by Dylann Crush
I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder, his round, heavily muscled shoulder. “What do you mean?” All joking aside, he seemed about to share something personal, something that he’d obviously been grappling with for some time if the incident in question had taken place over twenty years ago.
“You’ll think I’m a giant wimp.” He shook his head again.
“Well it’s not like I know you well enough to have formed an opinion yet.” Although, at first glance, Theo seemed like anything but a giant wimp. He towered over most men of average height and his broad shoulders had the ability to block the sun from a typical doorway. No matter what he planned on sharing, I had no doubt it wouldn’t change my opinion.
His nose scrunched up in the most adorable way and at the same time his eyes sparkled with a hint of humor. “So ever since that night I’m kind of, a little bit, hell, I guess I need to just come out and say it…”
I squeezed his cheeks together in my hands and moved his head so that he couldn’t help but look at me. “What? What’s this big hairy secret you want to get off your chest?”
“Hey, my chest isn’t hairy.”
“I didn’t say it was. I said it was a big, hairy secret. As for your chest, maybe I’ll take a look for myself later.” What the hell was I doing flirty with the burly bat guy two minutes after telling myself I couldn’t be involved? “Right now, you’ve got to focus. What happened that night? What are you trying to tell me?”
He looked straight into my eyes and lowered his voice to just about a whisper. “I’m a little afraid of the dark.”
Him? The man who looked like the spawn of Thor and the Hulk? Afraid of the dark? I stifled the laugh that threatened to burst from my lips. “Okay. I can see that. Your dad leaves you in a pitch black cave overnight. I probably would have been scarred for life too.”
“Come on, tell me something embarrassing about you now. Make me feel like I’m not a total loser.”
I considered my options. I could make something up. Tell him how I had daddy issues since my dad left when I was a kid. Share how awful I felt when Dustin fled to California because he couldn’t handle small-town life anymore. But he’d put himself out there for me. I owed him that much in return.
“Well?” He’d shifted my hands from his cheeks to hold them between us. “Tell me one of your deep, dark secrets.”
“Fine. The reason I don’t like to go down in the caves is because that’s where Rodney was conceived.”
“Whoa.” He let my hands go and shifted to the side. “Hell, Scarlett, I was looking for maybe something like you’re afraid of snakes because your brother used to torture you with them when you were a kid or something.”
Shit. Too much too soon. Story of my life. I either clamped up like a clam and resisted any attempt to pry info out of me or did just the opposite and over-shared to the point where I alienated potential friends. Fortunately for me, I tended to operate as the clam and I could count on the number of people I’d over-shared with on one hand. Maybe even half of one hand.
“Sorry. I wanted to share something equally heavy. My bad.” I moved past him toward the entrance to the cave. Now seemed like the right time to go in. I didn’t want to stand around and flay myself in front of the hot Boy Scout bat guy any longer.
His footsteps crunched on the dirt behind me. “I’m sorry.” Hi hand moved to my shoulder. “Did someone hurt you or force you?”
“No, of course not.”
His shoulders slumped forward. “Thank God. I was afraid I might have to do some major ass kicking on your behalf.”
“Statute of limitations is over on that, too. I was young and stupid and trying too hard to wedge myself in with the popular crowd.”
“So Rodney’s dad is someone you went to high school with?”
“What? No, I didn’t say that.” My cheeks prickled with heat even as an icy fear seemed to radiate through my chest.
“Sorry, you just said you were trying to get in with the popular crowd. I figured it meant you were with someone you went to school with, someone who might be your ticket into that crowd.”
Well, shit. That’s exactly what I’d said and exactly how he should have taken it. I needed to be more protective of my secrets.
“Are we done with the heart to heart?” Cue the armored bitch. I need her to deflect the sympathy I saw forming in Theo’s eyes. I didn’t want people feeling sorry for me. I’d made my bed long ago and had no problem lying in it. Alone.
“Yeah, sorry.” The look in his eyes shifted. Armored bitch had that effect on people. “If you want to talk about it sometime…”
“I don’t. Let’s get this over with so I can get home and check on Rodney.”
“Let’s go.” Theo flipped on his headlamp and forged ahead.
I did the same. The past was in the past. No sense excavating it now. I’d pay my debt to Theo by showing him around a bit. Then he’d head back to wherever hot bat guys lived to do whatever hot bat guys did, and I’d resume my small-town life.
17
Theo
I crept ahead, putting one foot in front of the other, fully aware of Scarlett’s presence behind me. She said my admission didn’t change her opinion about me, but how could it not? Who would put their faith in a bat researcher who was afraid of the dark? At least she was with me, even if she did think I was a giant wuss.
We passed through the tunnel, leaving the sunlight behind us. The cave seemed typical of the others in the area. There weren’t any signs of bats entering or exiting. Usually I’d see droppings or some evidence if there’d been an active colony of bats inside. Now that it was October, though, they wouldn’t be coming and going, they’d be getting ready to hibernate. As long as we were here it made sense to go a little deeper. Scarlett was right about these caves in Missouri. They were linked together in random labyrinths and this tunnel might lead us to a colony even if the bats weren’t using this particular tunnel as their entry and exit point.
“How are you doin’ back there?” I turned my head and tried to get a glimpse of Scarlett. I knew she was close since she’d held a handful of my shirt in her hand since we’d entered.
“Like a walk in the park. A dark park.”
Smart ass. She was one of a kind. I hadn’t meant to pry when I’d asked her for a secret. Maybe in some awkward way it had been a lame attempt at flirting. Damn, I totally needed to up my game. But I’d seen a hint of the softness underneath that wall she hid behind. She wasn’t as bad ass as she pretended to be.
We continued moving forward and I pointed out some of the markings on the walls, both in an effort to distract myself and maybe to show her I did know a little bit about caves. “See those lines on the rocks?”
“Yeah.”
“Those are striations from limestone deposits over the years. Some of the caves in this area are over four-hundred-million years old.”
“Interesting. You be sure to tell all those kids about this when you take them on that field trip April recruited you for.”
April. Damn. I’d all but forgotten about that. “Maybe she won’t remember.”
“Oh, not April. Her mind’s like a steel trap. No, that’s too cliché. Her memory is like a photographic memory. But instead of remembering everything she sees, she can remember everything she hears. It’s freaky. And evil.”
“So the chance of me getting out of this commitment is like—”
“Impossible. Honestly. Unless you’re struck with some deadly disease. But even then, it would have to be contagious or she’d probably still expect you to follow through.”
“Got it. I’ll do some research and see what I can come up with when we get back to the surface.”
“Or head lice. She has a freakish fear of head lice.”
“Isn’t that what she accused you of having last night?”
“Yeah. It’s her go-to. Back in second grade she caught it. We used to have a stuffed animal that we’d take turns bringing home for the weekend. When it was Apr
il’s turn to take the teddy bear home she came back with head lice. Her mom tried to get rid of it by combing it out, putting that nasty smelling stuff on it and even taking her to some lice removal service over in Nevada but they couldn’t beat it. So her mom cut her hair so short you could see her scalp. Ever since then she’s been freakishly afraid.”
“Good to know.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to go there with the head lice suggestion but maybe I could say I’d heard rumors of an outbreak at the school. Otherwise, based on what Scarlett said, I’d probably find myself leading a group of teens underground. And their hot teacher. Whoever she was, she probably couldn’t hold a candle to Scarlett.
The tunnel gave way to a larger chamber and I stopped to look around. Scarlett stepped beside me, her headlamp throwing light to the opposite wall. I glanced up, hoping for some sign of bats, but all I could see was the rock ceiling. About twelve feet up, if my internal gauge was working.
“Now what?” Scarlett moved her lamp to the side before she looked up at me. She was learning.
“We look for evidence of bats. If they’re here, there ought to be some signs somewhere.” I shone my light along the ground and over the rocks. Nothing. “I don’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a colony farther back that’s using a different entrance.”
“I wish I’d brought my coffee,” Scarlett said.
“Are you quitting on me already? We’ve only been at it for a half hour.”
“No, I’m not quitting. I just haven’t hit my minimum caffeine threshold yet today. And if I don’t get my coffee I get cranky.”
“You sure you’re not just cranky anyway?” I joked.
“Hey.” She faked being taken aback. “I’m not so bad.”
I slung an arm around her shoulder. “Nah, you’re not so bad. You’re not really bad at all. I kind of like you.”
“What?” Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened. She was totally yanking my chain and I was enjoying it.
“Yeah. The crabiness is a huge turn-on.”
She flipped to face me and put her hands on my chest, giving me a not-so-gentle push. “Hey, now. You’re going to insult my inner bitch. You don’t want her to rear her ugly head.”
“Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?” Tempted to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close, I waited to see how she would respond. With the slightest hint of encouragement I was ready to dip my head and capture those lips with mine.
“She doesn’t mess around.”
“Who, your inner bitch?”
Scarlett nodded, making the light from her headlamp bounce up and down on the rocks next to us.
“Well I don’t mess around, either. We’d probably get along just fine.”
Her hands stilled. No longer resisting her push, I leaned in closer. Her mouth parted. If that wasn’t an invitation to kiss her then my entire adult life had been a lie. Focusing on her mouth, I tilted my head.
“Are you about to kiss me?” she whispered.
“Do you want me to?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” She glanced to my mouth, then my eyes. I saw heat, but I also saw hesitation. Was she afraid of me?
“I don’t have to.”
“I might want you to.” Her lips rubbed together.
I gently circled her in my arms. “When do you think you might decide?”
“Soon?”
I let out a soft chuckle. “You let me know when you make up your mind. The offer’s good all day, okay?” My hand dropped from her sides and I was about to step back when she fisted my T-shirt and jerked me toward her.
Our lips collided as I reached up to cradle her head with my hand. Heat pulsed between us at each point of contact. Her thighs aligned with mine, her hips nudged into my groin. Damn, I needed air. I took a breath in through my nose so I didn’t have to break the kiss. She rose to her tiptoes and I leaned closer, taking it deeper. My tongue pressed against the seam of her mouth and her lips parted in welcome. I wanted to groan into her mouth, fist my hand in her hair, and show her how much she got to me. But I held back.
She pulled away first, her hand still wrapped around my shirt. “Wow.”
“Wow? Is that a good ‘wow’ or a ‘wow, that was a huge mistake kind of wow’?” One thing I never thought Scarlett Jarrett would be was rendered speechless.
Realizing she’d wrinkled my shirt into a mess, she smoothed her hand over my chest. That didn’t help curb my attraction. Feeling her hand glide over my shirt actually turned me on more than I cared to admit. “You’d better watch it or I’m going to want to kiss you again.”
Her teeth worried at her bottom lip as her hand stilled then moved from my chest. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I asked. Sorry for kissing me? Sorry for distracting me from the mission at hand?
“I don’t know. It just seemed like the right thing to say.” Her gaze flitted from mine to a spot on the cave floor.
“Well, I’m not sorry. Unless you didn’t want to kiss me. Then I’d just be feeling sorry for myself.”
That brought out a smile. The way her lips turned up just slightly at the edges made my heart do a funny kind of beat. It also caused a strange feeling in my gut. Like a butterfly beating its soft wings against the inside of my stomach. Damn, I was a pussy.
She took in a breath, causing her chest to puff out. That got my attention. “No, I’m not sorry about the kiss. I’m so out of practice. This is embarrassing.”
“Hey, if you’re looking for a study partner, just let me know. I’d totally be willing to help you get back up to speed on all things, um, oral.”
“What a generous offer.” She rolled her eyes at me, then turned to the side and adjusted her headlamp to shine straight ahead again.
I did the same. “Obviously I’m a generous kind of guy.”
“Obviously.” She swiped at the corner of her lip with her finger.
Still half hard, I wanted to step back into her space, crowd her against the wall, and prove to her that she wasn’t as out of practice as she seemed to think. But duty called. I’d never gotten down and dirty in the dusty, dank, dark belly of a cave, and now wasn’t the time to start.
“You okay? Ready to keep going deeper?” Inwardly I cringed at the potential entendre. “I mean, are you ready to continue exploring? The cave, I mean.”
“Stop.” Her smile was genuine. By putting my foot in my own mouth I must have made her feel better. Noted. I could engage in self-deprecating humor with the best of them. It had been my defense mechanism for most of my life.
“Okay, I’m stopping.” I reached out, offering my hand. “What do you say we head down that tunnel over there? We’ll go another ten minutes or so and if we don’t see signs of anything we can head back to the surface and take a break?” And maybe I could take that opportunity to get a read on how that kiss might have affected her without trying to guess at her reactions in the dark.
“Sounds good.” She put her hand in mine and I noticed the shift in intensity at her touch. This was going to be an interesting day.
18
Scarlett
The day passed in a blur of crawling, climbing, and scooting through so many tunnels I’d lost track of which ones we’d checked and which ones we hadn’t. Thankfully, Theo kept track. Otherwise, I might have spent the entire day exploring the same tunnel over and over again. By early afternoon we’d covered all of the tunnels leading off that main chamber and had yet to see any indication of bats. I also hadn’t seen any sign of the treasure my dad used to rant and rave about. I’d told Theo I didn’t mind showing him the caves in exchange for his company at the reunion. But I also had an ulterior motive.
Dad spent every spare moment deep in the caves on our land. In all the years he traveled the tunnels, he never found the treasure his family had talked about. I even remember my grandmother, before she died, saying something about my grandpa doing the same thing. I’d chalked it up to Jarrett family lore, but Dad had been convinced b
eyond a doubt there was something left over from his illustrious ancestors. Something worth finding. He’d never wanted to involve anyone else in his search, so he didn’t have the benefit of a professional guide. I did. Theo didn’t know it yet, but he was going to lead me right to it. Or at least get me close enough that I could find it myself. If it was there, I’d find it.
We took a break to eat the lunch Mrs. Cahill packed. Theo said she wouldn’t let him leave without it.
“Is that homemade bread?” I asked as Theo untied what appeared to be a loaf of bread that Dottie had wrapped up in a tea towel.
“I don’t even know what she put in here, but there’s enough to feed a small army.” His fingers fumbled over the knot.
“Give it here.” I held out my hand, waiting for him to give up and give me the bread.
“I can get it.” Forehead creased, he tried using two hands to get the knot undone.
“Don’t be so stubborn. Your thumbs are like breakfast sausages. Let me give it a shot.”
He handed it over, the smirk on his face causing a dimple to pop on his left cheek. “Sausages? Really?”
Oh hell. Now he was going to talk about sausages and it would be my fault because I was the one who opened up that line of discussion. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” He tilted his head just a little, waiting for me to address the sausage reference.
“Don’t start talking about your sausage. Or anything on your body that resembles a sausage. Or a hot dog.”
He faked being offended. “I would never. Give me some credit.”
Shaking my head, I worked on the knot, freeing it easily. The sides of the tea towel fell away to reveal a loaf of fresh baked bread. I lifted it to my nose and inhaled the smell of comfort. Food was my love language, both the giving and receiving, and in that moment I was at total and complete peace.
