Tales from Shady Grove: Stories from the Trailerverse, Volume One

by Kimbra Swain

  “I’m an idiot,” I mumbled.

  “What was that?” Jeremiah grinned.

  “She isn’t interested in seeing me,” I said. “I don’t know how to get her to listen.”

  “You won’t. I will take care of it. Meet me at her trailer in an hour. She won’t remember your wife at all. After that handle it however you want, but I warn you, I will not dabble in her brain more than I have to. Don’t put me in the position to starting this cycle over,” he warned.

  “And when you are ready for her to move to Shady Grove?” I asked.

  “You can either go with her or break up with her,” he said.

  “You and your kind are the biggest horse’s asses this side of the Mississippi. You know that?” I argued.

  “I am aware,” he smirked. “One hour, Remy.”

  “One hour,” I repeated as he faded in to the darkness.

  I’d just made a deal with the devil for a woman. She was worth it, but I knew better than to trust the devil. I’d have to make a back up plan just in case he tried to double cross me. In fact, I was counting on it.

  3

  GRACE

  Finishing off the bottle of Crown, I leaned back on my couch and closed my eyes. Alcohol-induced tears streaked my cheeks. That was my story anyway. The trailer park sat just outside the college town of Tuscaloosa in the center of the Deep South, Alabama. The closest small town was Reform. For once, the neighborhood seemed to be at peace. This wasn’t like my last trailer park in Arkansas where everyone treated each other like family. The natives never rest here. Gunshots. Meth deals. Hookers.

  Jeremiah claimed he had no where else to put me for now since I insisted on living in a trailer. The time approached when I would break my contract with the Sanhedrin and take my chances on the road. I’d run all my life. Why stop now? Remy’s wife had done me a favor by telling me about his lies. I had become too comfortable and too willing to let someone be a part of my life. It was a fairy tale, and I might be a fairy but this was never going to be a happy ending.

  I faded in and out of my drunken coma only to be disturbed by someone pounding on the door of the trailer next to me.

  “Shut up!” I screamed. “I’ve got a headache.”

  The banging continued.

  “I swear to the goddess. I am going jerk a knot in someone’s tail,” I muttered, trying to find my feet. Stumbling to the door, I opened it to find Jeremiah Freyman standing there. “Good! You are here. Go tell those idiots next door to stop banging around.”

  “Grace, I was knocking on your door,” he said, lifting a bushy eyebrow. At least his weren’t as bushy as his boss’.

  “Oh, well, by all means, come in, but I offer you no hospitality,” I smirked, turning my back on him to make my way to the fridge. Grabbing a few cubes of ice, I dropped them in my empty glass. Contemplating drinking myself to death, which wasn’t possible, I stared at the liquor cabinet anyway.

  “Water,” he said.

  “Fuck off,” I growled.

  “You are just a ray of sunshine today, Grace,” he laughed.

  “What part of Unseelie do you not understand?”

  “I dunno. There are days when you are quite tolerable,” he smiled. “I mean that in the best way.”

  “Sure, you do,” I said as I filled my glass with water. “What do you want?”

  “Grace, you need to forgive Remy,” he said.

  “Get out.”

  “You listen to me,” he said hardening his tone.

  “Remington Blake has nothing to do with my contract, so you can’t order me around when it comes to my relationship with him,” I said.

  “I am aware of that, however, I did advise him not to tell you about his wife!” he fired back.

  “Oh! So, you knew he was a lying, cheating bastard!” I returned.

  “It’s not like that. He’s tried for years to divorce her. She won’t sign the papers,” he explained. “She’s a witch and he’s not fairy, so the Sanhedrin couldn’t dictate the situation.

  “There are ways to do it. He’s a lawyer,” I said. “He knows all those legal tricks.”

  “The human laws aren’t the problem. He made a deal. There are consequences for breaking it,” Jeremiah said, turning his tone down to try to reason with me. I was beyond reason.

  “My head is pounding, and I’m going to bed,” I told him.

  He groaned. “Do you mind if I sleep on the couch?”

  “Only if you promise not to talk about Remy in the morning,” I said.

  “I promise,” he replied. “Get some rest. You will feel better in the morning.”

  “I doubt it, but okay,” I smirked as I slammed the door to my bedroom. Eyeing the tiny bathroom, I thought about my bathtub in the Otherworld. A giant roman style bath with steaming waters. It was so big you could swim in it. The closet shower in this mobile home didn’t do it justice. Instead of washing my pain away, I decided to sleep it off. Crashing on the bed, I blocked out Remington Blake from my mind. It was done. It was over. I wasn’t going back to him. Ever.

  4

  REMY

  When I arrived outside of Grace’s trailer, Jeremiah was still there. His beat-up land yacht looked like it belonged in the park, but my Mercedes stuck out like a sore thumb. I listened for movement inside, but it was quiet. Before I could knock on the door, Jeremiah opened it. I stepped inside of the quaint abode wondering how in the hell a fairy queen had become comfortable living in these types of homes.

  “What’s going on?” I asked quietly.

  “She’s sleeping off the alcohol. Look, when she wakes up, she won’t remember that your wife contacted her. She won’t remember anything about tonight. She’s going to feel a little groggy. You should be here when she wakes up,” he explained.

  “Okay. But what do I tell her?” I asked.

  “Use your imagination, Remy,” he said. I wanted to punch him in the face, but I wasn’t the fighting kind. Unless it came to fighting for my woman. The problem was Grace wasn’t my woman. I doubt she would ever totally be mine. She had a heart of gold, but the soul of a gypsy. My craving for her had led me here, but I knew in the back of my mind that one day, she would be gone. I just needed a little more time with her. Whatever I could get.

  “I’m going to head out. There are pills on the counter for a headache. The coffee pot is ready to brew, just hit the button on the front,” Jeremiah said, giving his last instructions.

  “I know how to make coffee,” I replied.

  “I’m sure you do. Oh, and you probably want to lock the doors in that Mercedes or it’ll be gone in the morning,” he laughed.

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s a rough neighborhood,” he said. I looked toward her bedroom wondering if she was safe here. Then it hit me. Heaven bless the fool who tried to cross Grace Ann Bryant. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Jeremiah?”

  “Huh?”

  “What if I’m in love with her?” I asked.

  “I suggest you keep that wife away from her,” he replied. I nodded my head not knowing how in the world to do that. She stayed away from me, but she found plenty of time to locate my girlfriends. Not that I had that many. Well, a few over the years, but none like Grace. If something happened to her, I was sure her father no matter how estranged he was, would find a way to end me.

  Tiptoeing into Grace’s room, I admired her sleeping form on the bed. I longed for that body to be wrapped around mine. Even if I wasn’t in love, she enthralled me in the bedroom. Sex had never been dull with her.

  I settled into a chair to watch her sleep. A street light illuminated the room so that I could make out the rise and fall of her breast as she breathed. As I tried to situate myself in the chair, I had to convince my cock it wasn’t getting any tonight. It took a while, but it finally gave up.

  So, I waited and dozed in and out until she opened those dark brown eyes. I knew the color wasn’t real, but they reminded me of dark chocolate: a little sweet and a
lot bitter.

  “Remy?” she muttered.

  “Hey,” I said, stepping across the room to the bed. Sitting down on the edge, I pushed hair out of her face.

  “Why are you here?” she asked. I knew then, that whatever Jeremiah did to her had worked. She didn’t know anything.

  “You had a little too much to drink, and I brought you home,” I lied.

  “Oh, I don’t remember,” she moaned. “Oh, my head.”

  “I’ll get you some medicine and start the coffee,” I said.

  “Okay,” she groaned as she pulled the covers over her head.

  A little lie. It was just a small one, but it was already eating at me. Not telling her about my wife never bothered me. I never expected her to show up here. But this lie. Erasing her memories felt wrong even though I wasn’t the one who had done it.

  In the end, I knew once she found out, she would never forgive me, but I decided between now and then, I would make it worth it.

  5

  GRACE

  Remy started the coffee pot in the kitchen while I tried to remember last night. My whole head felt fuzzy. I’d always drank a lot of whiskey but never had I had such a night that I couldn’t remember what happened. It was almost like I was under a spell.

  I opened my eyes to my fairy sight and looked at myself. The deep blue aura associated with winter glowed around me. I was still me with no spells. When I sat up in the bed, the room spun around me.

  “Holy crap,” I said.

  “Usually shit isn’t religious,” Remy teased as he re-entered the room.

  “Ha, ha. You are so funny, Remington Blake,” I said. Heck. I couldn’t even remember if he and I had sex last night, and I wouldn’t normally forget that kind of thing. “Did we, um, do something last night?”

  “Why, Grace, I am offended. No woman has ever forgotten when I’ve taken them to bed,” he smirked.

  “Damn it, Remy. Something is wrong with me,” I said. For a moment, I saw a flicker of worry on his face, but he quickly recovered.

  “No, Grace. We didn’t do anything. You were too out of it. I don’t take advantage of women. I have no need. They usually beg me for the privilege,” he said with a grin.

  “Oh, please. Just bring me a cup of coffee. Maybe that will clear my head,” I said.

  “Coming right up,” he replied.

  “Don’t you have work today?” I asked.

  “No. I called them and told them I was taking a personal day,” he said from the other room. He’d never taken the day off for me before. Perhaps there was more to this relationship than I thought.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I insisted.

  “When was the last time you had a hangover?” He raised his eyebrow.

  “Right. Next to never,” I replied.

  “Exactly. You need me,” he smiled.

  “I’ll let you keep thinking that,” I laughed. “I need to get out of this house though. Get some fresh air.”

  “Alright. Where do you want to go?” he asked.

  “Anywhere as long as I don’t piss off the Sanhedrin,” I grubbed.

  “Yes, let’s avoid their ire for a while. Why don’t I take you to my house?” he asked. He had never invited me to his house.

  “What?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll give you a tour,” he said. “Get your lovely ass up and get dressed.”

  “Okay,” I said somewhat reluctantly. If I didn’t know better, Remy was up to something. Or hiding something. Maybe something happened last night and I had embarrassed him or myself. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Not yet.

  6

  REMY

  While Grace showered, I made a few phone calls. One to my good friend in New Orleans, Niles Babineau. We were from the same stock. Native American Star Folk.

  The First Peoples had worshiped us from the beginning of time as they remembered it. Some interpreted the stories to be representative of aliens. I supposed in someways it was the truth. We weren’t of the earth, but above it. No different than Grace being from below it. The Star Folk’s power waned with the introduction of theology to the New World. I could conjure a few tricks, but nothing like what Grace or her kind could do.

  The phone rang, and Niles answered with a deeper New Orleans accent than I had.

  “Babineau,” he answered.

  “Niles, it’s Remy,” I said.

  “Well, hello, Remy. How is that new girlfriend of yours?” He asked.

  “She’s awesome, but I need a favor,” I said.

  “Uh-oh. Time for a little adventure?” Niles asked.

  “Yes, we need a distraction for a few days. Do you think you could help me out?”

  “Certainly. My normal fee applies,” he said.

  “I wasn’t asking for a freebie,” I smirked.

  “No. You weren’t, but I know you Remington Blake. It was implied,” Niles teased.

  “I am not a cheapskate,” I protested.

  “No, you just spend all your funds on women. This one must be a keeper,” he said, knowing very well that I never had a girlfriend for long because of my wife.

  “She is, but I don’t think I’ll get to keep her.”

  “Now don’t talk like that, Remy. You are a good looking man. What more could she ask for?” he said turning softer.

  “She’s a fairy queen. She could ask for a lot,” I sighed.

  “Fairy Queen! Remy, you better watch yourself with that one,” he warned.

  “It’s too late for that,” I said.

  “God bless it,” he said then hung up the phone.

  If I was going to spend the rest of my time with Grace in a lie, it might as well be a fun one. Niles Babineau and I had been on a lot of adventures together. So much so that he started his own company where he built adventures for his clients. He also built houses, but that was just a side job. Among others.

  Taking Grace to my house was a risk. Once we got inside, it would be safe from my wife. She couldn’t get past the wards that I paid another witch to raise for me. They specifically targeted my wife so that she couldn’t get inside. Niles would start our adventure from there. He would also drain my bank account for it. It didn’t matter. I wanted to make the rest of our time together memorable. Then, she could hate me. And she would.

  “Why do you keep looking behind us? You seem so antsy. We don’t have to go to your house, Remy,” she said.

  She sat next to me in a tight pair of jeans and a tank top. So plain. So fucking gorgeous. Her lips twisted sideways with a smile. She knew I was admiring her. I loved that she knew what she had and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it. Some men would be afraid of such confidence. Most women hated it and called her all sorts of names. But she paid no attention to any of them. She marched along to the beat of her own sexy drum.

  “Just nervous taking you to my house for the first time,” I said, as we drove back toward town. My house sat on the bank of the local lake. It was grand by most scales. I didn’t want her to be intimidated by it. Lawyers are expected to have fancy homes. Just part of the prestige and stereotype that I didn’t mind. We had all sorts of bad connotations following us around, and most of them didn’t bother me. I wasn’t in it to make money. Most of the time I ended up taking the case of a wayward fairy or other supernatural that got tangled up with human law enforcement, because very few non-special lawyers would understand. Plus, it was better that I help them than allowing them to make a deal with the Sanhedrin. I wish I had known Grace before she made her deal with them. I was afraid of what they would do to her when she slipped up.

  “Why would you be nervous?” she asked.

  We turned into the drive leading up to my house. Two iron gates opened for us as they sensed the mechanism in my car. She stopped breathing for a moment, then gasped as the house came into view.

  “What the hell, Remy?” she asked.

  “I’m a lawyer. I have a nice house,” I shrugged.

  “That is a freaking mansion,” she exclaimed.

&
nbsp; “No. You just live in a trailer, so it seems like it. It’s a perfectly normal 4 bedroom, 3 and a half bath house,” I said.

  As we pulled around to the garage, she added, “With a three car garage.”

  “I have three cars,” I sighed. I had hoped she wouldn’t look at all of this and think it was me. It was just the role I played. I would be happy in a house in the suburbs or even in a small cabin on a farm. I don’t think I could manage a trailer in that comfort zone, but if Grace was in it, I could imagine it.

  “Rich as fuck,” she said.

  “Language,” I scolded.

  “Like you have virgin ears,” she scoffed.

  “I’m pretty sure I don’t have virgin anything,” I said.

  “Me either,” she smiled.

  “Come inside, and I’ll show you around.” I climbed out of the car, beckoning her to come with me. She took my hand and we stepped inside my heavily warded home.

  7

  GRACE

  One thing was for sure. The wards on the house were extremely powerful. I felt them reaching out to me with tendrils of power, caressing over my skin looking for certain attributes. Obviously, I wasn’t what Remy was keeping out. I didn’t question it, because beings like us who lived on this earth for so long made lots of enemies. I could only imagine the kind of enemies that a lawyer would have.

  I needed a ward to keep Jeremiah and his brothers out of my trailer. It would piss him off which would delight me greatly. Making a mental note to look into it, I walked with Remy into a gigantic kitchen with granite countertops and rich honey wood colored cabinets. I’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t frequent the houses of the rich and famous in this human world.