Page 104 of A Curse On Black Lake
“I like to read almost anything. I’m making my way through the library. I started it when he passed.”
Her eyes drag up to mine. “ThewholeBlack Lake library?” she asks.
“Sure, why not. It’s good to have goals, right?” I say, chuckling.
“What’s your favorite book?” she asks.
I hum. “That’s a hard one because I really enjoyed a book about the early cowboys and how they started their ranches. One of the oldest is in this state. But I really liked a cop memoir I read. When I was at the department, I went through similar things he did.”
She tilts her head. “I’m sure you saw a lot.”
“I did,” I grunt. “I’ve read a lot of the classics too. But I’m working on crossword puzzles, and readingWuthering Heights,which I borrowed from you.”
“Is it good?” she asks.
“Yeah, actually, it’s really compelling.”
She giggles.
“What?” I ask her.
“Nothing, you’re just funny to me.”
“It’s not my normal go to, but I decided to change it up, and I like puzzles.”
“That shouldn’t be surprising to you,” she says.
I smile, admiring her unearthly white hair, and caramel color skin where freckles dot the bridge of her cheekbones, like constellations on her skin.
“I’ve always been good at puzzles. Even ifit takesme aminuteto figure out where all the pieces go.”
Eliana peers up at me, and my heart skips a beat.
“I saw your plant drawings in your recipe book.” I don’t say I flipped through her sketchbook because I don’t think she meant for me to see the drawings of me.
She hums and reaches for the ends of my hair. “I like trying to capture what I see. I think it helped me cope when I was younger. Then, it became a habit. Now it’s a part of me. The plant sketches were part of my training with Grams.”
I hum and drag my hands up her spine. “Did your Grams teach you to be a midwife too?”
Eliana sighs. “She did. I could deliver a baby if someone needed to. But you know how people are here.”
“We only have an emergency clinic here. Don’t most women drive to the hospital over an hour away?”
She shrugs. “Yeah.”
“Do you want to be a midwife?”
“I want to heal people, whatever that means. Including helping someone bring a new life into the world and helping them heal from it. Birth is a beautiful thing, but it can be really hard on a mother.”
I nod, wondering if she wants kids.
“You are much kinder than you let on, little witch.”
She slips her lips over her teeth trying to hide her smile. I can’t help myself and lean forward, pecking the corner of her mouth.
“I can see it,” I whisper.
She blinks, and her blue eyes deepen.
