Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws

by Jennifer Youngblood

  Even though Huntsden didn’t know what the plan was from here, his dad assured him that everything was on track. He wondered what Edward and Rush would do when they saw him at school on Monday. His thoughts went to Elle, and he felt his blood quicken. She was really something! No wonder Edward and Rush wanted her. Who wouldn’t? Her perfect features, that lustrous hair, and that bite! He chuckled inwardly. Just as surely as a knight needed a trusty steed, if he were going to be king, then he would need a queen at his side. She was indeed a prize worth winning. The trophy of all trophies! One way or another, he would have her as his own.

  The doorbell rang, and he rose to answer it.

  “I have a delivery for Huntsden Forrester.”

  “I’m Huntsden.”

  “These are for you.”

  He reached for the box and frowned as he thanked the woman and closed the door. He sat back down on the couch and opened the box. Chocolate. He felt a stab of fear. Was this from The Chocolate Fountain? A warning of some sort?

  There was a note that read: From your secret admirer.

  He turned the box over and saw that it was from some company he’d not heard of. A sense of relief flooded him. It wasn’t from The Chocolate Fountain. He looked at the box with renewed interest. A sense of pleasure covered him as he wondered who it was that sent him the chocolate.

  He held it up to his nose and inhaled the scent. They were all milk chocolate truffles. He plopped one in his mouth and chewed. It was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted. Eagerly, he began eating the rest.

  * * *

  Elle’s palms were sweaty as she knocked on the door. She’d lain awake the night before, thinking about Rush and how empty she felt when he stormed out of The Chocolate Fountain. Her heart about jumped in her throat when he opened the door. She gave him a tentative smile. “Hey.”

  He gave her the nod. “Hey. What’s up?”

  Her smile fell a notch. This was harder than she thought. He wasn’t making it easy with those hooded eyes and closed expression. She’d known he would be mad, but she hadn’t expected him to be this cold. She wet her lips. “Can we talk?”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets. “About what?”

  “About us.” She sought for the right words. “Look, the other night, when you saw Edward and me … it wasn’t what you thought.” She swallowed hard and began again. “I feel things for you.” Her eyes met his, and she silently pled with him to give her another chance. “I know I’ve made my share of mistakes, but if you could only—”

  She nearly choked on her words when Lynessa sauntered up beside Rush and draped a manicured hand around his shoulder. Her smoldering eyes scoured Elle up and down as her lips turned down into a petulant frown. “What’s she doing here?” She gave Elle a snide smile. “Where’s Edward? Still playing both sides?”

  Rush just stood there, looking at her, as her heart turned to ice. The world started to spin, and she began backing away. “This was a mistake!”

  Somehow, she managed to make it back to her room before the tears started. She went to her dressing table, picked up a hairbrush, and slung it at the mirror as hard as she could. The mirror cracked, sending a web of shattered glass trickling out from the point of impact. She sat down in the chair and stared at the broken mirror. Then she propped her elbows on the table, buried her head in her hands, and let the tears fall.

  When no more tears would come, she rose up and gulped in a ragged breath. Her eyes went wide. The cracks in the mirror were gone! A sense of wonderment filled her as she touched it. Adele’s words came rushing back. “You need to stop ignoring her. She’s trying to tell you something important.”

  She leaned forward, studying her reflection. It occurred to her then that she felt no fear. She was no longer afraid of the girl in the mirror. “Who are you?” she whispered. “What are you trying to tell me?”

  A flash of gold caught her attention. She blinked and then looked again. This time, more intently. Before her mind could register what her eyes were seeing the gold vanished, leaving only her reflection. A rush of wind circled around the room, even though the window was closed. A sense of familiarity quietly rippled through her—a familiarity of something that had been there before. Excitement seized her. She’d had a flutter of a memory! And then she realized what it was she had seen in the mirror—a key. For a split second, she had seen a gold key!

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  A Note From the Authors

  Hey there, thanks for taking the time to read Banished the first book in The Grimm Laws Series. If you enjoyed it, please take a minute to give us a review on Amazon. We really appreciate your feedback as we depend largely on word of mouth to promote our books.

  We have always loved fairy tales! There’s something magical and comforting about reading a fanciful book where everyone lives happily ever after. Of course, things don’t always turn out so perfect in the real world. We wanted to write an in-depth fairy tale where the characters become real and where things don’t always work out so perfectly. The challenging part about Banished is that the action goes back and forth between two very different worlds. We wanted to add a touch of the formal language into the dialogue without it seeming forced or stilted. Eventually, we came up with our own language—a hybrid between the modern and the present.

  We became immersed in the lives of these characters and enjoyed every minute of writing it!

  A funny side note that happened to Jennifer: When Mom and I were about halfway finished writing the novel, I decided that it would give me a clearer perspective if I were to stop writing and read it from start to finish. I became so engrossed in the story that I forgot that I had written it, and when I reached the end (as far as we had written thus far), I had this burning desire to know what was going to happen next. Then I caught myself and thought: You moron, you have to finish writing it before you can read the rest of it!

  We hope you’ll feel the same way about book II—that you just can’t wait to see what will happen next!

  Love Spell: Book II of The Grimm Laws is coming soon …

  About the Authors

  Jennifer’s love for writing began as a young teenager when she wrote stories for her high school English teacher to critique. She feels that it’s a great privilege to be able to write with her mother, Sandra Poole. “Writing together adds a depth and spice to our work that neither of us could get independently,” she says.

  Jennifer has BA in English and Social Sciences from Brigham Young University where she served as Miss BYU Hawaii in 1989. Before becoming an author, she worked as the owner and editor of a monthly newspaper named The Senior Times. In addition to her love for writing, Jennifer works in the home design industry. She and her husband owned an interior design gallery where she specialized in custom window treatments and floral arrangements. Jennifer continues to do interior design for select clients.

  She now lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family and spends her time writing, carpooling, attending basketball games, and doing all of the wonderful things that make up the life of a busy wife and mother.

  * * *

  Sandra grew up in a small community in northeast Alabama called Alder Springs, the setting of Sandra and Jennifer's first novel, Livin' in High Cotton. It was there that she developed a deep love for literature in a two-classroom country school. She recalls that every afternoon the teachers would bring their classes together and read such classics as Rip Van Winkle, Moby Dick, The Headless Horsemen, and The Taming of the Shrew while all their students sat on the floor.

  Sandra has worked in the administrative field for over twenty-five years. She worked her way through college while her daughters were very young and completed a four-year degree in three years. Later, she earned a Masters in Business Administration. Her experience has ranged from being an executive secretary and human resource manager for Fortune 500 companies to being an assistant to one of the vice presidents at the university where she eventually retired. She now works in the educat
ion field.

  For Sandra, writing is a continual journey of discovery. She has so many ideas for other books running through her mind that it's hard to focus on one at a time.

  For more information:

  @authorjenn1

  Authors Jennifer Youngblood & Sandra Poole

  www.jenniferyoungblood.com

  youngbloodpoole@gmail.com

  Also by Jennifer Youngblood & Sandra Poole

  False Identity (A Romantic Suspense Novel)

  Chancy Hamilton can’t bear the thought of spending the holidays without her late husband Max who died in a plane crash. When Chancy and her teenage son, Travis, have an argument, Travis storms out of the house and ends up in the wrong part of town where he is attacked by a group of thugs. When a homeless man comes to his rescue, he invites the man home to have a meal with his mom and little sister. Gabe Jones is not like any other homeless man Chancy has ever seen—he’s confident, intelligent, and devastatingly handsome. Jake, Chancy’s boyfriend, takes an instant dislike to Gabe and warns Chancy to stay away from him. Nevertheless, their lives become intertwined, and Chancy is soon thrown into nightmarish events caused by a chilling deception where nothing is as it seems, bringing a terrifying aftermath that threatens not only her but the lives of her children.

  Burned (A Romantic Thriller)

  Sydney Lassiter goes back to the small Alabama town of her youth to search for answers about her father’s death. Was it an accident or was he murdered? The closer Sydney gets to the truth, the more it seems that her quest could destroy not only her but the people and town she loves.

  Livin’ in High Cotton (Historial Romantic Fiction)

  Cultured, graceful, feisty Shelby Collins is the epitome of a southern lady. She tries to prove her competence by looking after her siblings while her mother is away caring for an ailing relative. Shelby’s secure world is turned upside down when her father, in a drunken rage, tries to rape her. Fearing others will learn of his treachery, he kidnaps her, takes her to a reform school, and abandons her. In utter despair, Shelby is sure that her life is over—but sometimes blessings come in the most unexpected ways.

  When a chance meeting brings her face to face with the ruggedly handsome, Harlan Rhodes, Shelby is unprepared for the feelings that stir within her. Hearts collide, quickly budding into a lasting love that will span time and space. Through a series of unfortunate events, Shelby and Harlan are separated, forcing them to lead separate lives of loneliness and frustration.

  Years later, when their lives converge, old feelings rekindle, and they must decide if they will risk all to finally be together.

  Inspired by a true story, this poignant novel is set against the rich tapestry of the South during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It’s a story of love, betrayal, and the indomitable human spirit in the face of adversity. It’s about a young girl, growing up, who realizes that life is full of second chances, and that it’s never too late to learn how to live.

  The Secret Song of the Ditch Lilies (Part I)

  The Secret Song of the Ditch Lilies (Part II)

  (A Southern Romantic Suspense Novel)

  What if the one thing you wanted most was the one thing you could never have? What If you’d done something so terrible that you could never go back?

  Delia Reynolds has spent a lifetime trying to escape the snake-handling town of her youth. In a strange twist of fate, her daughter, Sybil, leaves her high-society life in Atlanta and flees to that very town, forcing Delia to relive the horrors of her past.

  Sybil tries to rebuild her life and becomes involved in a tempestuous relationship with a local police officer who’s everything she ever wanted in a man and more, but all is not as it seems, for the horrors of the past refuse to stay buried, and there are those waiting in the shadows to exact revenge. The past and present collide in a blood-curdling climax as the poisonous serpents make their way to the surface once more.

  The Paper Rose Club

  (A Contemporary Romance and Small-Town Drama)

  Four best friends. A lifetime of memories. Nothing could come between them … or so it would seem. Lots of cake slinging and cat fighting going on in this heartfelt story about the friendships that define our lives and the secrets we all keep from each other.

  The Humongous Fungus

  A children’s book written under the pen name of Periwinkle Blue. This is the quirky tale of a town called Better-Than-Best, who thought they were better than all the rest. But then the humongous fungus came, and things would never ever again be the same. Can they make it go away or is the humongous fungus here to stay? (Illustrated by world-renown portrait artist Michele Anderson)

  The Southern Fried Fix

  This easy read features 25 funny stories from a typical Southern family.

  Jennifer and Sandra tell funny, heartwarming stories about life in the South, such as this entertaining definition of “What Bless Your Heart Really Means”

  In the South, we believe in being polite even if it kills us. So, when we just can’t fight the urge to say something nasty, we follow it up with a “bless her heart” just to make us feel better. “Look at that poor woman trying to jog around that track. Her rear-end is dragging a trail, bless her heart.”

  The mother and daughter duo talk about the ins and outs of nosy neighbors, sibling rivalry, and why every Southerner worth her salt feels the need to offer advice.

  Asking a Southerner for advice is like turning a woodpecker loose on a tree and expecting it to take only one peck.

  They talk about tornadoes, storm pits, and why their dogs wear clothes too. These funny, heartwarming stories are a sampling of what life is like for the typical Southern family.

  Pull up a comfortable chair; put up your feet and sit a spell ... after all, everyone needs that Southern Fried Fix.