by Lexi Post
The light left as she turned. “Come on, Dog. There’s got to be more tools in here somewhere.”
“Wait.” He scrambled down as a new thought occurred. What if she slipped into her past again or became lost? He’d only been inside one old mine, but if he hadn’t had a guide with him, he would have never found his way out. “We’re not following your father’s advice.”
At her confused look, he reminded her. “Your father said after we find what we need, we should make a plan. We didn’t do that.”
“And if it fails to create a new plan until achieving success.”
As she rattled off the end of the litany, he relaxed. Keeping her grounded should help. “When I was digging, your voice kept me going in the right direction. So if we continue to dig with these,” he held up the two spikes, “then one of us should remain here and keep talking while the other moves the dirt. If our plan is to gather more tools then we should both search, but this plan hasn’t failed yet. I don’t think I’ve been at this thirty minutes yet.”
She glanced behind him before looking down at his phone in her hand. A smirk lifted her lips. Fourteen minutes.”
“That’s it?”
“It feels like a lot longer in the dark.”
The statement, said with such surety, gave him a chill. Again, he sensed that she may have been in a similar situation before, but what could cause her to know about working in complete blackness? Was it from crawling in tunnels in the Middle East or further back? Did her parents lock her in a closet or something? Even at the thought, his grip on the spikes tightened. Shit, he hoped he was wrong. “Why don’t we continue working on this plan before we jump to another.”
She gave a curt nod. “I agree. We can take turns. Every hour, we can switch off.”
Relieved that she wouldn’t be wandering off, never to return, he lifted the spikes. “Then I’d best get back to it.” He gave his words a miner’s drawl, or what he hoped sounded like one.
She didn’t respond, simply lifting the light to allow him to see his spot on the pile.
“If you stay directly behind me and talk, it will help me keep on target.”
She looked down at Dog. “We can do that.”
Interesting. She included the dog. He had a feeling this Whisper wouldn’t be getting her dog back when she returned at the end of the weekend. Turning, he climbed up the pile again and stuck his spikes in. “Ready.”
The light shifted away to the far wall then dipped as she sat down. It moved again, telling him that Dog, must have decided her lap was softer than the ground.
“Really?”
At the sound of her disgruntled voice, he knew he was correct, so he kept his position. “Leave the light on a moment. I want to see how the dirt is falling.” Pulling the spikes toward him and to the side, he watched the gravel fall to the mine floor. He adjusted his movement by twenty degrees and did it again. That was better. “Okay, I’m ready for my hour.”
No sooner had he said the words than the light went out. He gave himself a half a minute to adjust to the blackness again and started digging. “You’re going to have to keep talking.
“I don’t talk much.”
Now why didn’t that surprise him. “Well, you do now.” Stab. Pull back. And push. Stab. Pull back. And push. “Riley, I’m not hearing anything.”
“What am I supposed to talk about?”
Adjust. Stab. Pull back. Push. “Anything. How about Last Chance?” That should be something to keep her in the present.
“Fine. I can tell Cole I gave you the employee orientation.”
Stab. Pull back. “He really has one of those?” Somehow that fit his former co-worker.
She snorted. “Oh yeah. Complete with history of every rescued horse, though I don’t think he actually writes those.”
“Who does?” Push. Stab. Pull back. Push. Stab.
“I’m not sure. Maybe Lacey. She keeps everything straight on the financial end. You’re required to know what everyone does, who the current horses are, where to order the grain and hay, how to get purchases approved, what kitchen privileges you have, and what to do in case of a fire.”
At the last, he laughed. “Now that sounds like Cole.”
“How did you meet? You don’t seem as uptight as he is nor as forgetful.”
Again, she attacked Cole. What did she have against him? “You don’t like Cole, do you?”
“What?” Her immediate response accentuated her surprise. “Why do you say that?”
Stab. Pull back. Push. Stab. Pull back. Push. “You criticize him every chance you get.”
“I do?”
He didn’t feel the need to answer. Let her think about it for a minute. As it turned out, it didn’t take a full minute, from what he could tell.
“I never thought about whether I like him or not. He’s my boss, and as a leader, his skills come up short. That’s probably why you thought that. Leaders need to take charge and delegate. Cole has liked things his way too long, and right now that doesn’t work. He was promoted to Captain and married all in six months while trying to run Last Chance. He can’t do it, but he won’t let go of the reins.”
Ah, so that’s why Cole wanted him to work at Last Chance. “What about you?”
“What about me, what?”
“Why don’t you take over as foreman and hire another hand.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
He grinned. She definitely didn’t mince words. He liked that about her. “Why not?”
In the silence that followed, he wasn’t sure if she was suddenly deliberating how to couch her sentiments or if she wasn’t sure if she would answer. He continued digging. If she didn’t speak again soon, he’d have to get her talking again.
Finally, she let out a soft sigh. “Been there. Done that. Not doing it again.”
He adjusted his pull back. “Done what?”
“Had men under my command. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you are or how well trained. Simply because I’m a woman, every decision I make is questioned. And then when the situation is critical and you could use some opinions, you get no input at all.”
Her voice trailed off, bitterness and regret heavy in her tone.
He looked back from habit; the blackness was complete. He’d never had the experience, but he understood it. He’d seen female captains in the fire service struggle with the same issues. He’d even caught himself questioning an order, though silently. He was too well trained to vocalize any doubts. “When did it matter?”
She gave the odd laugh she had. It seemed to issue from some silent self-loathing. “When it didn’t. A simple errand into a local town. Supplies. Nothing more than supplies. Not worth three lives.”
The monotony of her words reminded him of her tone just before the cave-in. She was slipping back. He needed to ground her. Kicking himself for asking a stupid question, he pushed the gravel extra hard.
“Hey, I thought you were trying to get us out of here, not bury me alive.”
He took a deep breath. He hadn’t meant to hit her, but if it kept her from retreating into the past, he’d do it again. “Sorry. Lost my direction. So, what do I need to know for this orientation of Cole’s?”
As Riley explained what he should know about Last Chance, he could tell when she found a topic boring or when it was something she strongly believed in. It was also obvious that she respected Annette, Whisper, and Jenna. She didn’t seem sure about Lacey and Cole’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, Hailey.
But when it came to the men at the ranch, she had very particular ideas. She thought Trace smiled too much, Logan was too focused on his family to be much help and Dillon had antiquated ideas about women. As for Annette’s husband, she gave him a pass because he was old. It made him wonder what she’d think of his family.
“Okay, off.” The dog shook himself before the scrape of her boots told Garrett she’d risen. “Time’s up. My turn.” She switched the light on, again facing it away from the mound he sat on.
>
As his eyes adjusted, he swore. “This is pathetic.” Despite all the gravel he’d moved, it didn’t look like he’d made any forward progress, though there was a bit of a dip in the depth. He stabbed one spike into the dirt and pulled it back and away. More dirt filled the space from above. “We may need another plan.”
Riley looked up at the dent Garrett had made in the mound of dirt. For an hour’s worth of work, it wasn’t much, but she’d seen worse. “Let me have my sixty minutes then we can reassess.”
He looked doubtful, but clambered down anyway, bringing more dirt with him. “It feels like the whole mountain is in that one spot.”
“We may just need to wait for it to settle down and pack itself in. You know, in about three years?”
Garrett stopped brushing off his jeans and gave her a grin. “Was that a joke?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, it was.”
He shook his head. “I think that’s the first funny thing you’ve said to me since we met.”
What? Was that true? She’d never considered herself the life of the party, but she did have a sense of humor. Had she lost it back in that cave three years ago? Uncomfortable with the thought, she lowered her brows. “Let’s see, I had Cyclone wanting to break every board in sight last time I saw you and now we are trapped in a cave, I mean, mine. I guess there hasn’t been much reason to joke.”
He shrugged his shoulders, but his grin remained.
She was thankful he didn’t remark on the fact that she decided to joke while trapped underground. Turning, she took a step toward the mound.
“Wait. Let me have the phone.”
Of course. She stretched her arm out, the light pointing at the ground. His hand covered hers for a moment before grasping the phone. It reminded her that she wasn’t alone this time. If she could get out of her last entrapment by herself, she must be able to get out of this one. Feeling more like her confident self for the first time since she rode up on Domino, she returned her attention to the pile in front of her.
It was very loose gravel, much like the sand she’d dug through in the mountains outside Chora. But it was different. It could be packed hard and tight. She’d see what she could do. Getting into position with her two spikes, she stabbed them into the ground and pulled back the earth, sending it to her side. She watched as more gravel filled in.
As if he’d been waiting for her first dig, the light went off and she was back in the pitch black. At first, she didn’t move, letting her eyes adjust to the lack of any light. Then she stabbed at the earth where she’d seen it fill in. Stab, wiggle, tug and shove out of the way. It was a familiar yet different motion. Last time she’d had only her hands to dig with. The spikes she held were sturdy and strong. She liked the feel. Leaning forward, she stabbed the spikes in again.
On her third strike, she felt her direction falter. Time to take advantage of having a partner in her predicament this time. “Did you fall asleep on me already?”
“With all the noise you’re making, not a chance.”
She snorted. “Good. So, talk.” Stab, wiggle, tug and shove.
“What would you like me to talk about?”
She shrugged even if he couldn’t see it. “Whatever. I probably won’t be listening. Like you said, just a directional cue.” Tug and shove and stab.
Instead of being insulted, he chuckled. So much about him reminded her of the men at her outpost, but then he did something like that. “You said you fight fires for a living. Tell me about that.” Wiggle, tug.
“That would definitely put you to sleep. I don’t do that anymore, so it would all be me strolling down memory lane. I’ll tell you about my family.”
Great. Now she’d get to hear how functional his perfect family was. She’d lose track of his words in no time.
“As I said, I followed in my father’s footsteps. My younger brother did in a different way. I became a firefighter and then a Hot Shot. My—”
“You fought wildfires?” That, she hadn’t expected. That was seriously dangerous, not that house fires weren’t, but wildfires were huge. Just a few years ago, a bunch of Hot Shots burned to death when the fire surrounded them. She’d seen it on the news. She’d just arrived in Arizona and it was all anyone could talk about.
“Yes, I did. My brother at first became an EMT before deciding to become a nurse.”
Tug and shove. Stab, wiggle, tug and shove out of the way. “Not a doctor?” He was right, it helped to have someone talking behind her.
“No. He said doctors were, pardon the expression, assholes.”
She smirked into the dark void. “Don’t pardon yourself around me. I’ve heard it all and yelled half of it at least.”
“That’s right, you’re Army. You know what it’s like to have to watch your mouth around your mother.”
Actually, she didn’t, but then again, she hadn’t respected her mother. The woman was a weak emotional mess from day one. She stabbed the spikes in hard, wiggled and yanked them back, getting dirt all over herself. “Shit.”
“I know. When I visit my parents, I spend three days practicing to keep my curse words under control, even if I’m alone. It’s hard when you drop a twenty-pound bucket filled with cement mix on your toe.”
Oh, she knew what that felt like, but she never kept herself from cursing. There was no point. Stab, wiggle, and tug. “What were you doing with cement mix?” Just keep talking so I can get this out of my way. Shove.
“I bought a fixer upper in Wickenburg recently. The cement was for around the posts I put in for a porch. I managed to get them in straight, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. It’s really a two-person job.”
She set each spike to the side of her and leaned forward to pack down the dirt in the small concave area she had so far. This would help her judge her forward progress. The entrance couldn’t be more than a dozen feet away if she remembered correctly. Of course, she’d been running at the time, so it might be farther, but twelve feet was a good number to start with. It made it seem doable. She just needed to keep twelve in her mind, not three. Three killed. Three times four was twelve. She would rest every three feet to honor them. What kind of honor was that? A moment of silence? What good did that do—
“Everything okay up there. Need the light?”
The voice startled her and she froze. Who had found her?
“Riley? Is something blocking the way?”
Garrett. She let out her breath. She was in here with Garrett. “No. Just judging the distance.” Crap, she needed to hold it together. She pressed her hands against the sides of her little tunnel before finding the spikes again. “You’re right, it’s easy to move, but it does like to fill in. I’m just packing the sides to get a better feel in the dark. Keep talking. Tell me about your place.”
As he began describing the deal he got, she stabbed the spikes in. Wiggle, tug, shove away. He could act as her safety net. If she stopped sending gravel down the slope, he’d bring her back. More comfortable with that realization than she should be, she listened to his voice, though she didn’t pay much attention to the words.
Every inch was an inch closer to freedom. She had tools this time to move the debris. This was natural, not caused by a grenade launcher. The cave had been forcefully closed, and it didn’t want the blockage any more than she did. Shit. If this was natural, did that mean Mother Earth was reclaiming her space? She pushed the thought away. Earth didn’t have a mindset. It was all in her head. Just dig.
Stab, wiggle, tug and shove it out of the way. She adjusted her position and continued. She was making good progress. It was so much easier with the tools. She paused again and padded the bottom and sides. Yes, she was making headway. It just took patience. She’d had to exercise far too much patience with her men, even with the one other woman in her unit.
As she shoved more dirt out of the way, silence greeted her. “Hey, you’re supposed to be talking.”
“I asked you a question.”
“Ask again. I
was concentrating.” Obviously not on what he was saying. Getting out was more important.
“I asked you where you’re from. Where’s home?”
“I don’t have one. I’m the only one in my family who’s left, so wherever I lay down at night is home.” And it was far better that way. No guilt. No responsibility. Except Domino. Go home, Domino. Don’t starve on my account. I’m not worth it.
“I’m sorry. Was it just you and your parents?”
She shoved the next batch of dirt hard. “I thought you were the one talking.”
“You really don’t like talking about yourself, do you?”
“Is it that obvious?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but she didn’t care. Her past sucked, and she didn’t need to talk about it, no matter what the Army shrink said. Her present wasn’t so great at the moment either, and she had no future plans.
“Blatantly. So Dog, what can you tell me about Riley. She doesn’t want to hold up her end of the conversation.”
Despite how ridiculous it was, she found herself listening as if Dog would tell him something.
“Really? Now that I didn’t expect.”
She stabbed the dirt hard. He was making shit up. The dog couldn’t tell him anything. The dark must be getting to him. The first time she’d been buried, the darkness didn’t matter because she was happy to have the Taliban offensive on one side of the closed cave and herself on the other.
“Very interesting. I’ll be sure to remember that.”
She pulled back and shoved the dirt to the side again. Her mother was so fucked up. She’d never survive the darkness. “Have you gone completely nuts on me. You’re no help if you go crazy. You’re just an added burden. I can’t hold us together if you can’t even function.” She leaned far forward and stabbed the ground hard.
The voice that came out of the dark was soft. “I’m doing my best.”
“Well, your best isn’t good enough. Go get help. Go to AA or something. You need to be there for Carly. I don’t know when I’ll be deployed again.”
“Riley.”
She stamped down the small tunnel she made with her hands. “Don’t Riley me. I’m not the one who’s an emotional mess, you are. You need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and save your daughter.”
