Page 116 of A Curse On Black Lake
“This town seems not only to attract it, but it’s as if it thrives from all the death. I guess we know why.”
Eliana rubs her chest in tight circles.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay, I asked. I want to know more about you.”
“I’m not that interesting, darlin’,” I mutter.
Eliana’s heavy stare weighs on me, like I’d imagine her body feels on mine.
“You’re definitely wrong about that.”
Chapter thirty-nine
Killian
“I’mgoingtocheckon the herds. I’ll be back in a bit,” I tell Eliana.
She’s sitting on the couch sketching in her book.
“Do you want me to come?” she asks.
“No, I can do it. You relax,” I tell her. What I don’t say is I need a minute to shake off all the memories of unsolved cases, and one that’s slowly becoming my own unsolved case because I’m stuck and the walls are closing in.
“I’ll be here,” she says.
I drop my hat on my head and lean down to kiss her temple. Eliana’s cheeks flame, and I smile to myself as I head out the door.
The moment I step foot onto the porch, I stop, spinning on my heel and going back into the house.
“On second thought, yes, will you go with me?” I ask her.
She snaps her sketchbook closed and drops it on the coffee table. “Yeah, give me a second to get some jeans on.”
I nod and wait by the door.
A few minutes later, she comes flying down the stairs in a t-shirt, jeans, and her cowboy hat over her white hair.
Taking her hand, we go down the hill to the barn to get the horses saddled up.
I decided to take Sunny, and he, surprisingly, let me ride him without much irritation. Maybe this is progress.
By the time we finish checking the herds, the sun is beginning its descent behind the horizon. Crickets and tree frogs chirp and buzz with the sound of summer, and the warm air fills my lungs, and the black tar of my time in law enforcement has lifted. Texas getshotthis time of year, but the evening is turning into a nice one, comfortable.
“Want to keep riding?”
She angles Winnie closer to me. “Yeah, that sounds nice,” she says.
“I’d like to show you something if you don’t mind,” I tell her.
She nods, and I lead the way to one of my favorite spots on Eden Ranch.
There’s a hill that sits a little higher than the rest of my land. The lake can be seen, and the surrounding area is trees and green as far as the eye can see.
I pull Sunny to a stop and help Eliana off Winnie. Leaving them to graze, I take her hand and we walk through the taller grass. The golden hour sun shines over her caramel skin — she’s utterly radiant.
Eliana’s hand squeezes mine as she tilts her head back, closing her eyes. The breeze blows through her hair, drying the sweat on her cheeks.
