Page 141 of A Curse On Black Lake
She would be proud of you, regardless.
My eyes burn, and I can’t help the tears that drop from my face. I lean over, putting my hands on my knees, trying to breathe through it. A sob burst through my lips, and instead of trying to bottle it, I let it out. Grams always got mad at me for keeping it in. She said it would always backfire. I blame it on my poor Conrad. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Sitting down on the floor, I lean against the wall and let it break me.
I miss her so much. The hole in my heart won’t stop bleeding, and there is nothing I can do to stop it but let myself feel the ache of loss.
She would know what to do. She would know how to make all of this better.
“Eliana?” Killian calls.
I take a deep breath and wipe my tears.
“Are you in here?” he yells again.
His boots click against the concrete floor as he pops his head into the tack room. “Hey, what’s—”
I look up at him, and he frowns. “What’s wrong, baby? Are you hurt?” he asks, dropping to his haunches.
His warm brown eyes scan my face with his eyebrows scrunched together in concern. I spot some dirt on his cheek and lick my thumb to wipe it away.
“Not that kind of hurt.”
His lips twist and moves to sit down next to me. He grabs my hand and holds it between both of his large, calloused ones.
“I’m sorry about Conrad. I know they’re like your babies.”
I nod.
“And it’s probably safe to assume you’re not ready to go back home either,” Killian says.
“I wanted a day, one single no-thinking day, but I can’t seem to even get that. And I can’t bear the thought of looking at mydestroyed garden right now. I know I have a business to run, but it hurts to look at all the destruction.”
He rubs his thumb across the top of my wrist. “I get that. I have a plan to see if we can get things replanted. I know some plants you can start in water.”
That makes me smile a little. “You thought about all of that?”
He chuckles. “We needed a plan.”
“How do you know I didn’t already have one?” I ask him.
“Well, you didn’t tell me about it,” he grunts.
I snort. “I didn’t have one.”
“I’ve single-handedly ruined my family’s legacy in less than six months since my Grams died. I’m wallowing at the moment.”
He pats my hand. “Then I’ll wallow with you.”
“How are the herds? Do we need to move anyone?”
“No, tomorrow we will, but that’s tomorrow’s problem,” he says.
“We got up too late, didn’t we?” I ask him.
The corner of his bearded mouth tips up, and I bite my lip. “It was worth it.”
The ache in my chest eases. “Yeah, it was.”
“Can I show you something?” Killian asks.
