Lovebird Café Box Set

by Dylann Crush

  “Where April isn’t?” I tucked my chin to my chest. “Yeah, the thought has definitely crossed my mind. On more than one occasion. But my family’s here. My mom still lives in the house I grew up in, and my brother just moved back, so we’re finally all together again.” Besides, what would I do with no degree? It’s not like there were tons of opportunities for a woman who’d barely graduated high school.

  “Plus there’s Rodney to think about. He’s lived here all of his life. Moving him away from his friends during high school would be unfair.”

  “Didn’t you say April’s son is about the same age as him? Do they have the same issues?”

  “They get along fine. Rodney went through a phase a couple of years ago when Judd Junior targeted him. But his dad,”—I swallowed hard—“his dad had it out with him. There’s a lot of competition with the guys on the football team. Once Rodney started playing well, he earned the support of a lot of them. I guess no one really lets anyone pick on him anymore.”

  Theo nodded. “Yeah, my older brother experienced some of that. He’s just like my dad. Super intense, studious, a total geek when it comes to things he loves. He took some heat for being different.”

  “How much older is he?” I studied Theo in the glow of the twinkle lights arching overhead. He was all hard planes and muscled ridges. I tried to imagine a smaller version without success.

  “Four years. So by the time he was a senior I was entering high school as a freshman.”

  “Oh, that must have been hard. Did people start to pick on you too?”

  “Nah. Just look at me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been six-four since eighth grade. Nobody tried to pick on me. And they stopped giving my brother a hard time, too.”

  “How did you arrange that?”

  He grinned, the kind that showed all of his teeth. “I kicked their asses.”

  At that moment the truck rolled to a stop in front of us. Theo held my door while I catapulted myself into the passenger seat. I saw him slip a tip to the valet before he walked around to the other side. What if…nah…I shook the thought away. But it didn’t leave, just popped into my head again. Fine. I’d consider it. What if Theo really was a nice guy? The kind that might be interested in a sassy gal from Podunk, Missouri, who had a chip on her shoulder and a heaviness in her heart?

  Was the idea so crazy? There was only one way to find out.

  13

  Theo

  “I can’t eat another bite.” I relaxed against the back of the chair as I pushed away from Scarlett’s kitchen table. Jaylene was right. This hot fudge sauce might be the fastest way into a man’s heart. It was wreaking havoc with mine. The perfect balance of decadence and sweetness, with just a hint of something I couldn’t put my finger on. Kind of like Scarlett herself.

  “So that was better than sad ass stuffed chicken?” She ran a finger along the rim of her plate and sucked the last bit of chocolate off, making me very much aware of the lips I’d been admiring all night.

  “A thousand times better. I bet you could dip just about anything in that sauce and it would taste delicious.” My face heated as I thought about all the different ways a statement like that could be taken. “I mean, cookies, or even crackers. It’s probably really good on marshmallows or—”

  A sharp laugh burst out of her mouth. “Oh, my gosh, stop.”

  “I just meant like a dessert or something.” She didn’t need to know that I’d imagined dribbling that fudge all over her navel and lapping it up like a kitten might go after fresh milk. I shifted my ass on the seat, suddenly feeling a little tight in my boxer briefs.

  “Stop, really.” She nabbed the saucer in front of me and stacked it on top of her own. “What time do you want to get started in the morning?”

  I pushed back from the table and tracked her progress to the sink. She’d changed when we got back to her place and looked even more stunning in a pair of cut-off sweats and a faded Swifties T-shirt than she had in the sexy black dress.

  “That depends. What time do you normally get up? I’ll have to head home by late afternoon so I suppose the earlier the better.”

  She flipped on the faucet and reached for the dish soap. Her kitchen was a blend of old and new. Vintage counter tops held a variety of modern appliances including a professional grade espresso machine. The refrigerator appeared to be a throwback to the sixties while the cabinets looked like they’d just been repainted a trendy shade of light gray.

  “I’m used to being up early so just let me know what time you want to come by. How do you take your coffee? I can’t function before I get my first two cups.”

  “Black. Nothing fancy for me. Is eight too early? I know it’s a Sunday.”

  “Nope, eight’s just fine.”

  “I guess we should call it a night, then.” I glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. It wasn’t even ten yet. But I didn’t want it to get awkward tonight. I needed her help in the morning and no matter how attracted I was to Scarlett Jarrett, I couldn’t afford to let it get in the way of the research. Not when I might be on the brink of discovering something that would finally give me a leg up on my brother.

  “Yeah, you’d better get back to Dottie’s. I’m surprised she hasn’t sent a search party out yet. She’s a protective hostess.” Scarlett’s bare feet padded across the worn linoleum. “So do I need to bring anything else besides the coffee? It’s been years since I’ve been out to the caves so I have no idea what to expect.”

  I followed her lead as she moved toward the front door. “I’ve got all the gear we need. Maybe just dress in a few layers. It’s probably going to be pretty chilly once we get inside.”

  She tapped her temple, right where I now knew she had that tiny scar from falling off a horse. My heart squeezed as I recalled how April had twisted even that bit around in an attempt to cast Scarlett in an unattractive light. “Got it.”

  “So I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” An awkwardness filled the space between us. What was proper etiquette for saying goodnight to a chick who’d practically fondled my crotch during dinner on a non-date? My gut told me to kiss her. My pride said not to move so fast. My dick, well, I wasn’t going to take the advice of a body part that had been woefully neglected for the past several months.

  I went in for a hug as she held out her hand. Hell.

  She laughed it off and I couldn’t help but smile at the carefree way her mouth quirked up at the edges, causing tiny creases to crinkle at the edges of her eyes. “Handshake?” I asked.

  She nodded and reached for my hand.

  “Thanks for going with me tonight.” She wrinkled her nose and damn if my insides didn’t melt just a little bit. “I know it wasn’t exactly a night to remember, but I appreciate it.”

  “My pleasure.” I meant it, too. When she’d tricked, or maybe a better way of saying that would be, propositioned me to be her date, I’d vowed to go through the motions so I could get what I needed. But I’d had fun. More fun than I’d had in quite a while.

  She pulled her hand away and set it on the frame of the door. As I reached for the screen door handle, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and as her eyes darted over the text, her mouth formed into an “O.”

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “It’s Rodney.” She reached behind the door to grab her purse. “Dammit, I told him to stay away from those caves.”

  “What happened?”

  “A group of kids went out there after the dance and Rodney’s with them. It’s hardly safe in the day time, much less at night.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “You want to get a look at those caves a little earlier than planned?” She slid her feet into a pair of shoes sitting by the door.

  “I’ve got gear in the back of my truck. We can go right now.”

  “Don’t you want to change first?” She glanced at my brand new dress pants.

  “Is there time?”

  “No.”

  “Okay t
hen, let’s go.” The cost of a pair of pants was a small price to pay to insure we got to the kids before they did something stupid. And if there were bats living in the cave and they disrupted their breeding ground, it would defeat the whole purpose of the detour I’d made to Swallow Springs in the first place.

  Scarlett tumbled into the front seat of the truck with me on her heels.

  “Which way?”

  She pulled up her phone and zoomed in on the dot showing Rodney’s location. “I think he’s over by the creek. You probably know more about caves than I do since you’ve spent more time in them. But there’s a whole bunch of them around here. Most are connected but it’s hard to tell.”

  The glow from the dashboard played over her features and gave the interior of the cab an eerie glow. “Has he been down there before?”

  “Kids go down there all the time. Or at least they used to. A few years ago a kid from Rodney’s class went into one of the caves and never came out. They sent a whole rescue team in but by the time they found him it was too late.”

  I glanced over. That was the stuff of nightmares. “What happened?”

  Some of her hair had fallen from her updo and as she shook her head, a few curls bounced. “Died of exposure. That wasn’t on our property but it was probably in one of the connecting caves. Since then they’ve been off limits unless it’s a guided group like the field trip April was talking about. Even then they only go a little ways in. Just far enough to learn about the rocks.”

  I knew from firsthand experience how dangerous exploring the deep, dark recesses of a cave system could be. Hell, I had professional gear and still got freaked out sometimes. It was so easy to get turned around in the pitch blackness underground, especially if a kid didn’t have the first clue about what he was doing.

  “There are always kids trying to sneak in. Used to be much worse back when I was in school.” She turned toward the window and her voice went quiet. “Those caves can be a dark place.”

  “Now where?” We’d reached a “T” in the road and I slowed to a stop.

  “Turn right and go about a hundred yards. There’s a trail off to the left, or at least there used to be.”

  The truck crept forward, my eyes peeled on the left side of the road. We’d gone from pavement to gravel and the wheels bounced over the rough road.

  Scarlett leaned close on the seat next to me, scanning the side of the road. “There.”

  I followed the line of her finger to a small break in the trees. “You sure?”

  She nodded. “You want to walk in from here? It’s still a ways.”

  “Nah. This truck has seen its fair share of off-road adventures.” I turned the wheel and drove under a thick canopy of trees. Branches swiped and scraped at the sides. My paint job was already ruined, so a few more scratches wouldn’t make a difference. “How far do we go?”

  Scarlett checked her phone. “Maybe another five minutes or so. If I’m remembering correctly, there should be a clearing up ahead and we can walk the rest of the way from there.”

  I flipped on the brights. Something scurried across the trail in front of us, reminding me the kids wouldn’t be the only wild things out in the woods. Most animals stayed away but when I was younger we’d had run-ins with raccoons and possums, and a close call with a brown bear once.

  We drove through a break in the trees and entered the clearing Scarlett mentioned. Two small sedans, the kind of cars a high school kid might drive, sat parallel to each other.

  “Great.” Scarlett reached for the door handle. “They should know better than this. I’ve warned Rodney about coming out here.”

  “Hey”—I wrapped my hand around her upper arm before she hopped out of the truck—“wait for me. Don’t go charging off without the equipment, okay?”

  “Okay.” She pulled away and met me at the tailgate. “What do we need?”

  I lowered the tailgate and unlocked the cargo hold. “Take a flashlight. And here’s a headlamp, too.”

  She reached for it. “Is that all?”

  “I’ve got a first aid kit and some other supplies in my bag. Just give me a minute to put on my boots.” I might not care about ruining my pants but there was no way I was going to head into the unknown without changing my footwear.

  By the time I’d traded out my loafers for my boots, Scarlett hovered by the entrance to the cave. The headlamp she’d slipped on revealed a slit in the rocks big enough to enter single file.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Want me to go first?” I flipped on my own headlamp.

  “Sure.” She grabbed my hand and stepped behind me. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve been up here. I wasn’t much of a fan then and I’m definitely not looking forward to it now.”

  Little did she know that after I survived my solo overnight in the depths of a cave at the age of ten, I’d developed a debilitating fear of the dark and a pretty severe case of claustrophobia. I’d been dealing with it for the past twenty years and had made enough progress to actually be able to enter a cave again. But my recent experience with getting stuck had triggered me so this wasn’t exactly going to be a walk in the park for me either.

  “Just hold on tight. I won’t let go.” Somehow having to step up and pretend to be brave for Scarlett bolstered my confidence. I took in a breath, filling my lungs with the sweet country night air then stepped into the darkness.

  14

  Scarlett

  I focused on Theo’s back. On the way his shoulders rolled as he stalked into the mouth of the cave. By keeping my attention on that single spot, I was able to avoid thinking about the fact that I was descending into a dark cavern. The same kind of cave I’d entered sixteen years ago after my own Homecoming dance. I’d never shared the events of that night with anyone. Only two people on the face of this earth knew what happened: me and Rodney’s father. To the best of my knowledge, he’d never admitted it to anyone.

  We shuffled ahead, baby step by baby step until the opening widened enough for Theo to pull me next to him.

  “Are you familiar with this cave?” He twisted his headlamp to the side so it didn’t blind me when he turned to face me.

  I looked up at him, not thinking about my own headlamp and he dropped my hand to cover his eyes.

  “Careful with that light. You’re dangerous.”

  “Sorry.” I reached up to twist the light away from his face. “Which way should we go?”

  The path up ahead branched off in two different directions. Neither one held a clue as to whether or not a group of kids had traveled it recently.

  “Turn off your lamp for a minute.” Theo flipped the switch on his own, then reached for my hand.

  I turned off my own, grateful for the way his hand gripped mine. Total darkness engulfed us. I couldn’t see anything, not even the hand I held up in front of my face. “What are we doing?” I whispered. It didn’t seem right to use my normal voice in the blackness.

  “I thought maybe we could pick up a flicker of light if they’re not that far down either path.” Theo shuffled ahead, pulling me with him.

  “I don’t see anything, do you?” My heart hammered. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. The walls seemed to press in on me. The only thing keeping me from freaking out was the way Theo smoothed his thumb over the back of my hand. I focused on his touch as I tried to regulate my breaths. In for two, out for two. Nice and easy.

  “No.” His light turned on again, illuminating the space ahead. He knelt down, examining the ground. “Damn. Tracks lead both ways. I think we’ll just have to pick one and see where it goes.”

  “Together, right?” My voice came out a much quieter version than usual. Being here, in this space, brought on memories I’d rather not face.

  “Of course.” He stood and pulled me into his side. “I’m not going to leave you here or send you down the other tunnel. We’re in this together.”

  “Okay.” Knowing he wasn’t going to abandon me made me feel a tiny bit better.
“So which one?”

  “You pick. Do you have any rules you need to stick to when it comes to caves?”

  “Yeah, do not enter.” I barked out a laugh. That was easy.

  “I meant any superstitions like your unlucky number theory. What do you think?”

  “You’re the expert. Although, Rodney’s left handed so maybe he’d go to the left.”

  His brow furrowed. “Okay. Let’s go that way.”

  “But”—I stopped—“he’s probably not the one making the decisions since he knows his ass will be grass if I find out he’s been down here. So maybe they went to the right. Don’t most people naturally veer to the right in situations like this?”

  Theo tugged me toward the right tunnel. “Sure. That seems logical, let’s go.”

  “But if they know they’re not supposed to come out here, then maybe they’d go to the left. I think we should go to the left.”

  He turned around to face me, his hands going to my shoulders. “Your ability to reason with yourself is fascinating. But we need to make a decision and go. What’s your choice?”

  “Left.”

  “Okay.” He turned his headlamp toward the left tunnel and took my hand. “Here we go.”

  We ventured about a hundred yards down the tunnel on the left when it opened up to a large room. The ceiling stretched overhead and the scent of the air changed. It felt like it had been undisturbed for a very long time. Multiple tunnels branched off from the center.

  “Great, now what?” I asked. Hopelessness began to set in. “They could be anywhere.”

  Theo tucked his lower lip under his front teeth like he was deep in thought. I let go of his hand and walked the perimeter of the open space, peering into every crack and crevice I could see.

  “Rodney!” I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Rodney, where are you?”

  “Hey, don’t yell. Some species of bats are disturbed real easily. Keep your voice down, please.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. Didn’t seem to matter, Rodney hadn’t answered.