One Magical Night

By Diane Kelly

A magic-filled Halloween romance. Must a down-on-her-luck magician give up on her dream? Or could a clown in a rubber nose and big shoes be her knight in shining armor?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diane Kelly
• Release date: Sep 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310940033

Diane Kelly

Diane Kelly is a former state assistant attorney general and tax advisor who spent much of her career fighting, or inadvertently working for, white-collar criminals. She is also a proud graduate of the Citizens Police Academy of Mansfield, Texas. Diane combines her fascination with crime and her love of animals in her stories, which include the Paw Enforcement series, the House-Flipper Mysteries, and the Mountain Lodge Mysteries. Diane now lives in North Carolina, where she spends her days catering to her demanding cats or walking her dogs in the region’s beautiful woods.

Book preview

ONE MAGICAL NIGHT

Copyright 2014 Diane Kelly

Published by Diane Kelly at Smashwords

Cover design by Lindsay Kelly

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Be sure to read these other great stories in the Halloween Hookups series!

The Grave Mistake by Trinity Blake www.trinityblake.com

Your Grave or Mine by Angela Harris

My BFF (Best Fiend Forever) by Hadley Holt www.hadleyholt.com

Grave Yard Risings by Sherrel Lee www.sherrellee.com

And check out these other books and novellas by Diane Kelly!

Full-length novels (available in both print and digital formats):

Love, Luck, & Little Green Men

Paw Enforcement

Paw and Order (releases December 30, 2014)

Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure

Death, Taxes, and a Skinny No-Whip Latte

Death, Taxes, and Extra-Hold Hairspray

Death, Taxes, and Peach Sangria

Death, Taxes, and Hot Pink Legwarmers

Death, Taxes, and Green Tea Ice Cream

Digital novellas:

Five Gold Smuggling Rings

Death, Taxes, and a Sequined Clutch

Death, Taxes, and Mistletoe Mayhem

ENJOY EXCERPTS FROM DIANE KELLY’S OTHER WORKS AT THE END OF THIS STORY!

ONE MAGICAL NIGHT

Chapter One

Halloween Hitchhiker

The pothole appeared out of nowhere and—BAM!—the front tire of my 1998 Ford Econoline van hit the edge, going flat in an instant and giving off a whup-whup-whup as the van rolled to a stop on the edge of the street.

I banged a hand on the steering wheel. Dammit!

Despite having been a Girl Scout for five years as a young girl, I’d neglected their motto - Be prepared. I had no roadside assistance service to call. I had no can of Fix-a-Flat. And I had no jack—which didn’t really matter because even if I’d had a jack I had no spare tire to put on the van. The only thing I did have at the moment was a big problem. I was due to perform very soon at the McKinnon Manufacturing Company’s annual Fall Festival.

A glance at the GPS app on my phone told me I had a mile to go to reach the festival grounds. A glance at the time told me I had 20 minutes to get there. My mind quickly performed the math. While I might have been able to hoof the mile in the time remaining, there was no way I could do it while dragging my props with me. My suspension chairs. The saw and special frame used to cut an audience member in half. My trunk that contained my dancing cane, wand, and hoops.

Yep, you guessed it. I’m a magician. Or I still would be for the next hour or so. Unfortunately, while I could easily make a rabbit disappear, I could barely manage to conjure up enough cash each month to cover my basic bills. Savings or retirement funds? Investments? A house of my own? Forget it.

It wasn’t that I was a hack. People loved my show. It’s just that I’m no good at selling myself, finding gigs. I’d been busting my ass for five years—FIVE YEARS!—trying to make a go at this, but I averaged only one or two bookings a month. I’d need at least eight to make a decent living. Yep, I was a disillusioned illusionist.

If only I was truly magic and could whip up some business.

I climbed out of the van and into the crisp autumn air. Normally I wore a purple, sequin-trimmed genie outfit for my shows. But today, for my final performance, I’d opted to wear a witch costume, complete with a pointy black hat and flowing cape over a