Free Haunted Hamlet (Zoe Donovan Mystery) by Kathi Daley

can make homemade pizzas with jack-o’-lantern faces on them.”
    “Levi will be looking for chicken wings.”
    Ellie shrugged. “I’m sure I can come up with a spooky way to present them. Give me a day or two to really think about it and I’m sure we can come up with a variety of offerings. Did you ever decide on a costume?”
    “Zak is going to go as Frankenstein and I ’m going to be the Bride of Frankenstein.”
    “Speaking of bride s, did you ever have the talk?” Ellie asked.
    “No, not in so many words. I guess we decided to put the subject of marriage on the back burner for now. I know he loves me and wants to marry me, and I want to marry him too. Someday,” I qualified. “I imagine it will come up again at some point, and I’m hoping I’ll be ready to say yes with the enthusiasm and certainty he deserves. How about you? Have you come up with a costume?”
    I made a left -hand turn off the highway to a narrow county road lined with aspens in full autumn color. The unirrigated pastures had turned brown, providing a striking contrast to the yellows and oranges.
    “I still can’t decide .” Ellie sighed. “Please don’t take this wrong, but I’m not all that excited about the party this year. Not that it won’t be awesome. It’s just that you’re going with Zak and Levi is going with Darla, which leaves me to play the third wheel—or I guess I should say fifth wheel.”
    “You could come with Kelly,” I offered.
    “Kelly is bringing a date. Everyone is coming with a date.”
    I felt bad for Ellie. I realized she might not be all that far off with her assertion that everyone was coming with a date. I knew Jeremy was going to attend with Jessica , and my other assistant, Tiffany, was coming with our veterinarian, Scott. As I thought about the situation, I realized Ellie could very well be the only person who wasn’t paired up. Suddenly, I had a new mission to add to the fifty others I was already juggling: find Ellie a date, and not just any date, an awesome date.
    “Oh , hey.” Ellie interrupted my thoughts. “It looks like we’re here.”
    I pulled onto a dirt road that served as a private drive. The ranch was far enough off the beaten path so as to appear to be totally isolated. There was a large sign that read Darwin Horse Ranch and K-9 Academy . The large ranch-style house was surrounded by miles upon miles of green pasture that apparently was irrigated and divided into neat sections with white fences. Each pasture was dotted with happy residents grazing in the warm afternoon sun.
    “Wow, it’s really beautiful,” Ellie gushed.
    “Yeah, it’s awesome. Peter said to meet him in at the kennel, which must be that white building to the left.”
    “Yeah, the red building is definitely a barn , and the white one looks like it has individual dog runs attached,” Ellie said.
    I slowed my truck to a crawl to avoid kicking up more dust than I had to on the dirt road. As I pulled up in front of the white building , a tall man who I would guess was in his midthirties walked out to greet us. He was dressed in faded jeans and a light blue T-shirt. He wore a baseball cap with the San Francisco Giants logo on his head.
    “Zoe?” he greeted me.
    I hopped down out of my monster of a truck.
    “Yes, I’m Jeremy’s friend, Zoe Donovan, and this is my friend, Ellie Davis.” I reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Your ranch is gorgeous.”
    “Thank you ; I like it. The land has been in my family for four generations and I’m quite proud of it.”
    “I didn’t realize yo u raised horses as well as dogs,” I commented as a herd of horses trotted by in a nearby pasture.
    “My father and his father before him were horse breeders , but I’ve always had a fondness for dogs and dog training, so when I inherited the ranch, I added the dogs.”
    “Do you train the horses as well?” I asked.
    Peter nodded toward a man sitting on the fence of one of the corrals , watching another man dressed