by Kimbra Swain
“No!” I said with my hands on my hips.
He grimaced, pulled out, and sped away.
For the rest of the day I flipped from cussing the day I met Dylan Riggs to being on the verge of tears, thinking he wouldn't come back. I checked my phone every 5 minutes, working myself into a tizzy. For years I’d watched other women do the same thing about a certain man and scoffed at their immaturity, but here I was doing the same damn thing.
Levi played with Winnie most of the day, but before bed, she insisted that she go home. She said her mommy needed her. I winced. A six-year-old child taking care of her mother. The thought just added to my already terrible day.
“You know he will come back,” Levi said.
“One day he won't. He will give up on me,” I replied.
“No, you just need to get over whatever it is holding you back,” Levi said.
“Thank you, love guru,” I snarled.
“Truth hurts,” he said as he went into his bedroom shutting the door.
I stood at the kitchen sink, looking down the road toward town. After an hour, I stopped looking for him and went to bed.
December 14th
Around 1 a.m. my phone buzzed to life. Reaching over in the darkness, I plucked it from the nightstand. Mr. Riggs had finally decided to talk to me.
“Are you awake?” the text said.
“Yes,” I responded. Within just a moment, the phone rang. I answered it quickly, “Hello?”
“I’m sorry,” he immediately said. “I’m sorry for everything. I’d do it differently now, Grace. Please, I just…” His voice cut off.
“I’m just afraid, Dylan,” I admitted.
“Open the door,” he said.
“What?” I replied.
“I’m at the front door, and I didn’t want to knock,” he said. I jumped out of bed and ran to the front door. When I let him in, the cold air from outside rushed in. He shut the door behind him, then wrapped me in his arms. The leather jacket was cool, but his hands were warm. Tossing the jacket on the back of the couch, he guided me back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind us.
Leaning against it, he stared at me. “Afraid of what?” he asked.
“Losing you again,” I replied truthfully. “You can die, obviously. But is there a limit? Can you be extinguished?”
“Interesting choice of words,” he replied. “There is no limit, but yes, just like you, I can cease to be. However, it would take the power of a royal fairy to do it or something as strong.”
“Oh,” I said. “I would never.”
“I know,” he said, leaning his forehead to mine. “I need to hear you say it.”
“Say what? What time is it?” I asked.
“Grace, I do not want to play this game,” he said sternly.
Pulling out my phone, I said, “It’s 1:37 am. You have six hours.”
“I want you to say you forgive me. I want forever,” he replied.
Stepping away from him, my heart pounded in my chest. It wasn’t the three words, but it was pretty darn close. “You admit that this whole queen thing a mess. I don’t want you dragged down by it,” I made up an excuse.
“I do not care, Grace. You stubborn woman!” he exhaled. “You marched into a forest to save a little girl, taking on an Aswang and a werewolf. You stood up to your father, the king of the Wild Fae. How in the world are you afraid of me?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I muttered.
“Then what are you afraid of?” he begged.
“Us,” I sighed.
“I’m not,” he replied, stepping back towards me. “Forever means I’ll wait that long if I have to.”
“Aw, why do you have to be like that?” I groaned.
“Because, sometimes dealing with stubborn women, the best thing you can do is make her feel bad,” he replied frankly.
“I should slap you,” I said. He turned around and offered his ass. “Oh, stop. I already knew you were an ass.”
He plopped down on the bed, patting the mattress beside him. “Take your shoes off,” I demanded.
“Yes, ma’am” he replied. As he finished, I laid down next to him snuggling up to his warmth. I’d never been sick before, but I had a definite chill from my excursion in the bathrobe. “Grace, you feel warm to me.”
He placed his hand on my forehead. “I think you have a temperature,” he said.
“No, I can’t get sick,” I replied.
“No, you’ve never been sick. Two different things, my dear,” he said. “Just lay here and rest. I’ll take care of you.”
“You want me to be sick,” I replied.
“Never,” he said as I drifted off to sleep next to the warm body of a phoenix.
Startled, I jumped up in the bed. My head swam around in the darkness of the room as sweat poured down my face.
“Grace, what’s wrong?”
“I think I’m sick,” I replied.
“I told you,” he said, running his hand up my back under my shirt. His normally warm hands felt cool to me as I shivered to his touch. “Damn, you are burning up.”
Reaching over to grab his cell phone, he dialed, “Sorry to bother you this early, but she’s sick.” My upright body swayed as I tried to concentrate on his conversation. Gently, he pushed back me down flat on the bed. “No, nothing like that, but she’s running a fever.”
Then I heard Nestor’s voice clearly, “Take her to the med center to see Dr. Mistborne. She’s a fairy doc. If anyone can figure it out, it will be her. I’ll meet you down there.”
“Alright, but you stay. I’ll call you once we speak to the doc. I’m taking her now,” Dylan said hanging up the phone. As he leaned over the bed to put on his shoes, I drifted in and out.
“Darlin’, we can go in the morning,” I sputtered.
“No, we are going now,” he said as he turned to lift me off the bed. Weakness caused my arms to loll with no tension. He carried me effortlessly to the living room. “Levi!”
“What’s going on?” Levi asked, emerging from his room scratching his head.
“Grace is sick. Do you have the truck keys?” Dylan asked.
Levi ducked back into his room and returned with the keys. “I’m going too,” he said grabbing his sweats.
“Grab a blanket,” Dylan ordered, hauling me out the front door into the cold.
“I’m scared,” I muttered.
“It’s okay. Just a cold or something,” he replied, trying to convince both of us.
Dylan climbed in the passenger seat as Levi started the truck. The once staunch sheriff actually rode without his seatbelt on so that he could keep his arms around me. The streets of Shady Grove were dark as we passed through the main part of town. The lighted decorations covered in tinsel hung from the main power poles as we passed. Candy canes, angels and snowflakes glittered in the darkness.
Pulling into the med center, Levi lead the way as Dylan continued to carry me. My head rested close to his neck. Despite the sickness, my hormones started flip-flopping as I drank in his scent.
Levi gave all my information to the receptionist even though Jessica knew me from church.
Our church looked like your run of the mill southern Baptist church on the outside. But once you stepped inside, it became a glorious grove of towering oak and ash trees. The pastor was a druid. The fairies of the town met there every Sunday. It was a social gathering more than anything. In the last few weeks, Dylan and I had discussed starting a council to talk over fairy matters which seemed to grow on a weekly basis.
A nurse whom I did not know directed us to a small cubicle behind a white curtain. Dylan gently laid me on the bed. I felt like I’d been beaten with a stick. My head felt woozy again. The nurse asked a hundred questions about my illness and its onset. Dylan answered most of them. Then she blurted out, “Mr. Riggs, are you Miss Bryant’s next of kin?”
“Um, no,” he said.
“Fiancé?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” he replied. She tapped he
r pencil on her teeth.
“I’m afraid you are going to have to wait in the waiting room like everyone else. Next of kin only back here,” she explained.
“No,” I muttered. “I want him to stay.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Bryant. It’s policy,” she said.
Gathering what little strength I had left, I raised up and said, “Fuck your policy. He’s not leaving me.”
“Grace, honey, lay back. It’s okay. I’ll be right down the hall with Levi,” he tried to calm me.
“No, don’t go,” I whimpered. “Call Remy. He will draw up the paperwork to fix this. I need you here.”
His face twisted, because I knew he didn’t want Remington Blake anywhere near me, but he was my lawyer now since Demetrius Lysander decided to be an ASS-wang. My father killed him for his treachery.
“Okay. Nothing will stop me from coming in this room if you need me,” he said.
“I don’t need you locked up with the creepy brothers,” I replied. A hint of a smile brightened in his eyes, but did not reach his lips. However, he leaned over gently kissing me on my lips.
“You can take that one out of the next time, too,” he said with his face so close to mine.
“That one is free,” I replied. The smile finally found his lips.
“Out! Now!” the nurse exclaimed, reaching her patience plateau.
“It’s okay,” I assured him.
The door clicked behind him as the nurse scowled shoving a needle into my IV.
“Goodnight,” she smirked. My eyes fluttered drifting off into a deep sleep.
A sharp clang rattled me awake. When my eyes opened, I stared at the top of a slightly balding head with liver spots. The man was bent down at the edge of my bed, but as he raised to full height, I realized he was no more than 4 foot tall. His familiar beady eyes widened to see that I was awake. Over his shoulder, a mesh bag was slung holding at least four metal bed pans.
“What the fuck!” I exclaimed, as he backed away from me.
“My Queen, forgive me. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he bowed his head to me.
“Dylan!” I screamed. Rushing footsteps pounded down the hallway toward my room.
“Please, forgive, I was just collecting the bed pans,” he replied.
“Do you work here?” I asked.
“Um, no,” he admitted.
“Dylan!” I screamed again as the door slammed open. Dylan’s worried expression changed to pure blue flame as he grabbed the little man by his collar throwing him against the wall. Levi came in the door dodging the flying man. The mesh bag hit the floor, and the pounding sound of metal clattered around the room.
“Help! My Queen! He will kill me! Have mercy! Have mercy!” he started to screech.
I covered my ears and winced. Levi leaned over me, “Did he hurt you?”
“No, he was just right here beside the bed when I woke up!” I trembled.
“Who are you?” Dylan growled. I heard more footsteps approaching.
“My name is Eric! I’m just collecting bed pans!” he replied. Dylan shot a look at me.
“He doesn’t work here!” I explained.
“What are you doing with bed pans, sick bastard?” he asked.
“Well, I collect them and melt them down for projects at my house. But with these I’m going to make a beautiful water fountain in front of our house for my wife. I think I can run a hose pipe up in it and make it flow out all over the front lawn. Bless her, we have ten children. I thought I’d do something nice for her. Please my Queen, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he explained even though Dylan still held him by the neck against the wall.
Two security guards appeared at the door. “What’s going on?”
“This guy doesn’t belong here. He’s stealing bed pans,” Dylan explained.
“Oh, thanks for nabbing him, Mr. Riggs,” the older gentleman said. “We will call the sheriff to come pick him up.”
“Eric, do you have a brother named Lamar?” I asked.
“Hey! I do! You know my peg leg brother?” he asked. “He’s a menace.”
“He’s waiting on you at the jail,” I said.
“Oh, he was cow tipping again, wasn’t he?” Eric said oblivious to his own menace.
The guards cuffed Eric, and he smiled at me as they dragged him out of the door. “Nice to meet you my Queen! You smell like cantaloupes!”
As the door shut behind the little man, Dylan looked at me dumbfounded. “Cantaloupes?”
“Hell, if I know! That’s from a man making a bed pan fountain for his wife!” I said.
Levi died laughing. “What’s going on in this town?”
“We need to find out if there are any other brothers!” I pointed out.
“Good idea,” Dylan said smiling as he pulled out his phone. He put his warm hand in mine and squeezed.
“Remy came by. He dropped off some papers for you to sign,” Levi said. I looked up to Dylan who squeezed my hand again. “We left them in the waiting room. I’ll go get them. Kady is here to check on you, too.”
“Good grief. Tell her thanks, but to go back home now, I’m feeling much better. I want to go home,” I said.
Dylan hung up the phone, “Troy doesn’t have any records on them, and Jeremiah hasn’t responded to his calls.”
“Jeremiah is back down in Louisiana chasing that voodoo witch again,” I said after Levi left the room.
“He’s never going to catch her,” he said. “I don’t know what difference it makes now. She can’t touch Levi while he’s under your protection.”
“I think Jeremiah is more concerned that one-day Levi might decide to go back,” I admitted.
“He’d be a fool,” Dylan said. “And I’ll beat him within an inch of his life for doing something that stupid.”
“Dylan!” I exclaimed. “He’s under my protection. If you hurt him, I’d hate to have to…”
“Do what? What are you going to do?” he teased.
“Something,” I said.
“You already owe me ten hexes,” he said.
“Eleven,” I replied as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“My bad, I lost count. Empty promises are hard to remember,” he continued to tease. “Do you really feel better?”
“Yes, I do,” I said. “It was a blip, and now I want to go home. Please find Dr. Mistborne.”
“Okay, sign those papers!” he said heading toward the door.
“I will,” I replied.
Levi brought the papers after a few minutes, and his lips looked red and swollen.
“Y’all make out in the waiting room?” I asked.
“Grace,” he growled at me.
“Your lips already told me,” I laughed as I pushed myself up in the bed. The room spun around me for a minute. Levi rushed to my side dropping the papers on the floor. He steadied me by grabbing my arms just below my shoulders. “I’m fine. Just been lying down too long.” I felt the strength in his hands as he gripped me. It was gentle, but firm. He hadn’t touched me since Kady came into his life. We’d never had anything past a flirtation, because he knew my heart belonged to someone else.
Releasing my arm, he flexed his hand. “What was that?” he asked looking at his hand.
“What do you mean?”
“That tingle!” he said.
“Levi, you know that fairies feel differently from mortals. You’ve just forgotten, because you are engrossed with Kady,” I said.
“You don’t have to remind me that she won’t live as long as me,” he said, bitterly picking up the papers from the floor.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Levi,” I said apologetically.
“Whatever,” he said slapping the folder down on my lap with a pen. “Glad you are better. I’ll catch you later.” His deep blue eyes brooded.
From the moment, I had met Levi Rearden he impressed me with his deep brooding skills. He was a bag of emotions and hormones. I loved him to death, but sometimes I wanted to slap some sense into him.
I only spoke to him once about Kady being a mortal. She was the daughter of the preacher who actually was a Druid priest. Just normal human beings. No supernatural elements. He was young and in love, again. At least this time, it wasn’t a voodoo priestess.
I looked over the document, signing it making Dylan my power of attorney. I never imagined I’d need such a thing, but I supposed that now I did.
“Hey, you signed it,” Dylan said. I hadn’t heard him enter the room.
“Yes,” I simply replied.
He kissed my forehead. “Thank you,” he said. “I can’t believe you did it without a protest.”
“I don’t protest everything!” I replied.
“Yes, you do,” he accused.
“Take me home!” I begged.
“The doctor is on the way,” he replied wrapping me up in his warm arms. I felt tingles when Levi touched me, but every time Dylan touched me it set my body on fire.
The doctor released me, and we went to my trailer together. Dylan settled me in the recliner waiting on my every need. I fell asleep in the recliner, but sometime later he carried me to bed curling his warm body around me.
December 15th
I pushed the cart down the aisle at the Food Mart, gathering items to make for the Yule celebration the town was having on the Winter Solstice which was technically after the traditional Yule. The town regulars were used to Christmas celebrations, so we meshed them together in the interest of diversity. Levi followed behind me making suggestions. He’d looked up a traditional Yule celebration online and considered himself an expert now.
“I need to walk back over to the produce section,” he said setting a bottle of cloves into the basket. “I forgot the oranges.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“You sure you are alright?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Go get your peaches,” I said.
“Oranges!” he exclaimed. “You are a fairy. You should know about Yule!”
“I don’t remember the celebrations at home, and everyone here does Christmas,” I replied.
