Snake in the Grass (Fairy Tales of a Trailer Park Queen Book 3)

by Kimbra Swain

  “I really shouldn’t be in your lap,” he smiled.

  “Or me in yours,” I added.

  “Yeah, that,” he laughed.

  “So, you sit over there hugging me with your eyes, and I’ll sit over here wishing I’d bought a smaller trailer with only one bathroom.” The blush that ran over his face was worth every minute of anxiety that I’d had in the last hour. “Damn, you are so adorable when you do that.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “I don’t guess I’ve ever said that out loud,” I admitted.

  “You like embarrassing me?” he asked.

  “Yes, because when the blush washes over your cheeks, it makes that crazy fairy part of me flare up,” I said.

  “You are welcome to embarrass me whenever you want,” he said. “If you keep talking like that, Dylan can go to hell, because I’ll do more…”

  He didn’t finish the sentence when Dylan ran in the door, pouring sweat. He looked at both of us. Levi hung his head, refusing to look at either of us.

  “Did I interrupt something?” Dylan asked instinctively.

  “We were having a discussion, but you aren’t interrupting,” I replied coldly.

  “That’s my cue to go watch some television in my room,” Levi said, looking at me one last time. There was so much in just one look. He had my back, and with one word, he would be by my side again. If he’d meant more than that, I didn’t want to know.

  “Did you have to drive off with her?” Dylan asked him as Levi walked past.

  “Yeah, I did, and unless you want to argue with me too, I suggest you leave it alone,” Levi said standing up to Dylan. Oh shit. I did not want the two of them fighting. Especially about me.

  “Get out of my face right now,” Dylan growled at him. Levi calmly walked by, entering his bedroom, but he left the door open. “Seriously, what were you running from?”

  “You. Arm in arm, whispering in her ear,” I said.

  “It wasn’t what it looked like,” he said.

  “That’s just it, Dylan. I know what it looked like to me. Imagine what it looked like to everyone else in that room. I don’t care if you told her to go eat shit. Everyone in that room saw her smile and flirt with you. It looked very intimate,” I said.

  “No worse than you climbing on the back of a motorcycle which I know you hate with a passion and driving off hugging Levi?” he spouted.

  “I was scared of the bike, so I hugged Levi not to fall off of it. I would have gladly left with my fiancé but he was too busy whispering in the woman’s ear who has determined to ruin my whole damn life!” I screamed. I had no more patience. “You should have just walked away from her! Why didn’t you just walk away?”

  “I didn’t want to make a scene,” he said.

  “I know you don’t like to draw attention, but damn it, Dylan, there are times when pitching a hissy fit is entirely appropriate. When someone you loathe wraps their arm into yours to provoke the woman you claim to love, it is a good damn time to make a fucking scene,” I continued to yell.

  He stared at me as if he had nothing else to say. “You are right,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You are right. I should have shoved her away. Maybe she would have even fallen on the ground where someone else could rush up to help her make me look like the bad guy. Perhaps, I could have called her whore and cunt right there in church. I’m sure everyone would have loved that. But instead, I threatened her very quietly. I told her if she didn’t leave me and you alone that I would air her dirty laundry up and down Main Street. I didn’t expect her to smile or kiss me on the cheek. She played me,” he said.

  “She kissed you on the cheek?” I asked, because it’s a good damn thing I didn’t see that little tidbit.

  “Yes, after you ran out with Levi,” he said. “I could have handled it better, but I couldn’t think of the best way to get her off of me! Grace! You know I hate that woman! You know I do,” he said.

  “So, I’m supposed to stand by and let you play a game with her that makes it look like she already has you wrapped around her slimy tail. To everyone in that room that’s what it looked like. Even Mable, who adores you, stood there and said that you weren’t pulling away from her. That’s when I looked again, and you actually moved into her. Not away. Everything inside of me broke. It took everything I had just to walk away. Do you understand that?” I asked him. The anger that seethed through his eyes faded. “You own my heart, Dylan. It’s not as strong as I’d like it to be. It doesn’t matter how many times we make love or if there is a ring on my finger, this is a first time for me. I’ve never given my heart to anyone. I didn’t know it would hurt so much.”

  Tears made tracks down my face, and I refused to look at him. I knew he wouldn’t stay on the other side of the room much longer. He took his leather jacket off like he used to in the old trailer, laying it on the back of the couch. The memories of the last few months flooded over me. Instead of warming my heart, it made me ache more knowing that I’d given a part of myself to him. The strength and independence that I once held so dear I’d forfeited to love Dylan Riggs. Right now, the trade off didn’t seem worth it.

  My heart pounded with every footstep as he drew nearer. My emotions battled back and forth. To push him away or allow him to draw me back in.

  Leaning on the door frame across from me, I felt the heat radiating off of his body. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps I should allow the winter queen to handle this. Asking myself what I’d do if I went that direction. The answer appalled me. I could lure him back, fuck him one last time, then kick him to the curb for this bullshit, because I didn’t need it or him. I decided that whatever I did, it wouldn’t be that. I hated that part of myself.

  For a moment, he watched my internal struggle. “What have you decided?” he asked quietly.

  I swallowed, not trusting my voice. “This wouldn’t be so bad, if I wasn’t already confused.”

  “Confused about what?” he demanded. I didn’t like his tone.

  “This morning. You shut me out when I asked about her. It wasn’t so long ago that you said you could destroy her with the information you had on her. Forgive me for wanting to know my opponent. I don’t want to know the intimate details of your life with her. I just thought there might be something useful going forward. However, you built a wall between us. When we went into the grove, it was still up. When you stood with her on your arm, it was still fucking up!”

  “My relationship with her was fucked up, Grace. Forgive me if I don’t want to discuss it with anyone,” he said.

  “Not fucked up enough to push her away,” I spouted at him.

  “What do you want me to say? What do you want to know? Details? I’ll tell you all of it, if you will just stop pushing me away!” he yelled back at me.

  “Dylan, I don’t want details. I just don’t understand how you can stay with someone for five damn years while she fucked every other man in this town, and everyone knew it. I didn’t, because I’m blind to everything. I’ve never felt more insecure in my entire life. I’ve given everything to you. My heart. My independence. I just don’t know how much more I can take,” I said.

  “I was with her, because after hundreds of years of fucking around, I thought I couldn’t do any better,” he said through gritted teeth. “I got what I deserved.”

  My heart really broke with his words. Not for me. I’d never seen Dylan as anything other than the most honorable man I knew. His past didn’t even register with me because I had the same past. Even now, I thought inside myself I’d fucked this up. That I was the one that didn’t trust him. Neither of us knew how to have a relationship. We both sucked at it.

  “I’ve been waiting for the day for this to fall apart. I guess that day is today, because I knew I didn’t deserve you either,” he muttered. His shoulders slumped. Any fight he had left in him was gone.

  “You are giving up on us?” I asked.

  “It seems I have no choice,” he said.
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br />   “Fuck that,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Fuck that. I’m not going to let you stand there and pretend that you deserve to go through hell. That’s ridiculous horse manure, and I won’t let you do it. You’ve been everything this town has needed for years. You spent long hours hunting for missing kids and cows. You’ve gone to people’s houses to give them bad news, then stuck around to share their grief. Just because your relationships aren’t peachy keen doesn’t mean you aren’t a good man. There’s a little girl out there that thinks you're good enough to be her Daddy,” I said. “We don’t ever have to mention Stephanie’s name again, but I’m not giving up on us even if you do.” Crossing my arms, I stood and watched him. One thing I did know about men was that sometimes they need a little ego boost. For whatever reason, Dylan needed that right now. I pushed away my worries and doubts, giving him what he needed.

  However, his body remained motionless. With his head pointed to the ground, he focused on the carpet. He made no motions to move toward me or move away. I sighed. It was going to have to be on me. I wasn’t giving him up. With two steps forward, I stood in his personal space. The way he leaned on the door, our legs touched. Still, he did not move. I suppressed the need to be pissed. He should be coming to me, not the other way around. However, I guessed that sometimes in relationships you have to do things you didn’t want to do. Tracing my fingers down the side of his face, I felt him shudder. He leaned into my hand as I cupped his cheek. He groaned as I pressed my body to his. His hands grabbed my waist as the heat in them passed from him to me.

  “I’m sorry, Grace. I’m so sorry,” he muttered.

  “That’s what I wanna hear,” I purred, kissing him on his neck.

  “Keep doing that, and I’ll say it again,” he said. Instead of continuing, I pulled back to look him in the eye.

  “I don’t want you to say it again. I just want you to love me. To understand the things, I gave up and the things that scare the shit out of me,” I said. “I want you to teach me those things about you too. No more walls.”

  “What scares you?”

  “Losing you. Losing Winnie. Being forced to leave our lives here. Lots of things,” I said.

  “Losing you is one of mine, too. But I could leave Shady Grove in a heartbeat as long as my family went with me,” he said. “You and Winnie. Fuck Levi.”

  I laughed. “At least you admit you want to swap gravy with him,” I said.

  “That is not what I said Grace Ann Bryant,” he said as the glint of life returned to his eye.

  “Don’t use my whole name, Dylan whatever-your-middle-name-is Riggs,” I replied.

  “I don’t have one,” he replied.

  “Really?”

  “Didn’t see the need,” he said.

  “I’ll make up one,” I said.

  “No, I’ve heard your list of name choices,” he laughed remembering our Christmas game of pool which I let him win. Or rather, I lost on purpose. His laugh meant that everything was going to be okay for now. I liked it better when our fights weren’t real. Relationships suck.

  Pastor Zeke called saying that Winnie wanted to spend the afternoon with his daughter playing. Winnie did that frequently on Sundays when her mother was still alive. It was fine with us for her to have play time with her friends.

  I made some lunch for us. Dylan talked to Levi, and they seemed to be okay. My thoughts drifted back to what Levi was about to say when Dylan walked in. It’s probably a good thing he didn’t finish the sentence. We both were a little high-strung, and I would hate for either of us say something we would regret later on.

  As we ate, Dylan and Levi watched football on television in an awkward silence until the buzzing of Dylan’s phone interrupted.

  “Riggs,” he answered which was his typical answer when he didn’t know the caller.

  Pause. I heard a female voice on the other end.

  “She what?” he asked with alarm.

  He paused to listen again. Levi and I stared at him.

  “No, I’m not the father. Where is she?” he asked.

  “Who is that?” I asked.

  Dylan put his hand over the phone and said, “The med center. Misaki is there.”

  “Oh hell,” I muttered.

  “No, I’m not coming down there. In labor? How is that possible?” he asked.

  The woman on the end of the line sounded stern. She must have hung up on him because he just stared at the phone.

  “In labor?” I asked.

  “Fucking fairies,” he grumbled to which Levi and I laughed. A smile crossed his face. “Apparently, a kitsune can get pregnant and reach full gestation within just a few days, and it’s a shame that the deadbeat worthless father can’t even show up to the birth of his child.”

  “She’s going to put you on the birth certificate!” I concluded.

  He pitched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know.”

  “They want you to go down there?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I’m not going down there,” he said.

  “I’m not going to sit by and have that woman put your name on a child that isn’t yours!”

  Levi and Dylan both stared at me. “What do you want to do?”

  “I’m going down there,” I replied. “You can stay or go. I don’t care.”

  “Fucking fairies,” Levi said. They fist bumped.

  “Hey! You are one too!” I pointed at Levi.

  “Half. It means I at least have some sense,” he laughed.

  “I’m going to jerk a knot in you,” I said.

  “Jerk what?” Dylan asked.

  I opened my mouth to continue the banter, but I blushed. I stuttered, “Qu-quit! Let’s go!”

  As I stomped out the front door in my faux rage, I heard Levi behind me, “Now you know how to get her to shut up.”

  “I can get her to shut up better ways than that,” Dylan implied.

  “Enough! Like I can’t hear you both,” I said, climbing into the truck. I shut the door, giving them both the go to hell look. This was the kind of fighting I liked. Less heartbreak and angst. Sometimes I felt like I was on a damn soap opera with the mess that goes on around here. The Days of Our Fairy Lives. The Forever Young and Restless. One Long Life to Live. Now we were off to Fairy Hospital.

  The drive to the med center only took five minutes, but we spent five minutes bantering back and forth about women, fairies, and ways to get people to shut up. When we arrived, Dr. Tabitha Mistborne was waiting on us.

  “Hiya Dylan, congratulations are in order, it’s a boy,” she said.

  “Stuff it, Tab,” he said.

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  “Down the hall in room 156,” she said.

  “Can I visit the mother and child?” I asked.

  “Well, of course, you are here with the father,” she teased. I scowled at her to which she laughed her head off. Friends.

  “Come on, big Daddy,” I replied.

  Dylan and I sauntered in to a smiling Misaki holding a tiny little bundle.

  “Oh, you come see you baby,” Misaki said. “He is beautiful.”

  “Yes, he is,” I replied. “Misaki, we need to talk.”

  “Oh, sure. I cannot thank you enough for allowing Dylan to save me.”

  “That’s just it, Misaki. I know you are lying about Dylan being the father. We came down here to clear up any misunderstanding,” I said.

  “No, he is the father. He gave me his sex, and I get pregnant,” she said.

  “Is it just me or is her English worse today?” I asked Dylan. He shrugged.

  “My English is bad all day,” she replied.

  “Yes, well, let’s see if you understand this. You came into my town and asked for protection. Right?” I asked.

  “Yes, you so generous to help me,” she said smiling.

  “Right. Under my protection, I require fairies to speak the truth regarding all things relating to that protection. Are you lying about Dylan being the fathe
r of this child?” I asked.

  She paused and looked at me. Knowing what I was implying, she did not speak. I stared at her. “I do not understand,” she muttered.

  Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I pulled the blanket down and peered at the little face inside it. “I think you do, Misaki. If you break the terms of protection, I cannot protect you.”

  “I no need protection now. Demon does not want me,” she said.

  “Are you sure about that? I could have sworn there was a snake demon lurking around these parts,” I replied. “She’s tall with pale skin. Her hair is black like the feathers of a raven. You know this snake?”

  Her eyes widened. “I do not know this snake.”

  “Misaki, you will not avoid my questions any longer. Please. Is Dylan the father of this child?” I asked.

  She looked around to the exit. Levi appeared in the door, smiling at her. Dylan leaned back on the wall with his arms crossed. No one here was going to help her. “No, he is not,” she mumbled. I smiled. Sometimes it was good to be Queen.

  “Why don’t you tell me everything?” I said to the fox.

  What did the fox say? She shape-shifted into a devil creature with fangs and horns. The bundle in her lap which looked very real disappeared completely. Shoving me off the bed with one arm, I flew against the wall. Mid-flight I pushed power through my tattoo to absorb the impact, but it still hurt. My head went ring-ding-ding-ding. Dylan rushed at the demon as his arms ignited into flame. The demon faded into wisps of black smoke, then reappeared behind Dylan, shoving him against the opposite wall with a wa-pa-pow.

  I felt Levi pull power. The surrounding forces that I could see through fairy eyes sucked to Levi’s arm, and his tattoo pulsed under his shirt. “Cease,” he said. His voice rumbled the walls several octaves lower than his normal speaking voice. Holy shit, he was learning too fast.

  The demon froze in place staring at the bard. Standing up I pointed my finger at the demon and said, “Chacha-chow!”

  “You okay?” Levi asked. Dylan stood up behind the demon. His eyes flicked back and forth to us.

  “Never heard that song?” I asked.

  “What song?” Levi replied.