Pumpkin Spice Lies: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 16

to be a lot of fun. There had been a hum of excitement throughout the town when local crafters, as well as crafters from out of town, were invited to sell their wares. I hoped there would be a lot of fun Halloween themed items for sale so I could add to my growing collection.
I squeezed his hand. “I’m so glad you were able to take some time off so we could do this.”
He grinned at me. “Me too. I told the chief I was going to take an hour or two and enjoy myself. I’ve already put in four hours at work this morning, so he didn’t have a problem with it.”
“I noticed you were gone early this morning. It’s a shame you’ll have to go back to the station, though.”
He nodded. “I don’t have a choice about it,” he said as we walked up to a booth that sold wood crafted items. There was an adorable painted pumpkin sitting right in the middle of the booth table.
“How cute,” I said, picking the pumpkin up and looking at it. The artist had put a lot of detail into the face.
“That is cute,” Ethan said. “Look at that.”
I looked up. He was pointing at a hand-painted wooden sign that said Pumpkin Hollow, land of Halloween. It was cute with pumpkin vine tendrils along the side and small jack-o’-lanterns painted on the corners.
“Oh, I really like that,” I said, stepping closer.
“How are you folks today?” the woman working the booth asked us.
I smiled at her. “We’re doing great. You have some really cute things here.”
She nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate hearing that. I’ve been working on Halloween items since Easter.” She chuckled. “My husband thought I was out of my mind, but I told him I was coming to the Pumpkin Hollow Days craft fair if it was the last thing I did.”
“Well I for one, am glad that you did,” I said. “Everything you have is so cute.” The booth table was filled with a variety of painted wooden signs and pumpkins.
“Thank you kindly,” she said. “If you want to know anything about any of my items, just ask.”
“I will.” I glanced back at Ethan. “I think I’ve got to have that sign. It would look cute hanging on my door.”
He nodded. “Then you had better get it now. Somebody else will come along and snatch it right out from under you.”
I looked at the woman. “I think I’m going to take that sign.” I pointed at the one hanging up.
Ethan paid for the sign and we moved down the sidewalk with Ethan carrying the sign beneath his arm. I turned to him. “Thank you for buying the sign for me.”
“Well, I look at it as I’m actually buying it for myself, too. Since we’ll be married pretty soon.”
“Then you came up with a good plan.”
“I’m smart like that.” He winked at me.
“Oh look,” I said when I spotted some handmade candles in another booth. “I’ve got to check out the candles.”
He followed me over to the candle table. “I don’t doubt it.”
“Hi folks,” the man behind the booth said. “All our candles are handmade, with natural soy wax, and all-natural essential oils for scent.”
I picked up a deep purple one in a pint-sized mason jar and inhaled. “Oh my gosh, plums.” I held it up to Ethan, and he smelled it.
“That smells good.”
“It does,” I said, inhaling again.
The man looked at Ethan. “Glad you brought the wife by. She seems to love candles.”
“That she does,” Ethan said without correcting him. He winked at me when I glanced at him.
I looked over all the different colored candles and started picking them up and smelling them. They were heavenly.
I looked at Ethan. “I sure hate to go behind Polly’s back and buy candles from somebody else.”
Ethan chuckled. “We don’t have to tell her, you know.”
I nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. I think I’ve got to have this plum candle.” I picked up the purple one I had started with and the man wrapped it up and put it in a bag for me. I paid for the candle and we moved on down the sidewalk to look at more booths.
The sun was shining, but the day was going to be cooler than the past couple of weeks, and I was happy about that. I had the day off from the candy store, and I’d spent the morning cleaning my house and doing laundry. It felt good to not wear a costume today. I had braided my hair into two braids and wore an orange T-shirt and white shorts.
We wandered down the sidewalk that went through the middle of Pumpkin Hollow Park. There were just as many craft booths as there had been vendor’s booths the weekend before. Getting to see everyone’s wares was a lot of fun.
We stopped in front of a booth that sold small vintage and antique items, and I picked up a clear glass bottle with measurements on it. There was a mother cat and two kittens embossed on it.
“This is interesting.”
“Do you know what that is?” the man behind the booth asked me.
I looked at him and shook my head. “No, what is it?”
“That is an antique baby bottle.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Seriously? It’s a baby bottle for a real baby?” It may have been a silly question, but the bottle was flat with measurements along the sides for every ounce up to eight ounces. I’d never seen anything like it.
He chuckled. “For real live human babies. It was used probably around the 1920s or 1930s.”
“Wow,” I said, looking it over. I held it up to Ethan so he could look at it.
He took it from me. “That is interesting,” he said.