Page 77 of A Curse On Black Lake (Black Lake Gothic Cowboys #1)

Chapter fifty-eight

Eliana

He didn’t come.

I sat there so long I fell asleep in the rocking chair.

At the very least, I thought he might confront me, but I slept outside for nothing, and my back aches like no one’s business.

But the sun woke me up in time for me to get back to the ranch, take care of the animals, and be at the town hall for Killian’s bail hearing.

He said the bail would be high, but I have to be hopeful. Maybe they will set it reasonably.

When I walk through the doors to the only courtroom in the town hall, Killian is sitting in a chair on the other side of a short wall.

He turns, and relief covers his features. I hurry to the little flap doors to go to him, and a deputy, Parker Hoyt, steps in front. “I’m sorry, Ms. Greer, you can’t go on the other side of the wall.”

I glance at Killian, and he gestures with his chin for me to come closer on the side with benches lined up evenly. Sidestepping down the aisle, I reach for him, and he rests his forehead on mine, with his hands still in cuffs.

“Thank God,” he breathes. “Wyatt wasn’t around last night,” he whispers.

“Well, my admirer didn’t come,” I whisper.

“Good,” he grunts.

As much as I want all of this to be over, a little part of me is relieved I got to see him again.

One more day.

What we have is counted in minutes now. It could end at any moment. Time is a controlling concept for a life I never asked for. If only I could steal time and give us more of it.

“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper.

He tilts his head and kisses me quickly. “We’ll figure this out.”

“They seem to have already decided,” I mutter.

“Come on, little witch, you know the truth will set you free,” he says, tossing me a wink.

“All rise for the presiding Judge Constantine.”

Killian holds my gaze for a breath longer before turning around to face the judge in the long black robe.

“Mr. Lennox, are you sure you understand what it means to represent yourself? If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you, do you understand that?” Judge Constantine asks.

“Yes, your honor, I am aware of my rights and I would still like to represent myself,” Killian says.

The judge shakes his head.

My heart pounds in my ears, and I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Do you understand your charges as they have been read to you?” Judge Constantine asks.

“Yes, your honor,” Killian asks.

“And your plea?”

“Not guilty, your honor,” Killian says with his chin lifted.

“Your honor, I know he’s guilty! He threatened me and Hazel Usher when we were at the witch’s house!”

Everyone’s heads spin around to find Jane Reed standing in the aisle, in a skirt suit, with her hair styled like Marilyn Monroe.

I growl, fisting my hands because I’d love to grab her precious hair and drag her out of here.

“Ms. Reed—”

“Mrs. Reed,” she says quickly.

Judge Constantine sighs. “Ms. Reed, please file a statement with the Sheriff and the state, and I will not allow any more outbursts in my court. Do you understand?” he asks her.

She nods once.

The judge stares at Killian for a second and flips through papers on his desk. “As I was saying, have you been made aware of the gravity of what you are accused of?”

“In so many words,” Killian says.

The Judge narrows his eyes. “Well, bail is set at five hundred thousand dollars. And your hearing is set for next week. Due to the nature of these crimes, the people of Black Lake have no interest in dragging this out.”

Killian doesn’t answer but keeps his chin up.

The gavel swings. “This court is adjourned.”

Vomit crawls up my throat. A half-million dollars. Where am I going to get that? I have maybe five grand in my safe at home.

Could I leverage my property? I don’t know how much it’s worth.

Killian turns around, and I leap to my feet, reaching for him, but one of the deputies starts to pull him away.

Killian yanks back and leans into my ear. “Go to my safe. I don’t know how much is in there. The code is 21065,” he says quickly.

“I’ll get you out. I promise,” I tell him.

He smiles sadly at me as Deputy Martinez uses a little more force. “I love you, darlin’,” he says.

Instead of lifting me up, something about the way he says it makes my heart drop. He doesn’t see a way out of this, and we have no solid proof Wyatt is responsible.

“Don’t you dare give up, Killian Lennox!” I yell.

“I love you!” he yells, right as the door off to the side closes.

As I leave the courtroom, I shoot daggers out of my eyes at Jane.

Maybe Killian won’t be the one put away for murder because it’ll be me.

Rushing to his truck, I head for my house to get the cash I have, and hopefully Killian has more stashed away than he thinks. Or maybe I can get a loan? I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out. He can’t stay there.

Fishing my keys out of my pocket, I head for my front door trying to ignore the ache that’s made its home in my chest. Everything feels like it’s falling apart. I’m trying to hold on as tight as I can, but it’s falling through my fingers like sand.

I drop my keys and grumble, picking them back up. When’s the last time I ate? I don’t even remember.

“Eliana?”

I nearly jump out of my skin and spin around, taking a step back. A man stares back at me, smiling widely. His baseball hat sits over his short brown hair, and he’s wearing a black t-shirt and clean jeans with black cowboy boots on his feet.

“I know it’s been a while, but do you remember me?” he asks.

I blink a few times. I’m exhausted, so it takes my mind a minute to catch up.

“No way, Eddy? Eddy Rochester?”

He chuckles and steps towards me. “It’s good to see you,” he says.

“Uh, you too. What brings you back to Black Lake?” I ask him. Wow, he’s built now. He was lanky when we were kids.

He shrugs. “I was in town and wanted to say hi. I heard about your Grams. I’m so sorry.”

I blink rapidly in an attempt to keep the tears back. “Thanks. It’s been hard. I miss her every day.”

He lifts the bill of his hat. “So are you a midwife too? What about the apothecary?”

“Yeah, Grams trained me, but no one has asked. And yeah, the apothecary is all mine now, but things have been rough lately,” I say, keeping it vague. Eddy was my best friend as a kid, but it’s been over a decade. I don’t know him anymore.

“Oh? Why is that?” he asks.

I shrug. “You know … people,” I mutter.

He nods and shifts on his feet. “Can’t say I’m surprised. It is Black Lake.”

“So where did you go when you moved away?” I ask him.

“Mama moved us to Dallas, but then my dad got a job out in West Texas as a ranch hand, and they had housing. So it made sense,” he says.

“Wow, that’s a lot.”

He shrugs and digs around in his pocket, popping a peppermint in his mouth.

I chuckle. “Still popping those mints?” I ask him.

He laughs. “I could never seem to drop the habit. Better than smoking like my daddy, right?” he asks.

“Yeah, I suppose it is,” I tell him.

“Hey it’s so good to see you, but I have to get going. I have to be somewhere soon,” I tell him.

“Oh yeah, sure, no problem. Can I get a hug first before you go?”

I smile and step into his arms. He’s beefed out, but he’s no Killian, not that I’m comparing them.

I miss Killian.

“Good to see you,” he says.

“Yeah, you too. Are you in town for a while?” I ask him.

“Yeah, hopefully for a few more days.”

“Alright, well I’ll see you around,” I tell him and wave.

He tips his hat and walks off down the street.

Random, it would have been nice to have him here when Grams died. He was the one who knew her well since we spent so much time together as kids.

Going to the safe tucked in the study, I enter the code and fish out the stack of bills and count them.

Five grand. I’m four hundred and ninety-five thousand short. Awesome.

Passing Grams’ room, I spot her gold pendant necklace on the side table next to a framed photo.

She loved that necklace, and I would have had her buried with it, but she insisted it should be mine.

I couldn’t bear to wear it because it belonged to her, but it makes me feel closer to her, and I need that right now.

Unhooking the clasp, I put the necklace on and look at the picture.

There are photos of the Greer family all over the house, except for my parents.

For Grams, it was too hard to look at them for a while, but I guess that changed.

The photo is of me when I was little. My heart twists as I take in my mom and dad.

I still remember them, but their faces fade in and out of my memory.

I got to a point where I didn’t even want to look at photos of them because I hated myself for not being able to recall every detail, Mom’s crooked smile, Dad’s green eyes.

It feels like I’m betraying them because of it.

We’re smiling in the photo, and my dad holds his arm around Mom’s waist like he can’t stand any distance between them.

My mom holds me close, and I smile while resting my cheek on her shoulder.

I flip the frame over and slip the photo out, tucking it in my pocket. I may not remember every single detail of them, but I will never forget them.

Locking up my house, I head to the ranch to see what Killian has stashed away. I doubt it’s four hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars in cash, but maybe he’s really good with finances. Which would be fair since I can’t even say I love you. Not that I would love him for his money.

Shaking my head to clear the spiraling thoughts, I focus on the road ahead of me. I don’t need to wreck this truck because I’m distracted.

When I get to the ranch, the dogs rush me, and I love on each of them equally and trudge into the house in search of the safe. It’s not on the main level, so I run upstairs to his room.

Opening the door, sure enough, the large safe takes up more space in his closet than his clothes. I turn the combination and find a small stack of cash.

I count it and count it again. We have fifteen thousand dollars. Dammit.