Capturing the Cavedweller's Heart

by Shanna Hatfield

  “But did you see his face when he mentioned his daughter and sister?” Hannah could feel the hurt in Thor’s heart when he spoke of them.

  Sam chuckled. “I can’t believe he picked the name of a superhero that just happens to be super-popular. I mean, come on. The guy has muscles to spare, but Thor? Not even close.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion,” Jen whispered to Hannah, making her smile. “I wonder what he’d look like without all the bushy hair on his head and face.”

  “Me, too,” Hannah said quietly. “But you’ve got your own handsome hero at home.”

  Jen beamed. “I sure do. I can’t wait to see him this weekend. Are you still planning to go to the ranch?”

  “Yes. I can’t wait to see Jill and Jason and play with Rachel. She’s at such a fun age.”

  “She’s eight months now?”

  Hannah nodded. “Yes, almost nine. Jill said she’s been pulling herself up on the furniture. It won’t be long before she’s walking.”

  “And running,” Jen said with a laugh. “Then Jill and Jason better watch out. From there it’s a small leap to them chasing away the boys destined to flock around that girl.”

  Hannah grinned. “I’m sure there will be plenty. She’s a cutie.”

  “Must be a family thing.”

  A blush burned Hannah’s cheeks. She’d never been popular in school. Never attracted the attention of boys. One teacher had told her she was mature for her age and intimidated the boys. It didn’t make her feel any better at the time, but she’d survived her teen years with her nose buried in a book, studying the past. Not once had she felt beautiful, and she knew she was a far cry from the cute girls the superficial boys tended to notice.

  Now it didn’t matter. She was glad she’d focused on her passion, which was archaeology, instead of worrying about the lack of a date for her senior prom. She still cringed when she thought about Robbie Bradford standing her up that night.

  Would a guy like Thor have paid her any mind back then? Even with his untamed hair and beard, he hinted at being handsome. The muscles on display with his scant clothing certainly made a girl sit up and take notice. She’d never seen anyone with such thick, developed thigh muscles, except maybe in photos of a Mister Universe contest. His solid arms and brawny shoulders looked like they could wrestle a bear and win. Even his thick, corded neck garnered her admiration.

  “Don’t you think?” Jen asked, drawing Hannah from her musings.

  “I’m sorry, I was woolgathering.”

  Jen gave her a knowing look. “Thinking about your hunky cavedweller?”

  “Absolutely not. And he’s not mine!”

  Jen laughed. “Whatever, girl.”

  Lost in their work, none of them noticed the morning quickly passing until Hannah stood up, wondering where Thor had disappeared. The acrid scent of smoke drifted on the breeze, and she looked around, slightly panicked. With the ground so dry, a wildfire could be disastrous to their worksite and to the rancher who owned the land.

  “Smoke! Do you smell smoke?” Erik asked, scrambling out of the trench.

  “Where’s it coming from?” Sam asked, stepping beside him.

  The four of them scanned the area. “There!” Hannah pointed in the direction Thor had gone hours earlier, in search of the cave.

  “Shovels!” Erik yelled, grabbing one and breaking into a run.

  Sam snagged a shovel and raced past Erik, his youth making it easy for him to pass the older man in a few strides.

  Hannah handed Jen a shovel, and the two of them took off after the men.

  They slid to a stop when they came upon Thor roasting what appeared to be a rabbit over a small fire he’d built inside a circle of rocks. He glanced up at them. “Hungry?”

  “Um, I’ll stick with my sandwich, thanks,” Jen said, turning and heading back toward the dig site. Sam shook his head and went with her.

  Erik huffed and puffed, trying to draw air into his lungs as he sat down on a rock by Thor. Hannah leaned on her shovel handle and watched Thor turn the meat on a stick, as though it was a rotisserie.

  “How’d you make the fire?” she asked, curious if he’d produce a book of matches or come up with some grand description of rubbing sticks together until they sparked.

  Thor opened the pouch he wore on his hip, took out two rocks, and handed them to her. She studied each one before giving them to Erik. She recognized one stone as quartz. If she wasn’t mistaken, the other had granite properties. A groove was worn in one rock where the other had struck it repeatedly.

  “You made the fire with this?” Erik asked, balancing the rocks in his hand.

  Thor took the rocks and gave Erik a long look, as though he measured him and found him lacking. He demonstrated striking the rocks and producing sparks.

  Erik’s eyes widened in surprise. “What else do you have in that pouch of yours?” he asked.

  Thor gave him another studying glance before he stuck his hand in the pouch and pulled out an assortment of items.

  “May I?” Erik asked, pointing to what appeared to be a knife made of agate.

  Thor nodded, and Erik lifted the knife in his hand, holding it up to the light. The edge was sharp enough to inflict damage, a fact that both amazed and unsettled Hannah.

  She noticed a lock of dark hair tied with what appeared to be a length of sinew. It made her think of the Victorian tradition of saving a lock of a loved one’s hair when they passed away. “Who did that belong to?”

  “My son. He died when the earth shook.” Thor’s voice sounded sad. Hannah almost believed that his grief was real and not feigned in an elaborate scheme or hoax. She had no idea why anyone would go to such effort to pretend to be a man from thousands of years ago or what he hoped to gain by the act.

  A smaller pouch made of smooth, tanned hide rested on his palm. She pointed to it. “What’s in there?”

  “The band Beena made for me when I took her as my mate.” He pulled out a band created with woven fibers of varying colors.

  Hannah reverently touched it. The armband truly was artistic and had no doubt required hours and hours of work to make. Tiny beads were sewn on it, and feathers were attached with lengths of leather strips. “She did fine work.”

  Thor nodded and tucked the band back inside the pouch.

  He had a charred stick that might have been used for any number of purposes, a string of beads made from animal teeth, three smooth stones, and dried meat that smelled of smoke and berries.

  Thor returned his treasures to the pouch then held out his hand for the knife. Erik returned it to him with a hint of reluctance. While Thor tucked it back inside the pouch, Erik turned to Hannah and mouthed, “That’s real.”

  She nodded, thinking everything in the pouch Thor carried appeared real, including the lion’s paw that held his treasures.

  “Hungry?” Thor asked again, removing the rabbit from the fire.

  “I’m fine, but thanks,” Hannah said, not interested in eating the rabbit. Who knew what sort of parasites or diseases it might carry.

  Erik accepted the piece of meat Thor held out to him and ate it while Thor devoured the rest of the rabbit. She turned away when he broke open a bone and sucked out the marrow.

  “Thank you for sharing your meal, Thor.” Erik stood and motioned to the fire. “With the ground so dry, though, we can’t leave the fire burning.”

  Thor stood and looked at the flames then nodded once. Erik and Hannah shoveled dirt over the fire until it was out. Thor appeared fascinated with their shovels and asked them questions about how they were constructed.

  “Why don’t you come back with us? You’re probably thirsty.” Hannah tilted her head toward the dig site.

  “You have water?” Thor asked, following as she and Erik led the way.

  “We do,” Hannah said. Back at the dig site, she went to a cooler they’d filled that morning with ice and bottles of water. She took one out and handed it to Thor.

  He nearly dropped it whe
n he took it in his hand. “It is cold, like ice.”

  “That’s the idea,” Erik said, taking a bottle and chugging it down in a few gulps.

  Hannah removed the cap for Thor and watched as he tried a sip of the water. “It is good!” he declared, smiling at her as he drained the bottle. “More.”

  “Help yourself,” she said, pointing to the cooler.

  He lifted the lid, leaned his face close to the ice, and released a contented sigh. Then he proceeded to open and close the lid half a dozen times, lift the cooler, and study it from all angles.

  “This is a cooler. It keeps things cold,” she said, opening the lid when he set the cooler down. “These are ice cubes. Here, put one in your mouth.” She handed him a piece of ice and watched as his expression changed from dubious to pleased.

  “What magic makes ice in the summer?”

  Hannah grinned. “A wonderful machine called an ice maker in the fridge.”

  “Fridge,” he repeated then grabbed another piece of ice and a second bottle of water.

  Jen and Sam barely subdued their laughter as Thor continued to marvel over the cooler as they ate their lunch. Hannah gave Thor half of her turkey sandwich, which incited a dozen more questions about bread, cheese, and thinly sliced deli meat.

  When he finished eating, he approached Hannah’s Jeep and studied it with the same intensity he’d exhibited over the cooler.

  “What do you call this beast?” he asked, gingerly rubbing the driver’s side door.

  Hannah walked up next to him. “It’s not a beast or a living thing. It is a machine called a vehicle,” she said, wondering why she bothered to explain. Thor continued his ruse of being a clueless man from the past. He full well knew what a car was, didn’t he?

  “And it carries you from one place to another?” he asked, circling around the Jeep again.

  “That’s right. This particular vehicle is a Jeep.”

  “Jeep. That’s a good word.” He rubbed his hand along the side of the door again. “I would ride in the Jeep.”

  “Would you, now?” Hannah asked, wondering if the man was scheming to get her alone. The look of interest on his face made her want to believe his innocence, even when she knew it was impossible.

  Erik glanced at his watch then back at Hannah. “Why don’t you take Thor for a ride, Hannah. In fact, we’d probably get more done if you’d take him home. Just be back here bright and early Tuesday morning.”

  “Take him home?” Hannah asked, glaring at Erik. “You aren’t possibly suggesting I…”

  Erik shook his head and lowered his voice so Thor wouldn’t hear him. “To his home, wherever that might be. Sam and I looked all around, and there aren’t any tire tracks, no hidden vehicles. I have no idea where he came from, but he needs to go back there. This game he’s playing has gone on long enough.”

  “Agreed, but I’m not so sure I should be the one to take him.” Hannah glanced over as Thor dropped down and looked beneath her Jeep.

  “I think he’s harmless. He appears to truly believe he is a prehistoric man. If he won’t give you an address, drop him off at the sheriff’s office or hospital on your way to the ranch.” Erik gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’ve got your taser, don’t you?”

  She grinned. “I do, and I’m not afraid to use it. Again.”

  “Attagirl.” Erik nodded toward Thor as he shifted his attention from the Jeep to one of the picks they used to break through hard-packed soil. “Now would be a good time to go before he accidentally destroys something.”

  “Agreed.” Hannah stepped over and took the pick from Thor’s hands. “How about that ride?”

  “Yes,” he said, hurrying around to the driver’s side door of the Jeep.

  “Oh, no, you don’t. I’m driving. You’re riding shotgun,” Hannah said, taking Thor’s arm in her hand and pulling him around the vehicle to the passenger door. Her entire body tingled, starting at the point of contact where her skin touched his and ending at her toes.

  She moved her hand from his arm and opened the door. Thor had to pull the door handle multiple times as she explained how it worked before he climbed inside.

  “Buckle your seatbelt,” she said. His bewildered look made her fight back the urge to roll her eyes. She pulled out the seatbelt and fastened it for him then closed his door.

  “Wish me luck,” she said to her coworkers.

  “Are you sure she’ll be safe?” Jen asked, giving Hannah a hug but looking at Erik.

  “I don’t think he intends any harm. If he does try anything, though, zap him with that taser first and ask questions later,” Erik said, giving Hannah a broad smile.

  “If you get him to fess up about what he’s really doing, let us know,” Sam said, waving as Hannah walked around the Jeep.

  “I will. Have a great weekend. I’ll see you all Tuesday morning.” She opened the door and slid behind the wheel.

  Thor was opening and closing the jockey box like he’d discovered another new toy.

  Hannah started the vehicle, turned the air conditioner on high, and put it in gear, answering Thor’s many questions as she drove down the dirt road. When they reached the highway, his eyes grew as wide as saucers.

  “What is this black river?” he asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the asphalt.

  “It’s a paved road.” Hannah put the Jeep in park and got out.

  Hesitant, Thor set one foot on the road. Hannah watched as he tested his weight on the hard surface before he jumped forward, landing with both feet on the black top.

  Thor grinned and bounced up and down on the surface a few times. “It smells like tar pits.”

  “That’s interesting,” Hannah said, unwilling to get into a discussion of the difference in asphalt and tar-paved roads. They got back in the Jeep, and she headed west toward Prineville and the home where she’d grown up.

  With more than an hour’s drive, Hannah remained tense and alert, waiting for Thor to attack her. Instead, he played with the air conditioner, opening and closing the vents. “A beast that blows cool air in the summer sun is good magic.”

  Hannah shook her head. “For the millionth time, it isn’t magic; it’s science.”

  Thor gave her a smirk. “Good magic.” He reached out and turned the volume knob for the radio. Fast-paced music blasted around them, and he held his hands over his ears.

  Hannah turned the music down to a comfortable level and grinned. “That’s the radio.”

  Thor asked her how it worked and proceeded to flip through every station her satellite radio received. His two favorites seemed to be an old country station and one that played heavy metal rock music from the 1980s.

  As she drove, Hannah continued to attempt to pry Thor’s address out of him, but his answer remained the same: he lived at the lake she’d made disappear.

  By the time they reached the outskirts of Prineville, she was so frustrated with him she wanted to scream. She started to drive to the sheriff’s office, but she just couldn’t quite make herself do it.

  Thor seemed more like an inquisitive child than a criminal. Would the police throw him in jail when he refused to answer their questions? She couldn’t quite bring herself to turn him in. She veered down a side street and drove toward the hospital, but envisioned Thor in a straitjacket in a windowless room and changed direction once again.

  Despite her head shouting for her to be sensible, her heart whispered for her to be kind. She parked the Jeep in front of a thrift shop. Thor could not run around in his loin-cloth without drawing unwanted attention. That was one thing of which she was certain.

  “I want you to wait right here, Thor. Do you understand? I’ll be back in just a minute.”

  “I will go where you go,” he said, opening the door but forgetting about the constraints of the seatbelt. He grunted in frustration and fumbled to press the button that would set him free.

  Hannah reached behind the seat and snagged her tablet from her computer bag. She quickly turne
d it on and brought up a movie. “Here, look at this,” she said, assuming Thor would enjoy watching an action adventure movie with a hero that shared his name.

  He took the tablet from her and gave the screen his rapt attention. While he was distracted, she grabbed her wallet and hurried into the store.

  They didn’t have a large selection, but all she needed was something to replace what he currently wore. She found a plain blue T-shirt she thought would fit him and a pair of cargo shorts. She wouldn’t worry about shoes for the moment, since he had a pair that would suffice. She couldn’t bring herself to think about underwear. Surely he wore a pair. At least she hoped he did.

  She paid for the clothes then rushed back out to her vehicle to find Thor so involved in the movie, he barely noticed her.

  “Put these on,” she said, holding out the shirt and shorts.

  He gave them a brief glance then returned to the movie.

  She took the tablet from him and held out the clothes again. “You want to watch this, you put these clothes on.”

  “Who are you to order me around, woman?” He scowled at her, causing the ridge above his brow to stand out. “This is not how things are done in my world and time.”

  Hannah gave him a harsh look that had silenced many a misbehaving child during field trips to digs where she’d worked. “You will put these on. Right now.”

  Thor’s gaze narrowed, and he appeared to consider something before the tense lines in his shoulders relaxed and he took the shirt from her. Without another word, he unfastened the belt around his waist and set it on the console between their seats. He slipped his arm out of the wide strap across one shoulder then the other before struggling to tug on the T-shirt.

  She winced at the scads of scars covering what she could see of his torso. What had happened to this man?

  When he finally had the shirt yanked into place, Hannah realized she should have purchased a larger size. The cotton T-shirt outlined the broad expanse of his shoulders, and highlighted every swell and dip of his impressive muscles. The shade of blue she’d chosen made his eyes glow like sapphires.