Bumpkins and Banshees: A Paranormal Women's Midlife Fiction Novel (Trailer Park Vampire Book 4)

BUMPKINS AND BANSHEES Trailer Park Vampire #4 by J.R. RAIN & H.P. MALLORY The Trailer Park Vampire Series Shotguns and Shifters Hillbillies and Hellhounds Gut Rot and Gargoyles Bumpkins and Banshees Rednecks and Redcaps Other Books by J.R. Rain VAMPIRE FOR HIRE Moon Dance Vampire Moon American Vampire Moon Child Christmas Moon (novella) Vampire Dawn Vampire Games Moon Island Moon River Vampire Sun Moon Dragon Moon Shadow Vampire Fire Midnight Moon Moon Angel Vampire Sire Moon Master Dead Moon Lost Moon Vampire Destiny Infinite Moon Vampire Empress Moon Elder Wicked Moon Winter Moon Sasquatch Moon Wild Moon Moon Magic Moon World Vampire Deep SAMANTHA MOON ADVENTURES Banshee Moon Moon Monster Moon Ripper Witch Moon Moon Goddess Moon Blaze Golem Moon Moon Maidens SAMANTHA MOON CASE FILES Moon Bayou Blood Moon Parallel Moon SAMANTHA MOON ORIGINS New Moon Rising Moon Mourning Haunted Moon Other Books by H.P. Mallory PARANORMAL WOMEN’S FICTION: Haven Hollow Midlife Spirits Misty Hollow Trailer Park Vampire Midlife Mermaid PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Witch & Warlock Vampire Esquire Ever Dark Academy FANTASY ROMANCE: Dark Destinies Gates of the Underworld Lily Harper Dulcie O’Neil PARANORMAL REVERSE HAREM: My Five Kings Happily Never After SCI-FI ROMANCE: The Alaskan Detective TRILOGIES: Dragon’s Birthright Crown Of Lies Dark Circus Chasing Demons Dungeon Raider Here to There Arctic Wolves Wolves of Valhalla Lucy Westenra Bumpkins and Banshees Published by Rain Press Copyright © 2023 by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory All rights reserved. Ebook Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Reading Sample: Mermaid Mayhem About J.R. Rain About H.P. Mallory Bumpkins and Banshees Chapter One “It’s not what you think.” There was no feasible way I could sound any more like a broken record. Alton stared at me like I had three heads—and that might as well have been the case. I just didn’t know how to explain to him in rational terms what he’d just seen. Instead, I focused on the red roses that lay bunched up on the ground. Red roses that he’d been carrying only a moment ago. Roses that were, no doubt, for me. And Alton—well, he still looked paler than a blank sheet of printer paper. He was holding his arm up against the bright lights of the parking lot in front of the diner, using his forearm as a makeshift shield. I reached for him. He flinched. “Alton, it’s not what you think,” I said for the umpteenth time. “Why don’t you come inside and have a seat and we can talk about it?” Alton started shaking right in his nice shoes. Sperries, I think they were—the same type of shoes he always wore. Alton was one of those people who once he found something he liked, he bought more in every color. These Sperries were white. Light slid right over us, turning his khaki slats more of a tan-yellow and adding a greenish tint to his blue collared shirt. Alton looked like a lawyer which I supposed made a kind of sense seeing as how he was one. “Go... inside?” he asked, like that was the worst idea ever. “It’s okay,” I insisted with a nod and what I hoped was a warming smile. “No one will hurt you.” I took a breath, though I didn’t need one, given my vampire physiology. “And Sicily will keep you company.” He swallowed hard, but then nodded as I opened the door to the diner wide enough for both of us to pass. Then he gave me a little smile that showed how nervous he really was and stammered all the way past the counter to a booth in the back. I sat him as far away from Edna as possible. I didn’t need Alton having a heart attack on account of a massive spider spinning something or other around in her web. Though I supposed if Alton were to faint, Edna being close by was a good thing, seeing as how she was our resident nurse. But Alton would probably faint again upon waking up to Edna’s huge round eyes and great glossy fangs. Edna would then tend to him, only for him to wake up and faint all over again. So, staying away from Edna was best. At least for now—until he really understood that everyone here wasn’t a threat, even though they definitely looked like one. I patted Alton’s shoulder as Sicily walked up to him and took his elbow, escorting him to the cushioned bench seat. “It’s all okay, Daddy,” she whispered. “Let me get you something to eat,” I said as Sicily gave me a nod of encouragement. “Just sit tight, all right?” Then I faced Sicily. “You want anything?” She shook her head as Alton started looking around himself, his eyes going even wider than they had been seconds before. He lifted a finger to point at Bud, who toasted him with a glass of beer he nearly dropped, owing to Bud’s enormous paw he had difficulty lifting things with. “A werewolf?” Alton asked, his voice a mere whisper. Bud gave him a big smile, which only made his teeth all the more apparent. I narrowed my eyes at Bud and then shook my head, trying to get him to understand that he wasn’t making things any better. He had the sense to lower his mug and crouch a bit, offering another toothy smile, as if that were any better. Alton just sat there and stared, unblinking. I had to make this trip to the kitchen real quick. When I got to the back, Hal had stopped cooking and Hannah was hovering near the door. She kept looking between the door and her tray, Alton, her