Page 21 of A Curse On Black Lake (Black Lake Gothic Cowboys #1)

Chapter sixteen

Eliana

“What’s our story?” I ask him, pushing away my plate. We kept it simple, steak, potatoes, and some green beans I found in the fridge.

He takes a swig of beer and thinks about it.

“Wyatt might not ask me about the extent of our relationship, but it would be surprising to him since I haven’t told him anything about it.

And the first time he saw us together was over a month ago.

The only reason this might work is because we keep to ourselves.

We don’t go out of our way to converse with anyone. ”

“Then how did we meet?” I ask him.

He looks at the wall, blinking, lost in thought. I know what that’s like, so I leave him to it. But the longer he’s gone, the sadder his eyes get, like he’s reliving his pain over and over again.

Reaching for his hand resting on the table, I squeeze it, and he blinks, refocusing on me before his gaze drops to our hands. I like the way his hand feels in mine, as if it’s meant to be there.

“What if we see each other when we need each other?” I suggest.

He grimaces, and my heart drops. I thought it was believable. “I don’t know if Wyatt will go for that. He’s known me for a long time. He’ll probably come and question you too. Ask you what we were doing.”

“Making s’mores,” I deadpan.

Killian gives me a funny look.

“Having sex, obviously,” I say rolling my eyes, but the heat on my face betrays my embarrassment, seeing as I’ve never used a man in my entire life, nor would I. A connection of that nature is powerful, it means something and it is not to be taken lightly.

“He will believe that part. You’re beautiful. No one can deny that,” he mutters before focusing on the table.

Pulling my hand away, I nervously spin a strand of hair around my finger. This got awkward, and I don’t know what to say.

He reaches for my hand in my hair, and tugs it back into his.

My heart leaps into my throat.

“If you do that in front of him, he’ll know you’re lying,” Killian says.

I push out a breath and link our fingers together because it feels right. “This looks believable,” I say, looking at our hands.

“Yeah,” he rasps.

“How about this, we’re using each other on the down-low to work through our grief?”

His expression closes up, and his hand tightens around mine. “I don’t use people, Eliana, and Wyatt knows that. I’m a grumpy, lonely bastard, but I do not use people.”

“How about we’re really close friends, or we’re falling for each other?” I toss out.

He shrugs, releasing my hand. Shit. I said the wrong thing.

You are not known for being eloquent, the Spirits say.

Go away, I tell them mentally.

“Yeah, that’s fine, but we can go with the first one …

if you want,” he mumbles. Killian’s heavy gaze remains on me, sending heat shooting through my body.

Ever since Grams died, I haven’t been able to breathe right.

But with him around, I can’t breathe at all.

It shouldn’t matter that the Spirits guided me to him, Grams told me I had to find him, or the fact I’ve seen him in my dreams. We’re basically strangers.

Yet … I feel something that isn’t sadness around him, and I want more.

“Yeah, sure,” I blurt.

Killian stands. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get you home.”

“Run little witch, I’ll catch you.” A male voice says.

My heart jumps, but not out of fear. It’s … excitement.

“I don’t know why you call me that. Someone might believe you,” I say. But I’m not saying it. It’s like I’m watching myself in third person.

“I don’t care what they believe,” he says. I can feel him getting closer as I run. I’m not running as hard as I could be because I want him to catch me.

Thick arms wrap around my waist, and his nose presses into my neck as he takes a deep breath of me. “Gotcha,” he says, squeezing me to him.

I giggle and lean back into his broad chest.

“Even if it were true, I’d still love you,” he says.

A gasp pops out, and I spin around in his arms, gathering his bearded face into my hands. “If he knows you love me, he’ll kill you.”

Killian frowns and pulls me tightly to him. He starts to speak, but everything fades around me…

My eyes open, and a tear slips down my cheek. I wanted to know what he was going to say.

“Is my brain playing tricks on me?” I ask myself, the Spirits, whoever will listen.

You know dreams are messages.

I roll my eyes. “Dreams don’t tell the future.”

No, they do not, but they are a glimpse of what you truly desire, what your heart is saying.

“My heart is saying Killian is in love with me, and someone is trying to kill him. Make that make sense,” I mutter.

We are not the authors of your story. We are messengers.

“Thank God for that,” I mutter.

A thump on the door makes me jump. I wish Tiny were here with me. Sneaking out of bed, I hurry to the door and check another window where you can see the front porch.

Crap, I must have overslept. I flip the lock to the door, and Killian looks up from his boots, and his brown eyes widen on me in my big t-shirt — my nightgown needed to be washed.

He comes in, shutting the door behind him, dropping his eyes to my chest, and then quickly averts his gaze from my nipples standing at attention.

Dammit, body, please cooperate for once.

I tug the hem of my t-shirt down, it only reaches mid-thigh, usually it’s not a problem, but standing in front of a man, I’m starting to find myself insanely attracted to, it’s not a great first impression.

“I woke up late — well, you woke me up, but uh give me five minutes, make yourself at home,” I sputter, and hurry to my bedroom, slamming the door closed.

Resting my back against the door, I take a deep breath.

Hopefully, we can be adults about this, and no one has to say anything.

The look on his face when he saw my chest was nothing short of …

predatory, exactly like my dream. I press my cool hand against my burning cheeks.

Maybe I need a cold shower. There is no time.

I don’t have much. Most of it is all functional based on what I do. I have a few dresses I’ve made over the years and then jeans, t-shirts, and overalls.

I get jeans and a t-shirt on and run down the hall, but Killian is nowhere to be found. I frown and stick my head in the front where the apothecary is, but he’s not there either.

Shoving my feet into my boots, I stomp outside and find him in the barn mucking out the stalls. “Thank you. I’m sorry.”

He grunts and shovels hay and crap into the wheelbarrow. I help him and then get Winnie out for some exercise.

My head pounds, and I know it’s because I haven’t had coffee today. Leaving Winnie to graze, I head inside to make us brunch. We moved faster this time. It’s only mid-morning, and I’m starving, so it's safe to assume Killian is too.

I get to work making us a huge spread of bacon, eggs, and pancakes smothered in homemade jam.

When I’m done, I put the platter of pancakes on the table and call for Killian.

“Killian!” I yell because I can’t see him.

He sticks his head out of the barn. “What?” he calls.

“Breakfast!”

He nods, and I pour us each a hot cup of coffee while I wait for him.

A few minutes later, he comes in, hangs his hat on the hook next to mine, and pulls off his boots. I stare at them side by side, and my stomach tightens. “Thank you,” I say, still looking at them.

“Yeah, no problem. What’s this?” he asks.

Slowly dragging my eyes from the hats, I meet his. “I was hungry and assumed you were too. So I made us food.”

“Looks good.”

I smile and place his cup of coffee next to his plate. My stomach growls and we start filling our plates.

We’re both so hungry, with mouths shoved full of food, we don’t even talk. When I finally slow down a bit, I take a sip of coffee. “So I have to open the apothecary tomorrow. I can’t keep it closed,” I tell him.

“Okay,” Killian drawls.

“Usually, my Grams would be up front while I was doing everything else. She, uh…” I pause trying to catch my breath and not simultaneously explode into tears. One escapes anyway, and I brush it away.

“I get it, Eliana. You miss her. I miss my parents too.”

I fold my hands on the table. “Um, she would usually be up front, and I would handle everything else. I can’t ask you to do all that, so—”

“No problem, I can handle it. It might help though if we take Winnie to the ranch, though.”

My eyes widen, and I forget to blink. “Killian, I can’t ask you to do all of that. I was going to say I can reorganize what needs to be done.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll do whatever you want if you keep making food like this.”

I smile and take another drink. “You’re sure?”

“Positive,” he says and winks.

My stomach erupts in a flurry of butterflies, and my lips tingle. He just winked at me.

“Oh, I meant to tell you thanks again for the tea. It’s great. You grow all that?”

Warmth spreads through my body, and I smile. “I can make you more if you want,” I offer.

“That would be great, thank you. I have to be honest, though. I was never a tea guy, but maybe I am now.”

I giggle and set my coffee cup down. “It’s good for you, so why not?”

He shrugs as I reach for another pancake, and our hands brush reaching for it.

He lets me grab one before taking one for himself, and an ache builds in my chest again.

I'm starting to think that pining feeling will always be there when I’m around him.

But it's a welcome change from heart-splitting sadness.

When we get to Killian’s, I start on what he has to get done in the barns, and we move quicker as a team. He doesn't have to move any cattle, but we need to check on the other pastures. “You don’t have to come with me for this. I have to see if it’s ready for cattle.”

“No, I want to come,” I tell him and look up at Sunny. “Plus, I think Sunny will enjoy the exercise.”

“If he bucks you, I’ll kill him,” he mutters.

I laugh and shake my head. “No, you won’t. Both of you are too similar for that.”