Page 23 of A Curse On Black Lake (Black Lake Gothic Cowboys #1)

Chapter seventeen

Eliana

The sun has begun to slide behind the horizon when Killian walks up the hill.

I’ve been sitting in the rocking chair working through how I'm going to ease him into this. Any semblance of hunger I did have is long gone. My stomach is too twisted up in knots, and my chest feels like it’s being trampled with anxiety.

But I know they’re right. Telling him matters because it’s part of the larger tapestry that I’ve only seen a corner of.

“Hungry?” he asks, taking off his hat.

“Not really,” I mumble.

“You okay?” he asks.

I lift a shoulder and fake a smile, standing from my rocking chair. “I’m sure you have something in there for a sandwich.”

He doesn’t answer because he’s gracing me with his trademark scowl. “You know, I used to be the law. I know when someone is afraid, Eliana.” He takes a step closer and my heart leaps as he reaches for me, but drops his hand. “What are you afraid of?”

I meet his eyes and start to blurt it all out, then he says, “It’s not me, is it?”

“No, absolutely not. It’s more … your response.”

“What do you know, Eliana?” he asks.

I force my mouth into a smile and run my hands through my hair nervously. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

“And now we’re blatantly avoiding the question,” he mutters.

“I’m a give it to me straight kind of guy, Eliana. Tell me what you’ve been waiting to say.”

I take a deep breath, look him in the eye, and start from the beginning. “When I was ten years old, I had … let’s call it a seizure. I was at school. I’m sure you heard the rumors.”

He sits down in a rocking chair. “I heard about what happened, but I never knew if any of it was true,” he says.

“I’m sure the stories were wild. But I had a seizure, and no, it doesn’t make any logical or medical sense, but it happened. My brown hair turned white,” I say, twirling it around my finger. “And my brown eyes turned blue, but they turn almost grey sometimes with my shifting mood. It’s weird.”

“I’m sure that was terrifying,” he says.

I smile and study the horses grazing down the hill. “It was. Grams seemed to know what was going on, but she didn’t tell me right away. I was exhausted, so she got me to bed, and then…”

Killian leans forward in his chair, waiting for me to continue.

“I woke up screaming because I heard all these voices in my head. It was terrifying. I thought I was losing my mind, maybe even dying. Once Grams got me calmed down, she explained that I toed the line. I was a seer, and what I have is special, a gift from God. I was destined to live on the line between life and death, as my ancestors did many generations before me. The last seer in my family was my great-great grandmother. The Spirits talk to me. They can’t see into the future or anything, but they are told things we wouldn’t know because they’re on the other side. ”

“It’s like you have a line to God,” Killian says.

I shrug and start braiding my hair nervously.

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but I know what you're saying. Many people were sent visions directly from God. I haven’t had visions, but dreams sometimes.

All of it is part of the reason I came to you, and Grams said I had to find you, and I always trust what she says. Always.”

“And the Spirits told you to help me?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“And they didn’t explain why?” he asks.

“Wait, you’re not freaked out?” I’m shocked at how calm he is, like this is a totally normal conversation, and I didn’t tell him there are voices in my head.

“It’s weird, that’s for damn sure. But stranger things, right? Sounds to me like an amazing but sort of heavy gift.”

I jerk back at his total acceptance. My eyes burn, and I blink the tears away. Killian’s validation of something that I’ve struggled with for the majority of my life blows me away, and I like him even more for it. My legs grow weak, and I plop down on the chair so I don’t fall over.

“Have you ever told anyone else about the … voices?” he asks.

I nod, thinking of the only friend I’ve had in a very long time.

“Yeah, his name was Eddy. I was homeschooled at that point. He moved in down the street from me and popped up one day.” I smile, remembering how he approached me.

“At that point I was really nervous around people, so I was hesitant with him, and I was still learning to work with the Spirits. He started asking me questions about plants, and he noticed I talked to myself a lot, so I eventually told him. He thought it was cool.”

“And he’s not in Black Lake anymore?” Killian asks.

“No, we … had a falling out. Anyway, thank you.”

“Nothin’ to thank me for. But I have to ask, what does this have to do with me? Why did they send you to me?” he asks.

“Well … I had a dream, and the point of it is someone was after me, and then someone helped me. I couldn’t see his face, and then you helped me out of the ditch. I knew it was you, as bizarre as that sounds.”

“It wasn’t because we’ve seen each other in passing over the years?” he asks.

“Surprisingly, no. But, a few weeks or so before that, Grams died, and she said …” I take a deep breath, but a sob rips through my lips, and it hurts to speak. The pain of missing her drowns me for a moment as I kick to the surface trying to find breath.

Killian’s hand rubs circles between my shoulder blades in a soothing motion. I gasp as my heart shreds in my chest. “Breathe. You can do it. Deep breaths.”

I do as he says, taking long breaths in and out, in and out while I fixate on his hand rubbing my back.

Eventually, I’m able to inhale normally, and he sits back down. “She said I have to find the one I saw in my dream. All will be made well when we find it within each other.”

“I don’t suppose she told you what it is, did she?”

I smile sadly and shake my head.

He squeezes my shoulder before dropping his hand.

“I know it’s a lot,” I rasp.

Killian sighs and runs his hand through his sweaty hair, making it stand on end in funny places. “It is. But it still doesn’t explain why me?”

“I don’t know. If I did, I’d tell you.”

“Can’t have it all, can we?” he says.

Closing my eyes, I take another deep breath.

Tell him the other connection.

“There’s one more thing … they said the woman you found has something to do with me finding you, and they mentioned a curse.”

“How does one have to do with the other? What curse?” he asks, unnerved by what I said.

“I’m not sure,” I rasp.

He huffs, frustrated. “I need some time to sort through this … is that okay?” he asks.

I wring my hands together. I really hope I didn’t push him away.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I understand.”