Page 68 of Whispers of Helena
Before I can move, he’s gone.
“Silas!”My voice pierces through the night, swallowed by the endless stretch of darkness. “Silas, come home!”
The only answer is the wind rustling through the tall grass. My pulse pounds in my ears, my throat tightening, every breath a broken rasp.
I’ve been riding the pastures for what feels like hours, searching. I checked the eastern border, near Bennett’s land. Nothing. Irode to the creek where we spent countless evenings, our laughter mingling with the murmur of the water. Still, no sign of him.
“Where have you gone?” The words escape, more to myself than to the night. My mind races, grasping for any place he might have gone, but exhaustion dulls my thoughts, leaving me grasping at nothing.
With a heavy sigh, I pull Merriweather’s reins, guiding her back toward home. The feeling of defeat settles in my chest as the moon casts long, lonely shadows across the fields.
Truth
Silas
It’s wellpast midnight when I pound on Ruth’s door, my knuckles aching with each desperate knock. The night is still; the silence stretches thin as I wait. No movement. No sign of life.
I bang again, harder this time, my chest burning with every breath I struggle to take.
A light flickers on, casting shadows across the porch. The door creaks open, and Ruth squints against the glow. Confusion flickers in her tired eyes, and she forces a tight, uneasy smile.
“Silas? What on earth?—?”
“Tell me everything.” My voice is raw, strained.
She blinks. “I'm not sure I know?—”
“Ruth, don’t bullshit me.” The words hit sharper than I intended, but I don't care. “You know why I’m here. I saw the gravesite.”
Her expression shifts, sympathy softening the lines of her face. “So you remember?”
“More than I did this morning.” I swallow hard. “And I know she’s Caroline.”
Ruth exhales a slow sigh before she steps aside, opening the door wider.
“Come in, Silas.”
I step inside withouthesitation. The house is warm, familiar. It sits on the far edge of town, one of the last houses on the road that stretches out toward my land. Memories of Sunday dinners and Ruth holding Kiran for the first time in the living room flash in my mind. Ruth and Eli have been close family friends ever since I can remember. Neither one of them ever married, instead they became our trusted friends, loving us, guiding us as first time parents, picking up the pieces after our own parents passed.
“Want some coffee?” Ruth asks, sliding a filter into the machine and scooping the grounds.
The thought of drinking anything makes my stomach churn. “No, thank you.”
As she flicks the switch, the quiet hum of brewing fills the silence. She pulls out a chair at the small kitchen table, patting the seat beside her. “Sit.”
I drop into the chair, running my hands down my face. Exhaustion clings to me, dragging me into a fog too thick to fight. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Ruth exhales through her nose, fingers lacing together. “It was just after we had finished rebuilding the house when Eli saw you walk out of the stables. It was about three months after your funeral and he knew you had shifted. That you had changed.”
“Of course I fucking changed, I’m a spirit,” I snap. My breath is ragged, my pulse pounding at my temples. “Wait…if you and Eli can see me, if you see Helena, does that mean you’re spirits too?”
She shakes her head. “No. Eli and I have alwaysseenspirits. It’s something passed down on our mother’s side for generations.”
The pieces start falling into place, slotting into a puzzle I should’ve seen long ago.
“This is why the men never acknowledged Helena,” I murmur. “Why I always let Eli handle them.”
Ruth nods. “You left the management of the ranch’s employees to Eli after Kiran was born, though. Remember?”
