by Dylann Crush
“They did put up the gate. Do you know what I had to go through to get to you? We’ve got to get out of here now. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking you lied to me. Rodney told me Judd told him the truth. And you knew.”
The pain in her voice cut through me like a dull knife. “I’m sorry, Scarlett. Rodney asked me not to tell you. He wanted to come to terms with it himself before he asked you about it.” I held her hands in mine, trying to chase the cold away. “I should have given you a head’s up. But he made me promise and, in the moment, I did.”
Her chin dropped to her chest. “You’re right, you should have told me.”
“I’m so sorry. Rodney didn’t want to hurt you. He figured if you knew Judd had told him the truth it would wreck you.”
She glanced up at me. “It did. I thought if I could find the treasure I’d be able to give him everything Judd promised.”
“We can still figure this out together. Can you forgive me?” I didn’t dare breathe as I waited for her to respond.
“Is this what you want? What you really, really want? Me? Rodney? Being a part of our messy, complicated lives?”
I held tight to her hands and looked straight into her eyes. “I can’t think of anything I want more.”
Her tentative smile kick-started my heart.
“We’ve got to get moving. The stream’s overflowing.” Even as I spoke, a trickle of water appeared at the edge of my vision. We had to get across that water before it flooded the lower chambers of the cave.
She struggled to stand. “I’m okay, but I hurt my knee. I don’t know if I can crawl out the way I came in. It’s too narrow.”
“Are you cold? Hungry?” I didn’t wait for an answer as I pulled an extra jacket out of my bag. “Here, put this on while I take a look around. Maybe there’s another way.”
“I just want to get out of here, but don’t leave me.” Her hands grappled to hold onto me.
“It’s okay. I won’t lose you.”
She shoved her arms through the sleeves of the jacket. “I’m coming with you. Don’t leave me alone down here.”
“Okay.” I held tight to her with one hand and grabbed my phone with the other. It was almost six. I’d been up all night, trying to navigate through the cave. With any luck, someone at the Conservation Alliance would get my message or my dad would see my text and send help.
As Scarlett clutched my hand, we shuffled around the perimeter of the chamber. Something dark and bulky loomed ahead, just at the edge of the light cast from my headlamp.
“Stay here a sec.” I let go of her hand and edged forward. It wouldn’t be an animal, not this deep in the cave. But something was definitely there. As I drew closer, I could make out the edge of what appeared to be a canvas tarp. Rocks had shifted over the years, burying it in a pile of rubble and dust.
“What is it?” Scarlett asked, her whisper echoing through the chamber.
“A tarp. Come on over.” I held out my hand and swiveled my head to light up the distance between us.
She limped toward me, favoring her uninjured leg. “A tarp? Is it covering something?”
“Maybe.” I moved toward her to help her along. What a pair we turned out to be. Me with my bum ankle and a black eye, and her with an injured knee. We’d get out of here, but not before the cave punished us for intruding.
Scarlett hobbled toward the tarp. “This could be it. My dad’s treasure. Do you think it is?” Her voice rose.
“I don’t know. Let’s check.” I lifted the edge of the tarp and tried to pull it free. The weight of the rocks and rubble made it impossible. We joined forces, trying to clear everything away. Bit by bit, I was able to pull the tarp back, revealing several wooden crates.
“What is it?” Scarlett brushed a thick layer of dust off the top of one of the boxes. “This isn’t treasure. It’s just some old wooden crates. You don’t think it’s gunpowder or something, do you?”
Oh shit. Gunpowder? The whole cave could go up. How unstable could ancient gunpowder be? I bent closer, running my finger over the logo that had been branded on the lid. “It says Donahue Distillery.”
“Let me see that.” Scarlett stood next to me and angled my headlamp to shine on the logo that had been burned into the lid of the crate. Evidently satisfied I hadn’t been lying, she let go of the light. “So what do you think is in there?”
I pulled the hacksaw out of my pack. “Stand back and let’s see.”
She stepped to the side and I went to work on the lid of the top box. After quite a bit of manly effort, the lid separated from the box with a crack. I moved closer and directed the light. A handful of bottles were stuck in the crate with some sort of packing material between them.
“What is it?” Scarlett reached for one of the bottles. She lifted it up and we both scanned the label.
“Do you know what this is?” I asked. The label was old, yellowed with age, but I could still make out the word “whisky” in the curly script.
“It’s whiskey.” She turned away, her disappointment evident in the scowl on her face. “I was hoping it was the treasure. According to the map it should have been right around here somewhere.”
I tilted the bottle to get a closer look at the label. A date had been scrawled in the lower right hand corner of the label. “Scarlett, come here. Take a look at this.”
“What?”
Pointing at the date, I did the math in my head. “If this means what I think it does, this might be your treasure.”
“Old whiskey?”
“Vintage, hundred-and-fifty-year-old whiskey. This has got to be worth something. And look, there’s more.”
She leaned against the rocks. “It’s probably skunked or like vinegar by now. It can’t possibly be drinkable.”
“What if it is?” I pried open another lid. Six more bottles of light amber liquid. Beyond the aging of the label, these could have been bottled yesterday. “I think you might have something valuable on your hands here.”
“I don’t know. Dad was so sure. He said the map would lead to a treasure that would be worth its ounces in gold.”
She might not see it for what it was, but I was convinced that we’d found her fabled treasure. Now we just needed to figure out how to get it out of the cave, and ourselves with it. “Come on, we need to get going before the water rises.”
Scarlett grabbed one of the bottles then flung the tarp back over the top. “I guess I may as well take this so I can look it up online.”
“Good plan.” I waited for her to shove the bottle in her bag, my eagerness for her to have time to get what she wanted fought with the urge to protect her and keep her safe.
She leaned on me for support, and we started toward the tunnel where I’d left my smaller pack.
“You go first.” Scarlett gestured toward the tunnel. The bottom had filled with a couple inches of water.
“Are you sure?” I’d prefer for her to go ahead of me. That way if she needed a push I could boost her from behind. Pulling her out of the tunnel might be harder than pushing.
“Yeah. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Okay.” I hunched down and began to crawl through the narrow tunnel, the knees of my jeans growing damp as the cold water rose. “Be careful, okay?”
She came in after me, grunting as she tried to stay off of her injured knee. Somehow we made it to the larger chamber but the floor had disappeared and a murky pool of water had replaced it.
“We’ve got to cross.” I held out my hand as she came up next to me. The current had picked up and the water swirled around our hips, rising up to her chest as we began to wade through.
Ice cold water splashed against me, soaking my clothes and making me shiver. Scarlett took my hand and we forged ahead, the water climbing higher and higher as we reached the middle of the stream. Before I knew what happened, Scarlett slipped on the rocks and went under. Immediately I grabbed for her but came up empty. All I could see was her hair bobbing up and dow
n as the water carried her farther away.
“Dammit.” I wanted to yell but knew if I did I could disturb the bats. Plunging after her, I made a grab for something, anything, and ended up with her backpack.
“Be careful with that.” She’d grabbed onto the side of a rock that jutted out into the rising water.
I slung the pack over my shoulder and waded through waist-high water to reach her. “Let’s get out of here.”
She took the hand I offered and together we crossed through the water to the other side. By the time I’d boosted her up onto the ledge and began to pull myself over, a beam of light crossed the chamber. Someone was coming.
“Mom?” Rodney called out.
“Shh. We’re right here.” I levered myself onto the rock and rolled onto my side. We were both freezing, hungry, and exhausted. I needed to get Scarlett home and warmed up.
“Rodney?” Scarlett stumbled to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
“You guys okay?” He reached us, and I noticed he’d brought some other folks with him.
Scarlett’s brother, Dustin, knelt down and unzipped his pack. “I’ve got some blankets. Here.” He handed one to me and one to Scarlett. “Y’all need to warm up. How long have you been down here?”
I wrapped both blankets around Scarlett’s shoulders and rubbed her arms to try to get her blood flowing. “I came down last night. Scarlett’s been down here for at least two days.”
“Two days?” She turned to me. “I lost all track of time when my phone died. I’m so sorry. It was stupid of me to come down here by myself.”
“What were you thinking?” Dustin frowned at his sister. “Please tell me you weren’t looking for that crazy treasure Dad used to obsess over.”
“Don’t worry. There’s not any treasure.” Scarlett’s shoulders slumped forward. “I was trying to find a way to get away. Rodney wants to go live with his dad, and—”
“His dad?” Dustin asked.
“My dad’s Coach Waite.” Rodney put an arm behind Scarlett.
“Wait.” Dustin whipped around to face Scarlett. “You told everyone Rodney’s dad was a one-night stand and you never even got his name. And all this time Judd’s been right here? Right in front of all of us?”
“It was for the best. Or at least I thought so at the time.” Scarlett put a hand on Dustin’s arm and I felt like an outsider, intruding on a private family moment.
“Did you not want him involved? I don’t get it. He could have helped all these years.” Dustin shrugged off her hand and struck his palm with his fist. “That asshole.”
“Settle down. We both had our reasons for keeping it a secret. But Rodney knows now and said he wants to go live with his dad. I wanted to find the treasure so I could keep him with me. We could move away or I could afford that football camp you wanted.” She hid her face in her hands.
“Mom, hey.” Rodney gathered her in his arms. I stood to the side, useless, unsure and uncomfortable. “I only wanted to move in with Coach Waite so he could help me more with football.”
“It’s not your fault, it’s mine. A boy should have a positive role model in his life. I didn’t realize how unfair that was to you until recently. I’m so sorry.” Scarlett clung to her son like a woman who was about to lose everything. I wanted to comfort her but wasn’t sure how.
“What am I?” Dustin asked. “Don’t I count as a positive role model? And what about Theo?”
My chest squeezed tight when he mentioned my name. I’d hoped to keep a very low profile, already feeling out of place.
“That’s another reason I wanted to go live with Coach.” Rodney pulled back enough to look down on his mom. “You’ve had to take care of me all of these years. You never had a chance at a normal life. You’re so happy with Theo. I don’t want to be in the way. If I go live with Coach then you can do what you want.”
“Stop right there.” Scarlett put her palm on Rodney’s chest. “You’re my life.” Then she looked at me and held out her hand.
I moved toward them, not sure what she was going to say, but trusting that however this went, we’d be okay. Both of us would survive, I just might not leave here with my heart intact. Taking her hand, her warmth flowed through me, thawing my frozen limbs.
“Rodney. You’re my son. You’ll always be the most important guy in my life. You’re my number one.” Then she turned to me. “But there’s enough room in my heart for two. As long as the man I love knows that you’ll always be a part of our lives.”
“That’s right.” I found my voice. Scarlett was offering me another chance. “Your mom’s not whole without you in her life. And that means I wouldn’t be either.”
Rodney glanced to both of us.
“And I can help you with football. All you need to do is ask.” I put an arm out and clamped my hand on his shoulder.
“So are y’all like getting married or something?” Rodney’s nose crunched up.
“I hate to burst your happiness bubble,” Dustin said. “But can y’all make heart eyes at each other when we get above ground?”
“Of course.” I put an arm around Scarlett so she could shift most of her weight to me. “Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Scarlett
I hung up the phone trying to stifle my grin. Theo glanced up from his spot across the kitchen table. He’d been working on some new curriculum for a youth education packet all about bats.
“So? What did they say?” The corners of his mouth quirked up the tiniest bit. He was just as excited about this as I was. It was so nice to share common ground with someone for a change.
“They want it.” I scribbled a number down on the blank piece of paper next to me then slid it across the table to Theo. “All of it.”
His eyes bugged as he took in the number of zeros. I’d almost dropped the phone and peed my pants when the man with the thick Irish accent had mentioned the amount of the offer.
“Are you kidding me?” Theo pushed back from his chair and grabbed the piece of paper from the table. “That’s crazy.”
“I know.” Smiling, I bit my lip. When we’d first discovered the cases of whiskey in the cave, I doubted it would be drinkable, much less worth anything more than the value of an antique glass bottle.
But Theo had encouraged me to reach out to the distillery branded on the crates. Turns out the cases in the cave were part of a shipment that had gone missing over a hundred and fifty years ago. The distillery was still in business although they’d undergone many changes in ownership over the years. Their two hundredth anniversary was coming up and they wanted to use the cases we’d found as the centerpiece of their marketing campaign, including a red carpet unveiling of the bottles and a high dollar tasting of the oldest whiskey in the world to benefit charity. Theo’s new charity.
With the amount they were willing to pay for the whiskey, I’d have enough to buy the small building downtown and open up that ice cream shop I’d talked about with Cassie. All of my dreams were coming true.
All because of the man in front of me.
I pushed back from the table and stood next to him. “Can you believe it?”
“Yes.” He snugged his arms around me and buried his nose in my hair. “Of course I can. You can do anything you set your mind to, Scarlett.”
“Because of you.” I put my palm to his chest, needing to feel his heartbeat under my hand. Sometimes I couldn’t believe this incredible man had chosen me.
Theo tucked his chin to his chest and nudged my gaze up to meet his. “Because of us. We’re better together. I knew it the first time I met you. Because of you I conquered my fears. Because of you I stopped living my life for someone else and started living it for me. Because of you I learned what it means to love someone unconditionally.”
“You’re going to make me cry.” I swiped my finger across my cheeks. Theo had a way of cracking my ball-busting outer shell and getting to all the mushy parts I’d hidden deep inside for so long.
“As long
as they’re happy tears, it’s all good.” He tilted his head and touched his lips to mine.
“Yes, they’re happy tears. And I’ve got one more surprise.”
“What’s that?”
“They invited us to be part of the party.”
His brow furrowed as his super smart scientist brain tried to figure out the logistics of that. “You mean they want us to come to Ireland?”
“Not just come, but to participate in their anniversary celebration. Be the guests of honor at the black tie gala. All expenses paid.”
“That sounds like an amazing trip.”
“It does, doesn’t it? Rodney couldn’t miss school for that long, and he’d need to attend his winter football training.”
“So just the two of us?”
“Would that be okay with you? I was thinking of asking Judd and April if he could stay with them while we’re gone.”
Theo’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
I dropped my gaze to his chest and nodded. “Yeah. It’s only fair that he get to know that side of his family.”
“You’re amazing, Scarlett Jarrett.” His arms wrapped tight around me and he swung me in a wide circle.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t go hurting yourself. You’ve got to be in tip-top shape if we’re going to do some sightseeing.”
He grinned, that lopsided smile that had attracted my attention in the first place. “I hardly think I need to be in tip-top shape to lift a tumbler of whiskey to my lips.”
“No, but you will be if you want to go caving. They said they’re willing to set us up with a private tour of some of the caves over there. Something about a horseshoe bat?”
His eyes sparkled. “Only if you’ll go with me. You know I’m afraid of the dark.”
“Theo Wilder, I’d follow you into the darkest, longest, deepest cave if it meant we’d be together.”
“Where else would you go with me?”
“Anywhere.”
“Would you walk down an aisle with me?”
