Midlife Blues: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Not Too Late Book 2) Read online

  Midlife Blues

  Not Too Late Series, Book 2

  by Victoria Danann

  Copyright 2020 Victoria Danann

  Published by 7th House Publishing, Imprint of Andromeda LLC

  Read more about this author and upcoming works at VictoriaDanann.com

  ***

  Hallow Hill at Hallows

  PROLOGUE

  I was sure I would never again experience anything more wonderful than October in Hallow Hill. In the words of John Denver, I felt like I’d come home to a place I’d never been before. The weather cooled to forties during the day. The low-lying fells that watched over our village had donned snow caps. Olivia kept cheery fires going in the study and kitchen during the day, and laid a fire in the bedroom for me to light at will.

  In addition to the change of weather, there was undeniable excitement in the air, not just about John David’s upcoming murder mystery dinner party, but about the Hallowstide Court Meet.

  I’d been a resident of Hallow Hill long enough to observe that my fae neighbors were commercially industrious. I suspected that they didn’t need to be. They could’ve chosen to spend their time dancing on a beach in Bimini drinking pina coladas garnished with pineapple slices, decorated with colorful umbrellas. But instead, they took pride in work and found satisfaction in being successful at business.

  Yes. I admired them for choosing the dignity of work and accomplishment over idle hedonism. I would soon learn that all magic kind are not as admirable.

  They spent their days increasing inventory and preparing for the influx of crowds. There were three eateries that I hadn’t known existed because they opened only during Court Meets.

  I visited Aisling and the puppies every day. For an hour I sat on the floor and played with the two that were to be mine or relaxed contented with my back against the wall while they slept in my lap.

  “Have you named them?” Lochlan asked one day out of the blue.

  “I’ve been tempted, but I seem to have a notion that I should wait. That somehow they’re going to tell me their names.”

  Lochlan chuckled. “Seems every day, you’re more one of us than human, Magistrate.”

  “Being human isn’t bad, Lochlan.”

  “Oh,” he hurried to say, “I know. I know. But there are undeniable advantages to being you.”

  How could I argue with that? But it reminded me of a persistently nagging question.

  “Lochlan, do you know what Geoffrey is? Keir always seems to get distracted before he answers that question.”

  “I know I’m an elf.”

  “Very subtle sidestep.” I sighed. “It was worth a try.”

  Lochlan smiled. “Why don’t you just ask him?”

  “I don’t know. Seems like it might be rude. ‘By the way, Dude. What the heck are you anyway?’”

  “Well. I understand your reluctance to pry.”

  I took Lochlan’s response to mean that I needed to let it go. I was sure that, if Geoffrey was one of the magic kind who go berserk and eat people, someone would do me the courtesy of mentioning it.

  CHAPTER TEN John David’s Jam

  The residents of Hallow Hill were as atwitter about John David’s dinner party as high school seniors a week before prom. After he’d decided to go with a 1920s theme, all the talk was about clothes. You would think I wasn’t the only one attending who hadn’t actually lived through the 1920s.

  I’m not saying that I wasn’t just as excited. How often do you get a chance to glam to the max and pretend to be attending a robber baron party? If you’re like me, the answer to that question would be never. Until now.

  I fussed over what I was going to wear, pored over the internet, and changed my mind a thousand times. Whenever I asked Keir what he was wearing, he just laughed and shook his head.

  As for me, I fell in love a dress, only to find that it was a Pinterest photo and not for sale anywhere. Ugh!

  So, I printed the photo and went to Esmerelda’s shop.

  “Esme!” I called when I entered but didn’t see her.

  Within seconds she appeared. “Magistrate.”

  “Yes. It’s me, the magistrate. Help!”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “I know exactly what I want to wear to John David’s dinner, but I can’t find anything like it for sale.”

  “That is a problem,” she said.

  I thrust the printout in front of her face. “Can you make this for me?”

  She didn’t take the paper from my hand, but studied it as I held it in the air.

  “This dress is not a weave,” she said. “It’s sequins and beads.”

  “Well. I know.”

  She motioned to her store. “Do you see sequins and beads?”

  I let the hand holding the photo drop, anticipating a profound disappointment on the horizon. I also made a conscious decision to keep to myself that I’d noticed there was extra snippiness in that question, even for Esmerelda.

  “No.”

  “Then why did you think I’d be able to help you with this?”

  “Because…” I waved my hand in the air. “You make things happen.”

  She threw back her head and laughed. I tried to remember if I’d ever seen her laugh like that and decided that I hadn’t.

  “Can I get a referral then?” I wiggled my eyebrows. “You know, of the magic sort?”

  She drew in a big breath through her nose. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”

  I brightened instantly. “That’s right! You didn’t!” I tracked the twinkle in her eye. “So, will you?” I hurriedly added. “I’ll pay premium. For the record, it’s not a bribe because there’s absolutely no corruption here. No indeedy.” When she gave no response, I mumbled. “Move along. Nothing to see here.”

  “You waste far too much energy with your very human concern over being a good person, Rita Hayworth.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn’t figure out what that might be. So, I finally settled on changing the subject.

  “What are you wearing? Inner wear and outer wear.”

  “Inner wear?”

  “Yeah. What does your dress look like? And what are you wearing to keep warm and dry until you get inside?

  She smiled her cat at the canary smile. “That information is under wraps.”

  I gaped. “Esme. You made a joke.”

  “I don’t joke. You know that.”

  With an insistent shake of my head, I said, “Nope. Now the best you can do is say you rarely joke.”

  “What’s that other photo you’re carrying?”

  I looked down, “Oh. I had a plan. If you said yes to making this dress happen, somehow, my next stop was going to be Braden at The Braid.” I showed her the photo of the gold, elven ear cuffs bejeweled with black stones to match the dress.

  “Hmmm.”

  “Hmmm” should be forbidden as a thing one woman can say to another woman when discussing what the first woman is wearing to a party. It’s just all kinds of wrong.

  “You know you can’t leave that hanging in the air.” I looked at my printed photo again. “Is there a problem with the cuffs?”

  “Well, Lochlan and Ivy will be there.”

  “Yeesssss?”

  “They have pointed ears.”

  I swallowed my scoff. It’s not politic to challenge the person charged with making the dress that might very well be my spirit animal.

  “I’ve noticed that.” I did my best to keep my voice even and not sounding as sarcastic as the duh I was thinking.

&
nbsp; “Well.” She paused. I waited. “You wouldn’t want to offend them.”

  I would’ve bet my guest cottage that only appears when I need it that neither Lochlan nor Ivy would be offended. They might even be complimented.

  “Okay then. Just to be sure, I’ll ask Lochlan.”

  With a single jerk of a nod, she pinched a corner of the paper between two fingers and pulled the dress photo from my grasp. “I can give you the look of this dress, but instead of beads and sequins, I’ll use black silk shantung for the background and weave the pattern with gold metallic thread.”

  I almost gasped out loud. “OMGs, Esme! That sounds incredible!”

  “Unlike this…” she glanced at the photo with a hint of disgust, “it will be comfortable and lightweight. The dress in this photo would weigh so much you wouldn’t be able to climb the stairs without assistance.”

  “You’re a genius.”

  On impulse, I grabbed Esmerelda and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She froze, wide-eyed, looking so stunned that my evil twin made a mental note to do it often.

  “And it will fit me like it was made for me.”

  Her surprised expression instantly transformed into her usual surliness that warned of snark incoming. I braced.

  “No. It won’t fit like it was made for you. It will be made for you.”

  “Well, you know what I mean.” I was elated and excited and choosing to focus on that. “So how long do you need?”

  “When do you want it?”

  I gasped out loud. “Shoes!” I tried to slow my breathing so that I wouldn’t hyperventilate. “Good golly, Miss Molly. I thought of everything else. Gloves. Shawl. Long crystal beads. You know, like they wore back then. I even ordered a glamorous, long cigarette holder and some of those little thin black cigarettes.”

  Esmerelda cocked her head. “You smoke?”

  “What? No. It’s pretend, to complete the look. The point is, HOW COULD I POSSIBLY FORGET SHOES?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, as if that was not a rhetorical question. “But I do know I’m not Molly.”

  “What?”

  “You called me Molly.”

  “No, I…” Pause. Slow down. Gather composure. There are still shoes for sale in the world and, even if there weren’t, there’s a nasty little booger of a bootmaker three doors down. “It’s a song. Little Richard I think.”

  “Little Richard? He’s a dwarf? Or goblin? Is that name a slur?”

  “Esme. Have you always been so uber politically correct?” I shook my head. “Never mind. He’s departed. But when he was alive, he wasn’t magic kind. He wasn’t even little.”

  “Then why…?”

  Exasperated and ready to steer the conversation in another direction, I said, “Maybe he started in show business when he was a kid. I don’t know. Like Little Stevie Wonder became Stevie Wonder only Little Richard never…” I trailed off. “We’ve wandered far, far off track. You asked when I want the dress. I’m American which means the answer to that question is always now. I trust you enough that I could get it an hour before the party. But I’d love to have it a week ahead?”

  “It will cost you a rush fee.”

  “I’m good with that as long as we’re talking pounds sterling and not years off my life or something of the sort.”

  Esmerelda looked at me as if she thought I was a walking science exhibit. “Where do you get such ideas?”

  “Fairy tales.”

  “Um. Um. Um,” she said in three descending tones.

  “So. If you don’t need anything else?”

  “That will do.”

  “Thanks, Esme. You’re a marvel.”

  “Exactly.”

  I’d told Esme that I would check with Lochlan and Ivy about the ears, but I felt certain they wouldn’t be offended. And, since I was walking right by The Braid, I stopped in.

  “Bray!” I called out.

  He appeared immediately with a huge grin on his affable face. “My favorite judge!”

  “My favorite smith!” I responded in kind.

  “You came to insist I come to lunch? And you’re in luck. I am free today.”

  Lunch was, in fact, full up, but I how could I say no? What I could do is eat on a stool at the island instead of at the round table. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  “Yes. We’re having teriyaki stir fry.”

  “I’m in!” he said.

  “And since I’m here anyway…”

  “Oh. Business! I’m all ears.” Braden loved that joke and used it often. He didn’t have pointy ears, but he did have huge ears that were made to seem even bigger by his diminutive stature. I’d learned it’s a characteristic of dwarves. Bradesford, his uncle, had kept his covered up with thick hair worn shoulder-length. Braden had no ear issues.

  I whipped out the photo. “I want some of these and I want them to fit my ears comfortably and stay in place.”

  He studied the photo and looked up, through his lashes, without moving his head. “The party.”

  “Right.”

  “I can do this. They will fit your ears. They will cost a lot. You will love them.”

  “Shave a little off in exchange for a free lunch?”

  He laughed. “Done.”

  “Oops. Never mind. Forget I said that. It might be interpreted as bribery instead of barter. Which is what it would be. Barter, I mean. But regardless, we’re not doing that. I’m paying full price.”

  “Of course.” He nodded.

  “So. See you at twelve.” I stopped midway through my turn to leave. “Braden. You don’t think Lochlan or Ivy would be offended by this, do you?”

  His smile dropped. “Why? Did they want to come to lunch?”

  I smiled. “Probably. But I was talking about the elven ears?”

  I could tell by his blank look that it took a minute for him to understand the reference. “You mean because they have pointy ears?”

  “Yes. Esmerelda thought they might be offended.”

  “Pshhhhhh. Silly as a sloth in a spider’s web.” Okaaaaay. “I think it’s just the opposite. Everybody wants those ears.”

  “That’s what I thought!”

  “If anything, they’ll be flattered.”

  “That’s what I thought! But it’s a relief to get a second opinion. When will they be ready?”

  “When do you want them?”

  “What are you wearing?”

  “Monkey suit. Bren calls it black tie.”

  Bren was short for Brendolyn, Braden’s fiancé.

  “When are you two going to…”

  “Tie the knot?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Beltane. You’re invited.”

  “Thanks very much. Nothing could keep me away.” I was amazed at the capacity of women, even those who’d been used and abused, to still believe in true love.

  He chuckled.

  “What?”

  “I just… Nothing.”

  “No. What?”

  “I just got the feeling that your first thought was about what you’re going to wear.”

  “My first thought was about what to give you for a wedding present,” I said indignantly. “My second thought was about what I’m going to wear. What is Bren wearing?”

  “I’m not supposed to know.”

  “I don’t mean what is she wearing to your handfasting.”

  “Oh, you mean to John David’s. I don’t know.” He looked worried. “Is that something I should know? Am I supposed to ask her that?”

  I laughed. “No. I would’ve been shocked if you’d said you knew. I’ll ask her myself the next time I see her.”

  The green was deserted. No one was out and about, probably because of the wind. Fie must’ve been in a snit about something. Again. The town was going to have to insist that he and Olivia settle into a pacific relationship. Olivia was sometimes over-asserting her newfound feistiness. The combination of being co-hostess of Hallow Hills’ version of society luncheons, the romantic attentions of the
unelected mayor, and becoming a home owner had prompted her personality to surge and thrive. She was like a dormant hothouse flower forced to its best bloom.

  I’d gone straight to Esmerelda’s then to the Braid before stopping at The Hallows. Maggie was studiously flitting about with a feather duster.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Top o’ the mornin’ to you, Magistrate.”

  “Maggie. I keep telling you that the feather duster is a waste of time. It just sends dust up into the air. The minute you turn your back everything you just ‘dusted’ gets recoated, courtesy of gravity.” I put ‘dusted’ in air quotes.

  “Agree to disagree. Anytime you want to take on the tidy-up chores, you can do it any way ye see fit.”

  I sighed. “Yeah. You’re right.”

  “Hmmmph.”

  “Maggie.”

  “Aye?”

  “Do you think Esmerelda has Asperger’s?”

  “I’m sure of it.” After a brief pause, she said, “What is it?”

  “Um. Not important. Anything come in last night?” She turned her back and said nothing. “Maggie?”

  “Aye?”

  “Don’t do that thing where you pretend to be hard of hearing. We both know you have the ears of a bat.”

  “Ears and eyes,” she said.

  “Sure. Answer the question.”

  She put both hands on her hips and smiled. “Got somethin’ you may like.”

  “Magic or mundane?”

  “Go see.”

  “Is Dolan here?”

  “I think he’s at the pub. He likes to eat breakfast over there and stare at Molly while she works.”

  “You know, for such a tiny little village, we have a lot of people in love.”

  “Had no’ thought about it, but ‘tis true. Somethin’ in the water maybe?”

  “Magic in the air?” I smiled. “Let’s go see what it is.”

  The workroom was dark. I felt the wall for the switch and flooded the room with light. Apparently, before heading out for breakfast, Dolan had stopped in, carefully unpacked the overnight deposit, and left it set up for me to find. Like a glorious present.