs on the chandelier were gone. Kolby chuckled when he saw that. Just one chore he wouldn’t have to do.

  There would be lots more work to do—moving the haystacks back to the ranch, taking down the scarecrows, removing all the spooky stuff from the greenhouse, but Chase said, “It’s really late so we’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t you all try to tackle the rest of the cleanup on your own.”

  Ava’s husband, Chet Kensington, also a CSF agent, said, “I’ll be here first thing in the morning to help with the cleanup and I’m staying tomorrow night, if we don’t catch the intruder before then.”

  “Thanks, Chet,” Kolby said. Everyone had been wonderful about helping to watch for the guy. But after what Nina had said, he suspected when everyone left, the man would show up.

  “I’ve got ranching duties in the morning,” Eric said, picked up the kittens from the cat room, and headed up the stairs.

  Kolby smiled. Eric had been a real workaholic since Kolby began mentoring him, and he already had his own horse to take care of—courtesy of the Havertons—as a belated birthday gift, once they knew he was really eager to take care of a horse of his own and love on it. The Havertons were the greatest. Not only that, but Eric had received his first driver’s license, and everyone was so proud of him.

  Stryker joined them in the living room. “I’ll be heading down to the basement if you need me for anything.”