Page 86 of Statler

Thoughts of his lips, the feel of his muscles beneath her hands, the spicy scent of his skin… It all intruded into just about every aspect of her day.

She’d be working on a spreadsheet, see the letters S and T together, and be transported back to that rock. She’d catch a glimpse of a blond-haired man from the back, and her heart would instantly start to race.

She’d even paused her painting of him that she’d started a few weeks earlier, to see if she could shake him from her brain, but it hadn’t worked.

Maybe she’d start up on it again next Saturday.

But thinking of painting and her special place…

Eliza was troubled.

Or maybe intrigued was a better word.

Someone had been to her private site.

And they hadn’t simply been looking.

Two weekends before, whoever it was had added a few small honey bees flitting around outside her big red barn.

It was a perfect rendering, painted so well, she could almost hear the little buggers buzzing.

After gazing, awestruck at the Apis mellifera for a few minutes, she’d given the pollen-laden newcomers a jaunty beehive, then walked away before she could change her mind.

Then just this last weekend when she’d looked to see if the unknown artist had continued the artistic exchange, she’d been disappointed not to find any more additions to the bee scene, but had actually been oddly thrilled when minutes later, she found a fishing rod in Holden’s hands.

It, too, had been done so expertly, it looked like an original part of her initial work, and…she’d added a fish.

She told herself, while walking back to her car both times, not to get carried away.

This could be bad.

Very, very bad, if it turned out that the person eventually reported what they’d found, and it got back to her father.

He’d know, for sure, who was behind the original art, and there’d be hell to pay.

For now, however, Eliza would simply be extra careful when she approached next Saturday. It could be a trap, and someone might be laying in wait for her.

The upside of it all?

It had taken her mind off Statler for periods of time.

Eliza bit her lip in consternation, having brought him to the forefront of her consciousness again.

She sighed.

Statler clearly wasn’t ready to take things any further, because since that epic night, he hadn’t made any approaches.

Was that her fault?

Eliza had stated her case—or overstated it to protect her feelings—saying she also wasn’t ready to pursue things. And…she should listen to herself.

Eventually she’d be leaving town, and that might be sooner than she’d previously thought.

She’d been squirreling away information, as well as her every available penny; giving it all to Granny for safekeeping away from prying eyes. When Granny, on Sunday, had given her an accounting of her savings so far, Eliza had been astonished.

She hadn’t been keeping track of her “escape fund”, for fear of getting herself too excited, but it was substantial. And with the amount of money she’d managed to sock away, Eliza realized she could live—albeit a bit frugally— somewhere outside of Liminal for several months, until she found employment.

Hence, online apartment shopping had become her new hobby at night after arriving home from her long hours at work, and she often fell asleep with her laptop still churning away on her chest.