by Kimbra Swain
“Riley giving you a hard time?” he asked.
“I stay hard with her, but that’s not the problem,” I said as Nestor gulped at my boldness. I didn’t care. I’d been around Grace too long. Her unfiltered mouth was contagious, especially when I was frustrated. “Part of me wants to have a real relationship. A partnership like Grace has with Dylan. They go on dates. They curl up and watch tv together in the recliner. Riley has no interest in those things.”
“There was a time when Grace didn’t care about those things either, but she opened her heart to the people around her adapting to the human views of things. In fact, most fairies don’t need that kind of thing. Do you love Riley?” he asked.
“Of course, we are together,” I answered immediately.
“You sure? Because it’s easy to get lust and love confused with royal fairies,” he said.
“Royal fairies? Riley isn’t royal, is she?” I asked.
Nestor dropped his head. He spoke a truth that he wasn’t supposed to reveal. “I shouldn’t have said that. Look, Levi, first of all, you need to realize that there is no fairy like Grace. Secondly, your connection to her makes you want her or someone like her. Third, you’ve got to decide what’s important to you. Do you want the relationship you have with Riley, or do you dare to try to find a Changeling like yourself that will have enough human in them to want to go on dates and curl up in a recliner? Riley is a great woman. I really like her, and I think you do, too.” He paused to let all of it sink in.
“I don’t want Grace,” I said.
“You sure about that?” he accused. “Wanting her and knowing she belongs to someone else are two different things.”
“Two different things that don’t matter because the result is the same. I need to know what to do about Riley. Grace isn’t my problem,” I said.
“Grace is and always will be your problem, Levi,” he said.
I took a deep breath. “So, I should forget the Valentine date with Riley?”
“No, you just need to approach it differently,” he said.
“Help me, Nestor. Please don’t be vague. I’m desperate,” I whined. Oh, good grief, I was getting broody. I hated my life. I hated my emotions.
“You have to find a way to fulfill her desires and yours at the same time,” he said.
“So? A sex date?” I asked.
“Why not?”
“Ugh. Seems like a cop out,” I groaned.
“A cop out is forgetting about it and not trying, but you need to listen to your heart, Levi, while you still have one in your chest,” he said.
“I hate my heart in my chest. It makes me different from all the rest of you,” I moaned, brooding deeper.
“What do you think I don’t have a heart?” Nestor asked.
“Well, I mean you do, because you care,” I said.
“I do. Riley has kept herself separate from the rest of us. There are reasons for that which I suppose she will never reveal to you, but she doesn’t have the same sensibilities as we do,” he explained.
“I suppose you won’t tell me what those things are either,” I said.
“Bartender privilege,” he grinned.
“Thanks for the coffee,” I said. When I stood up to leave, my eyes met a pair I hadn’t seen in a while. Kadence Rayburn sat across the room on the lap of Caleb Joiner, but her lips were locked with Malcolm Taggert. Her eyes widened when she saw me. I’d heard rumors that she had hooked up with both of them. I didn’t realize it was at the same time. For a human, she acted like a whore fairy. For a moment, I saw guilt in her eyes, but then she winked at me. Malcolm realized her attention wavered from his kiss, and he looked back at me. I nodded to the threesome and left the bar. I thought of all the time I’d spent brooding over Kadence. A waste of time. Grace told me she wasn’t the one. I didn’t listen. Grace was probably right this time, too. I should give up on this date business.
I climbed on my bike to go for a long ride and try to think things over. Shady Grove nestled in the heart of Alabama saw mild winters and steaming summers as a rule, but since I knew that the local fairy queen was also a winter queen, things tended to lean toward the cold side. Not to mention, most of the fairies in town were Unseelie and from the cold depths of Grace’s father’s kingdom. It had been almost a month since Brock took over that part of the Otherworld. We were starting to see so many new faces in town. All of them seeking asylum from Brock’s murderous ways. I needed a break from fairy chasing.
Dylan and I roamed the town, putting out small fires and trying to build relationships with the new citizens. He was like the older brother I never had to the point I’d considered getting my private investigator’s license, but he said it didn’t matter that I could work with him without it. We were doing most of this without Grace.
I missed my best friend. She spent most of her days in bed. When she got up, she tired herself out with the council, trying to keep the peace. For all her inspiring words during the election, the tensions were high on the council. This wasn’t Grace’s fault. It was Brock who turned the Otherworld upside down.
I drove out to Dylan’s old land. After his house disappeared, he sold most of his livestock and moved to the trailer park permanently. He said he had no intentions to rebuild the house. I thought it was because he knew that his ex-girlfriend Stephanie would just destroy it too. Besides, Grace loved having him with us, and he knew she needed him.
Walking out on the concrete slab where the house once stood, I listened to sounds of the outdoors. I needed my guitar. My music always settled my soul. An outlet for all the emotion that swirled inside of me. No one was here. I supposed I could sing.
“Hello, Bard,” a voice interrupted the first breath I took just before I started to sing.
I spun around to see a figure leaning against a tree. The bright flare of fire at the end of a cheroot illuminated the face of Chris Purcell. I hadn’t seen him since I first came to Shady Grove. “Chris, how are you?” I asked, approaching him.
He popped open the snap on his leather pouch, offering me a smoke. “Looks like you need one of these,” he said.
“No, thanks. Grace would ring my neck if I started smoking,” I said.
“Grace. How is she?” he asked.
“She’s fine,” I replied. We didn’t speak about the problems she was having. We knew it might put her in danger if someone knew of her weakness.
“I think she isn’t. From what I hear, her father laid his entire power upon her. That would be more than most of us could take,” he said, taking a long drag off the brown stick.
“She’s handling it,” I lied. “What brings you out here?”
“Ah, well, Dylan kept the grass out here so well fed that my harem and I spend time here grazing. What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Brooding,” I replied.
His raspy laugh echoed through the trees. “I see that. What’s got you upset, Bard?”
“It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and I’m trying to do something nice for my lady friend,” I said. I wanted to smack myself for saying lady friend.
He chuckled again, “I’m surprised Riley MacKenzie cares about such a thing.
“You know Riley?” I asked.
“Yep, I do. She and I have had dealings before,” he replied. The thought of my Riley with Chris Purcell curled my skin. He must have seen my face turn green. “Whoa! Not like that, Levi. I’ve had business dealings with her, much like I do with Grace.”
“Oh,” I replied. “Well, she doesn’t care about it. She just wants to swap gravy.”
“Beg your pardon?” he asked. When he raised his thick eyebrow, his handlebar mustache raised, too.
“Fuck. She just wants to fuck,” I said.
“Right. Yes, well, that should make you happy, right?” he asked.
“It should, but it doesn’t,” I replied. I’d said more to Chris than I should have.
“Well, I suggest you be happy with what you have. I’m glad my girls don’t give a shit
about it. There are too many of them to take to the movies and buy popcorn. That shit is expensive,” he said.
I huffed. The thought of Chris Purcell and his wild hog harem inside a movie theatre was an interesting thought. One I decided to file away and never think of again. Before I knew it, Chris transformed into a winged werehog and flew off into the woods.
“Bye,” I muttered. I climbed back on the motorcycle and headed back to town.
35
“Strawberry milkshake, please,” Ella said as she stood at the counter in the diner.
“Coming right up,” Betty replied. “Howdy, Levi. Be right with you.”
“Hey Betty,” I said. “Hello, Ella.”
Ella Jenkins and I had one date. It was one date too many. She was nice, but she couldn’t stand children. Outside of Riley and Grace, little Winnie Jones was my favorite person on earth. Winnie was Grace’s adopted child, and she called me Uncle Levi. I could never be with a woman that hated Winnie. Riley and I had never spoken in depth about Winnie. I wondered if she felt the same way as Ella.
“Hello, Levi, how ya been?” she asked. Ella always wore the most provocative outfits. Today it was leather pants with a tight red t-shirt. Her nails and lips matched the shirt. The boots she wore had 4-inch heels. At least she didn’t try to hide her slut.
“I’m good. Thought I’d grab something to eat,” I said.
“That’s usually what people do in a diner,” she smiled. No, it was a leer. A very seductive leer. Damn. She was pretty, and my pants tightened.
“You having your usual, Levi?” Betty asked.
“What? Oh, yes, ma’am,” I said. Betty looked at me, then back at Ella.
“Down girl,” she said to Ella.
Ella flashed her teeth at Betty. “Levi and I are just having a conversation, Betty. I haven’t touched him,” she said. She mouthed the word “Yet” and I gulped.
“I’ll get that to go, Betty,” I called out to the back.
“I got ya covered, Levi,” Luther said through the window.
“Thanks, Luther,” I said with my eyes locked on Ella. She took two steps toward me. The heels of her boots clacked on the floor.
“You know, Levi, you and I never got the chance to spend a lot of time together. I do regret that. Perhaps you would be interested in joining me for Valentine’s Day,” she purred.
“Um, no, thanks,” I stammered. “I have plans with Riley.”
“Oh, she isn’t tired of you, yet?” She asked, walking toward me now. Clack. Clack. Clack.
I didn’t realize I was backing up until my butt hit the jukebox. She ran a red nail down my cheek. The tingle of touch between two fairies fluttered down into my bones. Ella was a Changeling, but I doubted she had a heart. “No, she and I are doing very good,” I muttered.
“Get your hands off him, Ella,” Betty scolded.
“Levi, do you want me to take my hands off you?” she asked, hooking her nail into one of my belt loops, pulling herself to me.
“Get off him!” a new voice echoed through the room. The windows shook, and Ella froze. She released her hold on me, backing away.
“Yes, my Queen,” she muttered.
As she backed away, Grace came into view. Ella snatched the milkshake up off the counter to rush out of the diner. At the last moment, Grace grabbed her arm and yanked Ella toward her. She spoke quietly in her ear, and Ella shivered, then nodded. As she slipped out the door, Grace turned toward me.
“You should be in bed,” I said.
“Yes, well, my bard was in a panic and still doesn’t know how to use his power to stave off the attack of a whore,” she said.
“I’m sorry. You should be resting,” I muttered.
“Levi, I’ve had a few talks with Miss Ella. She’s on a bit of a binge right now. I wasn’t going to stand by and allow her to wrap you into it,” Grace said.
“A binge?” I asked.
The anger left her face as she approached me. “Yeah, sometimes a changeling gets overwhelmed with the desire to mess around, and can’t be satisfied. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Well, Ella’s on a binge. I stopped her from doing something she would regret,” she said.
“I could have stopped her,” I said.
“Sure, but you didn’t. Still too shy to use what you have.”
“Grace, go home,” I said.
“Winnie is home from school asking for you,” she said.
“Okay. I’m on my way back. I promised to watch cartoons with her today,” I said.
“Here’s your food, Levi,” Betty said.
“Thanks,” I said, taking the box from her. I flipped out a few bills. Grace watched me pay for the food. “You going home?”
“Yes, but I’m walking,” she said.
“You did not walk here,” I said.
She looked at her feet. “Not exactly,” she muttered. “Come on.” She walked out of the diner, expecting me to follow.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Daddy had a way of getting from one place to the other without shifting through the Otherworld,” she said.
“Grace! You can’t be doing those types of things!” I protested. She shot a look at me, and I promptly clammed up. She didn’t have to command me to do it. One look and I was shushed.
“Do not presume to understand fully what is going on in my head, Levi Rearden. I know you are connected. I know you know far more than is good for either of us. You just keep in mind that I know your thoughts, too. I suggest you get on that motorcycle and go see that little girl,” she growled.
“Grace,” I started to say.
“Now!” she laid the command.
I snarled at her. My body obeyed, climbing on to the motorcycle and firing it up. This isn’t finished. I flashed my words to her through our mental link.
She narrowed her eyes, which twinkled turquoise. The tattoo on her arm flared to life, but suddenly, she growled, “No.” The power died out as quickly as it rose up in her. Her emotions flooded over me. My smart mouth would have been removed from my face if Grace were her father. Thankfully, she wasn’t. Just because she had his power didn’t mean she would wield it that way.
My body still forcing me to pull out of the diner. I looked back at her pleading her to release the command. I heard her in my head. It will never be over, Levi.
36
Parking in the drive behind Dylan’s car, I wondered if he knew Grace had even gone to the diner. My bet was that he didn’t. He would be livid. I should probably stay out of that because they were both on edge since she took on her father’s powers.
As I entered the trailer, tiny arms latched on to my pant leg. “Uncle Levi!” Winnie squealed.
“Hey, munchkin, what’s up?” I asked as I balanced my plate in my hand.
“You promised to watch cartoons with me!” she said, backing up and putting her hands on her hips. Even though she wasn’t Grace’s real daughter, they were very much alike. Sassy as hell.
“I’m here now. Aren’t I?” I said, sitting my plate down on the kitchen counter.
“You are, but you are late. I’ve got plenty of things to do without waiting for you,” she said.
I chuckled, then realized another laugh joined mine. I peered over the counter to find Dylan under the kitchen sink. “Dylan, what are you doing?” I asked. His position confirmed to me that he had no idea that Grace had stepped out.
“The damn sink is still leaking,” he grumbled.
“Leaking like a sieve,” Winnie said.
“You don’t even know what a sieve is,” I said back to her.
“Sure, I do. It leaks,” she replied.
“Can’t argue with that,” Dylan said.
“I guess not. You need some help?” I asked.
“Nah. Just tightening it up now,” he replied. “Grace is sleeping.”
“Yeah, okay, we will be quiet,” I replied. I reached out to feel her, and she was in the next room sleeping soundly. I should scream in her head or so
mething as payback, but I decided to let her rest. Then I saw the outrageous display of flowers on the kitchen table. They weren’t florist flowers. I didn’t know how far Dylan had to fly to get wildflowers, but he had. A ton of them. Grace would love them despite her protests because she would know that he went out of his way to get them.
“Flowers are nice,” I said.
Dylan grumped as he climbed out from under the sink. “Wild ones. Like her.”
“For sure,” I replied. Then smiled at Winnie who showed me all of her Valentine cards from school.
She shared my cheeseburger and fries, then she altered our plans. She wanted to make a Valentine for Cletus and Tater. She drew a big red heart on a piece of paper, and I helped her spell Valentine. We walked it over to them. Those two idiots melted when they saw it. They each gave her a stick of gum, which I thought was probably the only edible thing in their trailer. Winnie didn’t care. She loved them and the gum. I swept her up into my arms as we walked back to the trailer.
“Uncle Levi, are you giving Miss Riley a Valentine?” she asked.
“I was, but I didn’t know what to get for her. She has a lot of things,” I said.
“She has you,” Winnie said innocently.
I smiled. “Yes, but you are my number one girl.”
“Oh, I know, but I let her spend time with you,” she said. I chucked at her easy logic. “What’s so funny?”
“You are precious. I love you, Winnie,” I said.
She wrapped her little arms around my neck. “I love you, too. Will you play me a lullaby on your guitar?”
“Of course!” I said, entering the trailer with her. I stopped in my tracks because Grace and Dylan were lip locked in the kitchen. I guessed the flowers worked. I cleared my throat.
“Get lost, Levi,” Dylan growled. Grace chided him quietly. I stalked off into Winnie’s room, grabbing my guitar as we went past my room.
She laid down on the bed, and I tucked her in. She smiled up at me as I started playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Her eyelids fluttered. I was always careful not to push power as I played for her. I hoped that I’d never need to put her in a deep sleep. I would never use my magic on Winnie unless her life depended upon it. Ever since I concealed us to get away from Demetrius Lysander, she accepted that I would keep her safe. I would never fail her. When I thought she was asleep, I stood up from the bed.
