Page 10 of Under the Island Moon
“We’ll use the black fabric stretched across a simple framework as planned. But to soften the effect and let in more light, we could break it up with some potted trees or shrubs and corn stalks, maybe even some straw bales. We can add strips of black fabric across the ceiling and keep the lights on behind it.”
Boone studied the ceiling. “We should snip the fabric so it looks like stars.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“I can see it. The changes to the wall structure would make it easier for the little ones to hear normal sounds, too. Dials down the fear factor.”
Miles was glad Boone agreed. “I’ll call Nico about the plants once we know what we’ll need.”
“He’ll be totally into it.”
“Good. Let’s map this out.” No less concerned about his wife, Miles pulled out the painter’s tape to mark the path through the maze of silly scenes and jump scares, none of them designed to create nightmares. “The committee told me they wanted about five or six places to spook the kids. Mostly designed to get giggles instead of screams.”
Boone looked around the cleared workshop. “That’ll be perfect in this space.” He pointed toward the end closest to the marina. “If we bring them in on this side, let them wind along the path, and let them out over here, that should be perfect.”
“Now we know why Nico backed my request to have the workshop out here. He saw another community space.”
Boone laughed. “Probably had something to do with it.”
At the end of the intended maze, Miles looked out. They couldn’t let kids mill around after the maze. “We need a way to direct the kids back to the festival.” He judged the distance between his workspace and the shops. “You think Nico could find mums and solar lights for us? That would help us define a walkway from the maze exit to the festival. That way parents know exactly where to find their kids if they don’t walk through with them.”
With a nod, Boone agreed. “Nico will be all for that. Heck, he’ll probably do most of the work.”
With measurements in hand, they called Boone’s father-in-law, and then set to work on the framing.
Chapter 3
Two days later, Molly had to accept that she wouldn’t be able to hide her pregnancy from Miles for much longer. She’d seen the worry in his eyes when he nudged her awake to get her from the couch to the bed last night. And this morning she was pretty sure she had turned green when he’d offered to make breakfast.
She had no idea why she was so reluctant to tell him. It couldn’t be a fear of rejection. He’d shown her time and again that he loved her and Bryce unconditionally. Day by day, with the sweetest, smallest gestures, he showered them both with love. And on the big days—good or bad—he was a force of nature.
Their first Christmas as a family had been ridiculously lavish with a mammoth artificial tree that they’d needed a ladder to decorate. At Bryce’s request, Miles put up lights outside, white along the roofline and nets of colorful lights on the shrubs that framed the porch. She’d frosted the front windows, and added candles that came on at twilight. At Miles’s request, the three of them shopped for a Christmas village, starting with one building each, knowing they would add to it each season.
Her heart did a happy spin, thinking of how much faster that village would grow with another child factored in.
Morning sickness aside, she loved every minute of her marriage and adored her husband and their family life more day by day. Aunt Sharon claimed that Molly and Miles embodied every sign of a strong, healthy marriage. Molly sure hoped so, since neither of them had grown up with good examples to learn from.
Maybe she should just blurt it out.Hey honey, I’m pregnant!Or she could hand him one—or all—of the over-the-counter tests she’d taken. That felt too dismissive of what this would mean to him. But delaying much longer, making him worry for no reason, wasn’t fair either.
Naturally, some of the more elaborate announcement strategies were popping up when she scrolled social media. So far, none of those examples felt like the right fit for any of them.
She wanted this announcement to be special, something that would resonate with Miles. And she really needed to tell him tonight. The set up for the Haunted Tea was tomorrow and the event followed the next day. Aunt Sharon was likely to recognize the pregnancy as soon as she laid eyes on Molly. Aside from her excellent observation skills as an artist, she’d been with Molly throughout her first pregnancy. She knew the signs well.
After school today, Bryce would be helping Miles with the maze and then the three of them would be decorating the sailboat for the trick-or-treat stops at the marina. They’d been planning and gathering supplies for a few weeks and Bryce was so excited to see it come together.
All three of them were.
She pressed a hand to her tummy.Four. Having a new baby would be such a challenge and yet so much fun. She was already imagining what a great big brother Bryce would be.
Her big contribution to the sailboat decorating was to bring dinner. She’d already placed the order with Benny’s BBQ and was debating the best dessert options while she wired silkarrangements to the candelabras Trina had brought from the Inn.
When inspiration struck, she jumped up from the stool. “Nina, I’ll be right back,” she said. “I need to pop into the bakery for a second.”
“You finally figured out how to tell them.” Nina gave her a high five. “Tell me. Wait, don’t say a word. I want to hear all about it after the fact.” She shooed her out the door. “Go, go, go.”
Molly didn’t hesitate. The Bread Basket had a huge selection of decorated cookies for the season. She planned to get a special cookie for each of them, and wrap them in a little gift box from the supplies left over from the haunted tea centerpieces. Her guys would get such a kick out of their individual trick-or-treat boxes. And as the announcement sank in, she could enjoy the biggest rush of happiness.
There were a few people in line ahead of her at the bakery, but when Lila, granddaughter of the original Bread Basket owners, spotted her, she waved Molly out of line and back to the kitchen.
