Magical Midlife Vintage Blend (Paranormal Women's Fiction)(The Wine, Chocolate & Paranormal Shenanigans Series #3)

Magical Midlife Vintage Blend The Wine, Chocolate & Paranormal Shenanigans Series LARISSA EMERALD Castle Oak Publishing LLC Copyright Magical Midlife Vintage Blend The Wine, Chocolate & Paranormal Shenanigans Series Copyright © 2023 by Larissa Emerald ISBN: 978-1-942139-23-2 Castle Oak Publishing LLC No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the copyright owner. Thank you for respecting the copyright. For permissions or information on foreign, audio, or other rights, contact the author at [email protected]. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Castle Oak Publishing is not associated with any product or vendor in this book. http://www.larissaemerald.com Larissa on Facebook Epigraph Lainie keeps telling herself she must nourish to flourish as she fights the inner dinosaur of aging. Then while celebrating with her bougie bitches, she decides she doesn’t give a sip. Lainie confesses to her parents about the magical timepiece and warns of the danger that comes with it, reminding them that there are creatures who will stop at nothing to acquire the talisman. Lainie’s heart aches knowing her son will be leaving for college in six short months, at the same time, her daughter seems to drift further away from her motherly grasp, becoming increasingly distant, and hanging with new friends. Then her daughter is kidnapped and held for ransom for the pocket watch. Everyone tries to tell Lainie what to do when she finally has enough and trusts her gut instincts as she summons her magic. But has she learned enough about the talisman to win her daughter back? Contents CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Thank You! Sample of FOREVER Sample of AWAKENING FIRE About Author Also By CHAPTER ONE Know Your Worth She had one hell of a hangover. It wasn’t a hangover, though. Lainie Cassidy groaned as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat. Kalen, the hunky guy conjured from out of a romance novel by the magic of the timepiece—long story—stood holding out a cup of coffee. “Here. This should help,” he said sympathetically. Gawd, she hoped so. She accepted the cup, gulped a quarter of the hot liquid, then waited for the caffeine to kick in. “No more tangling with goblins,” she muttered. Evidently, the creatures had poisonous spurs on their legs. She’d gotten scratched by one last night in a fight. Hence her current state of feeling like the walking dead. She ran a hand through her sleep-mussed hair. “The last thing I remember is eating chocolate cake.” “Yes. Then you dozed off again.” “It’s all quite fuzzy. Are the kids up yet?” “They came down, grabbed a donut, and went back up to their rooms.” “Donuts?” Brennon and Jenna would love that. Kalen chuckled. “Charlie dropped them off. He felt bad about last night.” “That was sweet of him.” She vaguely recalled Charlie hovering over her last night. She was grateful that he’d remained living in the guest house once she bought the property and vineyard from him. And it didn’t hurt that he was a berserker. With all the creatures and crazies that were somehow entering her life these days, it came in handy. “How out of it was I?” She took another sip from the cup, holding it steady with both hands. Kalen shrugged. “It was hard to tell. Charlie brought over a salve that we put on the wounds, but you also used the magic of the timepiece to heal. I read up on goblin poisoning afterward. It could have been a lot worse.” “I’m not sure how I did that. The timepiece can have a mind of its own.” After taking the last swallow of coffee, she stood. “Let’s go downstairs for a second cup.” Kalen took the mug from her. “You can stay up here if you’d like. I’ll bring you a second cup.” As Lainie took a few steps, vertigo made her dizzy. She touched Kalen’s arm to steady herself. “Um, okay. I’ll take a seat by the window.” “You need to take it slow. Maybe no more caffeine. I’ll go make some sandwiches.” Lainie gave him a grateful smile. As she sat, she held her head, recalling the night before. Clearly, she couldn’t explain to her family and friends what really happened. Because fighting off a gaggle of goblins—who did that? So, she and Kalen decided she’d blame it on a lingering hangover from gathering with her friends and Saturday’s wedding. She could never tell her kids or anybody else what really happened. So hangover it is. She was starting to feel human again and was amazed that the wedding and goblin attack had only happened yesterday. Her energy had returned, and she could function once more, so she decided to head down to the kitchen. “Hey,” Lainie greeted Kalen, grinning as a warmth flooded her veins. The plates of sandwiches he’d prepared weren’t the only yummy-looking things in the room. Kalen had his hair tied back at his neck, highlighting his to-die-for cheekbones. The firm angle of his jaw—one of her favorite features about him—was covered with a day’s worth of stubble. He frequently let it go like that, which was fine with her. It was a look she could definitely live with. “Well, I guess you are feeling a bit better.” Kalen stood with a plate in each hand, a croissant