The Secret of Lucianne Dove— a novel by Roberta L. Smith  
  An Excerpt...

Mickey raised his line of sight and looked beyond the flame into the sensual face of a woman who was staring intently at him. Instantly Mickey felt branded. Her eyes were the most radiant and unique he had ever seen, large and soulful, perfect for a mining camp because they were the color of luminescent gold. They held him captive and at that moment he knew he would never be the same.

They stared at each other. Neither one spoke and neither one moved, but something was happening between them. A current of electricity had established a connection. The hair on Mickey's arms stood on end and his skin tingled. If there'd been any metal pins in his body, he would have thought this woman had a powerful magnet hidden under her dress. He couldn't move and he wondered who she was.

Impressions began to form in his mind. He saw a wedding. He saw a man and woman kissing. He saw a baby. The images lingered at first, but then came and went more quickly. Soon they were difficult to discern. More kissing. Different men. Nakedness. Sex, cold and for sale. Now the woman before him was in a house, alone in some room. The pictures flashed faster, faster until they were impossible for Mickey to comprehend. Thoughts, ideas, came to him instead. He knew at once that the woman had seen hardship and injury beyond what most people could bear and the word forsaken came to mind.

Renounced.
Abandoned.
Forgotten.

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He stared at her, words aloft in the air until an intense burn of betrayal suited his body and pressed against him causing his eyes to flood wet. His breathing became labored. He could feel the burden she was carrying and it filled him with emptiness beyond his own. Here on the boardwalk their energies were commingled. Emotions inside Mickey grew thick and dark until he felt so weak he feared his knees might buckle. Tightness formed around his neck as if a noose had taken hold and his free hand went to his throat. The sensation grew tighter and tighter until Mickey thought he would choke.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I...can't...breathe...

Then something told him he would be okay. He didn't fight for normalcy. Instead he allowed himself to feel what was happening. Immediately the tightness stopped, but his throat felt dry. He bent over and coughed.

Mickey was void of feeling now save one of exhaustion. He straightened up and felt drawn back to the woman's magnetic eyes. Was it his imagination or was the life in those eyes growing dim? It seemed to Mickey that a plug had been pulled and she was losing the source of her energy, like a fuel cell that had run its course.
                   
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