Back in 2012, magic welled up from the earth as it has, off and on, since time immemorial. Scholars had suspected, but when the world of faery suddenly appeared in Beuford, South Dakota, and eight other locations on the earth, it became fact.
And when a beautiful blue-haired elf showed up in his neighbor's driveway, Finn's life would never be the same.
~~~~~ PG Excerpt ~~~~~
Around nine, Finn backed old Daisy out of the garage and got out his bucket and hose. Washing his prized 1973 Plymouth Scamp was something he enjoyed. The old girl had given him decades of service, and he'd kept her even when a more family friendly vehicle had been necessary. He'd thought about selling the sky blue two-door when the kids were born, but his beloved Moira had convinced him to just garage her and keep her, citing all the wonderful memories the two had shared in the car. Heck, it was even pretty likely his oldest had been conceived in the back seat.
As things turned out, it had been a stroke of luck that they had kept her, because when the wellspring rose, everything with modern computer electronics would no longer work. Ever. Just like that, the town of Beuford, South Dakota, was suddenly reverted to 1977. Which, if he were to admit it, suited Finn just fine.
Thus, Finn was outside when two things happened. First, a dump truck came rolling down the street and dropped a load of topsoil in the middle of the Gardener's driveway, and second, a little Datsun pickup rolled up in front of the house, with its rusty bed filled with gardening tools, and the cutest little blue-haired elf woman he'd ever seen popped out of the cab.
Standing in his driveway with his mouth open and a damp chamois in his hand, the elf woman saw him immediately and waved with a big smile. She was just a few inches taller than five feet, and her pale yellow sundress tapered and flared to accentuate her delightful curves. She was barefoot, and her hair was the same blue color as county fair cotton candy. All at once he wondered if he licked her, whether she would taste as sweet.
She appeared quite young, like a woman in her mid-twenties, despite her finely pointed ears that he found quite adorable. He'd read that elves live many hundreds of years in their home realm of Faery, making her age impossible to guess.
He felt his pulse race when she walked up to him with a lovely open expression, and she bounced on the balls of her feet as she stopped, which made her full breasts bounce enticingly.
"You must be Mr. Finnegan!" She held out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Birdiliphescentie! But you can just call me Birdie!"
Finn just stood there, blinking at the effervescent woman for several seconds in amazement until her smile began to wane, and he realized how rude he was being. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're just ... well, you're ..." Tired of stammering, he reached out and shook her petite hand. "Call me Finn."
Her wide smile returned. "I'm here to restore the Gardener's backyard, did you know that?"
The man nodded. "She mentioned you this morning."
"Good! She told me you might be able to help me move some of this new topsoil," she said, waving her petite hand towards the driveway.
Finn blinked hard in surprise and frowned. "She did, did she?"
Birdie's smile flew away. "She said you had a tractor and could help me move the earth into the backyard after I take down that bit of fencing. The ground is dreadful back there."
His frown deepened. "That woman is a pain in my ass," he said with a growl in his voice.