“Seems like half a puzzle is better than no puzzle.”
“That’s not how puzzles work.”
“Agnes.” He stepped closer, and suddenly the table between us felt like no barrier at all. “Are you worried that something your ancestor did was a bad thing? That I’lljudge you for it? How could I? It would have no bearing on who you are as a person.”
My throat tightened. “But it might.”
“And it might not.” He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. A warm tingle of electricity ran up my arm at his touch. “I’ve known you since we were kids. I know who you are. And whoever your ancestors were, whatever they did, that’s not you.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to lean into that certainty of his that always soothed me.
But he didn’t know. He didn’t know about Gran’s warning, and about why I’d really ended things. He didn’t know that loving me might kill him.
And now I was learning that my family hadn’t just been cursed. We’d held something important—been responsible for keeping the scattered Wright branches connected, it seemed—and somewhere along the line, that had been destroyed too.
“Graham,” I said, and my voice came out rough. “I need more time to sort through all this and to understand what it means.”
“All right, lass.” He squeezed my hand. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
I closed my eyes. He was justsosure of himself.
He didn’t know what he was promising.
I pulled my hand away and stood. “I should keep looking for more information.”
Graham nodded, but he didn’t move.
“You know,” he finally said, “for someone who values honesty as much as you do, you’re remarkably good at keeping secrets.”
His words hit me, making my gut churn. The shite part about it was that he wasn’t wrong.
“I know,” I said, swallowing past a lump in my throat. “I’m working on it.”
“Work faster.” But he smiled when he said it which took the sting out just a touch. “Come on. Let’s see what else these dusty old papers have to tell us.”
We returned to the research, but the air between us had shifted. It felt like, in some small way, we were a team and I realized just how much I craved that connection with him.
Every time his fingers brushed mine, my insides warmed.
He’d glance at me, every once in a while, with that considering look in his eye that made me want to blurt out everything and so he could shoulder this burden with me.
But I couldn’t.
I knew Graham.
He’d ignore the curse completely and not care that he was in danger, if it meant he got to be with me. And I loved him too much to put him in that position.
So here we were.
Shaking my head, I flipped a page. I found more references to the Bookkeeper role—fragments that described the witness to all covenants and the keeper of truths both written and sworn. One document mentioned the Bookkeeper’s sacred duty to maintain the bridge between those who stayed and those who scattered.
Another referenced a family divided but bound.
But every promising lead dead-ended in nothing.
Frankly, as someone who valued organization and neat lists? It was freaking infuriating.
“It’s like trying to read a book with every other chapter ripped out,” I muttered in frustration.
