Though some of her older neighbors had complained that they wished the practice could be banned and that they worried about crime and vandalism from roving packs of unsupervised teenagers, Caitlin rather enjoyed the evening. She’d spread her work out on her coffee table, tuned the TV to a classic-TV-comedy-series marathon and popped up and down to answer the door.
The children were adorable in their costumes, their eyes shining from behind masks or through layers of makeup. Proud parents hovered self-consciously in the background, whispering instructions, “Say trick or treat. Tell the nice lady thank you.” Most of the kids displayed very nice manners, and Caitlin decided not to let the ruder, usually older ones spoil her pleasure in the evening.
The doorbell had almost completely stopped ringing by seven-thirty, which was a relief since she was almost out of candy. She was considering turning off the light and calling it an evening when the bell chimed again.
She should have turned off her light after the last group of trick-or-treaters fifteen minutes earlier. But since she hadn’t, she stood, picked up the nearly empty bowl of candy and opened her door.
A dashing duo posed on her doorstep. A tall, lean Superman in blue tights and red cape stood with his arms crossed nobly over his chest, while a petite blond Supergirl bounced at his side, looking as though she might very well take off and fly. “Trick or treat, Miss Caitlin!”
With an effort, Caitlin drew her gaze from Nathan and smiled down at Isabelle. “Maybe you two should come inside. It isn’t often I get a visit from Superman and Supergirl.”
Isabelle wasn’t wearing a mask, but she wore a fairly heavy coating of blue eye shadow, rosy blusher and pink lipstick. Caitlin couldn’t help smiling as she pictured Nathan inexpertly applying the face paints. Isabelle skipped into the living room, hauling a bulging treat bag filled with candy. Nathan followed, apparently completely at ease in his own costume.
He should have looked ridiculous, Caitlin thought in bemusement. Instead, he was gorgeous. A tall, lean, sandy-haired, blue-eyed hero. Funny, she had never fancied hersel
f as Lois Lane—until now.
“You really go all out for this holiday, don’t you?” she asked him quizzically as she snapped off the outside light to put an end to the festivities for the evening.
He chuckled. “This was Isabelle’s idea. I’ve been letting her look at some of my old comic books, and Superman and Supergirl are her favorites.”
“You have a comic book collection?” she asked without surprise.
“Not a particularly valuable one. Just my favorites from when I was a kid—maybe a hundred editions.”
“Oh. Just a hundred,” she teased, making him grin.
“Nate wasn’t sure he wanted to dress up, but I told him it would be more fun if we both did,” Isabelle confided. “Look how much candy I got, Miss Caitlin. Tons and tons.”
“Very impressive.” Caitlin emptied the half dozen remaining pieces of candy in her bowl into Isabelle’s treat bag. “There you go. Be sure and let Nathan go through everything before you eat it, okay? Just to make sure it all looks safe and tightly wrapped.”
“I will. Nate already made me promise.”
“I’ve refreshed myself on basic trick-or-treat protocol,” he added.
Caitlin gave him a thumbs-up of approval before asking Isabelle, “Have you had a good time today?”
“Oh, yes!” The child launched immediately into a breathless litany of the events of her day, beginning with breakfast, rambling through her morning preschool classes and continuing through the Halloween program and carnival that had followed. She concluded with a detailed itinerary of the houses where they had stopped for trick-or-treating—all belonging to friends of her brother, she added.
Caitlin listened politely, though her gaze kept wandering to Nathan. He did look fine in those tights, she thought with a stifled sigh.
Barely pausing for breath after her monologue, Isabelle added, “I got to go to the bathroom.”
Nathan groaned. “Isabelle.”
“Well, I do!” she insisted, wide-eyed.
Caitlin smiled. “I happen to have a bathroom. Let me show you where it is.”
Isabelle took her hand. “Okay.”
Leading the little girl to the first door on the right in the hallway, Caitlin reached in to turn on the light. “Do you need any assistance?”
“No, thank you. I can do it.”
Amused by the child’s brusquely independent tone, Caitlin stepped out of the doorway. “Call out if you need anything.”
Isabelle firmly closed the door between them. Chuckling, Caitlin stepped back into the living room and was immediately enveloped by a pair of strong male arms.