“I’m going to kill Clarissa,” I said so calmly, Heather blanched. “In the space of several hours, I’ve destroyed my entire life. And she warned me. The piece of shit warned me and I didn’t listen.”
“Daisy, that’s not allowed,” Heather said, putting her hand on my arm.
“She tried to send Steve to the darkness based on a lie and her hatred of me,” I hissed. “I should just forget about that?”
“No,” Heather said, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose and sighing. “No, you shouldn’t, but…”
I stopped for a moment and tried to make sense of my thoughts so I could make Heather understand why this was the only way. I knew Steve wouldn’t get better. In my act of saving him, I might have very well sentenced him to a life of nothingness.
“Heather, I just banished Gideon from my life because I blamed him for what happened to Steve,” I said flatly.
“Gideon didn’t try to defend himself?” she questioned, startled.
I shook my head and laughed. It was a hollow, ugly laugh. “He tried. I wouldn’t listen. Seems like that’s a pattern for me lately. Hence, I systematically just decimated any chance of happiness I will ever have. It’s gone. I have myself to thank for that—not Clarissa. She started the ball rolling. I grabbed it and ran it in for a touchdown. However, she played with Steve’s fate because she was jealous of Gideon and me. She’ll pay for that. And for what she did, she dies.”
“Sit down,” Heather demanded. “Now.”
“I’ll give you five minutes,” I said, still standing. “If you want to represent me in my murder trial, I’d appreciate it. You’ll probably lose and that might not be good for business. I’ll understand if you don’t want me for a client. However, I am going to kill her and it’s completely premeditated.”
Heather’s laugh was so shocking, I almost smiled. But smiling wasn’t in my repertoire right now.
“Let me start by saying I would love for Clarissa to be eliminated from this world. However, it’s not an option. She can’t be killed.”
“Are you serious?” I shouted.
“I am,” Heather said. “Here’s the real question. Do you want Steve to stay in this state forever?”
I paled and sat. It didn’t occur to me that he would be like he was right now until the end of time… if time actually ended.
“No.”
“Fine,” Heather said. “I’ll represent you.”
“I thought you said Clarissa couldn’t die,” I said, confused now.
“There are far worse things than death, Daisy,” she said with the beginnings of a smile. “Far, far worse.”
“Clarissa’s decision was wrong. Steve didn’t commit suicide. Why can’t it just be reversed?”
“Once a decree has been made, it stands,” Heather said. “However, in this case…”
That was all I needed to hear. I was in. “Tell me what I have to do.”
“You won’t like it.”
I sighed and pressed my lips together. The choices were not many. I was sure none of them were good, but at this point it didn’t matter. As long as Clarissa would pay for what she’d done and Steve wouldn’t be left like a dead vegetable, I was game. Gideon was gone. Due to my stupid habit of assuming I knew what the hell was going on, Gideon and I could probably not be fixed. It would forever be the biggest mistake I’d made, and I had to live with it. However, I was never going to assume anything again. If that was my lesson the price had been damned high.
“I don’t care. I’ll do it.”
So, she told me. She told me in great detail what had to be done. It was far more horrifying than what I’d imagined. But Heather had given me something.
Heather had given me hope.
There was a blinding golden light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
And maybe if I came through it in one piece with a small bit of my sanity intact, I’d search for Gideon and apologize. I didn’t think he would accept, but I would find him someday and tell him.
He deserved that.
And I owed it to him… because I still loved him. Not that it would make a difference in the end, but I knew. And that would have to be good enough.
“When do we start?” I asked.
“We start now,” she replied.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
Heather looked at me for a long moment, and then sighed. “Daisy, you can get your happiness back too. Love doesn’t disappear that easily.”
I smiled but I doubted it. Heather hadn’t been here when it went down between Gideon and me, but it was a nice thought—one I’d hold on to.
Forty was a shitty year, and it had barely started. Midlife had been one hell of a bumpy ride so far. I chose to believe midlife was a journey—not a destination. It was the only way I could go forward without breaking.
There was no other choice. My best friend’s afterlife was on the line… and possibly my happiness.
May the best woman win.
The End… for now
More In The Good To The Last Death Series
ORDER BOOK TWO NOW!
Midlife’s a journey. Enjoy the ride. Crisis included.
Never knew that life after death was far more dangerous than real life.
Never in my forty years did I think my new normal would be gluing body parts back onto ghosts and hosting a houseful of dead squatters. Thank God for superglue and a strong stomach.
Never thought I’d date the Grim Reaper and that I would be the one to blow it. I mean, how idiotic does one have to be to get dumped by a dude who lives in Hell?
Going about business as usual is not usual in any way. No one is who they seem to be… and to be honest, neither am I. What I’d known to be true has turned out to be myth. The Angels are frightening and the Demons are hot. Wait. I meant not. Who am I kidding? The Grim Reaper is very hot—like a freaking pre-menopausal hot flash hot.
Now I’m in a race against time and all sorts of unsavory supernatural horrors to save my deceased gay husband’s afterlife. And that was a sentence I never thought would leave my lips.
Whatever. I’ll yank up my big girl panties, stock up on wine and lean on my girlfriends as needed. As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get inebriated… or something like that.
With everything to lose, I have no choice but to grow some lady balls. That I can do. I just hope balls will be enough.
I had planned to live midlife in peace, not in pieces.
Good luck to me…
Robyn’s Book List
(in correct reading order)
HOT DAMNED SERIES
Fashionably Dead
Fashionably Dead Down Under
Hell on Heels
Fashionably Dead in Diapers
A Fashionably Dead Christmas
Fashionably Hotter Than Hell
Fashionably Dead and Wed
Fashionably Fanged
Fashionably Flawed
A Fashionably Dead Diary
Fashionably Forever After
Fashionably Fabulous
A Fashionable Fiasco
Fashionably Fooled
More coming soon…
SEA SHENANIGANS SERIES
Tallulah’s Temptation
Ariel’s Antics
Misty’s Mayhem
Madison’s Mess
Petunia’s Pandemonium
Jingle Me Balls
SHIFT HAPPENS SERIES
Ready to Were
Some Were in Time
No Were To Run
Were Me Out
Where We Belong
MAGIC AND MAYHEM SERIES
Switching Hour
Witch Glitch
A Witch in Time
Magically Delicious
A Tale of Two Witches
Three’s A Charm
Switching Witches
HANDCUFFS AND HAPPILY EVER AFTERS SERIES
How Hard Can it Be?
Size Matters
Cop a Feel
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br /> If after reading all the above you are still wanting more adventure and zany fun, read Pirate Dave and His Randy Adventures, the romance novel budding novelist Rena was helping wicked Evangeline write in How Hard Can It Be?
Warning: Pirate Dave Contains Romance Satire, Spoofing, and Pirates with Two Pork Swords.
PWF Pal Pimping
Betwixt by Darynda Jones
Divorced, desperate, and destitute, former restaurateur Defiance Dayne finds out she has been bequeathed a house by a complete stranger. She is surprised, to say the least, and her curiosity gets the better of her. She leaves her beloved Phoenix and heads to one of the most infamous towns in America: Salem, Massachusetts.
She’s only there to find out why a woman she’s never met would leave her a house. A veritable castle that has seen better days. She couldn’t possibly accept it, but the lawyer assigned to the case practically begs her to take it off her hands, mostly because she’s scared of it. The house. The inanimate structure that, as far as Dephne can tell, has never hurt a fly.
Though it does come with some baggage. A pesky neighbor who wants her gone. A scruffy cat who’s a bit of a jerk. And a handyman bathed ink who could moonlight as a supermodel for GQ.
She decides to give it three days, and not because of the model. She feels at home in Salem. Safe. But even that comes to a screeching halt when people begin knocking on her door day and night, begging for her help to locate their lost objects.
Come to find out, they think she’s a witch. And after a few mysterious mishaps, Dephne is beginning to wonder if they’re right.
BUY NOW!
Note From The Author
If you enjoyed reading It’s A Wonderful Midlife Crisis, please consider leaving a positive review or rating on the site where you purchased it. Reader reviews help my books continue to be valued by resellers and help new readers make decisions about reading them.
You are the reason I write these stories and I sincerely appreciate each of you!
Many thanks for your support,
~ Robyn Peterman
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More Paranormal Women’s Fiction
Need more Paranormal Women’s Fiction to tide you over? You can check out more of the amazing authors in the genre at:
www.paranormalwomensfiction.net
You will find fantastic books by my buddies; Darynda Jones, Mandy M. Roth, Michelle M. Pillow, Shannon Mayer, K.F. Breene, Jana DeLeon, Denise Grover Swank, Eve Langlais, Kristen Painter, Deanna Chase, Elizabeth Hunter and Christine Bell
About Robyn Peterman
Robyn Peterman writes because the people inside her head won’t leave her alone until she gives them life on paper. Her addictions include laughing really hard with friends, shoes (the expensive kind), Target, Coke (the drink not the drug LOL) with extra ice in a Yeti cup, bejeweled reading glasses, her kids, her super-hot hubby and collecting stray animals.
A former professional actress with Broadway, film and T.V. credits, she now lives in the South with her family and too many animals to count.
Writing gives her peace and makes her whole, plus having a job where she can work in sweatpants works really well for her.
It's A Wonderful Midlife Crisis : A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: Good To The Last Death Book One Page 28
