Magical Midlife Madness： A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel(47)

“Oh no. No—well, kinda.” I shrugged. “It was a garden party, but we’re all done, now. Everyone has gone home. Mostly.”

The cop took a step back and looked up. “Seems awfully dark. You might see about getting a porch light.”

“Yes, sir, of course—”

“The illumination on our porch has nothing to do with you, officer,” Niamh called.

I pulled the door closed a little to block her out and gave the guys a smile. “Sorry. She’s off her meds.”

“I heard that!”

“Well.” The front cop looked around a bit more. The one in back kept his eyes trained to me. “Okay. Just keep the noise down.”

“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Sorry, sir!”

“Don’t grovel to them, we haven’t done anything wrong,” Niamh said.

“Would you shut up, woman? We just buried—”

I kicked Mr. Tom. The two of them needed to be separated at all times. That was utterly clear.

I waved to the cops as they left the porch, one of them stumbling a little, and got into their car at the curb. Before I shut the door, I noticed a figure standing off to the side. He stood so still, I half wondered if my mind was playing tricks on me, but once I’d noticed him, I couldn’t help but zero in.

Dressed in a tailored black suit, with a black dress shirt open at the neck, he stood with his hands in his pockets. His black hair was slicked back and a dark goatee adorned his handsome face. The only pop of color on his person was a red pocket scarf decoratively tucked in his expensive suit.

A sly smile lifted his lips. He brought up his hand, kissed the palm, and then blew it at me. It wasn’t the kiss that rode the breeze, though, it was words, as though he’d spoken them right next to my ear.

“Sometimes all a lady needs is a little nudge toward greatness. I look forward to meeting you soon.”

With that, he vanished. There one minute, gone the next.

I gulped and closed the door.

“I don’t think Betty would’ve called us in,” Mr. Tom was saying, back in the sitting room. “The golem she keeps in her basement has howling fits sometimes. She doesn’t want any attention for that. She wouldn’t want to get on our bad side.”

“Well someone called,” Niamh said, outraged.

I had a sinking suspicion it was the tall, dark, and handsome stranger who’d been standing just beyond the Ivy House property line. He’d wanted to deliver his message, but he clearly understood what the house could do. He hadn’t wanted to chance his luck by stepping onto my property.

I wondered if it was Elliot Graves. I wondered if I should tell Mr. Tom and the others.

But really, what good would it do in this instance? He hadn’t threatened me. If anything, he’d expressed approval for my decision to take the magic. A move he’d apparently helped orchestrate.

Besides which, my eyes had started drooping. I doubted I needed to fill them in tonight. There was always tomorrow. The man hadn’t seemed in any kind of rush.

As I lay in bed not long afterward, unsure of this new life, and unsure of the magic that was now apparently at my fingertips, I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to the one guy who had so far been there for me during all my freak-outs. Niamh had said he needed time, and I probably should’ve respected that, but I needed a friend who thought all of this was just as messed up as I did. I hoped he was still that friend.

I texted Austin: I haven’t done a good job of hardening up. I threw up three times during the outdoor cleanup. And the dolls didn’t just shut off. I had to make them. What happens when they decide they don’t want a master and pop back into consciousness and try to kill me?

I stared at the message screen, looking for the three little dots that said he was typing. Wondering if he’d even seen the message at all.

After a while, I sighed and set my phone in the charging cradle. It had been a long, utterly screwed up night. This new life would take some getting used to.

Before sleep pulled me away, light flashed against my closed lids. My phone had lit up with a message.

Austin: You’ll harden up to the gritty parts of magic, I have faith in that. You’re a survivor. Not sure about the dolls tho. You might be screwed there. Been nice knowin’ ya. ;)

I laughed and reached over to put the phone back. On impulse, I felt my back. Were there wings in there? Or had that aspect of the magic not been included in the deal? And what else could I do besides hear the troubled thoughts of the four magical people who’d helped me claim the magic? I had so many questions. There were so many unknowns.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. The first order of business was getting some shut eye. Number two was blowing up the doll room. Then I would take the bull by the horns and figure out what I could really do. Preferably before that tall, dark stranger came back for his meeting.





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Some people are ordained for greatness…

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