Making Midlife Madness: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Forty Is Fabulous Book 2) by Heloise Hull

Making Midlife Madness: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Forty Is Fabulous Book 2) by Heloise Hull

Author:Heloise Hull [Hull, Heloise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henwin Press LTD
Published: 2021-01-31T05:00:00+00:00


Chapter Eighteen

Light from the crescent moon poured into my room, and the waves created a soft, natural white noise that usually lulled me to sleep. No such luck today.

I’d already woken up three times from disturbing dreams, and now, I stared at the ceiling, afraid to fall asleep. I knew I couldn’t avoid sleeping forever, but I didn’t want another haunting memory to ruin my first night back in Aradia. I wanted to cleanse myself of these nightmares and never remember.

Finally, I felt around for my alarm clock and groaned at the time. Five in the morning. It really was an ungodly hour. Nothing good could come from five a.m. except for perhaps bombolni. Mmmm. Bombolni. I sat up. Might as well get used to early hours again. I was done with dreaming for a while.

I dragged myself out of bed and ran a comb through my wild mane. I needed Coronis to show me how she did that chignon thing for Rosemary. Anything to keep it from hitting critical mass.

I pulled on a sweater and a pair of comfortable blue jeans, then tiptoed out of the house and rode to town. The difference from the suburbs was striking. The fresh air and quiet peace of the early hour, so unlike West County, slowly woke me like a mother gently singing. While I’d never call myself a morning person, I didn’t hate this.

When I arrived at the bakery, Rosemary was already bustling around the kitchen. She looked up from kneading, elbow-deep in dough, and let out a shrill scream. “Dio mio, Ava, you gave me a fright,” she laughed, putting a floured hand to her forehead.

“Sorry. I was awake and thought I’d come help. Is that okay?” Before I’d even finished my sentence, she threw a lemon-printed apron at my face.

“Wash up and get to work on the pastry cream and toasting the pistachios.”

“You got it, boss.”

We laughed and chatted the early hours away. “Do you ever get tired of waking up before everyone else, day after day with no breaks? All for no money?”

She rolled the pizza dough for Marco and patted it a few times. “No.”

“Simple as that?”

“As simple as that. I love my life here.”

“Even the routine?”

“Especially the routine. Before, when the gods roamed, life was totally unpredictable. You never knew when one might take offense.”

“To what?”

“Who knows? The way you made an offering. How you washed your dishes. Your face.”

“My face?”

Rosemary laughed. “Not yours. Anyone’s. We never knew what to expect. Some might challenge you to a contest, others could force you to fall in love, and the rest enjoyed sending mortals on meaningless quests for godly bets. If you accidentally died along the way, they might not even remember you existed. So I embrace routine and give it a big kiss.” She made smacking noises, gesturing enthusiastically.

“Ah. That makes sense. As much as the Council creeped me out, this life does seem better than before the Archon Wars.”

“It is to me.”

“So, did you fight in them?”

Rosemary laughed.



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