Mall-O-Ween Mischief Read online

  MALL-O-WEEN MISCHIEF

  AN AT THE MALL HOLIDAY STANDALONE NOVELLA

  SARAH ROBINSON

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Resources on the Gender Spectrum

  Bonus Story: A Food Court Friendsgiving

  Subscribe to Sarah’s Newsletter!

  Excerpt from Mall I Want for Christmas is You

  Chapter 1

  Excerpt from Mall You Need is Love

  Chapter 1

  Excerpt from Mall Out of Luck

  Chapter 1

  Excerpt from Mall American Girl

  Chapter 1

  About the Author

  Also by Sarah Robinson

  CHAPTER ONE

  JAY

  “That’s a ridiculous color for a dog,” Dr. Jekyll Storm said as he cast a long look at his sister. It had been a while since they’d been in the same place for long, but ever since he’d moved back to town, it felt like she was glued to him. “It’s neon orange, for God’s sake.”

  “I mean, some dogs are orange, Jay,” his sister Winter replied, shrugging her shoulders as they walked past Pugs & Kisses, the local pet store and groomer in the Yule Heights Shopping Mall. “Like those little Shiba Inus, some Golden Retrievers, and I bet you can find an orange chihuahua or two.”

  He shook his head. “No, those are brown. Maybe reddish brown if you want to stretch your imagination, but definitely not like that Pumpkin Spice Labradoodle in the window.”

  Winter paused in front of the pet storefront and watched the orange-dyed dog that was wearing a pumpkin collar running around in a pen with a visitor petting him—probably considering adopting him. “But he’s so cute! Look, I bet he’s up for adoption. We could get a dog.”

  Jay had zero time for his younger sister’s theatrical fantasies. It was bad enough that she was basically a carbon copy of their mother—the human who actually thought naming him Jekyll would be a great idea, sparking his decision to go by Jay since quickly learning in grade school that children did not take kindly to anyone slightly outside the societal norm—but he was certainly not going to indulge Winter’s impulsiveness on top of all of that. Being the son of the local Wiccan leader and alchemy shop owner was absolutely not considered normal, something his sister embraced, but Jay fought hard against.

  “First of all—we? I thought you were staying with me temporarily after that entire mess with Summer,” Jay reminded her, purposefully throwing in Winter’s ex-girlfriend’s name as a small dig. She’d completely melted down when that relationship had ended, and now Jay had to literally work in the same mall as her since Summer owned the local tanning salon. He just avoided the east wing of Yule Heights Shopping Mall as much as possible in hopes of not having another awkward encounter. “Now you think we’re adopting a dog together? Absolutely not. And, second, I work way too many long hours to be taking care of a dog.”

  Winter rolled her eyes so loudly he could hear her annoyance. “Sorry we can’t all be doctors and stare into people’s eyes all day. Some of us are actually out there trying to make a difference, you know.”

  Now it was Jay’s turn to be irritated. “Optometrists do a lot more than just look in people’s eyes all day, and being a doctor is the literal definition of making a difference in people’s lives. Posting TikTok videos where you transition between masc looks and feminine looks is barely considered clickbait.”

  “That’s not what my one point two million followers would say,” Winter snipped back.

  Jay had to consciously relax his jaw when he noticed he was gritting his teeth. God, he needed to check in with her therapist sometime soon.

  “Are you guys looking to adopt?” A tall woman with short, black hair that was only interrupted by one orange streak across her side part walked out of the front door of the pet store and smiled at them. There was something engaging about her that immediately made his stomach tighten—like he felt the need to defend himself from…feelings? He wasn’t sure what. “I see you guys have been looking at Pumpernickel in the window there.”

  “And it’s named Pumpernickel?” Winter practically swooned as she looked back at the dog on the other side of the glass.

  “We could not be less interested,” Jay informed the woman, trying his best not to notice the way her figure perfectly filled out the graphic T-shirt and dark jeans she was wearing. “It’s inhumane to dress up a dog like that and dye its fur. The poor thing looks ridiculous.”

  The woman’s nostrils flared and her hands perked on her rounded hips. “Excuse me? I’ll have you know that Pumpernickel loves to be groomed and pampered, and we use only the best pet-safe fur dye on the market.”

  Winter put a hand on Jay’s chest and pushed him back slightly. “I am so sorry about my brother. He’s new here and has no idea what he’s talking about.”

  “I can talk about dogs, Winter,” Jay cut her off, but didn’t bother to push back. “If she can’t take some constructive feedback, then maybe she shouldn’t be dying dogs for Halloween.”

  “They,” the angry human in front of him corrected, and the fire in their eyes was intriguing. Jay’s attention perked up as they continued to speak. “My pronouns are they/them. Not she.”

  Jay blinked once, twice…then shook his head. The person standing in front of him clearly looked like a woman, so he wasn’t sure what the hell they were talking about. “Okay, and my pronouns are doctor. So, what game are we playing now?”

  Winter smacked him in the chest hard this time. “Oh my God, Jay. You can’t just disrespect people’s pronouns like that. They just told you they’re nonbinary. That’s not the same as going to eye doctor school and getting a certificate.”

  “It’s optometry school,” he corrected Winter. “And it’s not just a certificate.”

  “I’m sorry for my older brother,” his sister continued, refusing to acknowledge him. “He’s a boomer in a millennial’s body. I’m Winter—do you own Pugs & Kisses?”

  “Avery,” they introduced themselves with a thin, clearly forced smile. “Yeah, I’m the owner. I opened Pug & Kisses about two years ago. My brother owns the jewelry store down on the west end of the mall—Val Rossi?”

  “We love Val.” Winter was now using her sugary-people-pleasing voice, and Jay immediately recognized when she was in damage control mode. Though, if he had to guess, it was probably only because Winter wanted to ask Avery out since Winter was always looking for the next great love to completely upend her life.

  His sister’s emotional rollercoaster love life was way too much of a hassle to keep up with and he liked to steer clear of it entirely.

  “Who’s Val?” Jay couldn’t remember meeting a jewelry store owner, but then again, he’d met a lot of mall shop owners in the last month and it was hard to keep everyone straight. Yule Heights Shopping Mall was constantly bustling, and there was a steady turn over in storefronts, but a few loyals who seemed like they’d been there since the start.

  Winter cut her eyes at him. “Mara’s husband?”

  “Oh, the arcade owner.” That woman, he remembered. She’d already cornered him last week to hustle him into joining the Yule Heights Halloween Storefront Contest, and now he had to somehow decorate an optometrist front window for a spooky holiday.

  Like that made any sense at all.

  “You seem fun,” Avery added in a tone that implied the very opposite. Suddenly a light went on in their eyes, and Jay wasn’t sure why his skin felt electric the moment he saw it. “Oh God, please tell me you are not the one replacing Dr. Juarez?”

  “Dr. Juarez sold me his practice when he retired, yes,” Jay confirmed. “But I’m changing the name. Eye Caramba doesn’t really fit my style.”

  “Agreed. You and fun definitely don’t seem like a match,” Avery responded nonchalantly.

  His nostrils flared at the jab. “Or maybe Storm Optical Care is just more professional, and I’m an actual professional—something you might want to learn a bit about yourself.”

  “Stormy eyes? Sounds like a romance novel description.” Avery’s hands were back on their hips and they seemed to level their gaze at him, as if daring an escalation in conflict.

  Winter laughed. “They actually have a point, Jay. Stormy eyes is very romantic.”

  The irritation was getting thicker in Jay’s blood. “It’s not a romance novel. Our last name is Storm—I’m Dr. Jekyll Storm. It’s named after me.”

  “Jekyll?” Avery’s brows lifted so high on their forehead they nearly touched their hairline. “Your first name is Jekyll? You can’t be named that and also be an asshole. You’ve got to just pick one.”

  Winter was laughing harder now. “Okay, now I definitely want to adopt a dog from them.”

  “Remember you live rent-free under my roof,” Jay tossed out there, trying hard not to roll his eyes. That wouldn’t be very professional, after all.

  “Hey, guys! Looks like you’ve met!” Mara walked up to their little trio at that moment wearing her signature flannel shirt tied around her waist, oversized jeans, and sleeveless shirt that showed off an arm full of tattoos. Her hair was dyed platinum with orange and black streaks in it—clearly she was another person who liked to celebrate the holidays with Halloween only a week away. He could see why Avery and Mara were friends already. “This is great for me—two birds, on
e stone.”

  “Hey, Mara.” Avery smiled at their sister-in-law. “What’s up?”

  “The Yule Heights Halloween Storefront Contest is going to have a store crawl for all participants who will then vote at the end on which stop was the best decorated stop,” Mara informed them, holding out a clipboard in front of her and scanning over it with a pencil. “And since Eye Caramba is such close proximity-wise to Pugs & Kisses, we’re going to group your storefronts together into one stop on the crawl.”

  “It’s Storm Optical Care,” Jay corrected Mara. “I’m going to change the sign this week.”

  Mara looked stricken, her head rearing back as she turned to look up at him given that she was at least a foot shorter than he was. “But it’s been Eye Caramba for fifteen years.”

  He shrugged. “And now it’s Storm Optical Care.”

  Mara shook her head and seemed to push the whole thing away mentally as if that was beyond her scope of focus for the moment. “Okay, whatever. The point is, you two can decide if you want to coordinate to do a joint storefront, or if you’d rather do two separate themes.”

  “You want me to team up with him?” Avery threw out the words like an accusation. “Mara, come on. I’ve never won this contest and this was going to be my year. I’m not sharing the spotlight with anyone else.”

  Mara grinned. “I like the optimism, but like I said, you guys decide. If you want to be separate, then I’ll make one stop with two voting options. Just let me know before Friday.”

  With that, she walked away, flipping her Halloween-themed hair over her shoulder.

  “I’m not teaming up,” Jay immediately filled the gap between them. “Because I’m not doing it at all.”

  Avery blinked slowly and even Winter looked up at her brother in surprise.

  “You’re just not going to decorate for Halloween?” Avery seemed confused. “Literally every storefront in the mall does it. It’s like, tradition. Holidays are a big deal in Yule Heights.”

  He shrugged. “Well, they are not a big deal at Storm Optical Care.”

  “Jay, I could just get a few paper bats and tape them to the front windows,” Winter tried to intervene. “It doesn’t have to be extensive.”

  “My store is a professional one, not a gimmick,” Jay replied. “No bats. No decorations. Just professional eye care services.”

  “You really like that word, don’t you?” Avery cut their eyes at him before turning away to head back into the pet store. “Soooo professional.”

  He could hear their last words huffed under their breath, and it took everything in him not to snap back. But then Winter began pushing him to keep walking now, sending apologetic looks back at Avery.

  “I’ll talk to him. I’m sorry!” she called out.

  The moment they were through the front entry of Storm Optical Care, his sister glared at him. “You know, I have a name in this town. I’ve lived here for a long time, and this place is really special. You’re just coming back into town after nearly a decade away, and the first impression you want to make on the town—and, side note, potential customers—is that you don’t give a shit?”

  Jay rounded the front counter as he considered what his sister was saying. “Would people really think that? Like it would impact customer retention?”

  “That was the part you choose to focus on?” Winter shook her head. “Typical.”

  Jay was thinking about the entire thing now like a marketing ploy. Being a stop on this Halloween mall crawl would bring a lot of potential customers to his front door and introduce them to the new name. “No, no, I mean, you do have a point.”

  Winter tossed up her hands as she dropped into a nearby chair. “Whatever gets you there, I guess. But you need to go talk to Avery about it.”

  Jay glanced toward the store entrance with a pit of dread—and maybe some excitement—in his stomach. Clearly, he hadn’t made friends out of his new neighbor, but could they be teammates?

  CHAPTER TWO

  AVERY

  “He’s insufferable,” Avery groaned as they leaned across the front desk next to the cash register at Pugs & Kisses.

  “I am really going to miss Dr. Juarez,” Lizzy said from where she was standing by a display near the front window of cute greeting cards that all had different animal themes to it. She was busy organizing the cards and stacking new ones they’d just received in earlier that morning. “He was always so funny on Halloween. Remember when he put all those bloody eyeballs in front of his store and the warning tape? I mean, I think that probably lost him some customers, but it was hilarious as hell.”

  Avery grinned—that was definitely one for the books. “He emailed me last week that he and his wife are all settled in their new house in the Florida Keys. Apparently, it’s everything they dreamed retirement would be and more, so you can’t really blame him for that.”

  “Jealous,” Lizzy shot back. “Ask him if he has a guest room for visitors.”

  “Maybe we could send Dr. Jekyll down there and he never come back,” Avery commented.

  “I still can’t believe his name is actually Jekyll.” Lizzy laughed, placing the last greeting card on the rack and then turning back to Avery. “I mean, do you think his parents hate him?”

  “Who?” Adim, one of the animal caretakers on staff at Pugs & Kisses, walked up to them to catch the tail end of their conversation. “I want the tea!”

  “The man who bought out Dr. Juarez’s store after he retired.” Avery nodded their head in the direction of Eye Caramba—or, Storm Optical Care now, apparently. “His name is Jekyll Storm.”

  Adim’s eyes lit up. “Wait…is he related to Winter Storm?”

  Lizzy looked over at Avery with a confused frown. “I follow her on TikTok, but I thought that was like a stage name. Her real name is Winter Storm?”

  “Real name,” Avery promised her. “She’s always hanging around the mall, even though she doesn’t work here. That entire family is strange.”

  “Well, duh,” Adim huffed, as if that was the most obvious thing he’d ever heard. “I mean, don’t you know who their mom is?”

  Both Avery and Lizzy were focused on Adim now. “No. Who is their mom?” Avery asked.

  “Calliope Cross,” Adim answered. “Remember that whole scandal a few years back surrounding the alchemy store at the end of Main Street? Their mom owned that store before she went to jail.”

  “Jail?” Avery’s brows shot up. “What happened?”

  Adim pulled up an article on his phone and handed it over to Avery to read. “According to the article, it was eleven years ago, and I was a kid when it happened so I probably don’t have all the details right, but basically, she murdered their father. Or, he went missing and no body was ever found.”

  “Excuse me?” Lizzy balked as she leaned over Avery’s shoulder to read the same article Avery was now skimming.

  “I mean, they can’t prove that, but Jericho Storm was last seen in that shop. To this day, she still won’t tell officials what happened to him or where he went, so they decided she must have killed him. Maybe like a spell or hex, or something. She’s a witch, you know. Her own words.”

  A shiver ran down Avery’s back. “Holy shit…do you think this is why he didn’t want to decorate for Halloween?”

  Lizzy shrugged. “I mean, if he’s already worried about being seen as a possible murdering witch’s son in this town, then maybe he doesn’t want to add to the gossip mill by putting skeletons out—literally.”

  That was a fair point, and now Avery felt the slightest bit bad for the annoyingly professional eye doctor. His entire back story just sounded traumatic as hell, and also a pretty good reason to be an asshole now. Or, maybe a reason not to be an asshole if he didn’t want to be grouped in with his family history…but still. That kind of past couldn’t possibly breed a happy person, and Avery felt a tinge of sympathy toward the grumpy neighbor next door.