by Kimbra Swain
That’s when he met Stephanie. Or rather, when she threw herself at him one night at The Hot Tin Roof Bar. Dylan and Levi had something in common. They weren’t the one-night stand kind of guys. Over the years, Stephanie and Dylan kept up a relationship, but the entire time, she slept with whoever she wanted. He didn’t talk much about it, but I felt I should reciprocate his story.
I told him about meeting Remington Blake in a bar on the other side of Tuscaloosa. He teased me for not sleeping with Remy as soon as I met him. I think I didn’t, not only because of Jeremiah and the Sanhedrin, but because part of me knew Remy wasn’t completely truthful with me. My hormones were louder than my instinct though. The sex with Remy was great. I didn’t think he was sleeping with anyone else, not even his wife. I’m not entirely sure, but if had just been up front with me, I probably would have slept with him anyway, because he was a fairy. His lie to me was the closest I’d ever come to having a broken heart.
None of it mattered now. I had Dylan, and I loved him. There were moments like yesterday when I punched Kady that I wondered if he regretted his decision to commit himself to a wild fairy like myself. I frequently had problems controlling my feelings. Well, anger mostly. Okay, anger only, but still, I would have to make an effort to calm myself for his sake.
“Grace! Hey, Grace,” his voice brought me back from my thoughts. There he stood at the back door with a microfiber, athletic towel drying his face. The sun from the kitchen window glinted off his sweaty skin. My hormones went into overdrive.
“Hey, I want you right now,” I said.
Shock registered on his face, but then he grinned. “Insatiable,” he said. “One day I won’t be enough for you.”
“Never,” I said, washing my coffee cup out.
“I’m sweaty and need a shower,” he protested as I stalked toward him. It just turned me on more that he was making excuses.
“I don’t give a flying fuck,” I said.
He took off running up the steps toward the bedroom, and I chased him. He was much faster than me. He was in the bathroom completely stripped, turning on the shower water when I walked in. I dropped the robe I was wearing on the floor. He pulled me into the shower with him.
“Do you have a housekeeper?” I asked him after our shower. I’d noticed last night that all the candles he had in the room were gone.
He rubbed a towel through his hair while he picked through his closet. I’d already picked out clothes to wear, so I’d managed to get dressed before he did. “No, why do you ask?”
“What did you do with all the candles?”
“You cleaned them up, right?” he said.
“Um, no,” I replied. “I’ve been with you except when I was with Levi the other day shopping and putting up the tree downstairs.”
He stared at the room, but turned back to his closet. He pulled out a brown button up shirt, throwing it on the bed with a pair of jeans. “Are you teasing me?” he finally said.
“Darlin’ I’m serious. I didn’t do anything with the candles,” I said.
He growled. “I need a better security system apparently,” he replied.
“That’s creepy,” I said.
“Probably some fucking troll,” he said frustrated.
“I’m sorry,” I said dipping my head.
He placed his warm hands on my cheeks and kissed my forehead. “It’s not your fault.”
“If I hadn’t decided to do this Queen thing, this town might be normal,” I said.
“This town was never normal, Grace,” he replied pulling on his jeans. He picked up the shirt as I slipped off the bed. I moved his hands kissing his chest before I buttoned up his shirt for him.
Just as I started to kiss him, his phone rang. “Ugh,” he groaned and answered, “Riggs.”
On the other side, I could hear someone frantically talking. “Okay, we are on the way,” he said as his face turned grave.
“What is it?” I asked before he hung up.
He grabbed his leather jacket and tossed it to me. I drank in the smell. “We have to get to the med center,” he said. “That was Dr. Mistborne. They brought Bethany in. She’s unresponsive.”
“Shit,” I said grabbing his phone. I’d left mine downstairs.
“It’s okay. Levi has Winnie. He’s the one that found her,” he said grabbing my hand as we left the bedroom. “We will meet him down at the med center.”
We took his truck. He drove like a maniac. “Would you slow down?”
“I’m trained to drive like this. You have to do it for the Sheriff’s Department,” he said.
I knew he was elected Sheriff, but that the Sanhedrin basically insured that he would win no matter what. According to state law, he had to complete regular law enforcement standards before taking the job. He’d had no issues completing all their tests. Still, I gripped the arm rest with white knuckles for the ten-minute drive into town.
We pulled up outside the emergency room and rushed in. Dr. Mistborne waited for us at reception. “The doctors are working on her. She’s breathing now, but we don’t know how long she was unconscious,” Tabitha explained.
“Why aren’t you working on her?” I asked.
“She’s not a fairy. She is in good hands, Grace. I put Levi and Winnie in a private waiting room. Come with me,” she said. When we reached the room, she nodded to us both leaving us to enter alone.
Levi sat in one of the chairs with Winnie wrapped around his neck. Kady sat next to him and stroked her hair. She looked up when we entered the room. Her sweet little eyes were red and bloodshot. No child should ever cry on Christmas Eve. At that moment, I hated Bethany Jones for what she was doing to this lovely child. Winne jumped from Levi’s lap, running toward me. I bent down to meet her as she buried her head in my neck.
“Mommy was cold and wouldn’t wake up,” she said. My heart shattered into a million pieces. “Uncle Levi called the doctors for her.”
Dylan wiped a tear from his eye while he kept his hand on my back. He pushed a little guiding me to one of the chairs. I sat down and held her.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Levi, come here.”
Levi looked puzzled as they exited the room. Kady didn’t look at me. Her face was slightly purpled and her eyes were red. “I can heal it, Kady,” I said to her.
She shot a look at me. At first, I thought it was defiance, but it quickly faded to regret. She was sorry she said the things she’d said to me. Even if it were only for Levi’s sake, I’d forgive her.
“Just take care of Winnie. I’m okay,” she said.
I patted the seat next to me. She reluctantly got up sitting down next to me cautiously. “We can’t fight. Next to Dylan and this little angel, Levi means the world to me. He’s my family. I want him happy, and if you are that happy, then I’m fine with his decision. Please let me heal it.”
She nodded, and I lifted my hand to her face. Pulling power from my tattoo, I pushed a warm healing into her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. The bruising faded, but the red eyes stayed. There wasn’t anything more I could do about that than I could about my own red eyes.
“Thank you, Grace. I didn’t deserve that. What I said about liking Dylan was true, but I said it to provoke you. Levi loves you, and I just wanted him to see you for who you really are. I was wrong,” she said.
“I love Levi, but I don’t think it’s what you think,” I said.
She shook her head a little. “I think if Dylan hadn’t come back that he wouldn’t have bothered with me.”
“I know that if Dylan hadn’t come back, I’d be too devastated to have a relationship with anyone. Not to mention, Levi is totally the settle down and have a family type of guy. Until Dylan, I never imagined that for myself. Not even with Levi. I’ll admit when he walks across my living room without his shirt on or when he blushes, my hormones go wild.” She giggled, because she completely understood. “But I would have never made a move on him.”
“Why?” she asked.
I paused for a moment. My reason was because my heart belonged to Dylan whether he was dead or alive. If Dylan hadn’t come back, would I have considered Levi? I knew the answer was that I‘d probably fucked him, ruined his life, and sent him packing. Searching deeper though, I knew the reason I wouldn’t have made a move on Levi was because he still had a lot to learn about life. Sex between us would have been amazing, however he would want more. I’d never given more. “Because once wouldn’t have been enough for him. I cared about him too much for me to ruin him.”
I’d just admitted to her that I was a whore, but it didn’t matter. She seemed to understand. “How do you know if you are in love?” she asked me.
“I’m not an expert in that department. Levi actually told me many times that I was in love with Dylan, but I refused to admit it. So, I can’t answer that question for you. However, I beg of you to decide what you want from Levi and be honest. He’s tender hearted. I’ll be there to pick up whatever broken pieces he has, but I’d rather not have to do that,” I answered.
“He’s said that he loves me, but I haven’t said it back. You are right. I should be honest and tell him that I’m not sure, but that I want him to give me time to figure it out,” she said as Levi and Dylan came back into the room. The stared at us sitting next to each other. Winnie quietly snoozed on my shoulder.
“Your nose,” Levi said.
Kady nodded her head toward me. He smiled beckoning her to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her lightly as Dylan sat next to me. I tore my eyes from them. If she did anything to hurt my bard, I’d rip her nose off. Taking a deep breath, I looked toward Dylan. Winnie stirred.
“Winnie, let’s go see if they have some grits in the cafeteria,” Levi said.
“What about mommy?” she asked still half-asleep.
“We will check on her after we eat. The doctors are taking care of her,” he said. She slipped from my arms and took Levi’s hand.
The door to the private waiting room clicked shut as Dylan ran his hand into mine. Folding his strong fingers around mine, he said, “She’s not doing good. Winnie showed up at your house this morning and told Levi that her mom wouldn’t wake up. He left her with Kady to run and check on Bethany. She wasn’t breathing. He performed CPR on her until the paramedics arrived. They shocked her back, but he said it was at least ten minutes before they got there. We need to face the fact that she’s probably gone. The doctors won’t give me any firm information. I called Blake. He’s on the way.”
“You called Remy?” I asked.
“Yes, he has the paperwork saying that you are her guardian if something happens, right?” he asked.
“Yes, but Bethany is still alive,” I offered.
“Even if she survives this, I doubt she will be able to take care of Winnie for a long time. Hopefully the paperwork is in order because we don’t want to have to fight the state over custody. I called Troy, too. He’s on the way to get copies of the paperwork,” he said.
I stood and paced the room. Either temporarily or permanently, I was about to become a mother. It terrified me. I was not mother material. “I’m not sure I can do this,” I muttered.
He stopped my pacing by putting his arms round me. “I’ll do it with you. You love her. You’ve fed and clothed her since you moved into the trailer park. There are no less than twenty presents under my tree for her. There is a stocking hanging from my mantle for her. There is a room upstairs that is all hers. We can do this.”
My heart pounded because I couldn’t accept that this wonderful man was mine. “I’m sorry,” I muttered.
“For what?”
“Waiting so long to tell you that I loved you,” I said. “I’m a big sappy fool now. Look at me.”
“You look amazing. Besides, I knew,” he said.
“Oh really? So sure, about yourself, huh?” I teased.
“No, just sure about us,” he replied. Tabitha walked in smiling at us.
“Have they told you anything?” she asked.
“No, I have rights to Winnie. Remy is coming with the paperwork, but I’ve got nothing that says I can know her medical information,” I replied.
She grimaced. “I can’t tell you then, but it’s not good. I’m glad you have paperwork for Winnie. You are going to need it.” She turned and walked out. She’d told us everything we needed to know without saying anything at all. I liked her. We needed to have lunch together sometime soon.
“You still want everyone to come to my house tonight?” Dylan asked.
“Yes, I think we definitely need it now. Besides, we already invited everyone,” I said. “Winnie will love the room. Maybe it will help her cope with Bethany.”
“Did you invite Kady?” he asked.
I smiled, “I forgot, but she should be there too. We talked a little. I think it all stemmed from her doubts about my feelings for Levi.”
“I figured as much. Still, I can’t believe she pushed it as far as she did. To be honest, I hope they don’t work out,” he said.
“Dylan! That’s terrible,” I said.
He laughed. “Is it? She’s immature for a woman in her mid-twenties,” he said.
“I’d say she’s just a mature as I’d expect her to be,” I replied.
“Maybe so,” he said. There was a light knock on the door. Dylan released me. “Come in.”
In an expensive suit, former state prosecutor, Remington Blake entered the room with a briefcase. His face was pale. “Morning,” he said simply.
“What’s wrong, Remy?” I asked.
“I just talked to the doctors, because I had the custody papers for Winnie, so they told me her status,” he said.
“We know it’s bad,” I said.
He shook his head. “No child should lose a parent at Christmas,” he muttered.
“She’s gone?” I choked out as Dylan put an arm around my waist.
“No, she’s brain dead. Her body is still alive. She has no will, so they will keep her hooked up until a relative makes the call or her body gives up. I know her mother isn’t capable of doing it. I feel bad that she’s going to sit there in that bed like that,” he sounded genuinely sad. I’d known Remy for a long time, but I’d never known him to soft-hearted. It was a side he never showed me. He was always playful and seductive. “The paperwork will allow you to take her even though she’s still alive. It wasn’t dependent upon her death.”
I breathed a sigh of relief because I wouldn’t have to fight for her. If it had come to that, I would have though.
Hearing a commotion in the hallway, Dylan moved quickly to the door. His instincts were always to run toward the fire, not away from it. “You fools, pipe down,” he yelled.
“Hey, look its Sheriff Riggs,” I heard Cletus say.
In an instant Cletus and Tater joined us in the waiting room, they both looked grave. “Where is Bethany?” Tater asked.
“She’s with the doctors. She’s not doing good,” I replied.
“What about Winnie?” Cletus asked.
“She’s getting some breakfast in the cafeteria with Levi,” I replied.
They both hung their heads. Tater always wore a trucker hat, but he removed it revealing a large bald spot that shined under the fluorescent lights. “She’s been in some bad stuff,” Tater muttered.
“Drugs?” I asked.
“Yeah, we told her to stop, but she never paid any attention to us,” Cletus said.
Cletus and Tater were idiots, but I’d never known either of them to do drugs. “She’s gonna die?” Tater asked as tears welled up in his eyes. I could only nod in response.
“You will take Winnie, right?” Cletus asked.
“I still have the paperwork. I think the only person that could take her away from me would be her father, whoever he is,” I said.
“He ain’t around no more,” Tater said. “He was a dealer. I saw on the news a few years ago that he was killed in a shootout in Birmingham.”
Poor Winnie. Drug dealer father. Addict mothe
r. Heart of gold. I’d do everything I could to make sure that she got everything she deserved and so much love.
“Will you guys get to stay in her trailer?” I asked.
They looked at each other than at me. “Miss Grace, the trailer is ours. Tater’s daddy gave it to us when he died. We let Bethany live there so Winnie would have a roof over her head,” Cletus explained. My heart exploded. All these years I thought it was Bethany who let them live there. I rushed across the room and hugged them both.
“We came down to make sure you had Winnie,” Tater said.
“Thank you, both. She will be loved,” I said.
“I ain’t got no doubt about that,” Cletus said. “You can send Levi over to get her stuff. We will put it in some boxes for you. I just picked some up at the liquor store. They have the best boxes.”
Child’s toys and clothes in liquor boxes. Only in Shady Grove, Alabama. “Thanks, guys.”
They slipped out of the room as Remy laid papers out on a side table. “I need you to sign a few things, Grace.”
I looked over the papers. They were just confirmations that I was taking her with me per the previous contract signed by her mother. As I signed each one as Remy indicated, Nestor and Mable showed up speaking to Dylan quietly. When I finished, I handed them all to Remy. “What’s next?” I asked.
“That’s it. You are a mother,” he said. “You will do a great job. Don’t doubt yourself.” He smiled and patted Dylan on the shoulder as he left the room.
I jumped up hugging Nestor. He rocked side to side with me. “He’s right. You are going to be a great mother,” he said.
After Remy squared the paperwork with Troy, Dylan and I took Winnie back to the trailer. Levi went across the street, retrieving the boxes from Cletus and Tater. It was a shame that the entirety of what she owned fit into two boxes. She was very quiet after we explained that she would come and live with us until her mother got better. She even asked me if her mother was going to die. I told her that I didn’t know, but that I knew her mother loved her very much which was probably the biggest lie I’d ever told. Bethany was selfish. The drugs and prostitution were a never-ending cycle. She’d dragged Winnie through it for six years. Part of me was glad that Winnie would have a home where she was loved and cared for every single day. The other part of me was terrified that I couldn’t live up to what she needed.
