Bless Your Heart

by Kimbra Swain

  “Your father is involved?” he asked.

  “He was at the hearing; didn’t you see him?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I just assumed he was there to take you home if something happened,” he said.

  “Well, he probably would have,” I said still trying to piece it all together.

  “Where did Levi come from?” he asked.

  “Jeremiah dropped him off. He didn’t tell me he was a changeling. He’s got crazy bard skills,” I said. “When the messenger delivered Levi’s clothes for the hearing, there was a song book with it. Levi, come here!”

  “Yeah, what is it? He’s not answering. Maybe he left already,” he said holding up his cell phone.

  “Where is that song book?” I asked.

  “I’ll get it,” he said going back in his room. He came back with the book and handed it to me. Flipping through the pages, I looked for anything that might let me know who sent the book. When I reached the back cover, I knew who sent it. I ran my hand over the embossment. The white stag emblem glowed under my hand when I touched it.

  “Oberon,” Remy said.

  “Yes, my father sent the book,” I said. “It belonged to his former bard, Davos Maolain. He was killed by a bogan.”

  “What’s a bogan?” Levi asked.

  “Bogeyman,” Remy supplied.

  “Bogans can be helpful, but they are mischievous and sometimes dangerous. They usually belong to a house and dwell within it. In actual terms, it’s much like you are my bard, because I claim you. A household can claim a bogan, and if paid well, they do favors for the family,” I said.

  “Do they kill children?” Levi asked.

  “I suppose they could if for some reason their family turned against them,” I said.

  “Lysander is a bogan,” Levi said.

  “We don’t know that,” I said.

  “I think he might be right,” Remy said.

  Standing up, I paced the room and chewed on my fingernail. “If Daddy sent you the book, it was because he knew what you were and wanted you to learn about your gift. Probably to protect me. The clothes were sent by Lysander, but if he had to make the order through my father, which I’m sure he did, then the messenger brought the book without Lysander knowing about it.”

  “Maybe you should talk to your father,” Remy suggested.

  “Um, no, if Daddy wanted me to know, he would have just told me. Something, an oath maybe, is keeping him from being involved other than his sudden presence in my life,” I sat down more confused than ever. “Levi, get Remy a beer.”

  “No, that’s okay, Grace. I’m driving unless you want to let me stay,” he grinned.

  “No, you aren’t staying,” Levi said.

  “For someone who isn’t really her fiancé, you sure act like it,” Remy said.

  “Put the dicks away, boys. I’m not interested in a sword fight,” I said.

  Levi blushed and folded his arms across his chest. Remy handed me his business card.

  “What’s this?” I said.

  “It has my new contact numbers on it if you ever need anything,” he said winking at Levi.

  I got up and walked him to the door. “Thanks for the information, Remy. You could have called,” I said.

  “I didn’t want to call,” he smiled leaning closer to me. Levi grunted behind us. Remy shook his head then ducked back into the storm.

  I turned to face brooding Levi. “Does every man want to fuck you?” he asked.

  “No, it just seems that since you’ve arrived my skeletons are coming out of the closet,” I said.

  “I wish your skeletons were gay,” he said.

  The only skeleton I wanted was dead. “Who was the Sanhedrin in Texas that sent you to Jeremiah?”

  “Um, well,” he stumbled.

  “Did you take an oath not to tell?” I asked.

  “No, but I don’t know if I should,” he said.

  “I won’t force you, but if you think it’s relevant to what’s going on here, I wish you would,” I said.

  “It was my uncle. My mother’s brother,” he said.

  “Lord have mercy! Your family was Sanhedrin. Did your uncle know your daddy was a love talker?” I asked.

  “Probably. He’s the one that told me I should skip town. Only I didn’t tell him I was going to meet Lisette Delphin and her coven,” he admitted.

  “Levi, you brought a heap of mess on me when you came to this town!” I said as he looked at his feet. “Aw, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I wouldn’t trade you for the world now.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Come hell or high water, we are in this together,” I said.

  “Thank you, Grace,” he muttered popping the cap off a beer and slumping into the couch.

  I stared out at the storm looking for answers. Levi clicked the television on flipping through the channels. It was late, and the evening news was on. He skipped through all of that, finding a sports channel to watch previews for this weekend’s college match-ups.

  Grabbing an orange soda, since my Crown disappeared, I sat in the recliner trying to piece it all together. I fell asleep in the chair with Levi sipping beer on the couch watching television.

  When I woke up, there was a blanket laying over me. Sweet boy. My thoughts picked up right where I had drifted off last night. I took a shower and decided maybe I needed to talk to my father about all of this.

  The Sanhedrin swore that they did not give my hair to Capps, but she got it somehow. I wonder if she lifted it off Dylan somehow. In fact, the Sanhedrin liked me being in town, because it kept away lesser evils. In my opinion, I was probably worse than anything they could imagine, but felt no need to inform them of it.

  Capps was sleeping with Maynard and probably Lysander. Frisky little wolf.

  She slept with Maynard to get his help to frame me. Poor Troy was probably just excited to find another one of his kind. He said she hit him knocking his tooth out. I wonder if she did it in the woods where we found the kids. Maybe they were planting evidence or something, and then Chris found the tooth.

  I dried my hair with a towel, put on jeans and a t-shirt, then made a pot of coffee. Levi walked through the room with his shirt off. Shamelessly, I watched him the whole way. His new tattoo was shining vividly on his shoulder. He never looked at me as he headed to the shower. I was beginning to think that he could give me and Dylan Riggs a run for my money in the tease department.

  She slept with Maynard to get his help to frame me. Poor Troy was probably just excited to find another one of his kind. He said she hit him knocking his tooth out. I wonder if she did it in the woods where we found the kids. Maybe they were planting evidence or something, and then Chris found the tooth.

  I definitely needed to contact Chris to see if his young were still dying from a wolf. I’d rather follow that line of questioning instead of trying to talk to my father.

  “Morning, Grace,” Levi said drying his hair with a towel sans shirt. At least he wore jeans that hung low on his hips.

  “Morning, Tease,” I said to him.

  “It’s not my fault you lust after me,” he said.

  “Yes, it is,” I replied sipping my coffee.

  He threw the towel like a basketball across the kitchen into the laundry room ringing the washer.

  “Score for the bard!” he yelled.

  “Silly,” I muttered as he poured a cup of coffee.

  “Alright, my Queen, what do we do next?” he asked leaning next to me.

  “First of all, don’t ever call me that again. I don’t care how good you look in your blue jeans, I’ll wring your neck. Secondly, I think we need to make a trip to the store,” I said.

  “Good. I want spaghetti. Can you make it?” he asked.

  “Yes, I can, and we will go to that store too,” I said, as he realized what I actually meant.

  “Going to talk to Chris?” he asked.

  “Yep, probably better than going to talk to Daddy,” I replied. “Now, ple
ase, go put a shirt on.”

  “You can’t handle this,” he said swaying his body back and forth like an idiot.

  “You keep swaying that ass, and there are a few men around here who will think you are coming out of the closet,” I said.

  “They can look, but they can’t touch,” he said from the front bedroom.

  “You are a goof ball,” I said.

  He came back out with a t-shirt that said “Don’t mess with Texas.” His tattoo could just barely be seen under the edge of the sleeve. I’d like to mess with Texas, but I knew I’d regret it. So, I wrangled my hormones and got the keys to the truck. At the last second, I grabbed Dylan’s jacket. I wasn’t going to wear it, just wanted to take it with me.

  Levi waited in the truck with his guitar as I put the jacket in the back seat. He didn’t say anything about it. We rumbled off down the road to the stone circle in the woods.

  Levi played on his guitar and the song sounded like a hundred thundering hooves going into battle. Within a moment, the actual thunder of hooves filled the greenfield. Swooping down through the canopy of pines, a large winged hog landed before us, shifting into the form of Chris Purcell.

  “Good Morning, Grace,” Chris said as he lit a cheroot. The leathery smell of smoke wafted around us.

  “Morning. Any more issues with the youngins?” I asked.

  “Killing has stopped,” he said. “Did you catch the wolf?”

  “I know of a couple in town. One has been here for a long time. I don’t think it’s him. The other isn’t from around here, and she’s trouble,” I said. “But she seems to have skipped town for now.”

  “She that lady cop from the state?” he asked.

  “The very one,” I replied.

  “She looked wolfy,” he said.

  “How does one look wolfy?” I asked.

  “Something in her eyes,” he said puffing on the cigar. “Thank you, Grace, for your assistance. I will let you know if she returns.”

  “Just be wary. I don’t think she’s done with me, yet. And I don’t want to see anyone else hurt,” I said.

  “Yes, tragic about Dylan Riggs,” he said. “He was just about to have everything he ever wanted.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Aw, Grace. I’ve seen you two out in the woods together, and the conversations you’ve had when you thought no one was listening. The two of you were thick as thieves. I hate it for the both of you,” he said.

  “I hate it for him. I deserve whatever I get,” I said sadly.

  “Grace,” Levi said softly as I waved him off.

  Chris laughed at him. “Good luck, kid. She’s a handful,” Chris said.

  “Trust me. I know,” Levi said.

  “Enough,” I eyed them both. “Come on, Dublin. Let’s get going.”

  “You don’t need any other information?” Chris asked as we turned to walk out of the clearing.

  “I need a lot of information, but I don’t know what questions to ask,” I said. “Do you know something I should know?”

  “I’ll offer you something for free, Grace,” he said.

  “Um, I don’t know about that Chris. We’ve never operated that way,” I said.

  “I mean it. It’s free information,” he said.

  “Okay, what is it?” I asked.

  “There are a lot of things in this town you’ve never noticed, because you’ve kept to yourself. I suggest you open your eyes and see what’s going on around you before it’s too late,” he said.

  “That’s not information, Chris. It’s vague drivel,” I said.

  “Good luck,” he smirked as he stamped out the last of his cheroot. He nodded to me and disappeared into the woods.

  “Hogwash!” I yelled.

  “Really?” Levi said. “Shut up, Dublin,” I said stomping back to the truck.

  I opened the door and looked at the back seat. The jacket was gone.

  “No, where did it go? No, no, no!” I cried frantically looking under the seats and around the vehicle.

  “Did you take it to the stone?” Levi asked.

  “No, I left it here. The doors were locked,” I said.

  “Let me drive,” Levi said.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  “No, you are upset. Let me drive, Grace,” he said.

  “Someone took it. Why would they do that?” I asked. Behind me, a set of muddy foot prints led off into the woods. Running in the direction of the prints, I dodged trees and fallen limbs. I heard Levi running behind me. The tracks ended at another field. It opened up wide, and the grass swayed in the breeze.

  Trying to catch my breath, Levi ran up next to me. “Trail ended?”

  “Yes,” I muttered.

  He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his chest. “I’m sorry,” he said as I cried. “We will find it.”

  “It’s gone. Just like him,” I said.

  Eventually, Levi coaxed me back to the truck, and I let him drive us to the grocery store. I didn’t feel like going in, so I gave him a list of things to get while I sat in the truck. From my seat, I could see the door of The Hot Tin Roof. Sliding out of the seat, I went to the bar like it called to me.

  It was the middle of the week in the middle of the day, and the bar was empty except for Nestor who stood behind the bar drying off glasses.

  “Afternoon, Grace. It’s good to see you, dear,” he said greeting me.

  “Hi, Ness,” I said sitting down on a bar stool.

  “It’s a little early to start drinking,” he said.

  “Are you my father?” I asked, my tone bitter.

  “Of course not, but I know the last few days have been rough on you. How about some coffee?” he offered.

  “No, Crown please. Someone took all my alcohol at home,” I said.

  Taking out a glass, he picked several pieces of ice out the cooler beneath the bar, sitting the glass on the counter. He picked up the bottle of Crown, and I could feel the burn going down my throat in anticipation.

  “It’s not my place, but I really wish you’d try my coffee,” he said.

  “Unless it’s the best coffee on earth, no, thanks. I’ll take the Crown,” I said waiting for him to pour.

  “Actually, it’s the best coffee here and in the Otherworld,” he said. Stunned I stared at him. I’d been in Nestor’s bar a hundred times or more, and I never knew he was a fairy.

  “What are you?” I asked.

  “You don’t know?” he said.

  “No!” I nearly shouted at him in frustration.

  “I thought you could see all fairies. It’s part of being a royal, right?” he asked.

  “I’m not a royal! I’m an exile,” I said.

  “Oh, well, but you are still royal blood. You should be able to see all the fairies,” he explained.

  “I know that, but I never developed that skill or talent or inheritance. Whatever the fuck it is. I’m just me,” I said. “What are you?”

  “Kelpie,” he replied.

  “Water fairy!” I exclaimed.

  “This is a watering hole, Grace,” he said plainly, but I saw the humor in his eyes.

  “I love irony. Really, I do, but I’m a little put off at the moment,” I said. He winked as he sat a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. I relented, drinking down the rich java. From my mouth to my toes, a warm tingle flowed through my body, and everything that was built up inside of me relaxed.

  “See, it’s good,” he said. “I don’t share it with just anyone.”

  “What is it?”

  “Just a peace and harmony potion in some really good imported coffee,” he smiled.

  “Thank you, Nestor,” I said.

  “You are very welcome, Grace,” he said. “How’s the bard?”

  “How did you know Levi? How did you now he was a bard?” I asked.

  “Um, well,” he stumbled over his answer.

  “Dylan,” I said.

  “Yes, Dylan told me before your hearing the other
day. He was in here upset about you not talking to him after Stephanie showed up,” he said.

  “I regret that,” I said plainly. “Is there a truth serum in this as well?” I twirled the coffee around looking at it with magical sight. Little purple and blue particles floated around in the dark brown liquid like glitter soup.

  “No, but your heart speaks the truth, because it needs to. Besides, everyone talks to their bartender,” he said.

  “I knew he wasn’t with her, but I felt like I’d harmed him enough. However, a much crueler fate awaited him due to his connection with me,” I said feeling the pain again. I took another sip of the coffee, and once again, it calmed my spirit.

  “What happened to him wasn’t your fault. Surely you know that,” he said.

  “I know that I was selfish enough to think he wrestled that gunman to save me. He did it to save everyone there,” I admitted.

  “So, he did do it to save you, along with everyone else,” he reasoned.

  “I suppose,” I said.

  “I have another confession for you, Grace,” he said.

  “I thought I was the one confessing,” I said.

  He laughed and replied, “I thoroughly enjoyed watching the two of you play pool.”

  “Nestor Gwinn! You slammed the door!” I said realizing that he had the capability of doing such a thing.

  He laughed, “Yes, I did. I just hate I didn’t get to see him kiss you. He stole that from all of us who anticipated the payoff of his win. He won with a little help from his bartender.”

  “You devil,” I said.

  “Got the hooves to prove it!” he laughed and stomped his feet. I peered over the bar to see his feet. “Damn, Grace! I only have them when I shift.”

  “I didn’t know! I’m probably the least knowledgeable fairy you’ll ever find. I’ll never know why he called me all the time asking about fairy beasts and beings. He asked me about Selkies once. I told him about Kelpies,” I said tilting my head at him.

  “Yes, he guessed what I was. He said you gave him the idea. I just assumed you knew what I was,” he said.

  “I didn’t. Honest,” I said taking the last sip of the coffee.

  “He called you, because he loved talking to you. Stephanie cheated on him from the very beginning. She came in here several times and made out with other guys. I don’t know how he didn’t know. I supposed he just didn’t want to see it. You realize from the moment you met him, you stopped coming into my bar and taking home men,” he said.