Hurricanes, Heroes & Hail Marys: Paranormal Women's Midlife Fiction (Twisted Sisters Midlife Maelstrom Book 7)

HURRICANES, HEROES, & HAIL MARYS TWISTED SISTERS MIDLIFE MAELSTROM BOOK 7 BRENDA TRIM CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 EXCERPT FROM ROYAL STREEP ROMP BOOK #8 EXCERPT FROM SURPRISED BY A SUPERNATURAL START BOOK #1 About the Author Also by Brenda Trim Copyright © May 2023 by Brenda Trim Editor: Chris Cain & Kelly Smyczynski Cover Art by Fiona Jayde * * * This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers’ 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. WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction of this work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the authors. Created with Vellum Heroes are made by the path they choose, not the power they are given. ~Dahlia Smith CHAPTER 1 DANIELLE “Have a great day!” Lia called out to Rachel as she hopped out of the back of the car. Lia and I had taken Phi’s kids to school this morning. Tucker was up in their room working. Their family was still staying at Willowberry after the threat Marie and Samedi posed to them. They’d decided to remain with us until Samedi was dealt with. No one wanted to take any chances. Phi was at the university so that she could make her office hours for once. She’d been canceling so much lately because of the chaos of us hunting down the six people connected to and feeding Samedi’s power. Those six also made the loa unkillable. We’d severed the bond between the last of the six and the god a little over a week ago. Unfortunately, Samedi took off before we could take him out. It turned out to be a good thing because we had been recovering ever since. I still had days when I had difficulty doing the physical exercises Lia, and I had been doing with Dre each morning. Phi joined us when she and her family moved in, and we’d all been slogging through like sloths. Nothing helped with our vitality. Not even caffeine. I’d resorted to drinking one of Lia’s energy drinks. All it did for me was make me sick. I smiled at our niece as she waved and hurried to her friends. “She’s going to struggle when they move back home,” I observed as Lia pulled away from the curb. “That’s an understatement. She loves being in the thick of the business with her aunties. Even if she struggles with some of our projects,” Lia replied. “As much as I like how quiet the house is normally, I’m going to miss them, too. Having Phi there is nice when planning an event or creating a quote for someone. There’s no texting or phone tag.” And Phi helped organize us. She usually had a spreadsheet ready for us when we were done brainstorming. “That is a nice perk. I need to get better at getting shit organized and together so it doesn’t all fall to her.” I snorted and shook my head. “I need her to keep me on budget. And I’m organized to a point, and it works for me. You know I like the creative process more than the rest. Phi enjoys designing stuff and making lists and spreadsheets.” Lia chuckled and shot me a smile. “You work great under any budget, but I admit that you do best when given a blank slate and are told to go to town, kinda like when you decorated Dawson’s new house. You can transform a space, as well as you can create a unique event. You turn things into experiences that people can’t get enough of. It’s truly a gift. Something I’m definitely jealous of because I don’t have that skill.” I preened under Lia’s praise. I loved taking something ugly and rundown and making it stunning, as much as I liked creating events that brought joy to people’s lives. “Your abilities lie in other areas, although you are better at picking things out than you give yourself credit for. You just need help putting them all together. Hey, can we stop at that coffee shop? I’ve been craving one of those fruit drinks they have.” Lia put her blinker on and got into the turn lane. “I could go for one of those cake pops, too. Breakfast of champions.” I chuckled as I texted Dre, asking if she and Steve wanted anything. Lia reminded me that we needed to clean the downstairs while we had the chance. Most of our curiosities were in the rooms on that floor, making it more of a chore to keep them in pristine condition, and we hadn’t had a chance to dust them over the past couple of weeks. The good mood I’d woken up with had dimmed somewhat as we returned to the plantation and got to work. Lia and I set into a routine with her taking the upper shelves and me handling the ones at eye level. The ceilings on the first floor were almost twelve feet tall and had tons of built-in shelving units. “Maybe we should cut back on the décor. We could go for the minimalist look.” Lia snorted as she stood on tiptoe to get a cobweb in the upper right hand corner. “Are you kidding? Kota was just talking about how we could add a set of antique glass jars to the ladies’ parlor.” I