Page 12 of A Leaner Meaner Midlife

“Bout twelve hours,” Candy confirmed.

“And is rotund the only disguise you’re capable of?” Gideon pressed as I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Nope, fucker,” Candy assured the Grim Reaper. “I can do any size, any sex, any height, any build. I’d only gone with that size so that the fuckers we were distracting would have trouble moving me out of there. I’d even added another thousand pounds of magical weight for good measure.”

“OH MY GOD!” Carl squealed as if having an epiphany… possibly a seizure. “Does this mean I can have a real and luscious bosom for twelve hours?”

The other three Horsemen bounced up and down in their heels in rabid excitement.

“Yep,” Candy confirmed.

The screaming was loud. It took a light electrocution from me to get the guys to calm down. I was a bit worried they’d be more invested in their breasts than protecting Jennifer but decided to cross that bouncy bridge when we got to it.

Heather glanced over at the still-seething Gabe, then checked her watch. “I say everyone takes an hour to pack and get ready. I’m going to grab some burner phones from my place and hand them out. I’d suggest packing lightly. Magic can be used sparingly if you need extra items.”

“Oh yes!” Tim said, heading to the front door. “I’ll also have room in the truck for any luggage that won’t fit in the minivan.”

Gideon cleared his throat and garnered everyone’s attention. “The hour starts now. Candy Vargo, I’d suggest you repair the kitchen you blew up.”

“Suggest or order?” Candy shot back with a grin.

Gideon simply raised a brow.

“On it,” the Keeper of Fate said with a laugh.

I looked around the room. I loved every person in it. As crazy as life had become, I realized I would change very little of it. What-ifs were a waste of time we didn’t have. It was time to bring Tory, Gram and Mr. Jackson home. It was far past time to end Micky Muggles’ reign of terror. “Everyone, move it. We have fifty-nine minutes.”

And on that note, we dispersed and got ready for the upcoming battle. My fingers were crossed that it would be a successful, small and short skirmish.

I wasn’t counting on it.

CHAPTER THREE

Methodically packing kept me momentarily sane. Feeling somewhat desperate and lost didn’t help, but I just kept moving forward. Doing something that didn’t hinge on the world ending was rare for me lately. I shoved sweats, one nice outfit with boots, underwear and an extra pair of tennis shoes into a duffle then added toiletries. The weight of the mission ahead weighed heavy on my shoulders. Picking up a cute stuffed teddy bear belonging to my daughter, I hugged it to my chest and finally let the enormity of everything hit me hard.

The tears came unbidden. Hiding them was impossible. My anguish, fear and uncertainty came flooding out. I didn’t even see the Grim Reaper move. His arms were around me in an instant and he held me tight.

“It will be okay, Daisy,” Gideon whispered into my hair.

His voice was calm. His embrace was needed. His tone was comforting, but words didn’t cut it right now.

“Will it?” My voice was muffled as I cried into his chest and soaked his shirt. “And even if it is, what’s next? It hasn’t stopped. Not even for a moment.”

I’d turned forty and my world had changed irrevocably. On the last day of my thirty-ninth year, I’d been a widowed paralegal. Now, I was that and much more. The first day of my fortieth year I began to see dead people. Then I realized I could glue them together and help them move on into the afterlife. I entered their minds to aid them, which permanently altered my DNA making me Immortal. That had taken some getting used to. It still did. Then, much to my horror, I added the Angel of Mercy to my resume. I took shit on the daily from Candy Vargo and a few others for not having read the Bible. It was on my to-do list… along with about a million other things. But the point of all of it was that the deadly missions hadn’t slowed down.

Yes, I’d fallen in love with Gideon. For real. I had my miracle baby. When Gram died, she’d come back as a ghost and stayed with me. That was a gift that I was beyond grateful for. I’d been blessed to get to know my birth father and my deceased mother came back to me for a short time—too short, but it was another gift I would cherish always. However, I was going to break soon.

I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Of course, I was going to take on getting Tory, Gram and Mr. Jackson back full throttle, but after that… I just didn’t know. Less than a year ago, I was a mortal, middle-aged woman with bills and a mundane job. A tiny part of me longed for that simplicity again, but that was gone.

Gideon sighed and rested his chin on my head. “It won’t always be like this. I’ve gone centuries with nothing to do.”

“That would be seriously nice,” I choked out, wiping my eyes with his already wet shirt. “We have a child who doesn’t know us.”

“Alana Catherine knows us,” he promised. “She recognizes us at a bone-deep level.”

I was about to argue, but I wanted to believe him, so I just let it go.

What I wanted to do was run. Not away from it all, but just a few miles to knock the chaos out of my mind. Running for fun and exercise had always been my go-to when I was stressed. Lately, I’d been running toward danger for my and everyone else’s well-being. The thought of going for a pleasure jog was silly, but I needed some normal.

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