Chapter
12

It went pitch-dark.

Rafe heard footsteps ahead, running in this black tunnel. Was it the man who had moved that rope and trapped Julia in the cavern? It sure could be.

How many sneaking strangers who liked caves could there be?

But who? And whoever it was, why did he want to harm Julia?

It had to be someone brave enough—or crazy enough—to run through a tunnel in the pitch-darkness.

Or did he have a lantern? He might have been far enough ahead that Rafe wouldn’t have known. Whether he had light or not, running in this tunnel spoke of either crazed recklessness or complete familiarity with this cave. Or both.

The ground sloped until Rafe was afraid he’d start sliding, fall forever. Inching along, Rafe tested each step, the memory of that eggshell-thin floor in the other cavern haunting him. He kept one hand on the wall to feel if the cave tunnel had any branches he couldn’t see.

Rafe thought of how long he’d lived in Colorado. He’d have told anyone that he knew the land around his ranch very well. He’d seen this mountain plenty of times—of course, the whole world was mountains in this part of Colorado. The trail he took to town was to the north, so he hadn’t done much riding this direction. But he knew the mountains. And he’d had no idea this one was any different than the others.

He paused over that thought. What if it wasn’t different? What if there were a lot of mountaintop valleys like this one? Rafe itched to find out. He hadn’t done enough exploring.

The fading footsteps suddenly stopped.

Rafe’s hand went to his revolver. He continued on. Maybe there was light ahead. Maybe this tunnel led through the mountain to the outside like the vent they’d entered the valley through.

Surely that was why the footsteps had stopped, because they’d gone outside, run into grass instead of clattering on stone.

The light never came. Rafe took each step slower, more cautiously. He had a sudden vision of the cavern floor shattered under Seth’s weight. Rafe took one more step and his toe hit a stone. It bounced, then bounced again, still moving along fast. Then suddenly silence.

Rafe froze.

Finally that stone hit a long, long way down. His knees wobbled, and he dropped as the stone bounced.

The dark of the cave suddenly pressed on him. The cold inside him was crushed by blackness, until he feared the ice would crack open and all his worst, most childish fears would explode free.

As he fought for control, he heard something that turned him aside from the encroaching panic. Something scratched. A sound so faint he thought he might be imagining it. On his hands and knees, he reached forward to find a ledge, just inches in front of him.

A ledge he knew dropped off forever. A ledge just in front of the path those running footsteps had taken. How had someone run across this? Impossible. But he’d have heard it if someone had fallen. And he’d come inches from falling himself. Just like so many years ago when Seth had nearly died.

The shock bowed his head. One more step and he’d have gone over the ledge.

The pressure of the black pit ground him down, squeezing and crushing. Rafe grimly battled to overcome such weakness.

Rafe heard that rustling sound again to his left. He reached for it and his hand scraped against a boulder. Or maybe one of those stag-tight things Julia had talked about. But the noise—what was that? He ran his hands around the rock, closing in on the sound by touch . . . and felt a rope.

A rope that moved. A taut rope that even now someone was using to climb down into the pit.

Or up.

The image of Satan erupting out of the underworld, grabbing Rafe, dragging him down, broke what was left of his wavering control. He whirled, still on his knees, leapt to his feet, and ran.

His throat closed or he’d have shouted with fear. He felt the devil gaining, coming, burning. This was how he’d felt when he abandoned Seth so long ago.

Rafe slammed into a stone wall and rapped his head so hard he saw stars. Staggering, he barely remained on his feet. He slapped his hand on the tunnel to keep himself in contact with something, anything solid. Running like a coward, racing for a way out of this nightmare.

Abandoning his brothers to save himself just like before.

He had to get out. Get out or die.

It was his chance. At last. He fought down the urge to laugh as he inched forward. He’d gotten very good in this cave. Very good. Silent.

Any bit of sound carried and echoed. A boot sliding on rock. A hand brushing on stone. A hard breath.

She was making a fair amount of noise chipping on the stone, so he could move more swiftly if he wanted. But he was too smart, too careful. And the man with her was busy running in the wrong direction. Laughter bubbled up, but he fought it. Stopped it in time.

He’d hidden the horses. Glad now he’d thought of it. He hadn’t expected anyone to come here, not besides his friend, of course. He slowly, silently eased forward, mindful of each step.

She muttered and chiseled, completely focused on the stone. And she was his path to the money, to success. He might not go back once he had it. Oh, the boss had tentacles that reached a long, long way. But it was only his tracking skills that had gotten him this close. Anyone else the boss sent would never find this place.

So he might take the money. And this woman was the key to finding it.

She chiseled. Another step closer. The next step would take him out of the dark. She’d be able to see him, then. He could keep inching along until he was close enough to grab her.

Surprise her.

He’d like that. Time now to forget about silence and move fast so she didn’t have a chance to scream and call her guardian back.

He resisted the urge to laugh and prepared to spring.

Julia heard thudding footsteps. She dropped her knife as she whirled to face whomever or whatever was coming at her so fast.

She leaned down and scooped up the only weapon she had, a knife with a two-inch blade.

Rafe appeared around the bend of the tunnel, and she breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to her chiseling.

“Now.” He grabbed her arm in midchisel and dragged her after him. “We’re going now.”

“Rafe, what in the world . . .” She stumbled as he rushed her along, until she was running to keep from being dragged. She couldn’t even see his expression, but she read terrible urgency and hurried to keep up. They reached the horses, and Rafe tore the reins loose from the aspen and lifted her up onto her saddle.

“Tell me what—”

Rafe vaulted into his own saddle, and holding her reins raced his horse up the steep slope at such a reckless speed, Julia quit talking and clung to the saddle horn. Rafe charged for the vent they’d entered through. When they reached it, he swung down, dragged her off the horse, and that was when she finally saw his face.

He’d seen something terrible.

“Stay right behind me.” His eyes met hers as if asking for complete, blind obedience. “I need to go out the entrance on the other side first.” He scowled and looked back in the direction they’d come. “Wait. No, I should bring up the rear. But wait. No, I need to go first in case . . .”

Rafe, the strongest man she’d ever known, was scared to death of something that he’d seen in that cave tunnel. Her heart started thudding in matching fear. As always when she was in a tight spot, she took charge and started issuing orders.

“You go first. Lead your own horse.” It’s just that she’d never thought she’d need to do it with Rafe. “I’ll stick close leading mine. No one would be able to get to me with my horse behind me. Let’s go.”

He hesitated another second and then jerked his chin in agreement, leading his horse into the dark tunnel.

With her own fear ignited, she wanted to get away just as badly as he did.

Except she wanted to come back, too. Yet she had a bad feeling, based on the way he was acting right now, that Rafe wasn’t going to want to bring her.

As the light vanished, she rested her hand on the cool rock wall, let it scratch gently at her fingertips and wondered what she was touching. Her horse trailed her, its iron-shod hooves echoing. What had gone on to create this caldera and this vent and leave behind the fossils? She could imagine the power of a volcano. She could see the explosion, ripping a hole in the side of the mountain while the top exploded with fiery lava, then collapsed to form that beautiful crater. In the pitch black, she felt the glory of God in a way she often did while she worked with fossils.

It was all a wonder, a mystery, a gift from a God who created things both wonderful and terrible.

The thought of God’s power calmed her. The clopping of Rafe’s horse guided her. Before she knew it, they were out of the cavern and into the sunlight.

“Let’s go.” Rafe turned to grab her.

“Stop!” Julia held up her hands and backed away from him. Rafe’s horse slowed him down and he missed when he tried to snag her. “Stop it, Rafe, right now!”

Either the yelling penetrated his fear or he’d just finally calmed down enough to be sensible. He stopped. He stood in front of her for a long moment, his chest heaving, his tanned face flushed. Then his eyes slowly fell shut. He dragged a deep breath. His tense shoulders relaxed and he opened his eyes.

“Okay. I know I’m acting like a locoweed. I know it.” He looked at the tunnel. Julia stepped off to the side so he had a clear path to stare into the black oval of stone.

“I just—just—I had to get out of there. I thought, that is I heard . . .” He swallowed as if he had half an apple stuck in his throat.

Julia came forward and caught his hand. “Tell me what happened.”

Rafe looked away from that tunnel entrance and nodded. “I just went back—back in time.” He scrubbed a hand over his face as if to wash away the memory. “Inside my head. I went back to a really awful time and place. Something that happened when I was young. No, not that young. I was too old to have been so scared, so weak.”

There was something in his eyes that edged its way into Julia’s heart. He looked young and scared and almost defeated. Julia had always taken care of herself. She’d taken care of her mother when she’d gotten sick and died. She’d taken care of whatever house her father had set her up in. Lately, she’d gotten the duty of taking care of Audra and little Maggie. Now she couldn’t stop herself from taking care of Rafe.

She moved forward quietly and took him into her arms. Hugging him tight, she felt him tense. For a man who had taken far too many liberties with her, he didn’t seem receptive to her touch and she wondered for a moment if he’d push her away.

The pain was shocking, the fear. Though it didn’t seem possible, Julia knew she loved Rafe Kincaid.

Maybe not a man and woman kind of love. Maybe just the love God called every believer to show for others. But whatever it was, it was real and solid and she didn’t want to let it go.

And she was terrified Rafe would reject her. That was a man’s way, wasn’t it?

Then suddenly his arms came around her hard, so hard they hurt. A wonderful kind of hurt that Julia knew she’d remember and cherish for the rest of her life.

They stood there on that mountain slope, the breeze buffeting them. One of the horses tossed its head and the metal in its bridle clinked. Cool, dank air breathed on her from the tunnel while the warm afternoon of a Colorado June warmed her, even though the sun had slipped over the mountain at their backs and cast them into shadows.

The moment was one of the sweetest of Julia’s life. It reminded her of the day she’d been there to bring Maggie into the world. With no idea how to do such a thing—and Audra knowing even less—Julia had attended the arrival of a new life. And this embrace felt like new life, too.

Finally, Rafe’s grip eased and he raised his head. Their eyes met.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Her question was a whisper, soft enough that if he wanted to ignore it, turn and move, he could pretend that he hadn’t heard her and she’d let him.

“I—I just had a hard look at a terrible part of myself. A failure. Out of control. It’s shameful.” The harsh laugh was nothing Julia had ever heard from Rafe before. “Like a whining little girl.”

That pinched. “Hey, I’ll have you know little girls can be as tough as they need to be.” Julia knew from experience just how tough a young girl could be.

That brought Rafe’s head around and she saw amusement in his eyes, though he couldn’t quite manage a smile. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“Just tell me.” Julia hoped and prayed he would.

Rafe nodded. “Let’s go on down while we talk.”

He started out down the talus slide, and Julia kept up rather than be left behind.

“We ran pretty wild when we were kids. Ma was . . . sick, I guess you’d say. She just sat around, quiet-like. She’d cook meals at least part of the time, but mostly she sat in her rocker. She cried a lot. And Pa was building the ranch, and he trapped furs too, and hunted gold. He’d go off, sometimes for weeks at a time. Seemed like he was gone longer and longer as the years went by.

“He wasn’t kind to Ma, yelled at her a lot, and he seemed to want to do things on his own rather than have us boys tagging after him. We had chores. He’d leave us to them and go out alone.” Rafe shrugged. “That left us pretty much on our own.”

Rafe was describing Julia’s life. Her mother sick. Her father gone. She’d have loved above all things to have a couple of little brothers or sisters. But what if she’d had them and led them into danger. She shuddered at the thought. Instead there’d been only her. And she ran wild, hunted in caverns she probably had no business in, found peace and contentment—as much as possible—in nature and her own company.

“We got in the habit of exploring that cavern you love so much. It’s a dangerous place, but I didn’t realize it at the time, or maybe I just didn’t think it through. It was spooky and beautiful and fun. I was all for hunting around down there.”

Rafe picked up the pace. Julia hurried along, hoping he wouldn’t forget he was in the middle of a story.

“Then one day we had trouble. Bad trouble.” They reached the bottom of the slope where Rafe stopped, turned to her and grabbed one hand. He squeezed her fingers until they hurt. “You need to stay out of there. It’s deadly. I didn’t stop Ethan and Seth from going down. I encouraged them. I wanted to be down there.” Rafe’s breathing picked up. His gaze seemed to look through her. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head as if to clear it.

“There was trouble and I—I—” He ran a hand over the scar on his forehead.

“Is that when you got the scar?” She reached up and her hand touched his as she drew her forefinger along the jagged wound. His hair was short enough that it showed all the time, but she mostly forgot about it. That scar didn’t change the fact that he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

“Yes. Every time I touch it, I remember how badly I failed my brothers.”

It was his habit to rub on that scar. Which meant he remembered all the time. “What happened, what trouble?”

“I found out the truth and I—I am not an honorable man. I can force myself to do the right thing, but in my heart I couldn’t control the selfish need to take care of myself no matter who suffered.”

“No, Rafe.”

“Yes.” His eyes blazed. “And today there was a pit in that cave. I almost fell into it and it brought that day back. I heard something or someone, climbing up out of that pit. I felt like something was coming for me. I—I suppose it was just that man we saw. Of course it was.”

Rafe scrubbed his face again. “But for just a few minutes, I could have sworn the devil himself was climbing right up from the underworld to grab me and drag me down. And I ran. Today I ran just like all those years ago. I thought I’d gotten control of myself, but I haven’t. I’m the same weakling I always was.”

A chill raised goose bumps along Julia’s arms. “There’s a pit in this cave? And someone was in it?”

“Yes. I might have let my imagination run wild with thoughts of the devil, but I didn’t imagine that someone was there. It was pitch-dark. I heard a sound, felt along and found a rope hanging over the edge of a hole. It was moving, pulled tight, as if someone was hanging from it. That’s where the man we saw must have gone, but I lost control in there. I ran scared.”

“I’d have run, too.” Julia launched herself at Rafe and he stumbled backward with a grunt.

He held her tight. So tight.

“Anytime you need to talk, I’ll listen.”

“Thank you.” Rafe kissed her.

She knew she shouldn’t be kissing him, but he needed her. When the kiss ended, she whispered, “I’m so glad you told me. Talking about it has to help and I want to help.”

“Good, then it’s settled.” His callused hands rested, one on each cheek. “I’ll see to it.”

“Settled?” Julia’s eyes weren’t fully focused. And neither were her thoughts. “See to what?”

“See to—”

“Rafe!” Ethan’s voice lashed them like a bullwhip. “Julia, come quick.”

Julia stepped back and bumped into her horse. She and Rafe were standing between their two mounts. She peeked over the back of Rafe’s to face Ethan.

Bracing herself for what she’d learned was a steady stream of irreverence from Ethan, Julia wondered just exactly what Rafe thought was settled.

Ethan galloped up, lacking his usual incessant, vacant smile. And he was looking straight at her.

With sympathy.

“Julia, I’m sorry.”

She knew before he said it what was coming.

“Your pa just died.”

Rafe’s hand came to her back to support her.

“And Audra went into labor.”

Julia jerked away from Rafe’s touch.

“It stopped. She says it’s happened before and she’s fine now, but I convinced her to go to bed.” Ethan swung down, and that was when Julia noticed that Ethan had Maggie in a little pack on his back.

“Good grief, where’d you get that thing?” Julia hurried toward the baby.

“Steele had seen one before. An Indian woman carried her baby this way. He made it while I stayed inside worrying over Audra.”

The baby was facing backward, her arms and legs waving.

“Give her to me.”

“No, it takes a while to get it rigged. Just mount up and let’s go.”

Julia nodded. “Yes, of course. I have to get home.”

She turned to her horse and was galloping before she’d given it a thought. Then finally she did think and she realized she was riding for Audra, to help her. Worried about the baby falling out of that strange pack. There was no grief, and that in itself was a terrible sort of grief.

Thundering hooves told her the Kincaid men were right behind her. She glanced back and a movement far behind her drew her attention to that vent they’d just come through. A man. Was it the same man? This one didn’t look just the same. He had a beard but something else. He was too far away to see for sure, but she thought he wore an eye patch. Then he was gone and Julia wasn’t sure what she’d seen. She looked forward to guide her horse.

Who was that man?

And what had Rafe meant when he’d said he’d see to it?

And what in the world did he think was settled?

Gilliland was dead!

He cursed the luck. He wanted to shriek and swear and pull his gun and kill and kill and kill.

Staring at the three people who rode away, he considered the possibilities.

He could follow a trail. Rubbing his sweat-soaked hand over the scar that had made him so ugly, he wondered how to handle this? The boss wasn’t one for excuses.

A letter. He could use their system and leave the boss a message. Then what?

Quit?

If a man died, his secrets didn’t necessarily die with him. He left a trail.

If anyone would know the truth about a man’s secrets, it was his daughter.

The daughter looked over her shoulder and saw him. He deliberately stayed in view for a few seconds, enjoying revealing himself to her. After a few seconds, he ducked back into the cave and back into darkness where he belonged.

Nothing had really changed. He needed the daughter still. Only now, instead of using her to drag the truth out of Gilliland, he’d find the truth within her.

And again he had the urge to laugh. This time he didn’t try and control himself.