Saturday, October 25, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.26


Two years Jonas and I had been married and life was great. Jonas decided to just move into my house since he knew I loved it here. With him there, I finally got around to those cosmetic fixes I'd been putting off because I didn't want people in and out of my house. The living room and kitchen got major make-overs as did my, well our, bedroom.
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Friday, October 24, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.25

***You are cordially invited to the wedding of Jonas Solo and Grace Gruber. 
Please be sure to visit the wedding album for more shots of the happy couple***


I was getting married today. I couldn't believe it. Mom and Hope helped with the planning. Jonas and I wanted something outside since we both had a love of nature, however taking my family into consideration we opted for an indoor venue that made it feel like we were outside. Forever Green Garden House was a beautiful venue located about thirty minutes outside of Barnacle Bay.
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Sunday, October 19, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.24


My head was pounding when I opened my eyes. I looked around. I was at home. How did I get home? I swung my legs over the side of my bed. I stood and stretched. I felt like I was floating. I was floating! I'm floating!

"JONAS!"

Both he and Vor appeared in my doorway.

"You're up! I've been so worried, you've been out for two days."

"Yes I'm up, as in my feet won't touch the floor how do I make it stop?!"
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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.23



Listening to Jonas talk about his wife was painful, it was clear they had been deeply in love. All he'd told me before was that she died young. Just like his father, she was a human. They were high school sweethearts. From the moment he saw her, he knew she was the girl for him.


When he'd talked before about the politics within the Fae community he always had an angry undertone. The Fae in Hidden Springs operated by a their own societal rules. The Elders were still big believers in 'elitism' and typically frowned upon interbreeding of the races, however times changed and love started dictating obligation. Unlike Vampires, or even werewolves, who could turn others if they wanted, the council had to approve a human becoming a fairy. A single Fae didn't have the ability to do so, there was a special potion that needed to be made, mixed up by the Elders and blessed by a witch.

Jonas had petitioned the council for approval for Candace. They'd only been married two years when they'd learned she was sick. The council denied his petition, even though his great-grandfather sat on the board. The lead Elder at the time was a hateful woman and wasn't ready to give up the idea of having only pure fairies and denied more petitions than she granted.
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Friday, October 17, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.22


The next few days were hell but I was thankful Jonas stayed with me. We kept having to talk to the police they wanted to know everything, even what happened before. I didn't understand why they couldn't get that information some other way. They wouldn't let Jonas be with me, saying they needed to hear our stories separately, but they at least let Mom be with me.

Patrick had survived his wounds and was under arrest for a long list of things. Attempted murder, vandalism, auto theft, and felon in possession of a fire arm. They couldn't prove he'd been stalking me, but with the other crimes he'd be in jail for a long time. We were waiting to see if he would take some plea deal to avoid a trial or if we'd have to testify. The DA had talked to Jonas since he was the main victim about the deal they were offering. Twenty years to be served straight, no option for parole or early release. Basically they were only going after him for the attempted murder from the car accident and taking the other crimes off the table.


Jonas had asked if I wanted to go with him to the office that day, but I declined. The reporters and such were always around. Not much crime happened in Barnacle Bay and I had the misfortune of being involved in both of the major events.


I didn't want to leave the house and spent most of my time in the basement away from windows. He told me about it when he got back and said he would agree only if I was comfortable with the idea. I didn't want to see Patrick ever again so avoiding a trial was important to me. Luckily two weeks later the DA informed Jonas the plea deal had been accepted.


It was the best news ever, no trial, he would be a very old man by the time he was released and the reporters finally moved on. Just in time too since Hope had delivered a healthy baby boy they named Trevor Davis McIntyre.



Mom and Dad wanted to go see him, but didn't want to leave me until everything was over. Now they could go focus on her and their first grandbaby for a little while. I wanted to meet him, but Hope understood the stress of everything meant I needed time to let life settle back down for a bit. She sent plenty of pictures and he was adorable. I'd not seen him in person, but I was in love with that little boy already.

With everything settling down, I knew Jonas would be moving back to his house soon. There was no longer any reason for him to stay with me since there was no longer a threat. Neither of us had talked about it, but I knew it was coming, and the thought of that made me a little sad. Now that I didn't need a babysitter any longer, Jonas would leave me home when he went to work. I was getting better at preserving and my jams and jellies were big sellers. I had just finished up a batch when a soft voice spoke.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Jonas."


I jumped at the sound of her voice. I turned to see a pretty blonde fairy. She had the most beautiful teal wings and the same friendly smile Jonas always had.

"He...he's not here. Ca...can I help you?"

"You must be Grace. It's nice to finally meet you."

"How...how do you know who I am?"

"I'm Wind, my grandson has told me all about you. You are just as lovely has he says."


"You're his grandmother? Wow..."

"We age gracefully."

I felt my face heat up. "So...sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude."

"No worries. Is he here?"

"No, how..."

"He told me he had been staying with you, but he greatly downplayed the reason behind it. Imagine my surprise to learn all that's transpired here."


Feelings of regret hit me again when I thought about everything Jonas had gone through because of me. "I'm so sorry, I never meant for him to be targeted and put in danger."

She just smiled and nodded. Jonas had told me about his family, but I never thought about meeting them. Clearly he didn't know she was coming or surely he would have warned me. Now we stood out in the cold since I didn't really know what to say to her.

"Would you like to go inside?"

"Yes, thank you."


Vor met us at the door and immediately sniffed the stranger. He must have sensed she was friendly because he never growled once. I made us some tea after sending Jonas a text to let him know he had a visitor.

"Jonas tells me your family are vampires, yet you're human. Are you adopted?" she asked casually, before taking a sip of her tea.

I choked a bit on mine at her question. "No ma'am. My mother was human when she had us. My sister and I were born human. They both changed on their wedding nights."

"How romantic. Don't you want to be like them?"


"My dad would love it. He doesn't like the idea of me dying one day. Neither does my mother, or anyone in my family really. I've been thinking about it, but..."

"You aren't sure that's the life you want?" I shook my head. "I've had my fair share of loss. Having a long life span has it's ups and downs. I can understand your family not wanting to lose you. It would devastate them and considering how Jonas feels about you, it's going to do the same to him." She gave me a motherly smile as she took another drink of her tea.

I started to reply, but Vor started barking signalling Jonas' arrival.

"Grandmother, I was not expecting you."


"Well you've left some important details out when we talked. You had to know I'd come once I learned about everything." The tone of her voice was very maternal. It was odd, considering Jonas' actual age and the fact they both looked so young, knowing she was his grandmother was a hard concept to wrap my head around.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"It's my job to worry."


She gave him a loving kiss on the cheek and I set about cleaning up the tea service while they talked. It was strange meeting someone from his family. He'd met all of mine, so I'm not sure why it never dawned on me to assume at some point I'd meet his as well.
 
"Before you arrived Grace and I were discussing her life-state and her options."

"She doesn't want to be a vampire. At least that's been her decision so far."


"I take it then you haven't given her a second option."

I wasn't trying to eaves-drop on their conversation, but since only a half-wall separated my living room and kitchen I couldn't help but hear. Second option? There was no other option.

"There isn't one." His voice sounded tense.


"Jonas, I know you weren't happy with the council's decision before, but you know the circumstances were different then. Times have changed."

I stepped around the corner feeling more confused than ever. "Jonas what is she talking about?"


He looked at me then back at his grandmother. "We should discuss this at home."

"No, I'm going home. You are staying here since you clearly have some things to discuss with this lovely woman. Come see me tomorrow."


She gave us both hugs and then was gone in an instant. I was sick to my stomach. She talked as if he'd been hiding things from me. Lying to me. Why would he do that?
 
"What second option?"

He turned to look at me. "I think it's time I told you about my wife."

**A/N**

Thank you Vuneca for the use of another one of your characters. For those of you that don't read her story, Wind Solo was the generation 5 heir and is the current matriarch of the Solo clan and Jonas' actual grandmother.

The pictures of Trevor and the happy parents are courtesy of Piazzagirl's blog. You can see more shots of the cute little tike over there.

LTW update
currently she has 8 perfect plants planted, but not all fully grown so she hasn't gotten credit for completion yet.
Plants:
Grape, lettuce, plasma fruit, watermelon, tomato, basil, apple and carrot.

She's only still level 6 in her career. I've started selling at the consignment shop so hopefully she'll start to have a larger take for her produce.
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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.21


My life had been once again thrown off balance. Mom and Dad both wanted me to move back in with them. Neither of them like the idea of me living so far way from people should Patrick try and make a move. They had faith in Vor's ability to protect me, but he wasn't enough. Jonas agreed with them as did Hope when Mom called to let her know what was going on. She was ready to fly home, but Mom advised against it. Being a cop and a former PI Caleb offered what assistance he could. He said he'd make a few phone calls. Barnacle Bay wasn't that big so there were only so many places he could be hiding.
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Friday, October 10, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.20


The next day I woke up still feeling excited about last night. When I'd texted Hope, she couldn't contain herself to just typing out messages. Instead she'd called me and I spent a good hour outside on the back porch talking to her. I thought she'd bust my eardrum when I told her he kissed me since she'd squealed so loudly. When I told her how I felt afterwards, she said it was the same thing she had with Caleb when they'd kissed for the first time that her whole world changed. It was still strange to hear her talk like that, but remembering how she looked when around him, I knew she didn't lie. It was crazy how much difference a day can make.

"Good morning, honey."
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Monday, October 6, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.19


He was asking permission. He wanted to kiss me. HE WANTED TO KISS ME! What do I do? What do I say? I've never been kissed. I've never wanted to be kissed. Was he going to do it anyway? 

"Grace?"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said anything. You look terrified right now so...I'll just take you home." He got up and put his hand out towards me. When I hesitated, he took a step back giving me extra space. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to freak you out. It's just I let myself hope...never mind let me get you home. It's late."


I stood silent. He looked upset and I didn't know what to say. I focused on his wings as they fluttered in the moonlight. They were beautiful.

"Your wings shimmer. They're like a built-in nightlight."

"Yeah, I guess they are. I've never really thought of it like that."

More awkward silence. I looked over at Vor who was curled up in the sand, he was going to need a bath tomorrow.


"We should get going."

"You said you'd let yourself hope. Hope for what?" I asked.

"It's nothing and I've already stuck my foot in my mouth enough for one night."

"Please tell me."


Jonas covered his face with his hands and took a few deep breaths. "I've enjoyed being your friend, Grace. I liked your company and I liked being around you so I looked for any and all opportunities to do so. You have trust issues, I know this, and it's not my place to ask why. I've been more than happy to be your friend, but..."

I held my breath waiting on his next words. I worried he was going to tell me he was finally fed up with my crazy hang-ups. I'd freaked out on him a few times, no sane person would want to continue to be around someone flaky like me.
 
"But what?"


"But I'd hoped that one day you'd see me as more. That we could be more."
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Saturday, October 4, 2014

Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.18


Life was getting back to normal, or as normal as it could be. Hope was being extra vigilant in calling me weekly. We talked often anyway, but since Grams funeral and my melt down she and my parents have all started to hover in a way. Last time we talked, Hope shared exciting news, she was pregnant. She was eyeballs deep into renovating their house since Caleb didn't want to move. They apparently lived next door to his brother and he rather stay there but being the kind person he was he would have understood if Hope didn't want to live in the house where his first wife occupied, especially after she just showed up one day. Hope told him she was fine with staying, but she was on a mission to eradicate every trace of the other woman.


I laughed when she said the only original thing that would remain was the outer shell. Mom and Dad were excited about the idea of becoming grandparents which was strange, especially for Dad. Sometimes it's hard to image him as my father and now he was about to be a grandfather. They were already making plans to go visit. Dad had to stop Mom from going out to Aurora Skies the day she got the call. She was ready to move in and be there for every minute of Hope's pregnancy. I was happy for her and Caleb and couldn't wait to meet my new niece or nephew. Jonas was excited for them when I told him and he offered to keep Vor again if I was planning on making the trip out with my parents. Things were going as well as they could for everyone.

The creepy feeling I had of being watched was still with me sometimes, but not all the time so that was good. I still hadn't told my parents about it. Dad has been lobbying hard for me to make the change saying he'd worry less about me and he didn't like the idea of having to bury me some day. I understood his point, but something held me back. When Jonas and I talked, he told me I shouldn't make that important of a decision unless I was 100% sure. Since that night I showed up at his house things had felt different with us. I couldn't exactly pin point what though.


Vor and I were headed into town to meet up with him. There was an outdoor farmer's market being set up at the town festival like every year and he convinced me to set up a booth. I'd made more of the jams and jellies at his request. Some he kept for himself but the rest were going to be sold along with some of my extra produce that I'd not sold to him. As Vor and I arrived, I noticed Jonas outside talking with a police officer and some of his workers were putting boards up on the front window. When I pulled into the side parking lot, I saw workers pressure washing away what looked to be graffiti of some sort.

The police officer was finishing up as I approached. "What happened?"


"Um, best guess teenage vandals. I arrived to find the front windows smashed in and when Carol got her she spotted obscenities spray painted on the brick."

"Oh no! Vandals?"

It made no sense, Barnacle Bay was a small town and most people I saw Jonas interacting with seemed to like him. Why someone would target him and do such terrible things was beyond me.


"It's not too terrible. Mostly they made a bit of a mess that we've been cleaning up. The store will be closed today though. Good thing I'm not hurtin' for the extra business."

"I can help, what needs to be done?"

Jonas took Vor into his office to keep him from getting hurt since there were bits of glass everywhere. We didn't want any getting stuck in his paws. It took us about two hours to clean everything up with his employees helping and being the generous man he was, he promised to pay them for the hours lost.
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