My Second Chance
Page 21
“To Kenneth,” the others chorused.
They sat in silence, each deep in their own thoughts.
Ben set his cup on the tabletop. “I’d better go. I promised my mate I wouldn’t be late.”
Valerie nodded. “I have a yearning to be with my family too. Are you ready to go, Agnes?”
“Yes.” Agnes swallowed the last of her whisky. “Sid?”
“I might sit a while longer.” Sid waved off his friends and sipped more of his whisky. Kenneth was gone. First Herbert and now Kenneth. He smiled faintly, recalling the mischief the six of them used to get up to when they were younger. At least Herbert wouldn’t be alone now in that big savannah in the sky, and he took comfort from that fact.
He lifted his cup in salute. “Herbert, you look after Kenneth for us. Show him the ropes.” Tears shrouded his sight until the entire café interior was a blur. “We haven’t finished creating chaos here in Middlemarch, but soon. Soon, we’ll join you for the next level of mischief.” He swallowed. Once. Twice. “I miss you, old friend. You’d be so proud of your boys. So proud. They’ve grown into fine young men, and their mates are strong, independent women. Wouldn’t surprise me if children come soon.”
Sid smiled as he thought of children driving parents crazy with their antics. There would be love. He knew that. Herbert had done a good job with the Mitchell boys, and he and the other council members would leave the community in good shape to face the future.
One final toast. “Have fun up there, old friends. I’ll see you soon.” Sid drank the last of his whisky, wiped his eyes and stood. He lifted his right hand in farewell to Tomasine and London and shuffled from the café to his farm vehicle. It had been a long day, and he wanted his family and his bed in that order. He needed a hug from his bonnie mate.
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Excerpt – My Plan B
Middlemarch Shifters, book 11
Copyright 2016 Shelley Munro
“They’ve replaced me on the new show.” Megan Saxon glared at her computer screen and the familiar face of Janet, her United States agent. “They’re shunting me sideways.”
Janet’s brows scrunched. “Why?”
“I’m too old.”
“They can’t do that.”
“They’ve done it,” Megan said, fury punching out her words in staccato beats.
“You should write full-time. Your sales are stellar, and the publisher will snap up more from you in a heartbeat. Start that new paranormal romance series you mentioned last year.”
“I don’t know. Writing is fun, something to fill the long plane flights and the nights in hotel rooms. If I go full-time, I’d worry about the writing becoming a drag. A chore. I love working with the sports team, traveling to commentate games and interview the players. I feel…I feel as though they’ve spare-tackled me—driven my head into the ground and left me unconscious, away in la-la land. The writing is fun, and the fact I’ve sold and made a decent living is a side benefit. It’s something just for me, you know?”
“So what are you going to do?”
Megan sighed, the expulsion of air leaving her lightheaded. She inhaled again while her mind sorted through her alternatives. Her shoulders slumped. “While I don’t agree with their ageism, hitting my forties limits my options. I guess I’ll do lists of pros and cons and work out what I do want. I have a job in the South Island for this weekend and then a weeklong holiday. Hopefully, I’ll come up with Plan B before I have to return to the office. I don’t think Jeremy knows what to do with me either.”
“You could always self-publish your new series and work at your own pace or take a penname and try something different.”
“What? You’d lose out on your fee.” Megan smiled at her agent of five years and the woman who had become a friend as well as her tough negotiator and secret weapon.
Janet grinned back. “No, I wouldn’t, because my next suggestion is to use our in-house publishing. Win-win for me.”
“I’ll think about it. Add the idea to my lists.” Hadn’t she always yearned to write a historical romance? Maybe this was the opportunity to take this step.
“Have you considered writing an autobiography for someone else?”
“Ghost writing?”
“Yes. The agency gets requests from celebrities who can’t or won’t for whatever reason do their own writing.”
“You think I could do that?”
“I do. You’re used to interviewing sporting celebrities, asking the hard questions. You’ve won awards for it. Add the option to your mega lists.”
“Are you making fun of my lists?”
“Always,” Janet said, the twinkle in her brown eyes removing any sting.
Megan nodded. “Will do. I’d better pack for my trip to this one-horse town. Jeremy didn’t give me much notice, even though they received the invitation months ago. He must have intended to send one of the junior commentators, so on top of this, I’ll have another employee grousing about me and glaring holes in my back, full of resentment at losing a gig.”
“Not your fault,” Janet said. “You can’t control stuff like this.”
“True, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie. Look at this as an opportunity.”
“Yeah,” Megan mumbled, bitterness leaving her empty and exhausted. Some opportunity.
“One more suggestion to add to your list,” Janet said, that twinkle appearing in her eyes again.
“What?”
“Find a younger man and let him screw your brains out. That always perks me up.”
“Lord, I can’t remember when I last…oh, yeah.” She brightened then winced. “The last guy I dated was a doctor. He used to break dates because of work commitments. I thought I’d surprise him with dinner one night because he said he had work and needed to cancel our date. I found him screwing his wife. Since then, I’ve been wary. I have other bad dating stories I haven’t told you about yet.” No one even came close to comparing to Charlie.
“Oh, sweetie.” Janet shook her head. “Find a young stud. You’re attractive. You won’t have any difficulty in finding a man.”
“Can I quote you on that?” The job she loved impeded romance, and she’d chosen to focus on her work much to Tessa, her younger sister’s disgust. Looking back now, she saw her mistakes. Maybe Tessa with her snooty asides had been correct. “All right, I’ll add it to Plan B, but I’m not making any promises.”
“This gig at the one-horse town. Is it rugby related?”
“Yes.”
Janet waggled her eyebrows. “Then, you have a pool of potential young studs.”
“I’m the commentator. I can’t sleep with one of the players.”
“Why not?”
“I-I…” Her brain stopped working. She had nothing because it was a weekend tournament, and she wasn’t responsible for refereeing decisions. There was no conflict of interest if she decided to allow a player to pick her up. Of course, she didn’t want a coach bawling her out because she’d exhausted one of his players. Gossip, too, was another consideration. She’d never placed herself in a position where people discussed her morals and didn’t intend to start on this path to loss of her reputation. She drew herself up and nodded at the computer screen. “I’ll consider the idea.”
“That’s my girl. And on that note, I’ll leave you. Is your latest book coming along nicely? Do we need to shift any deadlines?”
“I sent the final edits into Carol last week, and I’ve started work on the last book in the trilog
y. It’s going well. My deadline will be fine since I’ll get writing time in while I’m on holiday.”
“You’re not staying at home?”
“No, depending on the weather, I might zap across to Sydney or drive to Taupo.” Charlie, her fiancé, was buried in Taupo, and she hadn’t visited for a while.
“Good,” Janet said. “I expect a postcard. Go and do some work. Think about your next proposal while you’re away. I’m not kidding. Your publisher is keen to sign you for another series.”
“I’ll do that, Janet. Thanks.” Megan hit disconnect and stared at her screen for an instant. A picture of her and Charlie with a background of the Sydney harbor in Australia. They’d just become engaged, their young and innocent faces full of joy. Charlie had proposed to her before he left to join his army squad in Afghanistan. The roadside bomb had changed everything. She sighed and turned off her computer. She should change the picture, but every time she went to do that, something stopped her. They would’ve celebrated twenty years of marriage now, probably with children…
Megan pushed away from her desk, no longer in the mood to write. She wandered through her harborside apartment, pausing to stare out the window at the dark waters and the lights from the CBD, the harbor bridge and the businesses and homes on the North Shore of the city. She’d always loved her apartment and its central location. Tonight, it felt lonely. Sad.
She grabbed her red coat, a beanie to pull over her blonde hair and her black handbag. She’d go to the nearby hotel for a drink. No, maybe a cocktail. If she found someone to talk to—good. If not, she’d start on her lists. She’d pack once she arrived home. It wouldn’t matter if she was late because she’d never sleep tonight, anyway. A snort erupted. Not for the reason Janet might suspect. Anger and frustration still simmered every time she thought of the way they were shuffling her sideways.
Time for Plan B.
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About Shelley
Shelley lives in Auckland, the City of Sails, with her husband and a cheeky Jack Russell/mystery breed puppy.
Typical New Zealanders, Shelley and her husband left home for their big OE soon after they married (translation of New Zealand speak – big overseas experience). A year long adventure lengthened to six years of roaming the world. Enduring memories include being almost sat on by a mountain gorilla in Rwanda, lazing on white sandy beaches in India, whale watching in Alaska, searching for leprechauns in Ireland, and dealing with ghosts in an English pub.
While travel is still a big attraction, these days Shelley is most likely found in front of her computer following another love – that of writing stories of romance and adventure. Other interests include watching rugby (strictly for research purposes), cycling, baking bread and curling up with a good book.
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Other Books by Shelley
Paranormal
Price of Love
Sea of Change
Lynx to the Pharaoh
House of the Cat series
Captured & Seduced
Claimed & Seduced
Merry & Seduced
Stranded & Seduced
Seized & Seduced
Hunted & Seduced
Festive & Seduced
Middlemarch Shifters
My Scarlet Woman
My Younger Lover
My Peeping Tom
My Assassin
My Estranged Lover
My Feline Protector
My Determined Suitor
My Cat Burglar
My Stray Cat
My Second Chance
My Plan B
Dragon Investigators
Blue Moon Dragon
Contemporary
Stranger Things Happen
Wild Child
Cat Burglar in Training
One Night of Misbehavior
Blindside
Fringe Benefits
Lovers at Last
Ain’t Misbehaving
Summer Encounter
Playing to Win
Love and Friendship series
The Bottom Line
Past Regrets
Farmer Wants a Wife
Clare Chronicles
Part-Time Lovers
Enemy Lovers
Military Men
Innocent Next Door
Soldier With Benefits
Safeguarding Sorrel
Sci-fi/Futuristic
Interplanetary Love
Alien Encounter
Janaya
Hinekiri
Alexandre
Gay Romance
Eye on the Ball
Lone Wolf
Seeking Kokopelli
No Defense
Best Man
Last Wish
Curse Across Time
Historical
Mistress of Merrivale
The Spurned Viscountess
Evening Tryst
Copyright Page
My Second Chance
Copyright © 2016 Shelley Munro
ISBN: 978-0-473-37047-3
Editor: Mary Moran
Cover Art by Kim Killion of Killion Group Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
ShelleyMunro.com