by T K Eldridge
“It’s okay, Miss Evie. I appreciate the apology. I wasn’t trying to be rude, just making sure I set clear boundaries,” I said.
“Another thing that women have learned to do in recent years, and a very welcome change. Now if men could learn to understand boundaries, we’d all be better off,” Grampa said.
“Here, here,” I said and lifted my wine glass as he chuckled.
“It’s a learning process,” he said.
“Now that you’ve all put it that way, I can see where I was wrong. Just know this, Sidonie Marie – I am not raising any more babies. I will snuggle them, appreciate them, then send their cute little behinds on home. If you end up catching a baby, that’s all on you. I’ll help, but I’m done raising children,” Grams said.
“No worries,” I told her. “Unless your potion suddenly stops working, I’m all good.”
“Speaking of which, we need to make some more,” Evie said.
The conversation, thank the powers that be, shifted to what needed to be harvested on the full moon, and I got to enjoy the rest of the meal. I was even given a container of sausage, meatballs, and a bag of garlic bread to take home. I saw a homemade meatball and sausage sub in my future, with the garlic bread as the roll.
Once the kitchen was cleaned up, I hugged everyone, then headed outside to go home. Grampa followed me out, then made me wait while he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the lenses of the ATVs headlights.
“Siddie, would you be okay with it if I moved in with your Grams – even if we weren’t married?” Grampa asked as I carefully put the bag of leftovers on the floor of the passenger’s side.
“Why would it matter if you were married or not?” I asked. “Grampa, you two love each other and make each other happy. I say pack up what you want to keep safe, bring stuff here, put the rest in storage, and rent your house while you live your best life together. No one cares if you’re married or not, as long as you’re being good to each other.”
“Do you think Sin will have a problem with it?” Grampa asked.
“Come on, Grampa. Do you think Sin will have a problem with it?” I said.
“No, I don’t think so. I’ll ask him tomorrow though. Be safe going home, my girl,” Grampa said.
“Love you, Grampa,” I replied as I got in the ATV and backed around to head home. Maybe having him living at the farm would settle them both down. Then again, I sure as hell wouldn’t be wandering into the farmhouse without a clear ‘come in’ ever again. There are some things a girl just doesn’t need to see, y’know?
Chapter Two
Sin
I had to laugh at myself from two years ago. If anyone had told me then that I’d have four kids by now, I would’ve said they were crazy. Yet, here I was, trying to get the twins, Teagan and Reagan, to eat their pureed peaches and bananas while Mira put scrambled eggs and toast down for Ethan and Reina’s breakfast.
I had learned very early on to stay in my pajamas while I fed the kids, or I’d just be changing clothes yet again after getting spit on or splattered. This morning was no different. I had banana puree in my hair and peach dripped down the front of my shirt. At least I’d managed a couple of swallows of coffee. Thank gods.
“Do you want me to just pick up some of that teething solution at the pharmacy?” I asked Mira when she sat down to help Reina and try to drink her own mug of tea.
“No, I’ll get Mama Mellie to help me make a stronger batch. These two are having a worse time with the teething than either Ethan or Reina did,” Mira said. My mom, Amelia, and Mira were both gifted herbalists. Working and living together had brought them closer than ever, and instead of calling my mom Amelia as she had been, they had come to an agreement on Mama Mellie.
“I love you, and I love our kids, but I need a good night’s sleep before my shift on the full moon. You know that’s always the absolute worst, and I can’t be yawning and stumbling around,” I said.
“I’ll get the batch made this morning and tweak it as needed before tonight. Worst case, you can sleep on the couch tonight,” Mira said.
“I’m not leaving our bed, dear heart. I love you,” I said.
“And I love you, and I want you to come home in one piece. So, if we can’t get something that works on the twins tonight, you can sleep on the couch. I know it’s comfortable, I’ve napped there more than once,” Mira said.
I looked at the clock and cursed under my breath.
“Dada said shit,” Reina chirped. Mira and I both struggled to not burst out laughing.
“Dada did, and I’m sorry,” I said to her. “Don’t say it, it’s not nice.”
Reina gave us that angelic smile, turned to Ethan, and said “Dada said we can’t say shit ‘cause it’s not nice. So don’t say shit, okay?”
I leaned over to kiss Mira. “She’s clearly not my daughter,” I teased and dodged her swat as I headed up to shower and change.
When I got into work, I was asked to check in with the Commander, so I changed to my uniform in the locker room and headed up to his office. A tap on the door and he called out to enter.
“Good morning, Commander,” I said.
“Morning, Sin. Come on in and close the door, please.”
I shut the door and settled into a chair at the side of his desk.
“I, uh, wanted to ask you something,” he said and I smiled.
“Are you asking as my Commander? Or as my Grampa?” I said.
“As your grandfather. See, Lissa and I would like to have me living on the farm, and I wanted to make sure the family was okay with it. Mostly, you and your sister. Your parents already said they were happy as long as we were happy, but I work with you and Sid every day, so it seems more important for the two of you to be accepting.”
“Of course, Grampa. You two are happier together. Go for it.”
“Even if we’re not married?”
“Are you two planning on having kids? Of course not. So who cares? Marriage is an oath between two people – but it is also a legally binding contract to protect the children born into the union. If you’re not having kids, you don’t need a legal document to prove you’ve made promises to each other. Go, be happy. You two deserve all the happiness out there.”
“Thank you. Sid said you would be fine with it, but I wanted to make sure I showed you the same respect I did her, and ask you in person.”
“I think it’s a great idea. What do you plan on doing with your house?” I asked.
“Sid suggested this morning that I pack up the stuff I want to keep, put whatever I needed in Lissa’s house to make it more ours, and then rent it out.”
“Well, if you decide to do that, Ian was looking for a new place to rent. He’s getting tired of the apartment complex and wanted something quieter.” Ian Tieman was one of the members of our Special Forces team and Tasha’s partner, now that I was partnered with Grizz.
“I’ll speak to him, thanks. At least that way I know who it is and I can trust them not to trash the place,” Grampa said.
“Very true. Grizz is going to be waiting for me, so I should get going. We good?” I asked.
“Yes, thank you. Stay safe out there,” Grampa said, and I smiled as I headed for the door. For once, I was glad I didn’t live on the farm any longer. It was getting crowded over there.
Grizz met me in the break room as we both filled our travel mugs with coffee. “Did you eat yet?” he asked.
“No, and I am starved. Let’s grab some food and eat in the rig?” I asked.
“Yes, please. Glenda was cranky this morning and I just bailed instead of trying to make food. I can’t wait until this is over,” Grizz said.
Grizzell Leonidas was a griffin shifter – who could also shift into wolf and bear forms. He and Glenda had recently bonded and now she was expecting their first.
“Is it worse now that the full moon is coming?” I asked.
“I don’t think that’s helping,” he said. “Oh, who am I kidding? Nothing is helping. Cho
colate, steaks, flowers, nothing seems to work.”
“Does she have other women to talk to, get advice from, stuff like that?” I asked
“Yeah, she does. I should suggest she get together with the ladies more often?” Grizz asked.
“Yes. It helps to have others that have gone through similar things, to share frustrations and concerns with. I know Mira and my mother bonded over being pregnant at the same time, and then when Mira was carrying the twins, Mom was a great resource.”
“Oh, speaking of resources, I have a friend I’d like you to meet. Drake Eldhress. He’s at the Academy right now, but it’s his third career and he’s a little older. We’ve been friends for a long time, and when I told him I was settling here for good, he decided to check the place out and now he’s decided to stay,” Grizz said.
“Is he a griffin too?” I asked.
“Nope,” Grizz said as he parked the rig and we dug in. We both ate in silence for a few minutes, then Grizz spoke again. “He’s a dragon shifter.”
I choked on the mouthful I had and stared at him. It took me a minute to swallow my food before I could speak. “He’s a dragon shifter? I don’t think I’ve ever met any of them. Are there more around?”
“Yeah, there are a few. Drake bought a new cul-de-sac development at the base of the mountain and he rents out the homes to new dragon shifter folk. If they decide to stay, he sells them their rental. This way, he can keep the enclave for dragons, and if they don’t like the region, he can rent the place to the next person or family.”
“That’s smart business,” I said.
“It’s similar to what Roisin Murphy did with their little island enclave,” Grizz said.
“Sid met her once and thought she was a raging bitch.”
“She is,” Grizz agreed, “But she’s also good at managing a bunch of elementals. She has sylphs, dryads, and nymphs all looking to her for leadership now.”
“That sounds like it could be trouble,” I said.
“Yep. Could be,” Grizz said. “She tried to get the griffins and dragons to join her and we refused. She’s still trying, but I told my griffins that she didn’t have our best interests in mind, and we didn’t need the aggravation. We worked hard for our freedom – we’re not giving it up now. Dragons are pretty much the same, but they just don’t like being under the command of any other species, period.”
“What do you think she’s up to?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but with Roisin behind it? It’s probably nothing good.”
We finished eating and dumped our trash, then headed out on patrol. We had a sector to drive around, and any calls in that area would be sent to us first, then the next closest and available, and so on. Sometimes we ended up in nearby sectors, but most days we had enough on our own to keep us busy. Ever since the old Macha died and her plans were derailed, things had been a lot quieter. The ley lines were more stable than they’d been in a while, but they were still not completely settled. On full moons – the three days before and the three days after – life got more than a little interesting. With tomorrow the night the full moon would reach its peak, the energy was all over the place and you could feel the tension in the air.
“SPD 4, we’ve had a call of a woman in distress in the alley behind Belle’s Bordello.”
“Roger that, Dispatch. SPD 4 en-route,” I said into the radio and Grizz turned us around to head to Belle’s.
“At least I know it’s not my cousin, Micah, causing trouble this time,” I muttered and Grizz laughed.
“He was a real challenge when he first got here, wasn’t he?” Grizz said.
“I’m just glad he pulled his life together and seems to be happy now – and not at the bottom of a bottle.”
Grizz eased the big SUV into the narrow drive between buildings and stopped where the rig would block the way in and out. I got out and looked around, and found a woman huddled in a corner behind some crates, sobbing as if the world had ended.
“Miss, are you okay?” I asked. “Someone called and said a woman was out behind Belle’s and needed our help. I’m Agent Boudreau, and my partner is Agent Leonidas.”
I approached her slowly so as not to crowd her. “Miss?”
“Go away,” she sobbed. “Please, just leave me alone.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Grizz said. “You see, we want to make sure you’re okay before we leave, and you don’t seem okay at all.”
As I got a little closer, I could see that she was beautiful under the streaked mascara and tangled hair. Her dress was torn and her face looked bruised, but it was hard to tell with the shadows and her hair hiding most of her face.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Solange,” she said. “Solange Boussette. I just started working here, at Belle’s, and a customer wanted stuff I couldn’t make myself do. Belle said do it or leave, so I said I’d do it. I went back in, and the guy roughed me up. Belle had left before he did that, and I didn’t want to see any more guys, so I came out here.”
“Are you hurt?” Grizz asked.
“I don’t know,” Solange said, voice hitching on a sob.
“How about we take you to the hospital and get you checked out, then you can talk to Belle before you come back,” I said.
“Okay,” Solange said. I held out a hand to help her up, and she used it to pull herself to her feet. Blood had dried on her cheek and she had bruises on her arms. Seeing stuff like this always pissed me off, so I made sure to be extra gentle with her. Grizz handed me one of our emergency blankets and I wrapped it around her shoulders, then helped her into the back seat.
“We’ll get you to the hospital and make sure you’re okay, Solange. Just rest until we get there,” I said.
Once we dropped her off at the hospital, we sat in the parking lot and did the report on our tablets.
“I wonder who called it in. Can we find out?” I asked.
“I’m wondering why we were called in. Solange wasn’t a supe,” Grizz said.
“Maybe a supe did the damage?” I suggested.
“Maybe. I’ll put a question in the report. If they can find out, they’ll let us know,” Grizz said.
The rest of the shift was spent with Grizz and me doing traffic duty around a three-car accident Tasha and Ian had been called on. They were busy sorting out who did what and arresting two of the people involved for getting out of their vehicles and starting a fist fight in the middle of the street. People really acted crazy around the full moon. Make it full on a Friday or Saturday night in high summer and you were guaranteed to fill the ER and the holding cells. Don’t believe me? Ask any cop or medical professional that spent time as a first responder or in an ER. They’ll confirm it.
I got home in time to have dinner with my family and help put the kids to bed. Ethan read by himself now, and Mira read to the twins, so I tucked Reina in and read a couple of pages to her before she was sound asleep. I sat there and watched her sleep for a few minutes, then dimmed the lights and left the room. Mira and I met in the hallway to tiptoe down the stairs together before we spoke.
“I could use some wine and a snuggle in front of the TV,” Mira said.
“You go get settled, I’ll get the wine,” I told her.
Soon we were tucked together on the couch, a glass of wine in hand, a show we both liked playing on the TV, and the silence that can only come from a houseful of kids finally asleep.
“This is nice,” Mira said.
“It is. We need to cherish these moments. It can get crazy sometimes and I don’t want you to ever think I don’t appreciate you or love you,” I said.
“I know you do,” Mira said. “You come home after dealing with the worst in our community, and still find a way to participate as a parent and take some of the load off of me. That shows me your love more than a houseful of roses or a crate of chocolates.”
“We’re coming up on our fifth anniversary,” I reminded her. “What would you like to do to celebrate? A
dinner out somewhere nice? A weekend trip? My folks said they’d take on the kids so we could do something special.”
“We haven’t been gone overnight since I got pregnant with the twins – but I don’t think I’m ready to be gone from them that long, yet. Maybe we can save that when they’re over a year old?” Mira said.
“So a nice dinner and maybe go dancing or something?” I said.
“That would be really nice. I miss having a reason to get all dressed up.”
“I’d like to arrange it all,” I said. “Do you want to be involved or just surprised?”
“Surprise me, but make sure I have at least three days notice so I can get appointments for my hair and nails, and make sure I have a dress and shoes I want to wear,” Mira said.
“I’ll do my best to make it the night of our anniversary. It’s a Saturday this year. So, plan on that and if I have to shift the date, it’ll be either the Friday before or the Sunday after, okay?”
“That works, thank you, Sin,” Mira said and snuggled into me.
The show was near the end when a breaking local news announcement splashed across the screen. “For residents of Belle Cove and Sorsyville, there appears to be a new leader in town. Roisin Murphy has led a large group to the palace on Faery Isle. The gates and walls seem to have held them off for now, but the crowd shows no signs of retreating. Calls to Margaret and Fionn MacCumhaill have gone unanswered, but a representative stated that those inside are safe and unharmed. Ms. Murphy has taken up residence in the Dowager’s House across the street from the palace, and gave a statement just moments ago.”
We watched the camera move in on Roisin where she stood on the balcony, front and center of the old stone mansion.
“We have been ruled by out of touch fae for far too long. It is time the elementals took back their leadership role as the Creators originally intended. Margaret and Fionn are no longer our leaders. They need to pack up and move out. The palace belongs to the people.” A fist raised in the air and the crowd below her roared. The camera shifted to show hundreds of people had flooded the streets.