"I told you, I don't want to be a witch, Daddy. I want to be an angel."

The most definitely un-angelic whine echoed through the Halloween section of Tori's Toybox. Mike rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, wishing he could find inspiration there to tell him how to deal with a four-year-old on the brink of a full-fledged temper tantrum.

"Last week you said you wanted to be a witch," he said, working hard to keep his voice calm and frustration-free. "We already bought the costume, Bella. Remember, that fancy black dress with the shiny purple stars you loved so much? We're just here to find a pointy hat to match."

His daughter's bottom lip started to jut out dangerously. "But Brittany's gonna be an angel and I want to be one, too." It would be easier to just give in to avert the scene he knew would result if he refused to buy the flowing angel costume, but he was trying hard to become more assertive with her increasingly stubborn whims. It was more difficult than he ever imagined, especially when he just wanted his little girl to be happy. He wished again -- as he had a thousand times in the last two years -- that Cheryl were here so he didn't have to deal with Bella's tantrums alone.

She had always been much better at this parenting stuff than he was. Since her death in a car accident, he'd muddled through as best he could but without her easy finesse. When it came to parenting skills, his wife had been like an artist creating exquisite landscapes , while he was more like someone slapping paint on a house.

"Can I help you find something?" He turned to find Tori McAfee, his younger sister's best friend, standing next to a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Frankenstein. With her funky clothes and her dangly earrings in the shape of little ghosts, she looked like a teenager instead of the toy store owner. "We need a witch's hat," he said.

"I want to be an angel," Bella said stubbornly.

Tori looked from one of them to the other, as if assessing the situation. Finally she smiled. "Do you like kittens, Bella?"

Bella frowned at the abrupt change of subject but nodded. "My friend Brittany has two. Daddy says we can't have one since it would have to be by itself during the day since I stay at my Grandma's house while he's at work." She sent a glare in his direction.

Great, he thought. Thanks for giving her another reason to be mad at me. Oblivious to his irritation, Tori sent his daughter another smile.

"Did you know witches usually have black cats?" Bella shook her head. "And look what I have here?" With a magician-like flourish, Tori pulled a palm-sized black stuffed kitten from behind her back. It had Velcro paws and looked as if it would stick to just about anything, including a fancy black dress with shiny purple stars. "We're running a special today. Everyone who buys a witch's hat gets a little black cat to go with it."

Intrigued, Bella gazed at the kitten. He could almost see her mind switch gears. "Well," she said, after giving the matter careful consideration, "I guess I could be a witch after all, if I can have a kitty."

Crisis averted. In his relief, he could have kissed Tori Ñ if she wasn't his kid sister's best friend, and entirely too offbeat for him. "Thank you," he said quietly at the cash register after they'd picked out a hat. He checked to make sure Bella was still busy admiring a display of Teddy bears in various Halloween costumes before adding, "I didn't want to have to drag her out of here kicking and screaming."

"Don't mention it, Mike," she said, with that warm smile again. "There's no one quite as stubborn as a four-year-old. I've found diversion is the best tactic to prevent a full-blown fit."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Now be sure you stop back here Halloween night for our big party. We're giving away grab bags and lots and lots of candy."

"Can we come back, Daddy?" Bella tugged on his pant leg.

He shrugged, still so relieved at not having to fight a tantrum that he felt generous. "I suppose so."

*****

"Now there's someone you ought to ask out," his mother said the next day after work when he told her about the incident.

"Tori?" He couldn't quite keep the shock from his voice.

"Why not?" his mother asked. "She's gorgeous, she's got a thriving business and all the kids in town love her. Trust me, you could do a lot worse."

"She's not exactly my type," he hedged. He preferred quiet grace and elegance to a woman with orange fingernails and triple-pierced ears.

"She might be a little flamboyant, but she's a wonderful person underneath that. Karen loves her like a sister. Ask her out and you'll see."

Her colorful style had nothing to do with it, he admitted. He just wasn't ready to date. Maybe he'd never be ready. Cheryl had been gone for two years and he still woke up each morning feeling as if his heart had a gaping, jagged hole in it. How could he even contemplate becoming involved with another woman, especially one so very different from his wife? Still, he couldn't stop thinking about Tori in the three days before Halloween. Apparently, neither could Bella.

"You promised I could go to that store and see my friend," she complained when he started for home after they went trick or treating. He sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was fight the masses at Tori's Toybox. Besides the fact that he wasn't sure he wanted to see her again, it had been a crazy day at the office and he'd already spent two hours traipsing around town with a certain little blonde-headed witch. But he had promised. How could he teach Bella the importance of keeping her word when he didn't honor his own?

It was as chaotic as he'd expected at the old Victorian house Tori had turned into a child's paradise. Costumed children were everywhere. Some bobbed for apples in a little plastic swimming pool in one corner while others stood in line beneath a sign advertising a spook alley.

In the middle directing traffic stood a fortune teller with huge hoop earrings and a dress made up of acres of colorful satin. After a closer look, he realized the fortune teller's wide, cheerful smile belonged to Tori. She greeted them with a delighted wave that sent bracelets jangling. "Where's my favorite little witch?"

Bella smiled shyly. "See my kitty? I named her Tori."

Tori clutched a hand to her chest. Her nails were painted purple now, he noticed, with gold half-moons and stars. "You named her after me? Oh Bella, I'm honored. Why don't you take your bag over to Sharon at the cash register and she can put something special in it for you." Always eager for a treat, his daughter scampered off, leaving the two of them alone. Or as alone as they could be in a crowded toy store, anyway.

Tori gave his clothes a careful look and her green eyes gleamed with amusement. "Nice costume, Mike. Let me see ÑÊyou're a stressed-out executive, right?" He glanced down at his slacks and white shirt. Bella had been so excited about trick or treating that he hadn't taken time to do anything more than remove his suit coat and loosen his tie before he headed out the door with her.

"Good guess," he said wryly. "I wasn't sure I could pull it off. It's a real stretch for me."

For some reason, her laugh made him think of cotton candy and caramel apples and roller coaster rides. A man could grow addicted to that laugh Ñ. He jerked his mind from the thought just as Bella returned to show off the candy bar she'd received.

"Would you like to go into the spook alley?" Tori asked.

Eyes wide, Bella shook her head vigorously. "Oh no. It's too scary."

"What if I hold your hand and go with you?"

Chewing on her bottom lip, she gazed at the spook alley sign then Tori's smiling face and finally reached up and grabbed her hand.

"You too, Daddy," she said, holding out her other hand.

As the three of them walked past displays aimed more at amusement than terror, the cold truth settled in his chest. His four-year-old daughter had more courage than he did. She was willing to face her fears head-on while he still let his control him.

Ghosts and monsters didn't scare him, but the idea of risking his heart again sent him into a panic. He couldn't spend the rest of his life running from love, though, refusing to take a chance, mourning for a past that could never be regained, he realized.

By the time they made it through the other side, Bella was shrieking with excitement. "Let's go through again! Can we, Daddy?"

"What do you think, Mike?" Tori asked. "Are you up to it?"

As he gazed into her laughing green eyes, his fears seemed to drift away like mist in the night. A soft warmth flowed through him, filling all the empty hollows of his heart. "You know what?" he said, feeling as if he'd walked into a world of color and light after spending too long in the dark, "I think I am. I really think I am."