Chapter 3

Grace

The morning sunlight streams through the windows of Ella's cozy townhouse that will be my home for the short term, casting its warm, bright rays across the interior. My sister and I settle into the living room with a mug in our hands, sitting down for a calm moment before we head out to the local flea market later today.

The drive down yesterday had been tiring, but Lucas, my brave little boy, took the whole thing in stride. He was surprisingly less bothered by leaving Brad behind than I'd thought he'd be and is acting like this whole thing is one big adventure. Currently, he's running through the house with Ella's little half-orc twins, Rowan and Rylah, giggling up a storm as he leads the three-year-olds through whatever game he's invented today.

"He sure is taking things well," Ella says, one hand on her round, pregnant belly as the kids zip past us in a flurry of shouts.

"Better than me, anyway," I mutter, although I can't help but wonder if that's only because he doesn't fully grasp the situation, even though I did my best to explain it to him. I'll have to keep an eye on him to see how he reacts when the weeks drag on and we still don't return to Brad.

"Yes, I noticed the dark circles under your eyes before I even stepped inside today," Ella says. I glare at her half-heartedly, but she only smirks before her features soften. "Did you have trouble sleeping? Is there anything I can do around here to make you more comfortable?"

"No," I sigh, "your place is super comfy. My problem is all in here." I tap at my temple, and she reaches over to squeeze my knee.

"Would you like a lobotomy?"

I snort. "Yes, please, actually."

The kids choose that moment to zoom back into the living room, and I hastily grab Ella's mug and put it on the coffee table before us as Lucas barrels towards her, his floppy blonde hair flying.

"Auntie Poo-poo!" he shrieks his favorite nickname for my sister, giggling and looking worried at the same time. "Ro-ro had an accident!"

Rylah runs in after him, laughing and squealing as she points behind her, and we all turn to see Rowan walk into the living room. His hands are held out to the side stiffly, and his chin is tilted up as a huge bubble of snot gloops slowly down over his lips and chin.

He stares imploringly across the room at his mother, his huge black eyes wide and shimmering with tears, and Lucas bounces in a circle.

"He sneezded and boogered all over!"

Rylah squeaks and starts bouncing in a circle too, her floral dress whirling around her green legs as she chants, "Yuk, yuk, yuk!"

Beside me, Ella heaves an almighty sigh and begins clambering out of her seat, but I wave her pregnant butt back onto the couch and snag a handful of tissues.

"I am the greatest Aunt in the world," I mutter, as I head over and wipe up Rowans chubby green face. I feel a surge of affection when I finish and his bottom lip trembles, a single, fat tear leaking from his eye. I helped raise this kid for nearly two years before Ella found their father again and married him, and I still feel ridiculously attached.

"It's okay, baby," I coo with a huge grin, leaning down to deposit a big kiss on his cheek. "It's just boogers, you're all clean now."

"It's just boogers!" Lucas parrots, still laughing, and he rushes over to lay a kiss on Rowan's cheek, too. "It's okay, baby."

"It's okay!" Rylah cries, as she too barrels over to give her twin a bear hug and a kiss. When the three of them fall to the ground, Rylah and Lucas now violently peppering a shyly smiling Rowan with kisses, I throw the tissues away, wash my hands, and settle back down beside my sister.

"I wish someone would throw me to the ground with kisses," I murmur as I watch them. "That would go a long way towards making me feel better."

"I bet it would," Ella replies with a wriggle of her dark brows, and the perfectly styled brown locks that brush her shoulders swing forward as she leans conspiratorially towards me. "I have just the guy for you."

I grin wryly and flick her forehead. "Actually, I take that back. I would like for no man to ever throw me down ever again ever, thanks. Ever."

"Oh." She smirks, her blue eyes bright as she leans back. "Well in that case, I have just the minotaur for you to avoid."

"Wait," I say as I pick up our mugs once more. "You're talking about Oli?"

She grins and takes a sip. "I figured you wouldn't want anything serious right now, and that man seems like a good time."

"Ella, baby, I'm not like you," I sigh. "You know I don't know how to do casual."

An image of the big minotaur appears in my mind, even as I try to dismiss it. I've met him a few times since Ella's wedding, when I've come here with Lucas for visits, and I've also talked to him over Ella's shoulder during phone calls a fair amount since he's often around Rho, who's often around my sister. He's easy on the eyes, for sure, and equally easy to talk to.

I'm not really used to fae people all that much. Even though they revealed themselves to us humans nearly forty years ago, the small town I live in doesn't have anywhere near the fae presence that many of the bigger cities have, and definitely nothing on the fae haven communities like Whispering Pines. Stansbury Park is cute, and all, but we have a single pixie living among us, and I've barely ever seen him.

And yet for some reason, the second I laid eyes on Olistaire, despite our physical differences and the fact that I'd never seen a minotaur in the flesh before, I was immediately aware of his physical magnetism. Something about his near seven-foot height, his broad, muscled shoulders, the way his brown, lightly furred body fills out a suit… Even his bovine features are appealing to me. The long, pointed ears that poke through his jauntily styled brown hair, the glossy black horns, the short snout of his face and the flat, wide nose with a very bull-like gold hoop that hangs from his septum… All of it looks good to me. He's very obviously a fine example of masculinity and minotaur perfection, and… none of that even matters because I'm not looking for a man.

"What makes you think he'd be interested in me, anyway?" I ask, unable to stifle my curiosity even as I stifle the image of the big bull. Ella gives me a look,

since he flirts shamelessly with me, and I flick her on the forehead again. "He strikes me as the type to flirt with everyone, so that can't be your only reason."

"That's true." Ella shrugs. "But he thinks you're extra pretty, I can tell."

I feel my cheeks heat slightly, and I grin. I can't deny that I like the thought of being attractive to him. "Well, I don't want anything with anyone right now. Especially not a womanizer—however nice

that womanizer happens to be." I say the last part a little louder as Ella opens her mouth to argue, and she shuts it with a small sigh.

I know Olistaire is a nice guy, as a friend. He's been lovely so far, and always pulled back his naturally flirty personality before it could become too much, while I was in a relationship. He never crossed the line, and I have no bad opinions about the man, despite what other men just like him have done to me. He's fine. He seems like a good friend. It's just, I've had a lifetime's fill of partners who don't want to settle for just one woman, and I've learned my lesson.

"Alright, alight," Ella says, as her phone starts to buzz. "You'll get back into the swing of it in your own time."

"If ever," I grumble.

I take a few sips of my drink as I wait for Ella to finish her call, and when she's done, she informs me that ‘the guys' are on their way to Heartwood Grove to meet us now.

"Wait, the guys?" I say as we set about getting our kids ready. "I thought we were just meeting Rhokar?"

"And his second wife," Ella says with a melodramatic sigh, although she's smiling. "Oli will be joining us."

A little flutter of excitement flickers through my stomach at the thought of seeing Oli again, but I roll my eyes at myself and set about shoving Lucas's dinosaur cap over his messy blond hair.

I've talked to Olistaire plenty of times in snatches of conversations and group situations, and just like always, I only… like the attention. Like being complimented. Just because I'm single now doesn't mean anything else has changed between us.

***

"Grace, my dear! Look at you, bringing the sunshine to Heartwood Grove," a familiar, smooth voice calls out over the gentle hum of nature and milling people. I turn over my shoulder to see Olistaire approaching us through the scattering of different fae people strolling around in the sunshine. "My day's gotten a little brighter now that you're here."

Rhokar pulls up beside him, looking as grumpy as ever, but I can't help the way my eyes home in on the handsome minotaur. My heart immediately tugs at the sight of him and I smile, as the kids run circles around us.

"Please," I scoff when he and Rho come to a stop by us. "Your lines get cornier every time I see you."

Casual slacks hug Olistaire's thick thighs, with a white button down tucked behind a crisp black belt. His shirt fits snugly over his broad, defined chest, the top few buttons flicked open and the sleeves rolled to the elbow to reveal his short-furred, nicely veined forearms. He has a beige jacket slung over one shoulder and held with a finger, and when I look up to meet his warm brown eyes, they sparkle with a smug sort of amusement at catching me giving him a one-over. His grin stretches, as if he knows that I like what I see.

"That's because every time you leave," he says as he leans closer, his voice dipping, "you take a little more of me with you."

My mouth drops open in amused incredulity, and my gaze shoots to Rhokar, who's glaring at his friend as if he wants to smack him, before darting to Ella who's trying her best not to grin. "I honestly don't even know what to say to that."

"Speechless?" His smug look deepens. "I tend to have that effect on people."

"You could say that," I tell him with my prettiest smile, before turning to loop my arm with my sister's and starting us on a stroll. "It's hard to speak when you're fighting against your gag reflex, after all."

He chuckles and raises a hand to his chest as he and Rho follow at a leisurely pace. "Ouch."

"Now, now, you two," Ella tuts, her voice laced with amusement as she pats my arm at the crook of her elbow, before both her hands land back on the double-seater stroller she pushes.

The sun is warm on my skin despite the weather moving steadily into fall. But with the bright, colorful tents tucked beneath the leaves of the huge pines ahead, the cloudless sky, and the excited buzz of vendors calling out their wares and children laughing and playing, it feels more like spring today.

I call to Lucas, who stops zooming around us and comes to bounce in front of Olistaire instead, as the twins clamber into their stroller. Lucas begins skipping backwards as we walk slowly down the grass-lined path towards the ancient pine tree grove smack in the middle of town.

"Horsey!" he squeaks happily at Olistaire, and my eye twitches. God, my son, and his borderline offensive nicknames for everyone.

"Lucas, what have I told you about Oli?"

Still skipping backwards, his grinning face scrunches thoughtfully as he looks at the big man before him. "He's not a horsey?"

"That's right, he's a…?"

"A mini-saur."

"Minotaur," Olistaire corrects with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," Lucas huffs, waving his hand dismissively. "Mini-taur. Can I have a horsey ride, please?"

Rhokar snickers beside his friend, nudging Olistaire with his elbow. "Yes, give the kid a

horsey ride ."

" Cow ride," I correct Lucas, which only has Rhokar's snickers intensifying.

"Stop enjoying this," Oli says to Rho, before his gaze flicks my way. "And it's a bull ride, thank you."

"Bull ride!" Lucas, still backward-skipping, almost trips over and seems entirely unconcerned as his cap goes flying off. He waves his hands towards Olistaire and starts jumping. "Please, please, please?"

I sigh as I pick up his dinosaur hat, ready to tell him to leave Olistaire alone. But then the minotaur flings his jacket into Rho's unsuspecting face before swooping down to scoop up my son, who goes flying through the air with a squeal as he's placed on his broad shoulders. His little hands immediately grip onto Olistaire's horns, and he laughs madly and bounces up and down.

"Yay!" he squeaks, his legs kicking in excitement and nearly kneeing Olistaire in the jaw. "Brad won't play horsey no more!"

Olistaire's lips thin, and his big hands come up to hold lightly onto Lucas's ankles. "Well, I'm not Brad."

"Yay! Giddy up!"

For some reason, a shot of guilt spikes through me, as if it's somehow my fault that Brad stopped showing both me and Lucas affection, stopped spending quality time with us. I feel my smile falter, and I make an effort to force it back into place, and force thoughts of that man away. It's not

my fault Brad's an ass, and I won't let him get to me anymore.

As we walk beneath the trees, through the sun-dappled path lined with all sorts of stores selling cauldrons to pixie-dust to brightly colored two-headed lizards, I try to lose myself in the atmosphere. Heartwood Grove has always been one of my favorite places here, there's a vibrating energy that seems to rise up from the ground, as if from the very tree roots. The place is brimming with earth magic, and the locals say the ancient trees here are the heartbeat of town and the cornerstone of the magical community.

I take a deep breath, and let that energy fill me. Brad is just a guy. A shitty, stupid guy, and no guy will shake the happiness of my son and I ever again.

We exit the path and come across a perfectly manicured clearing, where a band of warlocks with dreadlocks play music for an audience sprawled across the grass on picnic mats. We set up our own mat in the sunshine, and I sit on the edge and stare out across the trees, annoyed at myself for being stuck on thoughts of Brad, instead of being present and enjoying the here and now.

With a sigh I conjure up an image of his stupid face with his slightly delicate jaw and pretty, pretty gray eyes. I close my own eyes briefly and let the humming, throaty music of the warlocks engulf me. I let Brad appear fully formed in my mind, and then I let him go. Let him burst into a puff of glittery mist and beautiful words, and float away on the breeze into nothingness.

Goodbye, you stupid jerk, I think calmly. I'll never waste another second thinking about you, or any man, ever again.