Page 12 of Conquered Obstacles

I wanted to ask where he was staying but not in front of our nephews. I knew Hades probably stayed in the underworld, but I had no idea where Poseidon stayed now.

“I can use my power to prepare most everything since I’ve been doing it for so many years, but meat never tastes the same to me if made with magic. I’ll start having leftovers and meals in extra refrigerators in the garages you both can help yourselves to as you wish. As long as not during the night or scaring Jamie.”

“Is the wolf truly moving in with you?” Hades asked, sharing a look with Poseidon as I went for the second bird.

“I do not know,” I admitted. “For now. We’ve discussed that I’m losing myself in him a bit and being… He had some bad experiences as well.”

“I think it’s fine as long as he doesn’t move into your room, Mom,” Mary suggested. “Let him have his own room, and even if he sleeps in yours mostly, it’s still yours. That way you feel he’s invited and not cramping you.”

“Agreed,” Kary added as she brought over plates and set them by Apollo. “Maybe he will get his own place after the bullshit with his uncle or maybe not. There’s no rush, and honestly we feel better knowing a strong wolf is here to watch your back along with all of the wards Uncle Hades put down here.”

“Even the ones Colton probably snuck in somehow,” Mary drawled.

“He did,” I confirmed, nodding when the twins groaned. “And yes, I like that idea. Thank you. It does seem silly to push him to find his own place when I just bought this huge mansion, but it’s also too fast, but we’re not normal and…” I simply shrugged.

“This is delicious, Aunt,” Apollo praised after we were all served and digging in. “Truly.”

I thanked them when everyone agreed, remembering the potatoes to accompany it, and glad when Mary had grabbed the bread.

Dion brought up the idea again that AMC would help, but he wanted another location outside of NYC.

“I worry that would upset Costco,” I admitted. “That sounds like we’re trying to branch out around them. And they want—they’ve basically written us a blank check to get them as much as we can. If we’re doing more, but through you, I think that would leave a bad taste in their mouth.”

“It would,” he agreed, Apollo nodding as well.

“What about something you aren’t doing with Costco or even at the bakery?” Kary suggested. “I saw the list you were going to finalize and realized you forgot fudge.” She nodded when I groaned. “The fudge you gave away for Valentine’s Day was a massive hit and everyone wants it added to the menu.

“What if AMC gave away free Karma Bakery Easter fudge during a week or two to whoever sees a show? Or a Krispie treat? Oh, those cute mini Easter egg cakes you used to make. With the hard frosting like tea cakes?” She nodded when I made some appear. “I love these.”

I clucked my tongue when she reached for one. “Real food first, please.” I rolled my eyes when Apollo and Dion chuckled. “Yes, yes, I never change even if they’re hundreds of years old.” I glanced at Dion. “Could that work?”

“That would be amazing. I never would have thought you would give them away for free.”

“The goal is to give out karma and get the name out there more than to make money,” I reminded him. “I can make all the gold appear that we could ever need.” I might have said more but remembered that only the four original gods could do that so not to boast. “The problem is distribution or how to handle it.”

“I will gladly get it to all of the locations,” he told me. “If you get me a few pallets for each location—yes, I will get them to each theater, Aunt.”

“No disrespect, but we should get into the habit of calling her Arabella,” Apollo muttered, dipping his head to me. “And I go by Chen. To most, I look Chinese.”

“Okay, thank you, Chen,” I accepted. I smiled at Dion. “Talk to your people and see what they think will work best. Little containers of fudge or… I’m open to ideas or working with you so this helps both sides. These bastards came for us hard last time, and I want to knock their legs out from under them. I refuse to keep playing fair when others won’t.”

“No, we’ve lost too much from being the fools that way,” Hades said, his voice hard.

“Agreed,” Apollo—no, Chen—bit out.

I was glad we were all in agreement on that… And we all enjoyed the food. I sent Dion and Chen home with a ham and a lasagna each—much to their surprise.

And the twins’ disappointment. They had more than enough food, and the fridge was completely stocked. It was a good first step, and I felt better knowing more of what happened since I’d been chased from my home.

That was now how I was going to look at it. I wasn’t going to say that I ran anymore. Hera had made it so I ran, engineered the curse that way.

Which meant she’d chased me from my home, and I wanted her to bleed for that.

But would I turn into her if I did?

4

The next week completely flew by in a frenzy of so much productivity even my head spun.

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