by Leigh, Elisa
“Please tell me you like pancakes Cara.”
A grin, unlike any other, graces my face, “yes ma’am.”
“You know I told you to call me Momma, none of that ma’am or Mrs. nonsense, ya’ hear?” She mock glares at me.
“Yes, Momma,” I say smiling and take a seat at the island where four chairs line one side of it.
“That’s better. Now, would you like some coffee?”
I immediately hop up. “Oh, I can get it.” She shakes her head at me and laughs.
“For goodness sakes girl. Let me you get you some coffee.” She pours me a cup, grumbling about not letting people take care of me. Handing me my cup, she slides over the cream and sugar so I can fix it the way I want it.
“Thank you.” She hugs me tight and releases me going back to making pancakes.
“We’re family now Cara. I’m here for you. If you’re stranded on the side of the road, call me. Can’t find something to wear, call me. Need to bitch about my stubborn son, call me.” I nod, and laugh, Momma is a hoot.
“Hey!” Bishop says walking into the kitchen.
She points her spatula at him and raises an eyebrow. “You know it’s true. You’ve had a stubborn streak since you were born. I know you better than anyone. Your girl here is going to reach a point where you push her over the edge. Who better for her to talk to?” She smiles broadly like she’s the smartest person in town.
With his arms wrapped around me, he tenses, but I lean into him, and he relaxes. Silly man, he may be stubborn, but he’s mine. He has quickly become the most important person to me, and I’m not getting rid of him, even if he does make me crazy.
Chapter 16
Bishop
“How about we go watch television?” I ask Cara after we have both stuffed ourselves on my mom’s pancakes and bacon.
“That sounds like a good idea.” She groans, rubbing her belly.
Holding her hand, I walk her back to my part of the house. When we’re situated on the couch, snuggled up in a blanket with her head in my lap, she looks up at me. “What do you want to watch?”
I hand her the remote. “Why don’t you pick?”
She puts on the same show she was watching the other night at her house. We sit there quietly, watching the show, while I comb my fingers through her hair. Cara is asleep before she can figure out who the murderer is.
Waiting a little while longer, I make sure she’s really asleep before I make the call that should have been made Monday.
“Lamar, I need you to find out everything you can about Cara. I need to know who her mother and father are. Specifically, if they have any ties to our community.”
“Yes sir, I’ll get it to you as soon as I can.”
I’m about to hang up when Lamar clears his throat. “What is it?”
“How is she doing, sir? I don’t mean to pry, it’s just-”
“You don’t have to explain yourself, Lamar. I think I get it. You’re her guardian, it’s ingrained in you to care. I believe she’ll be fine after she rests. You did right by her last night. If there is any way I can repay you, please let me know.”
“Thank you, sir. Alexis has been arrested and is on her way to the police department as we speak.”
“Thank you for letting me know. I expect her father will be contacting me soon enough to get her out. She can rot in there as far as I’m concerned.”
“I agree.”
“I’ll talk to you later Lamar. I look forward to hearing what you find out.”
I hang up and continue running my fingers through her hair, I watch the crime show she put on, while she sleeps in my lap. We stay like this all day. She wakes throughout the day but always finds her way back to the couch snuggled up to me, sleeping in my arms. She falls asleep later in the day, and when she wakes again, it’s the middle of the night.
“Bishop?” She whispers from my bed where I have her covered up.
I’ve been resting in the recliner, sleeping on and off throughout the night. “Yeah, baby?”
“What time is it?”
I check my phone that’s lying on the arm of my chair. “It’s three-thirty.”
She’s quiet for a moment, and I think she’s fallen back to sleep when she calls out to me again. “Will you come lay with me?”
Thank God. I’ve wanted to hold her all night, but I didn’t want her to wake up in bed with me and freak out about what she might think happened. “Of course.”
Tucking in the recliner, I walk to my bed, pull back the covers and lay beside her. I pull the blankets back over us, wanting nothing more than to pull her to my side.
“Will you hold me?” She asks quietly.
“Come here, baby.” I hold out my arm, and she cuddles into my side, laying her arm over my chest and her knee on my leg.
Within minutes we’re asleep.
Chapter 17
Cara
I haven’t gone home in two weeks. After staying the night a couple of weeks ago, I haven’t left. I tried going home the next day, even though Bishop and Momma assured me I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted. We made it all of five minutes before Bishop came back to my uncle’s house to find me already packing a bag to go back. Bishop has even cleared a space in his closet and drawers for my things. He gets this look of triumph every time I add more to it. I barely have anything left over at Uncle Greg’s house.
“What are you two going to do today?” Momma asks.
I shrug and take another bite of her amazing banana pancakes. This morning she taught me her secret family recipe and let me help her cook breakfast.
Momma looks at Bishop meaningfully, they are having another silent conversation. I notice they do this quite frequently. I look away and leave them to it, giving them the privacy they need. After taking a final sip of my coffee, I get up and put my plate and mug in the sink.
“I’m going to grab a shower. I’ll be down in a little while.” I tell them.
By the time I come back down, Momma is nowhere to be found, and Bishop is sitting in the same spot he was at breakfast, only now he’s dressed in jeans and a dark grey t-shirt.
“How about a hike?” He asks, smiling at me. That smile, it gets me every time. Doesn’t he know how much he affects me?
I must make a weird face because he laughs and pulls the bottom of my ponytail. “Come on, it will be fun.”
I shrug. “If you say so.”
* * *
Pulling up to the state park I grab the handle to hop out of his truck, but he stops me before I can even open the door. “What are you doing?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Getting out of the truck.”
He doesn’t hear me though because he’s already getting out and coming around to open my door. When my door opens, he doesn’t let me move an inch. Crowding into my space, inches from my face, he asks “Who gets the door for you, Princess?”
I’ve never had anyone to take care of me like this before, and I think it’s precious. Bishop is so serious here, and I bite my lip to keep from smiling, not wanting to let on to how he affects me. Grasping my cheeks between his palms, he growls low “Who takes care of you, Princess?” I stare at his lips as he speaks. Damn, he’s fine. I lick my lips, wanting to lick his instead.
Following the trail of my tongue, his thumb swipes my bottom lip, and I can’t help myself when I taste him. He groans and tugs my chin up locking his mouth on mine. Swiping his tongue across my lips, I immediately open and welcome his intrusion. It’s been so long since he’s kissed me and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it. Needed it. After a few minutes, he releases my mouth, and we’re both panting.
“Damn Princess. Your lips are addicting.” He says hoarsely, with his forehead against mine. He kisses my forehead and pulls away from me. “Let’s take a walk. I want to show you something.”
I’d go anywhere with Bishop, follow him around the world if he asked me to. “Okay.”
Bishop helps me down and closes my door before grabbing a back
pack from the back seat and putting it on his back.
“Did you plan a picnic?” I smirk.
He grins at me. “Mom packed it for us you brat.” Then he smacks my butt as I try getting away. This is exactly what I needed after the past couple of weeks. I feel like I should be in some dark room, scared and alone, but that’s not me. From the moment I bumped into Bishop, he’s been my safe place, even though at first, I ran from him. Then when I met his mom, she was like a dream come true. Whenever I would picture what a mom would be like, I’d imagine someone very similar to how Momma treats me. The closer Bishop and I become the stronger our bond becomes, and that extends to his people. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. The way she takes care of the people in her life is an endearing quality I haven’t experienced before.
Holding hands silently, we walk along a path that looks as though it’s been traveled a thousand times. “I like your mom, Bishop.”
“That’s good. I like her too.”
I smack his arm. “I’m serious. She’s very kind. I don’t think anyone has ever treated me like that before.”
He stops and looks down at me, a frown marring his handsome face. Brushing his thumb against my cheek, he sighs and holds the back of my neck. “Many things will be changing in the weeks to come my Princess. Things will be made right. You should have been taken care of so much better than you were. It pains me that you had to experience those things before you came back to Hollows Creek.”
I pull away from him, backing up a few feet. “What do you mean ‘came back?’ This is the first time I’ve ever been here Bishop.” A sick feeling pools in the pit of my stomach. I know what he’s about to tell me is going to change my life, but am I ready for it?
“I swear to God every important conversation I need to have with you I fuck up. With anyone else, I’ve got my shit together, but with you, I say everything wrong.” He says looking at the ground as he paces in front of me. I cross my arms over my chest and wait for him to get to the point.
“Do you trust me, Cara?”
“Yes, of course, I do Bishop.”
He smiles, and it settles my churning stomach. “I want you to follow me. There’s a reason we’re in this park today. I need to show you something. I promise to tell you everything once we’re there.”
I nod and take his outstretched hand. We walk in silence for over thirty minutes as he takes us deeper into the forest. Finally, he stops. “We’re here.” He announces before pulling back the thick brush to an opening of a well-worn path and gesturing for me to walk through.
I step in, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. There’s an energy here that I’ve never felt before, at least I don’t think I have. I look around the oasis I wouldn’t have known was here if Bishop hadn’t brought me. Bishop walks up beside me and watches as I look around at this magnificent place. I can tell he’s been here many times because the waterfalls in the distance have no effect on him.
This place is well taken care of and looks as if people have been coming here for hundreds of years. The large pond in the middle is clear, and the rope swing hanging from the tree next to it looks new enough that I’d swing from it and not worry if it would snap. Half a dozen cabins surround the pond, and a few picnic benches are scattered around in the grass.
I walk toward the water, and giddy excitement fills me. I don’t know if I’ve ever been giddy in my entire life. I feel like a little girl experiencing beauty for the first time. The colors around me are richer and the air is sweeter. Why is this place so vibrant in all ways?
I long to run through the grass and pick the wildflowers growing. I want to swim in the pond and through the waterfalls. I want to sit on the large branches of the tree and watch the sun go down after a long happy day. These feelings are so real I can feel them as they play out in my head.
I don’t know how long I look around, but eventually, Bishop nudges my shoulder and smiles down at me. “Why do you call me Princess?” I ask something I’ve been dying to know since the very first day we met.
He blushes and shoves his hands into his front pockets. He stares off at the rippling pond as he speaks. “At first, I thought it was because you were my Tesoro, my soul mate. All the signs were there, how our bodies and minds were reacting to one another. The need to be near you, touching you always. It made sense, but after what happened at the party a couple weeks ago, I realized there had to be more to it than that.”
“What do you mean? Are we not, am I not yours?” It can’t be, this can’t be right. I’ve been glued to his side since I woke up in his bed after that awful night.
He turns to me and takes my hands. “You are mine, Cara. You’re my Tesoro, my everything. Above all else, know that we’ll always be together. Do you understand?” He says fiercely.
“Yes, I understand Bishop,” I say, hoping he can feel how much I mean those words.
He pulls me to the sand surrounding the pond and sits down with me in between his legs, my back to his front. “I’m sorry about that night Cara. I knew something was wrong. I could feel your fear and heard you calling out for me. I started looking for you as soon as I felt it, but it took too long to find you. I could feel when you started to give up hope. You see, when we find our soulmates, we’re able to feel what they’re feeling, and sometimes read each other’s minds. That’s rare, but it does happen. I heard someone speaking to you, telling you what to do. Baby, that just isn’t heard of, not even in our world.”
“Bishop slow down. You’re telling me too much, I’m not following. What do you mean ‘our world?’”
“We aren’t human Cara. I mean a part of us is, but we’re more. There’s more to you and me and the rest of the people in this town.”
“Like your powers?”
“Yes. We’re called Fae.”
“As in fairies?”
He winces, then shakes his head. “Sort of. We don’t have wings, and we aren’t tiny. We live in the real world with humans around us, but we’re … enhanced I guess is the best way to put it.”
Chapter 18
Bishop
Cara is silent for the longest time, but as long as she’s letting me hold her, I know, we’re okay. I never expected to have our relationship move as fast as it’s moving. I knew that I would be matched with someone who was Fae since royal blood runs through me. No one prepared me for the fact that she would have no idea how special she was. I assumed she had an ancestor who was Fae and that’s why she had no idea, but after what Lamar has found out and what my mom told me, now I know something else must be going on.
“Do you think my dad knew? Is that why my mom left?”
I rest my chin on the top of her head staying quiet while I search for the right words. “I’m not sure what went on with your parents, baby. I can only tell you what my mom told me and I’ve learned through what Lamar has found out.”
Cara turns her body, so she is facing me, sitting criss-cross, her hands resting on her knees. I mourn the loss of her, but I know she needs this. My baby is starved for answers, and I’ll give her everything I can.
“Your mom grew up here in Hollow’s Creek.”
“What?” She gasps, the shock of my admission showing how much of a surprise this is to her.
I nod but keep going. “When she graduated high school and went off to college she never returned.”
“Are my grandparents still living here then?” She asks hopefully.
I shake my head, wishing I could give her a different answer. “There was an accident her last year of high school. While we have advanced healing and other enhancements that humans don’t, we aren’t invincible, we can still die. Your grandparents died in a house fire. From what my mom says, no one was surprised when your mom left the summer after she graduated and didn’t come back.”
The pain echos in every exhale from her sweet lips as she stares off at the landscape behind me. “That must have been so incredibly lonely for her. My heart hurts knowing she had to go through th
at. That doesn’t explain why she would leave my dad though. It doesn’t make sense.”
“I didn’t know your father, but it’s suspected that he kept her away. Which is probably the worst thing he could have done to her.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Hollows Creek is a special place because there is a large population of Fae who live here. Most of us are Fae, actually, we outnumber humans ten to one here. The humans who live here know about us and choose to live here for many reasons. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Fae need other fae. It’s like flowers need the sun to bloom, grow, and stay living, so do Fae. We need other fae, we recharge each other.”
“So, all of your friends are Fae?”
I nod. “Not all, but most of them are. In time you will recognize who is and isn’t Fae just by looking at them.”
She’s silent for a while, thinking over everything I’ve said. “If he kept her from coming back home, there must have been a good reason. He didn’t talk about my mother, but I know he loved her. It was in the way he looked whenever I would try bringing her up. He was a good man Bishop.”
“Because of him, you are now in my world. I’ll always be thankful for his part in bringing you to me.”
Cara looks down, but I don’t miss her cheeks reddening. “Come here baby, let me hold you some more before we head back.”
She turns around and scoots toward me, leaving space between us. Wrapping my arm around her middle, I pull her snuggly between my legs, so her lush ass is resting against my dick. Now isn’t the time for me to be thinking with my dick, but damn her body has me ready every minute of the day.
Cara sighs contentedly and leans her head back against my shoulder. She’s quiet as I’m sure she has a hundred unanswerable questions swimming through her head. I kiss the top of her head, then rest my chin there. We stay this way for a while, staring out at the dragonflies that are buzzing around the peaceful pond. At one point we see a turtle swimming and Cara giggles when he keeps sticking his head under the water.
