Page 35 of A Curse On Black Lake
Life.
Life.
Life.
They whisperlifelike I’m in an echo chamber, and I glance at Killian again as he bends over the mint, snipping and collecting. My heart pounds erratically. Their words are true, and to a certain extent, they always have been, but that’s not what scaresme. I can sense the change in the winds as I watch this mountain of a man help me in my garden. There is a much larger story at play, and we’re only at the surface.
Our lives are about to change forever, and nothing but heartache is ahead of us.
Chapter fourteen
Killian
Elianahasbeenquieton our way to the ranch. We probably would have finished sooner with what she needed done, but I kept catching myself looking for her, and listening. She talks to herself, and I knew she did. She has since I met her, but I can’t figure out if it’s because she’s dealing with something mentally speaking, or it’s more. My gut tells me it’s more.
Tiny sits in the bed of the truck with his nose lifted into the air as we drive down the long country road with the windows down. Eliana’s hair blows in the wind, moving like the invisible waves flowing through her.
Her eyes are closed, and she takes a deep breath.
“Oh, I made you something,” she says.
I glance at her from the road, right before I turn onto my gravel drive.
She hands me a small paper bag folded at the top with a handwritten label forrelaxingtea.
“I thought you would like it. It’s soothing at the end of a long day,” she says.
I set the small bag in the cupholder next to me. “Thank you.”
She hums and tilts her head back into the wind again. My chest expands, and I ignore the feeling driving down the gravel road, stopping next to the barn. Tiny hops out on his own, off to find his pack.
“We need to check two sets of cattle, make sure they’re doing well. Stalls need to be mucked out, and then two of the other horses need to be exercised. I can’t do it the way I should. They’re out in the paddock now.”
“What do you want me to do first?” she asks, fitting her baseball cap on her head.
I look around, going through the list in my head. There’s always something to do and never enough time to do it. “Check the cattle with me?” I ask her.
“Sure, that means I can exercise one of the two horses. Two birds one stone,” she says.
“Yeah, that works.”
She reaches in the back for her chaps and slides them on over her jeans she changed into before we left, and I force myself to head into the barn to get the horses saddled instead of watch her put them on.What’s my problem?
I get Daisy saddled and then move on to Dad’s horse, Chester. He dips his head up and down at me. I know he misses being out. I haven’t been able to bring myself to ride him longer than to exercise him and make sure he’s healthy. He’s itching for an adventure.
“Wow, he’s beautiful,” Eliana says with Lucky, Moonbeam, Tex, and Tiny following her.
“Are you an animal whisperer or something?” I ask her, glancing down at all four dogs standing dutifully behind her. Eliana shrugs and looks behind her, patting each of their heads.
“Last time I checked, I own y’all,” I mutter. The dogs ignore me, focused on her.
“I’ve always had a connection with animals,” she says.
Heaving the saddle onto Chester, I glance at her before reaching for his belly strap. He stamps excitedly.
“You have a connection to a lot of things,” I mutter.
She meets my eyes, and lightning strikes me hard and true. Her blue eyes go dark, and she breaks eye contact, shattering the moment, reaching for Chester.
