Chapter Eighteen
Rachel stacked the last clean glass back on the bar shelf and heaved a sigh of relief. It was getting late, and all she wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep off the mountain of food she’d eaten. Cauy had definitely enjoyed sharing Thanksgiving with her and the Morgans, although she sensed that large gatherings were still an effort for him.
What exactly had happened to him in the accident and its aftermath? She wondered whether she’d ever have the right to ask him that question. It was all very well Billy saying she should wait for Cauy to tell her, but sometimes it sucked waiting. She took the used bar towel through to the laundry in the kitchen and washed her hands in the sink. Ruth had gone on ahead, leaving her and Billy to finish up.
“Are you all done, Rachel?” Billy asked as he cleaned the kitchen table one last time.
“Yes. I think we can go now.”
Billy smiled at her. “It was a good day. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy running a kitchen.”
“Seeing Blue and Jenna get married was awesome.” Rachel went to look for her jacket. “They both looked so happy. Did you know what was happening?”
“Actually, I did, but I was sworn to secrecy.” Billy took off his apron. “And as I’ve been focused on regaining my children’s trust there was no way I was going to let that secret out.”
Rachel handed him his jacket. “It’s snowing out there, so wrap up.”
“You too.” The denim made his eyes look even bluer, if that was possible. “The Lymond boys had a good time.”
“Yes, they did.” Rachel linked her arm through her father’s as they turned off the lights and stepped into the reception area. “It was kind of Ruth to invite them.”
“You and Cauy are getting along well now.”
“As well as he’ll let me.” She half smiled. “It’s like prying open a clam.”
Billy chuckled and then shuddered as Rachel opened the front door, and the cold wind hit them full-on. “Damn. I’d better go check everything’s okay in the barn. I doubt any of the boys remembered. Why don’t you go on home?”
Rachel considered the softly falling snow, which made the whole landscape an unrelenting and unrecognizable white. “I’d rather stick with you. I can’t even work out which way is home.”
“I’ll keep you safe.” Billy patted her hand. “With two of us we can get it done faster.”
Luckily, Billy knew where he was headed, and all Rachel had to do was hang on to his arm and stick close to his side. The lights of the barn came into view really fast, and she blinked at them through the snow. It was amazing how the snow distorted everything.
“If it gets really bad, we’ll string up some rope guidelines between the house and the barn,” Billy said as he stepped onto the cement floor and shook the snow out of his hat. “It’s real easy to get turned around out there when there’s a storm coming through.”
Rachel was getting that big-time. She followed Billy down the center of the barn as he checked each horse, staying to pat heads and feed treats as she went.
“That’s not right.” Billy halted near the other end of the barn near the tack room.
“What isn’t?” Rachel turned from petting her horse, Petunia.
“There are two horses missing.” He pointed at the empty stalls, his expression grim. “Do you have your cell phone on you?”
“Yes, of course.” Rachel got it out of her pocket. “Who do you want me to call?”
“Let’s start with Roy. If anyone knows where those horses are, it’ll be him.”
* * *
By the time Billy and Rachel got back to the house, Roy had arrived in his truck, and Chase was also in the kitchen. The twins were helping Blue move Jenna into the house. Rachel had called them, and they promised to keep an eye out for the horses and come back to help as soon as they’d finished.
Rachel accepted the cup of hot chocolate Ruth offered her and cradled the mug in her cold hands. Chase was texting on his phone, and Billy was explaining which horses had disappeared to Roy, who was sitting at the table next to Ruth.
“Bonanza and Rawhide?” Roy asked. “Those two yahoos Carlson and Sean were riding them this week.”
Ruth looked up. “And they were both here at the wedding. I didn’t see them leave.” She prodded Chase. “Call Sam. Ask her to check if those boys are all tucked up for the night in their cabin; she’s right next door to them.”
“Will do.” Chase started texting again. “I’ve alerted Nate Turner and asked Jay to keep a lookout in town in case anyone rides in or drives through with our horses.”
“Didn’t Sam go with HW?” Rachel asked.
“No, she was too tired and went to rest up,” Ruth said. “January’s in bed as well. She felt a little queasy after all that rich food.”
“Pregnancy does that to you,” Chase murmured as he focused on his screen. “I advised her not to eat too much, but she told me to shut it.”
“January’s breeding?” Roy slapped his thigh. “Good Lord.”
“Scratch that.” Chase looked up, his expression horrified. “I wasn’t supposed to mention it. She’ll kill me.”
Ruth chuckled. “As if I hadn’t guessed already.”
“Don’t ask her any leading questions, okay?” Chase looked imploringly at his grandmother. “Or she’ll know I blabbed. She wants to tell you herself and didn’t want to upstage BB’s wedding.”
Rachel hid a smile at her oldest brother’s inability to keep a secret. Even in the middle of such drama it was cool to know she was going to be an aunt in the new year.
Chase’s cell buzzed, and he returned his gaze to the screen. “Sam says she had to knock hard enough to raise the dead. Two of them are there, and two of them are missing.”
Billy whistled. “Then I suppose we have to assume that those two idiots are somewhere out there in a snowstorm.”
“With two of our good horses,” Roy added.
“I’m more worried about the liability issues of losing two guests at the moment,” Chase groaned. “We’re going to have to look for them, aren’t we?”
“I darn well wouldn’t,” Roy muttered. “Serves them right.”
“They are still our guests, they’re on our land, and we are unfortunately still responsible for them even if they are complete dickheads.” Chase stood up. “I’ll notify all the local ranches to keep an eye out as well.” He looked over at Roy. “You know this land like the back of your hand. What’s the best place to start searching?”
Roy looked at Billy and Rachel. “I’d start at the silver mine. The two fools were very interested in that.”
“And Cauy and I found that new entrance,” Rachel said. “Maybe they’ve gone up there?”
“Fools if they have.” Ruth shivered. “It’s even colder up there than it is here, and apart from the mine, there are very few landmarks to get your bearings from.”
“And what about that great big sinkhole?” Roy said gloomily. “Let’s just hope they haven’t ended up down there.”
“Rachel, do you want to go with Billy and Roy?” Chase asked her directly. “I’d appreciate your expertise on this matter if they have gotten into the mine itself.”
“Sure,” Rachel said, nodding. “I still have my protective gear. I’ll go find it.”
* * *
By the time she returned, Billy had loaded up Chase’s big truck, and Ruth was handing out coffee to go. Rachel got into the back seat of the truck, and Billy looked over his shoulder.
“I sent a text to Cauy seeing as the guys might be on his land.”
“Okay.” Rachel put on her seat belt. She was currently wishing she hadn’t drunk so much champagne.
“You’re the only one who knows exactly where that second entrance is.” Billy swung the truck around in a circle and set off, the bright headlights illuminating the swirling snow and not much else. “Do you think you’ll be able to find it again in this weather?”
“I’ll do my best.” Rachel grimaced. Her sense of direction had never been great. “It’s relatively close to the fourth GPR unit.”
Billy nodded as the truck began to climb, its engine laboring. “We’ll head up to the main entrance to the mine and take it from there.”
* * *
Cauy sifted aimlessly through the pile of mail he’d picked up from the post office, separated out the junk, and tossed it in the trash. Jackson had gone to bed, leaving him in peace for a while. There was a letter to each of them from their mom and a thick envelope from Kim, Cauy’s lawyer, which probably related to his research on the Morgans.
Cauy propped Jackson’s letter up against the desk light and opened his own. Just seeing his mom’s handwriting made him smile. She wrote about her dogs, her daily life, what Amy was up to, and all the regular mom stuff. Apparently, she was going out with friends for Thanksgiving, which he would’ve known if he’d opened his mail earlier. He’d called to wish her a happy Thanksgiving, but she hadn’t picked up.
“Bad son,” Cauy murmured to himself, and folded up the letter. “I’ll call her again in the morning.”
He opened the envelope from Kim and scanned the cover letter, which didn’t offer many specifics, but contained an estimate of costs that made Cauy wince. He’d learned to be careful with money at a young age, and he’d never really grown out of it. During the legal transition of the ranch into Cauy’s name Kim had dug up some land dispute between the Lymond and the Morgan families in the late nineteenth century, which had never gone to court, and shared it with Cauy.
According to Kim at the time, the Morgan family had pretty much owned the valley, the new township, and the mine, and anyone with sense knew they would not get justice in Morgan Valley if it was against the founding family. Kim argued that Cauy could still put a claim in for the land, even though he might not win, and maybe get an out-of-court financial settlement.
“‘Chase Morgan can afford it!’” Cauy read out loud, noting the exclamation mark his lawyer had added for emphasis. “I’m sure he can, but I’m not sure I want to do that to Rachel’s brother.”
He spread the sheets out and studied the two maps Kim had provided. The oldest map showed the boundary line with the mine completely on Lymond property. Had his ancestors wanted all the profit from the mine to go to them? Of course they had.
Cauy stacked the papers and put them on the side of the desk. He’d look through them again and give Kim a definite no after the long weekend. Even if he hadn’t been involved with Rachel he wouldn’t be pursuing the claim. Living here and accepting the help the Morgans had so willingly offered him had changed his mind and freed him from his father’s brainwashing. Let them keep their land, and he’d tend to his own.
His cell buzzed and lit up with a text from Chase.
FYI 2 horses and 2 guests missing from ranch.
Believe might be at old mine or new entrance on Lymond side of fence.
Cauy stared at the text and then glanced out of the window where the snow was still falling before texting his reply.
I’ll go up there right now. Thanks
He put on his warmest gear, poured hot coffee into his flask, and set off, leaving a note for Jackson on the kitchen table. He hoped his tires would manage on the icy road and the barren fields close to the mine. He drove slowly, worried that the horses might appear at any moment when the visibility was down to almost zero. It was one of those times when he was really glad he’d stopped drinking.
As he drew closer to the mine, the dazzle of another set of stationary headlights hit his windshield, making him blink and slow down even more. He cautiously parked up on the flat expanse in front of the mine and got out of the truck into the howling wind.
Roy lifted his hand and shouted, “Cauy!”—his voice almost snatched away by the gusting breeze. He was sheltering in the overhang of the mine. “Over here!”
Cauy rammed his hat down, lowered his chin, and set off. It was only a few feet, but it felt like miles as if his boots were loaded down with lead.
He recognized Billy by his white beard and then saw Rachel.
“We found the horses!” Roy pointed at the side of the blocked-in entrance. “Tied up all safe and sound.”
“Great. Where are the riders?” Cauy asked.
“We’re not sure.” Roy grimaced. “Can’t see them in the sinkhole, which is one good thing. Rachel thinks they might have gone to the other entrance.”
“That’s possible,” Cauy agreed. “Especially if they set out before it snowed and are now stuck there. How about I go down and check it out, and you guys take the horses back to the ranch?”
Rachel leaned into the conversation against the wind. “That’s what I said. I was just waiting for you to turn up so we could go.”
Cauy frowned at her. “You don’t need to come.”
“I’m the only person here with any experience in structural integrity. If they have gotten into the mine, we’ll need to make sure it’s safe before we go in after them.”
Cauy held Rachel’s gaze and admired the resolve in her eyes. He might not like it, but he sure as hell respected her.
“Okay. Good plan.” He accepted defeat. “How about Billy and Roy take the horses back, and then come and check in on us at the second entrance? They can either pick us up, or help us get the guests home.”
Billy glanced at Rachel, who gave him a quick, reassuring nod. “We’ll do that. I don’t want to risk leaving the horses out here much longer in this wind.”
“I’ll help you tie them to the back of your truck,” Cauy offered.
Ten minutes later he had Rachel in his passenger seat, and she was using the coordinates on her phone to guide them to the fourth GPR unit. Cauy didn’t think his truck would make it down the slope to the actual mine entrance, and Rachel had cautioned him not to get too close anyway. To his relief, the wind had eased a little, as had the snow. He’d heard enough shrieking and moaning to last him a lifetime. He was beginning to understand why the townsfolk had abandoned Morganville, and the mine, and settled farther down the valley.
Rachel shivered. “I can see why my mom hated it in the winter.”
“This isn’t the worst weather I’ve seen out here either,” Cauy commented. “We’ve had blizzards that blow for days and pile the snow up several feet high so you have to dig a path between the house and the barn to get to the animals.”
“So Billy was telling me.” Rachel leaned forward and pointed. “The GPR unit is right here.”
“Got it.” Cauy saw the flicker of orange tape just before he ran it over. “I’ll park up, and we’ll walk down the slope.”
Rachel zipped up what looked like a long puffy ski jacket and drew the hood over her knitted hat.
Cauy frowned. “Are you sure you’ll be warm enough in that?”
“It’s full of down and works really well for skiing, so I think I’ll be okay.” She turned to smile at him. “Are you ready?”
The last thing he wanted to do was get out of his nice warm truck and trek off into the snow, but he really had no choice.
“Sure. I’ll bring my flashlight.” He stuck his coffee flask in his other pocket and tried to pretend it was a normal working day.
“Jeez . . .”
He stepped down and his breath seized in the cold. He hurriedly covered his mouth with his scarf and waited for Rachel to join him. He grabbed her gloved hand in his and set off down the slope, taking his time over the uneven frozen ground, his flashlight illuminating their path.
“Look.” Rachel poked him in the back. “The entrance is open.”
Cauy walked slowly up to the gaping hole, his heart hammering, and peered inside. The air smelled old and metallic. Nothing about it made him want to go in there. At least the overhanging ridge provided some shelter from the wind.
“Let me look.” Rachel came alongside him, and he held the flashlight high for her. “I can see a tunnel, and there’s a light. It must be them.”
She turned to Cauy. “Let me go first, okay? And follow my exact footsteps. This place is not stable.”
“Got it.” For once he had no intention of arguing with her.
She knelt, took off her backpack, and opened it to reveal a hard hat with a light, an orange safety jacket, and some kind of tool belt.
“Very professional looking,” Cauy quipped to disguise his gathering unease. “I’ve just got my coffee.”
She put on the backpack. “Let’s take this really slowly, okay?”
He eased to the side and gripped the door frame as she took her first step inside, the lamp on her helmet a softer glow than the white beam of his flashlight. He forced himself to move over the threshold and immediately froze. Along with the fetid air came the smell of beer, and ancient history. Something about the structure of the passages made the wind whistle and creak like a living thing.
Rachel took another two steps, her head moving as she scanned the narrow passageway and the wooden supports. Even as she paused a trickle of dirt dropped from the ceiling followed by a groaning sound. She moved on and then turned to look back at Cauy.
“Are you coming?”
He tried to move forward, but he couldn’t. The idea of going deeper into that hellishly small space was doing his head in.
“Cauy, are you okay?” Rachel asked.
He managed to shake his head.
“Okay, how about you stay right by the door and watch out for Billy while I go and get these two idiots?”
He backed up as fast as if he’d seen a rattlesnake and leaned against the solid rock of the opening, his gloved fingers hanging on like a baby bird to the side of a nest. He turned his face toward the outside positively enjoying the freezing snow melting on his face and the slap of the wind. Rachel would think he was a coward, but there was nothing he could do about that. The mere thought of being trapped was more terrifying than anything else in his current existence.
* * *
After one last concerned glance back at Cauy, Rachel went forward. Part of her was thrilled with actually being inside the old structure, while her professional side was busy assessing the risks. The mine timbers were aged pine and looked remarkably strong, but the packed soil between them had shifted, changing the ratio of the weight and undermining the overall balance. Someone had chalked an arrow on one of the walls along with a series of numbers that meant nothing to Rachel.
As she eased along the passage the distinctive smell of weed curled around her, and she wanted to roll her eyes. Instead, she turned on Cauy’s big flashlight and took a left at the tunnel junction, ending up in a small hollowed-out turnout.
“Don’t shoot!” One of the guys cackled and giggled as her flashlight swept over him. “Ouch! You’re hurting my eyes.”
Rachel lowered the light. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
Idiot Number One held up his hands. “Having some fun. Do you wanna join us, sweetness? My name’s Carlson, and this is Sean.”
“I know who you are—you’re the idiots who left two horses out to die in a snowstorm and broke into a dangerous mine.”
“What snowstorm?” Carlson asked, grinning at her. “It was fine when we left.”
“The whole county is out looking for you including the sheriff’s department, so maybe you could get off your asses and come on out?” Rachel said.
Sean pouted. “I love my horse, Bonanza. He’s a badass.”
“And you left him outside in a snowstorm,” Rachel snapped. “If we hadn’t found him he would probably have frozen to death.”
Sean staggered to his feet and weaved unsteadily toward Rachel. “He’s okay, right?”
“I don’t know. He’s currently on his way back to the ranch to be inspected and treated.”
“Then how am I supposed to get back?” Sean demanded like it was her fault.
Having dealt with her fair share of stoners at college, Rachel knew she wouldn’t get much sense out of them.
“We have a truck.” She glanced over at Carlson, who was finishing up his joint. “Are you done?”
He flicked the ash on the floor. “No need to get all riled up, babycakes. We’re coming.”
Rachel took a moment to check that there were no smoldering ashes or other combustibles lying around and escorted Sean to the door. She kept hold of his arm as he stumbled along the tunnel giggling whenever he almost fell.
Cauy was waiting at the exit, so she handed Sean over to him without comment and went back to make sure Carlson was coming. His voice echoed in the cavernous interior.
“Wow, it really is snowing.”
Rachel waited for him to catch up with her and walked him toward the exit. Cauy glanced briefly her way.
“I just saw lights coming down the hill so either Roy’s back or one of your brothers has brought his truck up here to help. I left my spare flashlight outside to guide them toward this entrance.”
“Great, then we can offload these two idiots.”
“Hey!” Sean said. “I heard that.”
Cauy stepped outside, one arm holding a swaying Sean in place. Rachel nodded to Carlson to come through the opening. As Carlson stepped forward, he lost his footing and crashed heavily against the doorjamb, giggling and snorting as he attempted to right himself. Rachel staggered as he crashed into her, almost sending her to the ground. She used her strength to shove him outside.
Even as he half fell to his knees, the mine gave an ominous creak, and the wooden lintel above the entrance snapped in half.
“Rachel!” Cauy shouted, and dived toward her, taking her completely down to the floor like a sacked quarterback.
Even though his body covered hers, the roar of the wall coming down was deafening, and they were both covered in a layer of rocks and dust.
Coughing and choking, Rachel tried to push Cauy off her, and finally succeeded in rolling him onto his back. It was only then that she realized he wasn’t conscious, and that there was a pool of blood gathering on the floor beneath his head.
Rachel took off her backpack, found her spare flashlight, and set it on the ground. Her fingers were shaking so hard it was difficult to check Cauy’s pulse and release the tabs on the small medical kit she always carried with her. His hat had disappeared somewhere under the pile of debris, his cell phone was smashed, and he’d obviously been hit in the back of the head with something sharp.
Rachel rolled him into the recovery position on his side and examined the back of his head. She couldn’t see a puncture wound, but pressed a medicated pad to where his hair was most bloodied and hoped for the best. Within a minute his eyes opened, and he groaned.
“What happened?”
Rachel decided to keep it simple. “You hit your head. I’m just cleaning the cut before I stick a Band-Aid on it.”
He blinked at her, and his eyes finally focused. “We’re in the mine.”
“Yes, well, as to that . . .” She smiled brightly. “I’m sure it’s all going to be fine.”
He eased away from her and sat up, swaying so hard she braced herself to catch him again. He slowly turned his head to where the exit had been.
“Shit.”
“Yes. Exactly.” Rachel nodded. “Carlson tripped and fell into the doorjamb, and brought the lintel down.”
Cauy continued to stare at the pile of rubble while Rachel finished cleaning up the blood on the back of his head. She sprayed some antiseptic onto his skull, and he didn’t even flinch.
“I have to get out of here.”
Rachel went still, then put her medical kit away before crawling around to face Cauy. He looked perfectly composed, but there was a tightness around his mouth that worried her.
She tried to sound soothing. “I’m sure that as soon as Billy and Roy see the guys standing out there, they’ll work out what’s happened and get some help up here.”
Cauy shook his head. On closer inspection his whole body was shaking. He grabbed his phone and stared at the shattered screen. “Storm’s gotten worse again. They probably won’t come. We’re trapped.”
Rachel found her cell, which had been protected, in her backpack. “Cauy, it’s okay. We can do this.”
“Rachel.” He grabbed hold of her hand. “I goddamn can’t. Don’t you understand?”
She gripped his fingers hard. “The rest of this space looks structurally secure so we’re safe enough.”
“Safe?”
“Yes, all we have to worry about is making the exit wall secure when they dig us out from the other side.”
“What if the whole damn ridge has come down?” Cauy asked.
“It didn’t sound like it did to me.” She held his gaze. “Let’s see if my cell phone’s working, and we can get hold of Billy or Chase.”
As soon as she turned on her phone, the text icon lit up and her phone buzzed with messages from Billy and Ry, whom she assumed had seen what had happened. She picked one at random and replied, but the message wasn’t delivered. She tried again.
We’re both okay. Exit is blocked. How bad is it on your side?
She waited hopefully for Billy’s reply, her hand still locked in Cauy’s.
There was still no answer so she had to assume they were on their own until someone dug them out. At least someone out there knew where they were.
Rachel glanced dubiously at Cauy. The vibe he was giving off was not good, but there was nothing she could do about that right now. She turned slightly so he couldn’t read her screen. Could she pretend?
“Billy says the storm has picked up, and they’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try and get through to us.” She took a deep breath. There was no point in sugarcoating the issue. “It’s a good thing we’ve got each other, right?”
Cauy visibly shook himself. “Yeah, or else I would be curled up in a ball screaming my lungs out right about now.”
“You don’t like small spaces?” Rachel opened her backpack and took out two thin heat-retaining blankets they used at the end of marathons. If she kept calm maybe she could help Cauy through this. She was totally convinced that when Billy realized what had happened he’d get them out.
“Not since I got buried.” Cauy shuddered. “When the oil well exploded I ended up under a huge pile of burning debris. Between the choking fumes, the fire, and the shards of metal flying around I was lucky to be alive.”
“So this is much better then.” Rachel continued to search her backpack.
Cauy raised an eyebrow. “Like how?”
“No fire, no flames, just a piddly little rock fall that knocked you out.”
“Piddly?” He held her gaze. “Is this your way of making me feel better?”
“Is it working?”
He considered her. “Well, I’m not curled up screaming, so yeah, I suppose it is.”
“Good.” She handed him her small flashlight. “Do you want to come and explore with me?”
He recoiled as though she’d thumped him. “Are you nuts?”
She shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to come down here. I suspect that after this fiasco, Chase is going to fill this mine to the brim with cement regardless and pretend it never existed.” Cauy was still staring at her as if she might explode at any moment. “If you don’t want to come, you can sit here and keep an eye on my cell phone.”
She waited a second, but he didn’t move. She wasn’t surprised. At least he didn’t look so shell-shocked, and he hadn’t fallen to pieces when she’d told him the bad news about their delayed rescue.
“There might even be another way out,” she tempted him.
“Not working, Rachel, but nice try.”
His faint attempt at a smile made her want to high-five him. He was so much stronger than he realized.
“Okay, I won’t be long. I’m not even sure this section connects back into the main mine workings. It could’ve been an exploratory tunnel.”
“Don’t go too far.”
“I won’t.” Rachel stood and adjusted her hard hat, glad that she’d had it on when the rocks came down. “I’ll see if those idiots Carlson and Sean left anything behind that we can use. I guess this wasn’t the first time they came in here.”
She pointed at the silver blanket. “These are great for retaining heat. If you get cold, you can either sit on it, or wrap it around your shoulders.”
“I’m not cold.”
“Yeah, it’s actually quite warm in here so that’s one good thing.” She smiled at him. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
* * *
Cauy watched Rachel saunter down the mine corridor like she was sashaying down Main Street and wanted to shout at her, to tell her not to be so damned stupid, to sit down, and—
And what? Rock and cry along with him? He breathed out and forced himself to take stock of his situation just like his therapist had taught him. Yeah, sure he was currently trapped inside an old abandoned silver mine, but as Rachel had so kindly pointed out, he wasn’t buried alive, burning, or suffocating.
Things could be a lot worse.
Or the mine could just collapse right on top of them, and they’d never recover the bodies.... He felt the weight of it above him like a pressure in his head.
Cauy groaned and rubbed his hands over his dust-encrusted face. He’d stopped the rocks from hitting Rachel and kept her safe. That was a good thing. If the mine did come down he’d know very little about it. His breathing eased a little, and his heart rate was no longer at running-away-from-zombies level.
Taking the silvery blanket, he spread it out on the floor and sat on it, noticing the instant difference to his already frozen ass. The Morgans would get them out of here. All he had to do was spend the night in the mine....
Worrying about that ceiling coming down.
Cauy frowned at himself. Talk about negative thinking. He was the poster boy for that. Did he want Rachel to think he was a complete wuss?
“Too late, bud,” Cauy murmured to himself. “I think she already knows.”
* * *
Rachel reached the spot where she’d found Sean and Carlson and shined her flashlight around until she located the lamp they’d obviously been using. There were also two sleeping bags, one of Ruth’s patchwork quilts, and two couch pillows that should’ve been left in their cabin. If she could persuade Cauy to take a few more steps into the mine they could probably bed down here for the night in relative comfort.
But would he come this far? If he wouldn’t, she could simply take everything and make them a bed closer to the exit. In the corner of the alcove there was a metal file cabinet that looked completely out of place in the mine. Rachel approached it and tried the rusting drawers, but they were locked. She couldn’t believe Sean and Carlson had lugged the thing up from the ranch, and wondered who had. There were cigarette butts and bottle caps beside the rickety chair, but they looked older.
Rachel left the space and went farther down the passageway. The silence and warmth settled around her. How long was it since anyone had mined down here? The tunnel narrowed, and she decided to turn back. There was no point risking her safety when she’d already been lucky enough to survive one unexpected cave-in.
She walked slowly back to where Cauy was sitting with his back to the wall like a nervous gangster. He’d found his flask of coffee and set it out on the ground in front of him. She sank down beside him.
“I’m so glad you brought this. I left my flask in Chase’s truck. I only have water in my backpack.”
“Help yourself.”
Rachel took a couple of big glugs and savored the searing heat of the coffee as it went down her throat. “That’s good. Are you having some?”
He took the flask from her and had a quick drink. “I’ll save some for the morning.”
“Good idea.” She kept her voice light and encouraging. At least he was anticipating them having a morning, which had to be good, right? “Sean and Carlson left some sleeping bags and stuff back there that we can use. Would you like to come and check them out?”
“I can’t.” He stared down at his booted feet. “I know it sounds stupid, but I need to be the closest I can get to the outside world.”
“Not a problem. I can bring their stuff in here.” Rachel went to get the quilt and sleeping bags. She also brought the high-powered lantern and set it on the floor near the remains of the exit. It brightened things up considerably. “I think they finished all the weed.”
Cauy’s reluctant laugh warmed her soul as she sat beside him on the blanket and wrapped the other one around both their shoulders.
“There’s something else odd back there.”
“Like what?” Cauy asked with some effort.
“Some kind of filing cabinet, a desk, and a chair. They look like they’ve been there for ages. When Chase arrives in the morning, I’ll make sure he clears them out before the mine is filled.”
Rachel surreptitiously checked her cell, but there were no new messages or replies to her. It looked like they really were on their own.... It wasn’t the first time she’d been down a mine, but she’d never imagined she’d end up sleeping in one. Not that Cauy was going to sleep. She had a sense he was way too uptight even to lie down, but she was going to make him try anyway. Some of her can-do positive attitude would really come in useful right now.
She fake-yawned. “How about we put the quilt underneath us and join the two sleeping bags together so that we can get comfortable?”
“Comfortable?” Cauy looked at her as if she was mad. “Down here?”
She shrugged. “Might as well.” She grabbed the heavy quilt. “Can you help me?”
Cauy spread the quilt while she zipped the two bags together and placed the pillows at the top.
Behind her, the wind prowled the old mine like a living thing, making the structure sway and groan. Every time there was an extra loud crack, Cauy flinched.
“Come on.” Rachel patted the bedding.
She took off her boots, got into the sleeping bag, and scooted across so Cauy could join her. Eventually he did, removing his boots and lying alongside her, his whole body rigid. She rolled onto her side, put her head on his shoulder, and manhandled his arm around her shoulders.
His heart was beating so fast she was surprised he was able to stay still. She smoothed a hand over his open jacket and petted him, hoping he’d relax just a fraction.
“It’s okay,” she murmured.
“No, it damn well is not.”
“Hey!” Rachel poked his chest. “This is the first time I’ve ever gotten to snuggle with you without worrying about anyone interrupting us.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true! We’re all alone and horizontal with our clothes on.”
He turned his head to look down at her. “If you think I’m capable of getting it on in an abandoned mine your optimism is misplaced.”
Rachel pouted. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to talk to each other. Unless you want to go to sleep?”
He went quiet and then sighed. “I think I’d rather listen to you talk.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Rachel said. “Even I can’t talk all night. You’ll have to contribute. How about we start with you telling me how you ended up injured?”
“You want me to revisit the worst day of my life, while I’m trapped in a freaking silver mine?”
“Yes, Cauy Lymond.” Rachel looked right into his eyes. “I do.”
* * *
Cauy held Rachel’s gaze, astounded at her nerve, and considered his options. He could go and stand by the door and paw pathetically at the rocks. He could retreat farther into the mine and go nuts, or he could stay in the warm sleeping bag with an incredibly nosy woman in his arms. There really was no contest.
“I was called in to investigate a drilling rig that was malfunctioning,” Cauy began speaking, and suddenly he didn’t want to stop. “It was a holiday weekend, and that particular crew were new and untried. I shouldn’t have let them out there by themselves, but as far as I knew there hadn’t been any problems either with that particular rig or that crew.”
Rachel eased closer against his shoulder. He couldn’t see her face, which somehow made it easier to talk.
“By the time I got to the site, things had gotten long past being a problem and gone into critical meltdown. I didn’t know that. I stepped up to the drilling platform and the whole thing blew up in my face.” He touched the scars on his throat. “Literally. I was blown backward in the air, and that’s the last thing I remember before coming to buried under a pile of burning metal covered in crude oil.”
Rachel shivered and stroked his chest. “That must have been terrifying.”
“Yeah. I thought I was going to burn to death. Luckily, one of the guys saw which way I’d fallen, and I was far enough away from the actual rig for them to dig down and recover me.”
“Thank goodness they found you,” Rachel whispered.
“I didn’t think that way for a long time.” He swallowed hard. “I was a mess. Half my body was burned. I needed skin grafts and all kinds of pain medication just to keep me alive. There were times when it was so hard to keep going that I almost wished I’d died. If it hadn’t have been for my mom and family I don’t think I would’ve made it.”
“What about your wife?”
“She . . . didn’t do well with sickness and hospitals. They weren’t really her thing.”
Rachel’s indignant snort almost made him smile. “Her thing? If that was my husband stuck in a hospital it would become my thing.”
“She liked life to be happy and stress-free.”
“Well, she sounds like an idiot,” Rachel said.
“That’s harsh. Some people can’t deal with the darker side of life. When I came out of the hospital I was no angel.” He hesitated. “I was angry a lot of the time, I had endless appointments and medical stuff to take care of, and she just couldn’t handle it.”
“I still don’t like her,” Rachel sniffed.
“You would’ve. She’s a very happy person to be around.”
“As long as she’s happy, you mean?”
“Not everyone is cut out to look after someone who has changed so dramatically. I wasn’t the man she married. That’s on me.”
“Marriage is about all those things. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,” Rachel argued. “You couldn’t help what happened to you.”
“She begged me not to go out to the rig. I was supposed to be attending some function with her, and I bailed at the last minute. She thought I should’ve let one of the other guys deal with it, but I was never that kind of boss, and she hated that. She blamed me for going.”
“Still not liking her much,” Rachel muttered.
“Did you forgive your mom for walking out on her sons and husband?” Cauy asked.
“That’s different!”
“How so? I could say the same things about your mom. Everyone who met Annie out here liked her a lot, and no one could believe she’d up and leave like that.”
“She was . . . ill. She had postpartum depression after having me.”
“And she acted out of character. She broke up her marriage, and I broke up mine. Both of us changed.”
“They are not the same at all.” Rachel struggled to sit up and face him. “Your ex-wife didn’t have the depth to care for you when you were sick, my mother . . .” She paused. “My mother walked out on her family and never looked back.”
“Lorelei didn’t look back either. She married my best friend the day after the divorce came through.”
Rachel winced. “That sucks.”
He held her gaze. “I deserved it.”
“Why? Why do you keep saying that?” Rachel demanded.
“Because I frightened her.”
Rachel went still and just stared at him until he stumbled on. If the mine was going to collapse around him he might as well get everything out and really alienate her forever.
“As I said, I was in pain, I had terrible headaches and blackouts. One night I woke up to her screaming and fighting me.” He took a much-needed breath. “She said I tried to strangle her—she had marks on her throat.” He shuddered. “She moved out that day, straight over to my buddy’s house. He wanted to set the cops on me, but she wouldn’t allow it.”
“Because at some level she knew you didn’t mean to hurt her.” Rachel touched his cheek. “She knew it was an aberration.”
“She should’ve called the cops. She was probably just too scared of me to do it,” Cauy insisted. “I was way out of line. That’s when I knew I couldn’t get better all by myself, and went to see a shrink. I also weaned myself off almost all the painkillers.”
“So you tried to make things right,” Rachel said. “Did you tell her that?”
“Of course I did, but she wasn’t into listening to me anymore.” He sighed. “And Rod was very happy to cosset her, and insist that she’d never have to deal with me again. She liked being protected. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Some best friend.” Rachel shook her head. “You certainly know how to pick ’em.”
“When I married her I was trying to fit in—to be like everyone else,” Cauy confessed.
“What do you mean?”
“I was never good at parties or all that other stuff, but Lorelei loved to socialize so I tried hard to be the man she wanted.”
“So maybe, in the end, Lorelei did you a favor?” Rachel met his gaze.
Cauy let that thought sink into his head. “Yeah. Maybe she did in a weird ass-backward way. After the accident things changed for me—my priorities changed. I changed. I wasn’t willing to pretend to care about all those superficial things anymore.”
“Okay, I don’t hate her now.” Rachel patted his cheek. “And you know what? If she’d really been scared and wanted to get back at you, she could’ve called the cops, taken you to court, and would probably have gotten even more in the divorce settlement.”
“She didn’t do any of that,” Cauy pointed out.
“Exactly. So she used what happened to get out of a marriage that no longer appealed to her, took what she was owed, and moved on.”
Cauy just stared at her until she frowned at him. “What?”
“You are relentlessly optimistic about everything, aren’t you?”
She shrugged. “I try to be.”
“It’s weird.”
“It’s the way I learned to survive.”
Cauy took off his jacket, folded it up, and put it against the wall behind them. Rachel did the same with her puffy coat. Then he gathered her up against him again and sat back against the pillows.
“Why do you think you have to be positive all the time?” Cauy asked.
“You’re asking me questions now?” Rachel groaned. “The world really is about to end.”
Cauy took a look at the thousands of pounds of rock above their head and devoutly hoped she was wrong about that.
“Why does being positive make you a survivor?”
“Because my mom needed me to be that way.” Rachel rubbed her cheek against the sleeve of his fleece. “Are you sure you don’t want to try sleeping?”
“Stop avoiding the question,” Cauy said firmly. “Your mom’s happiness wasn’t dependent on you.”
“It felt like it was. When I was little, and there was just the two of us, I always felt like everything was my fault somehow—that I was this massive inconvenience to her. I worried that if I didn’t behave just right she’d leave me. I used to store food under my bed and keep my clothes packed just in case she didn’t come home one night.”
Cauy’s hand drifted into Rachel’s hair. “But she took you with her. If she really thought that, she could’ve left you behind with the others.”
She stiffened in his arms and buried her face against his shoulder.
“Mom didn’t mean to bring me.”
Cauy eased a finger under her chin so she had to look up at him. “Come again?”
“She didn’t intend to take me. HW snuck me into the back of the guy’s truck she left with.”
“Why?”
“Because she loved HW best, and he thought if he left me with her she’d bring me back and take him.”
Cauy took a while to process this, and then shook his head. His heart literally hurt for her. “Wow, that’s messed up.”
“As soon as I found out what really happened I realized why I’d always felt like Mom hadn’t wanted me around. She did improve once she met Paul, and she was able to settle down. Things were way better then.”
There she went again, making the best of a bad situation. Cauy cuddled Rachel closer wanting to do something, anything to comfort her for a hurt that could never be healed. She was nothing like him at all, but he admired the hell out of her.
“I don’t mind if you complain about stuff,” Cauy murmured. “In fact I appreciate it.”
“Liar.” She playfully punched his arm. “You’re a terrible sulker.”
“I like to think of myself more as an inarticulate loser.”
She chuckled, making his shoulder vibrate. “Okay, I can go with that. How come Jackson is so chatty then?”
“Probably because unlike me, he never doubts who he is or where he comes from,” Cauy said.
She sighed. “You and me, both.”
Cauy glanced over at the pile of rocks blocking the door. “I still can’t quite believe this is happening. I must be the unluckiest guy in the universe.”
Rachel smoothed her palm over his stubbled chin. “You might as well lie down beside me and relax. It’s going to be hours before they start digging us out. I’m sure we could find something to do to while the time away.”
“Relax?” He gulped as she ran her thumb down the zipper of his jeans. “You have to be kidding me.”
She blinked at him. “That wouldn’t make you feel good?”
“Not when I’m worrying about several tons of rock falling on my head, no.”
“You’re sure?”
He removed her hand. “Absolutely. I’ll take a rain check.”
“Okay.” She sighed and rubbed her face against his shoulder. “I’m actually quite tired. It’s been a busy day.”
“Then sleep. I’ll let you know if we’re in imminent danger.” He eased down on their makeshift bed and arranged her more comfortably against him, liking the way it felt so natural to hold her.
“I’m not worried about you sleeping with me and strangling me, you know,” Rachel murmured sounding half-asleep already.
“I haven’t slept with a woman since that night,” Cauy acknowledged. “But I’m in a far better place these days.”
“I know that, and I trust you.” She kissed his chest. “I’m really comfortable right here.”
“Good.” He smoothed a hand through her hair wondering how on earth she could say such a thing when they were stuck in a freaking mine. “Go to sleep.”
He’d told her the worst thing about himself, and she’d tried to make him feel better about it. That was the kind of person she was. Her outward composure and confidence had been earned the hard way, and he respected that—and wished he could be the same. His struggles had turned him inward. Rachel had used her stressful past to reach out to others in a positive way. He could learn a lot from her.
He already had.
Her cell phone was still sitting on the top of the sleeping bag so he went to move it to a more convenient place. The screen flashed up her messages, and he noted the network icon was missing. Her last two texts showed as undelivered, and nothing new had come in.
So she hadn’t quite been straight with him after all . . . but he didn’t have the heart to blame her. If she hadn’t calmed him down he’d probably still be at the rock face scrabbling to get out. Keeping one arm around Rachel, he turned to pick up her backpack and hooked it into his lap before stowing the phone safely inside. There was a large folded map in the bag labeled HISTORIC MORGAN MINE, which he took out to study.
He might as well try to work out how this arm of the mine connected to the main one. Just in case they needed another way out . . . He had to suspect that someone in the Lymond family had used this place recently, and that the dude ranch guests had just discovered the entrance and taken it over for their own purposes.
Unfolding the map he squinted at the faint markings, and used his finger to trace a line from where he thought he was up to the main entrance. There was some kind of connection, but it wasn’t exactly straightforward. The question was, had that route been blocked as well? With the recent earthquake activity, and the nearby remains of the creek that had powered the stamp mill it was highly likely. He still wasn’t sure he could venture deeper into the darkness without pissing his pants. But what if the rescue tomorrow morning went wrong? What if they caused the cliff above to come down and bury the entrance under a mile of rock?
Cauy forced himself to breathe. Worrying about what hadn’t even happened yet would get him nowhere. Rachel was an engineer; if anyone could get them out safely, it would be her.
He carefully refolded the map and leaned back against the wall, his eyes half closing despite him. Rachel was right. It had been a very long day....