Bless Your Heart

by Kimbra Swain

  “I did not!” I protested.

  “It’s true. You came in here every other week, teasing men and acting like a seductress,” he said.

  “Um, I am a seductress,” I reminded him.

  “No, you are an exile, remember,” he said. “Besides, you stopped doing it once Dylan became Sheriff.”

  “When Dylan became Sheriff, Jeremiah added restrictions to my contract,” I said.

  “Wonder why he did that?” he smiled.

  “What?”

  “Did he also require you to start working with the local Sheriff?” he asked.

  “Ness! What are you saying?” I asked.

  “I think Jeremiah intended for the two of you to work together. Maybe more. Where is Jeremiah?” he asked.

  “Chasing a Creole Priestess in Louisiana. At least, I hope he’s still chasing her,” I said. “Why would he want us to work together?”

  As I asked, the door of the bar swung open, slamming against the wall. Both of us jumped. “Grace!” Levi sounded panicked.

  “Damn, Dublin. You scared the crap out of us,” I said.

  “I don’t smell any crap,” he smirked.

  “My shit don’t stink,” I replied.

  “Yes, it does,” he grinned.

  “I’m going to whoop you!” I said as he walked up. Nestor got a good laugh out of it. “Can he have some coffee, Ness?”

  “You are drinking coffee?” he asked surprised.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I am. I’m not sure why y’all are so concerned about my alcohol consumption all of a sudden,” I said.

  Nestor poured him a cup of coffee. Levi took a sip, and his eyes rolled back in his head. “Oh my God! That is the best coffee I’ve ever had!”

  I laughed with Nestor as we watched him take a second sip. Nestor refilled my cup and poured one for himself.

  “So, Levi, how’s the bard business?” he asked.

  Levi looked at me. “Not my fault. Loose-tongued Dylan told him,” I said. Um, Dylan’s tongue.

  “You know about fairies?” he asked.

  “I am one,” he said.

  “Is everyone in this town a fairy?” Levi asked.

  “Not everyone,” Nestor said.

  “How do you not know this?” Levi asked me.

  I groaned, “Because I don’t have the gift to see who people really are like most royal fairies.”

  “Well, I don’t see them either,” he said. “What are you?”

  “Kelpie,” Nestor said.

  “Sweet!” Levi said drinking more coffee.

  I swirled my cup around looking at the sparkles. “Because he wanted you to be happy,” Nestor said out of nowhere.

  “Huh?” I said.

  “You asked why Jeremiah wanted you to work with Dylan,” he replied. “You enjoyed working with him, didn’t you?”

  “It gave me a purpose I’d never had before then. I’ve just drifted from place to place. Occasionally, I’ve helped people, but I always feared that a mortal would catch on to what I was or worse a fairy would find me. It was nice to help Dylan, although now I suspect he didn’t need my help at all,” I said.

  “Probably not,” Nestor said. “Just your presence in this town give us all a haven, Grace. A lot of the bad stuff stays away. Jeremiah is very fond of you. I think he knew that if he gave you a purpose, the darker sides of your fairy nature would remain subdued. I’m glad you are here, and I know with everything that’s happened you might move. I wish you would reconsider it.”

  “I don’t think I have a choice,” I said. “Once I track down who killed the children, Levi, Rufus and I will hit the road.”

  “What does Jeremiah say about that?”

  “He’s not been around since the decision was made. The Sanhedrin agree with you that I keep bad things away. Seems silly since I can’t see the difference,” I said.

  “Have you ever really dropped the glamour completely and let your fairy side take over?” he asked.

  “Not since I was exiled,” I replied.

  “You were a child when you were exiled,” he said.

  “How do you know how old I was?” I said.

  “You were young. Not fully matured, I think,” he said avoiding my question.

  “I was in my late teens. My downfall was loving humans. I spent more time on this side than in the Otherworld,” I said. “How do you know that Nestor? Are you exiled?”

  “Most fairies in this world are,” he replied.

  “What did you do?” I asked. “I mean, if you want to say.”

  “My daughter fell in love with a royal, and she wasn’t one of course,” he said.

  “Interloping, the royals look down on it. Love is love,” I said. “But what does that have to do with you?”

  “Well, when she ended up pregnant, I demanded that the royal pay me for her or take her as his wife. He did neither, but made her one of his many concubines,” he said.

  “And banished you for defying him?” I asked.

  “Something like that. It was ages ago. I was her father, and it was my right to claim it. However, I can’t go back there. I don’t want to go back,” he said.

  “Grace, we should get going. I left the groceries in the car,” Levi said.

  “How did you know I was here?” I asked.

  “When I got to the truck, and you weren’t there, I looked around and figured this is where you went,” Levi said.

  “Nestor, come have dinner with us,” I offered.

  “No, thanks, Grace, I have to tend to the bar,” Nestor replied.

  “Call Luther and see if he will cover it for you,” I said knowing that occasionally Luther would leave the diner early and cover the bar for Nestor. “Luther and Betty are fairies.”

  “You are catching on, Grace. Okay, I’ll call Luther,” he said.

  “Great! See you in about two hours?” I said.

  “I’ll be there,” Nestor said.

  When we got back to the trailer, I started cooking as Levi gathered laundry. The last time I had anyone over for dinner it was Bethany and Winnie.

  “Levi, run across the street to see if Winnie wants to eat dinner with us,” I said.

  “Sure!” he said excitedly. I watched him run across the street through the window. She came to the door, and they spoke. After a moment, I saw them walking back across the street hand in hand. She had a blanket and a pillow. I guessed she would be spending the night.

  “Aunt Grace!” she squealed as she ran up, hugging my leg.

  “Hey, Winnie! How’s school?” I asked.

  “It’s good. Everyone wants to be my best friend. Except the boys,” she said.

  “Well, do you want the boys to be your best friend?” I asked.

  “Ew, no,” she said.

  “Hey, I’m a boy!” Levi protested.

  “No, you are a man,” she said innocently.

  I rolled over laughing. “Shut it, Grace!” he said.

  “You want Levi to be your best friend?” I asked.

  “He already is,” she said.

  “Groupie!” I said to him.

  We all laughed even though the child didn’t comprehend the banter. “You staying the night, Winnie?”

  “Yes, but I’m not sleeping with Levi,” she said.

  He looked mortified. “Levi, when Winnie stays here, she sleeps in the front bedroom,” I explained. “Winnie, Levi will sleep on the couch, and you can sleep up front like you normally do.”

  “Okay, but you have room in your bed for him so he doesn’t have to sleep on the couch. It’s a huge bed,” she said.

  Kids! I blushed, and Levi smirked at me. “Enough of that, go wash your hands, little girl,” I said.

  “Yes ma’am,” she said running off to the bathroom.

  “You do have room,” he said, leaning next to me at the stove.

  “You go wash your hands too, little boy,” I said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, dipping his head. Looking up at him just before he entered my be
droom. He flashed his denim blue eyes at me with a little smirk before following Winnie in the bathroom. I wasn’t sure how many more times I could withstand the sly looks of my bard before squat-jumping in his cucumber patch.

  She instructed him on the proper way to wash hands, singing a little song while he did it. It was adorable. I couldn’t leave this child behind, but I didn’t think we could stay. I wish Jeremiah would come back. He would be honest with me about what I should do.

  Nestor drove up, and I greeted him at the door. He had a bottle of wine, Chianti, which was perfect for the basic tomato sauce I made.

  “Welcome to my home, Nestor Gwinn. You will be well fed and are to be treated as family while you are here,” I said.

  “Your hospitality is accepted, my Queen,” he responded. I grimaced. “Amongst those like us, Grace, you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are.”

  “All the same, I just want to be a girl living life in a quiet town,” I said.

  “You picked the wrong town,” he smiled as Winnie came running through the room as Levi chased her. She giggled and squealed as he tickled her on the couch.

  “Winnie is here,” I said to Nestor.

  “I see, and she has a fan,” he observed.

  “It’s mutual,” I said. “Dinner is ready. Quit playing around children! Time to eat.”

  Levi relented in his tickle barrage, and she gasped trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard. “Aunt Grace, tell Levi to stop tickling me,” she begged even though he’d already stopped.

  “Levi, stop tickling Winnie,” I said.

  “She started it,” he said playing with her.

  “No, I didn’t,” she protested with her hands on her hips. Lord have mercy, she looked just like me. Winnie looked nothing like her namesake Wynonna Judd, the country singer. Her mother told me that when the baby was born, she couldn’t decide between Wynonna and Loretta, her favorite singers. Winnie had dark brown hair that stretched to her elbows. It was board straight, unlike mine which was slightly wavy and curled especially when wet. Her skin was tanned from playing outside. She had dark, expressive brown eyes. I imagined her father must have been of a Hispanic descent.

  “You’ve been around your Aunt Grace too much,” Levi said picking up on the resemblance.

  “If the three of you don’t come eat, Rufus and I will eat it ourselves,” I said as Rufus ran around my feet hearing his name.

  They hustled over to the table and sat down. I joined them when Winnie said, “We have to pray for the food.” She always prayed for the food.

  “Okay, go ahead,” I said.

  She grabbed Levi’s hand and said, “Aunt Grace, hold hands with the man and Levi.”

  “The man, is Mr. Gwinn,” I said forgetting to introduce her. Levi offered his hand. I took it and Nestor’s on the other side. She held her little hand out to Nestor.

  As he took it, he said, “It’s nice to meet you, Winnie.”

  She half closed her eyes, watching to see if we closed ours, too. “Thank you, Jesus for the spaghetti, the bread, the juice and the adult drinks. Thank you, Jesus, for Aunt Grace, Levi and Mr. Gwinn. Amen.”

  “Amen,” I repeated.

  “Adult drinks?” Nestor asked.

  “She knows she can’t have wine, so she says it’s adult drink,” I said.

  “I will have wine when I get older,” she declared. “And diamonds like that ring Aunt Grace wears. I want a big red car like Sheriff Riggs. And I’m going to live in a big farmhouse with lots of chickens, goats, horses, pigs, and cows.” She rattled off all the things she wanted to have when she grew up. My attention faded when she mentioned Dylan’s car. Levi lightly brushed my arm at my tattoo, and I felt power shift from him to me. I stared at it for a moment as his eyebrows lifted questioning. I shrugged as Winnie continued to talk.

  As we ate, we allowed Winnie to dictate the conversation. She was a delight. A fresh little human who had only just started her life and was bursting with energy. Watching her interact with everyone, I told myself that if anything I needed to try to find a way to stay in Shady Grove. I wanted to see what little Miss Winnie Jones became in this world.

  She and Levi settled in the living room floor, coloring in a Lisa Frank coloring book. She chattered away, but I saw her eyelids starting to flutter.

  “You are so good with her, Grace,” Nestor said sipping the last of his Chianti.

  “She’s easy,” I said.

  “If all humans were like children, we might all get along better,” Nestor said.

  “No, because there are those of us who are evil to the core,” I said knowing the cold bitch inside me.

  “You are not evil, Grace,” he said knowingly. He was a damn good bartender.

  “Parts of me are,” I said.

  “Dylan didn’t think so,” Nestor said. I got up from the table, gathering the dishes. “I’m sorry, Grace. I won’t mention him again.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, but continued to clean up.

  “Leave those, Grace. I’ll wash them after Winnie goes to bed,” Levi said.

  “I’m staying up all night,” Winnie protested with a yawn.

  “I see,” I said.

  Nestor joined me at the counter. I asked him, “What happened to your daughter’s child?”

  “I was told she was beautiful, and the royal took her as his legitimate child. He had no other female children,” he said.

  “Have you ever seen her?” I asked as I started the water for the dishes.

  “Yes, and she looks just like her mother,” he said. I paused for a moment and contemplated his situation compared to mine. Looking up to him, I searched his face for answers. He looked at the empty glass of Chianti, but wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Nestor. It must be painful to be separated from your family. I’ll stop prying,” I said putting the dirty plates in the sink of sudsy water.

  “It’s okay, Grace. I’m proud of my daughter and my granddaughter,” he said.

  “I’m sure you are,” I replied. “Is your daughter a Kelpie too?”

  “No, she’s a siren like her mother,” he said.

  “My mother was a siren,” I said as the connection hit me. My mother was a concubine of Oberon, and he adopted me as his legitimate heir. I unconsciously backed away from the sink. The dish in my hand slipped out and shattered against the floor.

  “Grace!” Levi jumped up and ran to me. “Winnie stay back. Grace, are you cut? Are you okay?”

  I stared at Nestor who continued to look at the empty wine glass. Levi looked back and forth between us. “How long have you known?” I whispered with a knot in my throat.

  “From the first day you walked in my bar. I told you. You look just like her,” Nestor said.

  “I patterned my glamour after her,” I managed to say.

  “Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Levi protested.

  I ignored him, my eyes transfixed on my grandfather. “I never imagined I’d ever meet you. Ellessa told me that they exiled you and that there was nothing she could do. Until that day you walked in my bar, I had no idea you were still living,” he said as a tear ran down his cheek. I paused hearing my mother’s name. I hadn’t spoken it in ages.

  “Aunt Grace, are you okay?” Winnie said.

  “Winnie, I said stay back,” Levi growled. She whimpered. He scooped her up and profusely apologized. “Come on, let’s get you ready for bed. I need to clean off your bed.”

  Before he shut the door to his room, he looked back at me with concern.

  “Thank you,” I mouthed to him. He nodded, and the door clicked shut.

  “Were you not allowed to say anything?” I asked.

  “My contract is the same as yours, I suppose. We don’t talk about what we are. I was thrilled just to be able to see you. But when Dylan died, I decided that I didn’t care what the Sanhedrin thought. You are my family, and I waited for the right moment to tell you,” he said as his eyes finally met mine.

 
; Ignoring the broken plate on the floor, I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He barely got the wine glass out of the way before he returned my embrace. “Jeremiah knew,” I muttered.

  “Yes, he did. He never told me not to tell, but I knew if I did they would come after me,” he said.

  Leaning back from him, I said defiantly, “They will have to go through me to get you.”

  “Grace, you can’t do that,” he said.

  “The hell I can’t! I’m tired of them dictating my life. I won’t let them dictate to Levi, and they will leave every fairy in this town alone, if I have anything to say about it. Even if I don’t know how many actually live here,” I said.

  “More than you imagine,” he said. “I won’t out them, but I suspect if you claim your royal heritage, you would know each one of them.”

  “I want nothing to do with my father’s kingdom,” I said.

  “I understand,” he said.

  Levi quietly exited his room. Anxiously he turned back to us and waited for an explanation. I waited for the okay from Nestor before I explained it to Levi. Nestor nodded, and I said, “Levi, Nestor is my mother’s father.”

  “Oh!” he said simply.

  “That’s all you got, Dublin?”

  “Oh! You didn’t know!” he put it all together.

  “God bless it!” I exclaimed as Nestor laughed.

  Levi helped me clean up the broken plate, then finished the dishes while Nestor and I talked about my mother. I knew her, but had very little contact with her after my father claimed me as one of his heirs. Then it seemed like I was banished and that was it.

  An hour passed as we talked, eventually Levi joined us at the table. He listened to the stories Nestor told us about the Otherworld, and his experiences in the bar. He made us promise to come for coffee as much as we could.

  He avoided the subject of Dylan until right before he left. “He loved you, Grace,” he said.

  “No, we didn’t have time for it to be love,” I said. “It was almost love.”