A Ghost of a Chance: Paranormal Women's Fiction


 
 
 
 A GHOST OF A
 CHANCE
 
 Midlife Spirits Series
 #2
 
 by
 
 H.P. Mallory
 
 
 ALSO BY HP MALLORY:
 
 
 PARANOMAL WOMEN’S FICTION:
 Haven Hollow
 Midlife Mermaid
 Midlife Spirits
 
 
 PARANORMAL ROMANCE:
 Witch & Warlock
 Vampire Esquire
 Ever Dark Academy
 
 
 FANTASY ROMANCE:
 Dark Destinies
 Gates of the Underworld
 Lily Harper
 Dulcie O’Neil
 
 
 PARANORMAL REVERSE HAREM:
 My Five Kings
 Happily Never After
 
 
 SCI-FI ROMANCE:
 The Alaskan Detective
 
 
 TRILOGIES:
 Crown Of Lies
 Dark Circus
 Chasing Demons
 Dungeon Raider
 Here to There
 Arctic Wolves
 Wolves of Valhalla
 Lucy Westenra
 
 
 
 A Ghost of a
 Chance
 Copyright © 2020 by HP
 MALLORY
 All rights
 reserved.
 
 Published by HP Mallory at Smashwords
 
 
 Smashwords Edition License
 Notes
 
 This ebook is licensed for your personal
 enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
 other people. If you would like to share this book with another
 person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
 you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
 purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to
 Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own
 copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
 
 
 Table of
 Contents
 
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 
 Reading Sample: To Kill A
 Warlock
 About
 Author
 
 A Ghost of a Chance
 
 
 Chapter One
 
 When Ryan and I found
 ourselves back at my house after our incredible dinner at
 Antoine’s, I couldn’t help wishing we were still at dinner. It was
 just so easy to enjoy Ryan’s company. We talked, joked, and laughed
 as if we’d known each other all our lives.
 The drive to my house was
 a fairly informative one with Ryan pointing out various homes he’d
 renovated, along with the homes of the rich and famous. We parked
 alongside the crumbling curb and Ryan was quick on his feet to open
 my door for me, ever the gentleman. He held my arm as we walked up
 the pathway, and I couldn’t deny how good it felt to have him so
 attentive, not to mention so close to me.
 As soon as I unlocked my
 front door, the contrast in ambiance between the ethereal airiness
 of Antoine’s restaurant and the darkness of my house wasn’t lost on
 me. The brightness, soft chit-chat of guests, and coziness of the
 restaurant starkly accentuated the empty, gloomy foyer that loomed
 before us. I wasn’t sure if it was just a trick of my mind, but it
 seemed like there was also a shadowy, ominous feeling to the walls
 and the broad expanse of aged, walnut floors.
 “So, do you know what
 we’re supposed to do for this cleansing?” Ryan asked as he closed
 the door behind us. Trina, Ryan’s sister, and I had used a Ouija
 board recently to contact the ghost who was haunting my house,
 Drake Montague, but something else had come across. As such, I
 needed to ‘cleanse’ the house.
 Glancing at Ryan over my
 shoulder, I frowned. “Nope, but the girl at the store said the
 directions were in the bag.”
 “Why doesn’t that leave me
 with much confidence?” Ryan grumbled as I nodded with a small,
 nervous laugh. Crossing the threshold into my house, my nerves went
 on high alert. Even though there wasn’t any proof that anything
 malevolent, or anything at all, really, had contacted Trina and me
 during the Ouija board experiment, the air felt heavy. And I also
 couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched—and not just
 by the nosy Drake. No, this was a feeling that left me frightened.
 It just seemed as though the house was hiding its own secrets. The
 more I thought about it, the more it freaked me out.
 “You good, Peyton?” Ryan
 asked, visible concern in his warm eyes.
 I nodded immediately,
 trying to prevent him from getting a whiff of my overactive
 imagination, which was definitely running away from me. I reached
 inside my purse and produced the small, black ritual bag, which was
 about the size of my palm. Untying the black satin ribbon, I took a
 seat on the floor, tucking my legs to the side so as not to appear
 unladylike in my dress.
 “This house is so dusty,
 you’re going to ruin your dress,” Ryan pointed out as he sat
 alongside me. I waved away his concern, and emptied the contents of
 the bag on the dark wood floors. There were three sacks of flower
 petals and herbs, another sack filled with what looked like bath
 salts, another with three stones or gems, a bag with a crystal in
 it, and finally, a plastic Ziploc bag with what appeared to be sage
 inside. There were two more empty velvet sacks, along with a black
 candle that was maybe the length and width of my middle
 finger.
 “Directions, directions,”
 I mumbled absentmindedly as I fumbled with the wrinkled piece of
 paper. The print was so tiny, it was nearly illegible. As I brought
 the inscrutable instructions to my eyes, the sound of the door
 opening on its own caused Ryan and me to turn around immediately. I
 wasn’t sure about Ryan, but the creaking sound caused my heart to
 leap into my throat. I even dropped the instructions as I brought
 my hand to my chest in an attempt to quiet my suddenly pounding
 heart.
 “Sorry I’m late!” Trina
 called out, closing the door behind her and hurrying toward us. She
 had a red backpack over one of her shoulders and an apologetic
 smile on her pretty face.
 “Trina?” Ryan and I asked
 at the same time, both of us clearly at a loss as to why she was
 here, although I had to admit that seeing her was a huge relief. I
 was worried that our