She was right—she shouldn't have looked. In the circle of light from the candle, hundreds of rustling, evil-looking bats crawled and scrambled over one another for a space. A shudder shook her frame hard enough to rattle her teeth.
She felt something brush against her neck and tried to convince herself it was her imagination. It didn't work. She screamed, and it wasn't a little shriek of fright; it was a full-blown scream of uncontrollable terror.
Suddenly the air was thick with flying, anxious bats as they dived for the cave opening to escape the strange noise. She kept screaming because she couldn't stop. Elliot grabbed her and shoved her under the ledge. She stuffed her fist in her mouth to muffle her screams.
"Stay down,” he ordered. “You startled them when you screamed."
She startled them? Natalie fought the urge to laugh hysterically as she cowered under the ledge, trembling so badly she knocked her head against the rock. She didn't dare remove her hand because she could feel her throat aching to let loose.
Suddenly, above the harsh whispering of bat's wings, she heard a different noise. Louder, deeper, and very close, a rumbling that shook the ground beneath her knees and took her terror to new heights. It lasted perhaps thirty seconds before it finally stopped. When she could see that the air was clear of bats, she scrambled out from under the ledge with Elliot's help, her gaze locking with his.
Simultaneously, they turned toward the cave entrance.
No light could be seen, not even the slightest trickle of sunlight. If not for the candle, they would have been left in total darkness.
The cave entrance was blocked.
"Rock slide,” she strangled out, her throat seizing up. She stared at the candle firmly stuck in the wall and muttered a short, heartfelt prayer for its presence.
"The noise from the ... bats must have caused it."
She stiffened at his hesitation, forcing herself to be honest. “You mean my screaming caused the rock slide. If I hadn't screamed, the bats wouldn't have panicked.” It was true. Every single word of it and it made her feel awful. They were trapped inside a cave nobody knew about and it was all her fault.
"It wasn't your fault, Natalie. Anything or nothing can set off a rock slide. I'm not an expert, but I've traveled extensively and I've seen it happen. Besides, this was my idea, remember? Stop blaming yourself."
"I'll blame myself if I please,” she shot back, driven by guilt and burgeoning fear. She glanced at the candle again. Her mouth went dry as she saw how quickly it was melting. Halfway gone in what—fifteen, twenty minutes? “What are we going to do?"
With his mouth pressed into a grim line so unlike the man she knew, he locked an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close. She leaned into him, too afraid to worry about what was proper. Elliot wouldn't be thinking about seduction at a time like this—and neither was she.
"They'll find us. In the meantime, we search for another way out. Come on."
Keeping his arm around her, he retrieved the candle and began retracing their steps. Every few feet, he stopped and swept the candle from one side of the cave to the other, looking for a crack, an opening, anything that might give them hope. They were about ten feet from the blocked cave entrance when she felt him tense.
She quickly followed the light of the candle. It was a ragged opening in the cave wall, she saw. Rocks lay scattered around the cave floor, and Natalie realized that it must have happened during the same rock slide that had trapped them here; the rocks hadn't been there before or they would have tripped over them on entering the cave.
"It looks like another tunnel,” he said, handing her the candle. “The slide must have dislodged the rocks from the entrance. I'm going to take a look. When I step inside, stick your arm through with the candle so that I can see—and watch those rocks. You don't want another twisted ankle with the last barely healed."
"Elliot—"
"Yes?"
Natalie licked her lips. She'd been about to confess that she'd never twisted her ankle, that she had tricked him. But now was not the time. “Be careful,” she said instead. She edged closer, her heart pounding with fear for his safety. They had no way of knowing what lay beyond that opening, yet he seemed unafraid. She almost envied his courage.
Once again Elliot disappeared from sight. She clutched the wall and carefully stretched out her arm through the jagged opening. “See anything?” She kept her voice prudently low.
Long, fraught moments passed without an answer. Her imagination had time to conjure several terrible scenarios. Had he fallen into a deep, yawning hole in the cave floor? Had there been some wild, half-mad beast waiting to pounce as he stepped inside? Or ... the candle trembled wildly in her hand as she came to the last, most frightening possibility; had he left her behind?
"Natalie?"
She jumped at the sound of his voice, then stifled a shriek when his face suddenly appeared. One look at his flustered, grim expression in the flickering candle light and her heart took flight. Clamping her free hand over it to keep it still, she gasped, “What is it? What have you found?"
He shook his head. “You don't need to see this."
"See what? What is it, Elliot?"
* * * *
With the image of what he'd found branded on his brain, Elliot attempted to join Natalie and distract her from looking. She wasn't so easily appeased, he soon realized when she remained firmly in place.
"I will not move until you tell me what you found in there! I'm not your average coward, Elliot."
He arched a brow. She flushed and he knew she was remembering her reaction to the bats, as he was.
"That's not the same,” she said with rising heat. “Any sane woman is frightened of bats. If you had any sense you would be too. Everyone knows bats spread madness and God knows what—"
"I found a skeleton."
"—else.” Her eyes rounded. The color drained from her face, leaving it ghostly pale in the sparse light. “A—a skeleton of ... a person?” she whispered in horror.
He nodded. He hadn't wanted to tell her, but she was so damned stubborn.
"Elliot, if this is a joke...” The candle wavered in her hand as he continued to stare at her in bleak silence. “I want to see."
"It's not a good idea.” He tried once again to push through, but she pushed him back with surprising force.
"I can make up my own mind, thank you. Now move."
He had no recourse but to stand back, his disgusted sigh loud and eloquent. She ignored him and moved slowly into the small room. He tensed as she held out the candle, ready to clamp a hand to her mouth if she attempted to scream. It would mean certain death if she caused another rock slide while they were in the small room. Their chances weren't exactly promising now. The skeleton could attest to that, he thought sadly.
When Natalie gasped, he knew she had sighted it propped against the far wall. Softly, he told her his theory. “I'm thinking he took shelter from a storm or was traveling and camped here for the night. Maybe there was a rock slide, or perhaps a small earthquake and he got trapped in here."
"It's horrible."
There were tears in her voice. Tears for a man she didn't know. Elliot was curiously touched and understood perfectly. He felt the same wrenching sadness when he saw the skeleton. How terrible it must have been for the man to know he was going to die without a single soul aware of his passing.
"Look, he wrote something."
Lifting the candle higher, she moved closer and he moved with her, curious to see what she was talking about. The yellow glow of the candle revealed a shaky message scratched onto the rock above the tattered remains of the man's hat.
"My beloved Adell—” he broke off with a startled curse, catching Natalie in his arms as she crumpled in a dead faint. “Damn it, I feared this would happen! Damn stubborn woman."
He continued to berate her as he cradled her tenderly in his arms and retrieved the candle—which thankfully the fall had not extinguished. “If you had listened to me,
but no, you couldn't do that one simple favor.” He shouldered through the entrance and picked his way carefully over the rocks, marching to the ledge at the back of the cave. “You're not a coward, you say. Wouldn't be bothered, you declared. Well, you're not so tough now, are you my little warrior?"
So mad he could spit—mainly at himself for getting them into this situation in the first place—he gently lowered his unconscious burden to the ledge. His hand trembled annoyingly when he smoothed the hair from her brow. Why hadn't he stopped her? She was a gentle woman with tender sensibilities. Hadn't he discovered this about her when he upset her with tales of his grandmother during that ride on the trail? She'd turned so pale he thought she'd faint right off her horse.
Yes, she was spirited and brave, even hardier in mind than most women he knew, but everyone had their limit, and Natalie had obviously reached hers. They were trapped in a cave no one knew about with a few unlucky bats and a great possibility of dying.
That alone was enough to stagger the stoutest hearts, but he had to go and find a skeleton. Then he had to go and let her see it. He should have been more adamant with her. He should have used physical force to stop her.
He thrust a weary hand through his hair as he stared down into her pale face, willing her to open her eyes.
He shouldn't have brought her to the cave in the first place, and he'd spend the rest of his days—possibly hours—wallowing in guilt for acting on what had been an impulse. Yes, he'd wanted to look for the cave, but he'd also wanted to get Natalie alone.
A brute, a clod, a black-hearted fool. Irresponsible, yes, that also applied to him. Was it any wonder that she'd spurned his advances? That she repeatedly hinted she wanted nothing to do with him? He'd been a blockhead for ignoring the harsh truth.
He didn't deserve her, plain and simple, and if they got out of this mess, he would exercise his self-restraint and treat her with the respect she deserved. She was by far the noblest person he knew—other than his grandfather. Who else did he know that would fight so gallantly to save a home for children that weren't even her own?
Nobody that he knew, and nobody that he would ever know.
His heart gave a curious leap as he watched her lashes flutter. She was so beautiful, he thought, stifling the urge to press his lips to hers before she came to full consciousness.
Natalie opened her eyes and the opportunity to taste her one last time slipped by him. She blinked, then focused her gaze on him. He watched the blue of her eyes darken in remembrance. Heaving a regretful sigh, he took her hand in his. “I can't apologize enough for getting us into this mess, and for letting you see that horror. How do you feel?"
To his great astonishment, she reached up and circled his neck with her arms, pulling him to her. Her enticing mouth lingered less than an inch from his own as she whispered, “I feel wonderful, and you have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I should be thanking you—at least for finding him."
He hung back. Not because he didn't flat out ache to taste her sweet mouth, but because her response completely baffled him. “Him?” he echoed. She moistened her lips and despite his recent vow and his present confusion, he groaned.
"Him,” she whispered, tugging on his neck. “My father. You found my father."
She smothered his startled exclamation by crushing her mouth to his. After an all too-brief hesitation, his willpower disintegrated as if it had never been.
When he'd made those promises to himself, he hadn't counted on having to deny Natalie. Somewhere in his subconscious mind, he had known that would be impossible. He just hadn't allowed himself to believe it could ever happen.
As the warmth of her mouth seeped into his and their tongues collided in a heated rush, Elliot surrendered without a fight.
[Back to Table of Contents]
CHAPTER TWELVE
"We've had worse than that ole shaker,” Brett scoffed. “That wasn't enough to jiggle a baby's butt."
"Brett!” Jo admonished, slanting a meaningful glance at Lori. She was in charge with Natalie gone, and she took her job seriously. When she noticed the water trembling she'd herded them out of the creek, deaf to their groans and protests. It had stopped by the time they reached the bank, but Jo knew it didn't necessarily mean it was over.
Brett gave her a wide-eyed look. “What? Lori's never heard the word ‘butt'?” He grinned when Jo continued to glare. “All right, I'll watch my mouth, not that you're big enough to soap it.” Before she could retaliate, he hurriedly asked, “What do you reckon's takin’ them so long, anyway?"
Jo combed her fingers through her short damp hair and rolled her eyes at Brett's innocent question. She knew, but they were memories she would rather forget. “You know. Stuff.” She glanced at Lori again, who was listening with interest. “Lori, go change out of those wet clothes and get your dry ones on like Natty told you. Go behind that tree over there. If you feel the ground shaking again, you get away from it.” When Lori reluctantly did as she asked, Jo continued in a low voice. “They're probably kissing again."
Brett made a face. “Why would they keep doing that? It doesn't sound like nothing I wanna do when I get older. How about you, Cole?"
Cole grunted and opened one eye. He lay sprawled on the bank of the creek letting the sun dry his britches. “Don't know until I try it,” he muttered.
Jo remembered having the same opinion as Brett about kissing—before she met Jeb. Now, she wasn't so certain she'd mind. If she could just forget about the past...
Changing the subject because it made her uncomfortable, she said, “You boys did a good job in the parlor with Natty listening. She has to think we want to be adopted now."
"Yeah.” Brett sighed and rubbed at a patch of dried mud on his foot. “But I wished they'd come on back. I'm hungry."
Jo snorted. “You're always hungry.” She craned her neck to look down the trail where Natalie and Elliot had disappeared over an hour ago. “I wonder if they found that cave Mr. Montgomery was talking about. I'd like to see it sometime.” Maybe she could show Jeb. Maybe he'd be impressed enough to kiss her. And just maybe she'd let him.
She sat up with a jerk as a thought suddenly occurred to her. Reaching over, she grabbed Cole's shoulder and shook him. “Cole! What if Natty and Elliot were in that cave when the quake hit? What would happen?"
Cole reacted instantly to the alarm in her voice, proving that he hadn't been as uninterested in their conversation as he'd like for them to believe. He leaped from the blanket and began tugging his boots on. “Don't know much about caves, but I'm thinkin’ . wouldn't want to be in there when a quake hit. We'd better go lookin’ for them."
"Lori!” Jo bellowed. “Hurry up!” She yanked Brett to his feet, fear streaking through her. “They might have gotten trapped, or they might be hurt. Come on, let's go!” She grabbed a bewildered Lori's hand and forced her to run in the direction the couple had taken, praying they'd meet up with them along the way.
What if they didn't? What if they couldn't find the cave?
What if it was already too late?
* * * *
The kiss went on and on, and in Natalie's opinion, even that wasn't long enough. She wanted it to continue and to develop into something more ... satisfying, more quenching. She had a sudden, powerful thirst to learn all there was to know about making love with Elliot Montgomery.
When he broke away, she whimpered a protest. “Don't stop.” She kept her arms around his neck and held him when he would have pulled away. He gently grasped her hands, holding them tightly in his own. She might have been embarrassed if she hadn't witnessed for herself the intense struggle on his face.
He wanted her. He wanted her.
His voice when he spoke was husky and heavy and echoed her thoughts. “I want this as much as you do.” He shook his head. “No. More than you do, but I've got to know what changed your mind. If it's the situation ... then we need to talk. I don't want you hating me when we get out of here, or feeling ashamed of what we've done."
Finding her father had freed her from the shame and guilt she had carried in her mother's place.
"Yes!” He grabbed her hands until she winced. “Yes, we will get out of here. Don't even think that we won't. Just because he didn't get out, doesn't mean we can't hope."
"You mean my father,” she murmured, watching his eyes widen. So, she was right; he hadn't been paying attention when she told him earlier. She smiled as she remembered the reason he hadn't been paying attention. He was forgiven. “Yes, my father."
When Elliot quickly felt of her forehead as if checking her for a fever, she laughed softly, reaching up to smooth his frowning brow. “I'm not delirious, Elliot. He is—was—my father. My mother's name was Adell.” She rose to a sitting position and he sank onto the ledge beside her, his expression stunned as she continued. “I always thought he didn't want my mother, and didn't want me, that he just left her after he'd had his pleasure. I'm sure my mother thought the same when he didn't come back for her.” Pity for her mother momentarily darkened her mood. She shook it off. It was a long time ago, and it wasn't easy to forgive her mother for leaving her and taking her own life. Someday, maybe she could, but not yet.
"So you see, he was coming back to her. He didn't make it."
"How can you be sure he's the one? Adell isn't an uncommon name—"
She shook his hand for emphasis. “I know that's him, Elliot.” She caught a flash of pity in his eyes and stood, tugging him with her. “Take me back to him."
"Natalie, I—"
"I won't faint again,” she promised. “When I saw my mother's name scratched on the wall and realized who he was, I was shocked.” She straightened her back and smiled. “I'm fine now."
He stared at her for a moment longer as if to assure himself that she told the truth. He must have realized that she did, for he rose and retrieved the dwindling candle from the wall. Turning, he held out his hand again, his eyes alight with a tenderness that made her go soft inside.
Where The Heart Is Page 14