Snake in the Grass (Fairy Tales of a Trailer Park Queen Book 3)

by Kimbra Swain

  “Is Winnie okay?” I asked. “What day is it?

  “Grace, she is fine. Congratulations are due,” Dylan said.

  “For what?”

  “You won the election,” he said. “You are the official queen.”

  “I’m not sure that matters now,” I said.

  “It matters now more than ever,” Dylan replied. “Nestor and Mable made some inquiries. Brock has taken over Unseelie. Those loyal to your father, the die hards, are being hunted down. We expect that Shady Grove will become fairy central. It’s a good thing you have a council now, too.”

  I raised up in the bed. Dylan shifted the pillows behind me to prop me up. He kissed me lightly on the cheek. Worry filled his eyes, all of it directed toward me.

  “Who?” I cringed to know.

  “Nestor, Tabitha, Diego Santiago and Betty Stallworth,” Dylan said.

  “No Seelie,” I reflected.

  “Grace, Tabitha is Seelie,” Dylan prompted.

  I slapped myself in the forehead. “Ouch! Of course, she is. Damn, I’m an idiot. I know the differences now. I can see it. Looking at the both of you, it’s very clear to me now what you are. My father could see like this all along.”

  “How do you tell?” Levi asked.

  “I don’t look, search through the knowledge, and come to the conclusion. It’s just there. I look at you and see bard changeling. Dylan is Phoenix. There is no guessing. It’s like he downloaded the book into my head. Along with a crap ton of shit I didn’t need in my head,” I huffed.

  “Like?”

  “Fairy history. The great fairy war that split the races. Rulers. Servants. Exiles. The dead. The extinct. The missing. You get the idea. The names of all his servants. It goes on and on,” I said, as a tear rolled down my cheek. “Are both of you okay? There is something you aren’t telling me.”

  “Oh, hell,” Dylan cursed.

  “What?”

  “You all of a sudden super intuitive?” Dylan asked.

  “No, I can look at your face and see something is wrong. What is it?” I demanded.

  “It’s not important right now,” Dylan replied. He looked at Levi who shrugged.

  “Don’t you piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining,” I exclaimed, shaking my finger at him.

  “The house is gone,” Dylan blurted out.

  “Gone? What did it grow legs and walk away?” I asked.

  “Maybe. Troy went out there to take your father’s body. I thought we’d set up a pyre, but the house was gone. The foundation is there, but it’s like a tornado came through and kicked it to Oz,” he said.

  “Oz. No, it’s in the Otherworld,” I said. “Isn’t it?”

  “It had to be her,” he said. “However, I have no idea what she did with it. Just another way to meddle with us.”

  “What did you lose? Other than the building? Important things?” I asked.

  He sat on the side of the bed. I watched Levi slip out quietly, but at the last moment his eyes met mine. Suddenly, I was lost in the mind of my servant. I realized things that I didn’t want to know. He turned his back to me to walk out the door. A shiver ran through him because he knew that I knew everything. His fears of the future. His admiration of me. His love. This was how my father knew all of his servants. He saw their souls. Levi’s soul was filled with uncertainty, except for one thing. Us. He knew we were solid. I understood then how important I was to him. How important he was to me.

  Withdrawing from Levi’s consciousness, I realized Dylan was talking, “I have you and Winnie. That’s all I want. I haven’t had the heart to tell her that her room is gone.” He hung his head in defeat.

  “She is a good girl. She will be fine. Where’s Rufus?” I asked.

  He smiled. “In the bed with Winnie,” he said. “The pistols you gave me were in the trunk of the Camaro. Other than that, my clothes and things that can be replaced. I told you that I gutted it. I took everything out of it before remaking it for you.”

  “That’s why she did it,” I said. “Petty bullshit.”

  “Maybe. Probably,” he said. “I’m homeless.”

  I raised up, forcing him to look at me. “Guess you get to stay in the trailer park now,” I said.

  “Thrills you to death, doesn’t it?”

  “Sends all kinds of chills up and down my body. Utter pleasure,” I grinned.

  Finally, he returned the smile. “As long as I have you. I’ll live in a shack.”

  “If I keep up with my track record on houses and cars, we might just be living in the shed behind Nestor’s bar,” I said.

  “Levi would have to move out,” he laughed.

  “Agreed,” I said.

  “I heard that,” Levi said from the living room. We laughed.

  “He’s been around you for too long,” Dylan said. “He could tell what was going on while you were sleeping. I was thankful to know that although overwhelmed, that you were okay in there.”

  “We have work to do,” I said. “Are they already arriving? More exiles?”

  “Yes. Remy called and said Niles would have the apartments done by next week. He will start on a second set right after that if you approve,” he said. “I suppose the trailer park will expand. You can do this, Grace.”

  “We can do this,” I replied. “I will make them pay for this bullshit. I’m not done with Brock and Raine.”

  “Good, but right now, I just want to be with you,” he said, laying down next to me. He wrapped his warm arms around me, and I felt safe. However, he shifted his legs away from me. I tried moving back to him. I wanted to cuddle. I needed it. “Grace, don’t.”

  “I’m just tying to spoon. Don’t go buy any ladles,” I smirked.

  He cleared his throat. “I can’t lay next to you like this and not have a reaction.”

  “Oh really,” I said, sliding myself back to him. He’d reached the edge of the bed, so he had no choice but to allow me to touch him.

  “I wasn’t trying to do this,” he protested.

  “Why the hell not?” I asked.

  “Because, your father just died. The world has gone to hell in a handbasket,” he said.

  I rolled around to face him. “I will mourn my father, and the world hasn’t gotten that bad yet. Neither of those things have anything to do with loving you.”

  He kissed me on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered in my ear. Goosebumps ran down my arms.

  “I love you, too,” I said, reaching to unbutton his jeans. “Now, show me that snake in the grass.”

  A Message From the Author

  I’m always thrilled to hear from a reader. The feedback for Grace’s story has been so positive. I’m glad you all love her and her merry band of exiles. As an independent author, I’m in charge of everything from writing the story to registering copyrights to marketing the book. One of the biggest marketing tools for an author is an honest review. If you truly enjoyed my stories, would you mind taking a few moments to review the books on Amazon or Goodreads? I would greatly appreciate it. Visibility increases with more reviews. As that happens, I’m able to produce more books.

  Thank you so much for loving these stories. I’d love to hear from you anytime. Please message me on my Facebook page or through my email.

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/kimbraswainofficial

  Email: kimbraswain@gmail.com

  Reviews on Amazon:

  Bless Your Heart

  Tinsel in a Tangle

  Other Books in the series

  Goodreads:

  Bless Your Heart: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36730556-bless-your-heart

  Tinsel in a Tangle: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37457023-tinsel-in-a-tangle

  Acknowledgments

  First and always, Thanks to my loving husband, Jeff, and my beautiful daughter, Maleia. You are my dreams come true.

  Thanks to my Canvas Crew who look over the books and badger me to death when I don’t have a new one to read. I love you guys so much! Larry, Tabitha,
Mike, Kristie, Chris, Sandi, Moragan, Allana and Carol.

  Thanks to Hampton, my wonderful cover artist, who has embraced the idea to be different. I get giddy every time I get a message from him with an update on a cover.

  Thanks to the wonderful indie authors who have encouraged me along the way. You guys really set the bar, and I plan on catching you all eventually. Your support has been phenomenal.

  About the Author

  From early in life Kimbra Swain was indoctrinated in the ways of geekdom. Raised on Star Wars, Tolkien, Superheroes and Voltron, she found herself immersed in a world of imagination. She started writing in high school, and completed her English degree from the University of Alabama in 2003.

  Her writing is influenced by a gamut of favorite authors including Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Timothy Zahn, Kathy Reichs, Kevin Hearne and Jim Butcher.

  Born and raised in Alabama, Kimbra still lives there with her husband and 5-year-old daughter. When she isn't reading or writing, she plays PC games, makes jewelry and builds cars.

  Kimbra is currently writing Reincarnation, Book 3 of the Path to Redemption Series to be released in February, as well as two historical novellas for that series, Deception and Devotion coming in March.

  Grace and company will return in February. I will also release my first romantic thriller in a series called Romantic Disasters. The first book is titled, Avalanche.

  Follow Kimbra on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

  www.kimbraswain.com

  www.facebook.com/kimbraswainofficial

  www.twitter.com/kswainauthor

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