Chapter 6 #2
She watched each and every one of his methodical movements, and decided that she wasn’t sure she wanted to be more like him, or that she wanted him to be more like her. It was the difference between the two of them that fascinated her. And fascination was all it was ever going to be.
His large hands moved firmly, surely, and quickly over the harnesses, and then he stroked the horse, patted it on the rump, and she jerked slightly, imagining those hands moving over her body, patting her.
Good Lord.
She was having some kind of sensual hallucination. She had been caught off her guard because she had forgotten about it for a moment.
And now, it had returned to her in full force. Now, she was unbearably aware of him. Of the spark that had ignited between them a few days ago.
She knew what it was like to be held by him, even though he had just been keeping her from falling to the ground.
It had been as easy for him to keep her from falling out of the wagon as it had been for her to keep an unruly six-year-old from falling out of the wagon.
He was so strong. Capable, coordinated –
“Yes?”
He wasn’t looking at her, his focus was on the horse, and yet he clearly felt her staring at him.
“I didn’t say anything,” she responded.
“I know you didn’t say anything. But I can feel you watching me.”
She hesitated for a beat. Because she could either pretend she had no idea what he was talking about, or she could proceed.
“Just enjoying the view.”
She bit the inside of her cheek as soon as the words exited her mouth. It was risky. She didn’t even know why she’d said it. Didn’t know what she was risking when it came right down to it. After all, this could lead to anything, not ever.
He didn’t say a thing, he just finished unhitching the horses, loading them into the trailer, and shutting the door, locking it.
They were alone, in the back of The Water Witch, no observers, no streetlights, even. It was dim, and yet, thanks to the full moon, she could see him.
The angles of his face, the glitter in his eyes as he assessed her.
She swallowed hard.
And then, he took a step toward her. She forgot to breathe.
And then she took a step back, her shoulders hitting the horse trailer. She looked up at him, and her heart was pounding so hard she thought she might faint.
It was destabilizing, and beautiful, and wonderful. She wanted to kiss him.
She wanted to touch him. For just a moment, she forgot why it was a bad idea.
For just a moment, she didn’t feel cursed.
Didn’t feel tethered to something heavy that belongs to her bloodline and not to her.
Didn’t feel like a girl who had had about five intensely traumatizing experiences trying to lose her virginity.
She just felt like Eliana. Not a Sanderson, not someone existing in a broader context, but someone who only existed in this moment.
Would it be undignified to beg? She wasn’t actually sure if she cared. She wanted to get down on her knees and… Well, that would be different than begging for a kiss, she supposed, but she would do that too.
Then he reached out, and put his hand on her cheek, and she thought she was going to melt. The feel of his rough thumb against her skin. Oh…
She began to lean forward, eyes fluttering closed, and suddenly, there was a loud scream, and a loud crashing noise.
“What the hell?” He jerked his head back.
And then, four goats came running around the back of the store, bleating and moving in a panic formation, their cloven hooves making loud noises against the pavement as they galloped past Eliana and Cooper.
“They must be from the petting zoo,” Eliana said.
And then, two more goats followed behind them, along with a donkey who had a witch hat that had fallen down around its chin, flopping in an undignified manner as it trotted back through the parking lot.
Cooper let out a long sigh. “I guess we’d better chase the animals.”
“Well, we should be able to use a bridle and lead rope that you have, and retrofit it, and then we can load them into the back of the truck?”
He sighed heavily. “I guess we’ll have to.”
She didn’t want to say anything, but she knew why this had happened. It was the curse. She wasn’t allowed to kiss him. And this was a minor expression of the curse. Really, as the curse went, this was fine. It wasn’t even that big of a deal. He hadn’t been struck by lightning, after all.
It was just… Roaming farm animals.
But it was yet another sign that she wasn’t going to get… Anything. From anyone. Ever.
“I’ll unhook the truck from the horse trailer. Get in.”
They loaded up in his truck, and then they went on a scavenger hunt for farm animals.
They weren’t the only ones. Half the town was driving slowly down the street in pickup trucks, looking for errant donkeys, pigs, and goats.
There was also a mini horse, but he was standing in the corral still, contentedly chewing on a carrot, and completely unbothered by the mass exodus the other animals had made.
Lara, who ran the museum up by the lighthouse, was standing on the sidewalk holding what looked like a leash. “What happened?” Eliana called across Cooper as he pulled up next to her.
“There was a kid who opened up the corral. And all the animals thought they were living Shawshank Redemption.”
Eliana had a feeling she knew exactly which child had done that. “Great. How many animals escaped?”
Lara frowned. “A lot.”
“Well. We’ll try to help.”
And help they did. They managed to collect four goats and get them back to the corral. And by the time all of the animals had been collected, everyone in town was sweaty, exhausted, and mad.
Eliana looked up at the lamppost. Edgar was perched there, staring down at the scene below. And if she wasn’t mistaken, the little sounds that he made were essentially seagull laughter.
“It’s not funny, Edgar. The pigs were in peril.”
Cooper looked up at Edgar. “That bird really is an asshole.”
“He is,” she confirmed.
“Well, glad that’s handled.”
He turned to her, and she shrank away. Because if he wanted to talk about what had just happened –
“I still don’t see him!”
Eliana turned at the sound of a distressed voice, to see the mother who had been in her wagon ride, the mother of the rambunctious child, looking worried. Terrified.
“What’s going on?” Cooper asked.
“It’s Aiden. We can’t find him. After all the animals scattered, so did he.”
Eliana felt a tightening in her chest. A strange well of sympathy and worry opening up inside of her.
She didn’t think they had watched him closely enough.
He had been a menace the whole time, but it was also pretty clear the kid tended toward being a menace, and mitigating it was probably more fantasy than reality.
“We’ll help you look for him,” Cooper said.
He really was a very good man.
Not that she had ever doubted that, it was just especially overwhelming at the moment. When she had been standing on the verge of getting something she really wanted only moments ago, and now… This. He was being all heroic.
It was hot. Which really shouldn’t be what she was thinking about when there was a missing child.
It was Wild Rose Point, though, and she didn’t worry terribly much about anyone absconding with him.
Although… The back of her neck prickled slightly when she thought about the beach.
The Pacific Ocean was dangerous. And the Oregon Coast was known for fierce waves and relentless currents.
“I just hope he didn’t go out to the beach. Alone.”
The idea of an overly curious six-year-old and the rocks he might decide to climb or him wading out into the surf…that was terrifying.
“It’s a long walk,” Cooper said. “I mean, for a little kid.”
“Yeah, but that kid was trouble. He was hell on two legs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it that far.”
“Well, considering that you have good intuition, I think I’m going to follow that,” he said.
There was something about him acknowledging that, something about him believing in it, that made her heart feel like it grew three sizes. They walked across the street and down one of the footpaths that led to the beach.
There were bonfires out on the beach tonight, and she breathed a sigh of relief because she had forgotten that it would still be well populated tonight. So at the very least, if he was down here, there were higher chances that someone might’ve seen him.
They walked up to a couple of the bonfires and asked people if they had seen an unattended child, but no one had.
Then she looked down the beach a ways, and saw a fort made from driftwood.
She knew exactly where she would be if she were a kid running away from the mayhem that she had caused.
“What if he ran away because he was scared he was going to get in trouble?” Eliana gestured down the beach.
“If I were afraid of that, I would go hide there. It looks like a little house.”
Cooper nodded slowly. “Yeah. I think you’re right. Let’s go.”
She took off, jogging down the beach, and he followed her, keeping pace. Then, when she went up to the opening of the driftwood shelter, she knelt down and peered inside. “Aiden?”
She heard a little whimper. “Aiden,” she said, keeping her voice soft. “You can come out. It’s all right. All the animals are put away, and they’re safe. There’s nothing to worry about.”
She saw a little figure in the back, nearly too dark for her to make out the shape of him. But he did move when she said his name. She was so relieved, she nearly collapsed into the sand. “It’s all right. Let’s go find your mom and dad.”
“The animals are okay?”