Be Still, My Love

by Deborah J. Hughes

  Mike. I must think of Mike. The heat cooled as mortification set in. Eyes closed, I began to wriggle my way down Kade’s long body. But then I stopped when I realized our legs were tangled together and I was feeling things in places I had no business feeling things for someone I hardly even knew. Though, in this moment, at this time, I felt as if I’d known him forever. I bent my head and rested my forehead against the hard wall of his heaving chest. He was feeling it too. There was no way for him to hide it. I gritted my teeth as I fought the urge to press myself against him.

  Mike. Think of Mike. Holding his image in my mind, I wriggled faster and moved lower. Then I realized that I was going to have to pass down his entire body. Every part of him would slide past my face. Heat filled my cheeks and suddenly I couldn’t breath. I pressed my head back against the dirt wall behind me but my chin rested on his taut stomach. His body was tense, his breathing harsh.

  “Stay there. I … I think I can move this damned board without you going any … any further.” His voice was strained. I knew the feeling. At least he could talk. I wasn’t sure I had a voice. All I could do was breath and I was quite amazed by that.

  Kade’s body shook with the effort it took to press against the wedged board and then he fisted his hand and hit it hard and it splintered and fell into the cavern beyond. Thank God. But then he started to pull himself forward and his body slid passed me. I closed my eyes, turned my head, and held Mike’s picture in my mind. Then his legs slid swiftly by and he was out of the tunnel. I fell forward and pressed my forehead to the cool ground. Mercifully, Kade waited for me to get my equilibrium back. When I finally lifted my head, it was to see him resting his own on his arm. He must have sensed that I was looking at him because he looked up and our gazes met, held. After what seemed like an age, he held out his hands to me. I grasped them and our fingers curled together, tightened. He pulled me into the cavern, holding me until I was standing next to him on firm ground. We did not pull apart. Not at first. For a long moment we stood there, holding each other, getting our breath back. Calming the calamity going on within us.

  “You okay?”

  He needed to stop talking. That low rumbling voice was doing strange things to my insides. Somehow I managed to nod and he let go. We stepped apart and then finally thought to take a look around.

  We were in a cavern about eight feet by eight feet, with a ceiling height just over six feet. I knew this for Kade’s head almost touched the crossbeams above and he was about six feet tall … maybe an inch or two taller than Mike. Okay, I needed to focus here. Focus.

  The crossbeams did not look sturdy, nor did the rotting planks lining the dirt walls in an obvious fortification attempt. A roughly made door looked in worse shape as it hung precariously on one hinge. But the best thing of note was the constant breeze blowing in from the darkness beyond.

  Kade went over to the door and pulled carefully; it fell off the hinge and clattered to the floor. Then with a creak and groan the door frame cracked and fell in a shower of dirt. I covered my head in sudden fear that we would cause another cave in and be buried alive. But no, this was not to be my end–to die slowly in a long, forgotten cave with a man I barely knew.

  Everything went still and quiet. I lifted my arms from my head and looked at Kade. He held out his hand for the headlamp and I slid it off without hesitation and handed it to him. Once he secured it in place, he looked around our tight quarters. “I don’t believe Jack and Nancy know about this.”

  “No. I’m sure they don’t.” I hastened toward what was left of the doorway wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. The muffled roaring sound of the breakers told me we were near the shore. As loud as it was and with the breeze blowing through making a high-pitched whining noise, there had to be an exit to the world outside.

  Since Kade now had the headlamp, he went first. The space beyond the door was narrow. Kade had to bend low to proceed and I did the same. Then we had to drop to our hands and knees. A beam of light shown through an opening in the rocks a few feet ahead of us. The pounding surf was quite loud.

  The cavern sloped sharply up and narrowed so much we both had to wiggle and squirm our way through to the outside world. Once we were back out in the open air, we turned toward each other for a long quiet moment and then Kade opened his arms. I went into them without hesitation. We stood together for a grateful moment and I reveled in the warmth of his body. Remembering the unwanted passion that had sprung up between us in the tunnel, I pulled away and looked around. We were on the other side of the peninsula. A little further down from where I had thought the tunnel opening would be. Large boulders made it hard to spot and from this side of things, it didn’t look like much, maybe a small hole and nothing more.

  “Do you still think the tunnel goes from here to the house? I wonder if the cave-in has blocked it. Did you notice if the tunnel went in two directions?” I was babbling, I knew, but couldn’t seem to help it.

  Kade shook his head, his expression that of bafflement. “Why would someone go through all that trouble? They even built a shelter in there.”

  “There might have been another opening in the tunnel that led to the house. Otherwise, why dig a tunnel to the cavern where I fell in and then to the opening here on the beach? Do you think we may have missed another path? We were concentrating so hard on going forward, expecting the tunnel to end that we may have missed an opening on either side of us going into a different direction.”

  “I do remember the tunnel widening at one point and I put out my hand and felt solid wall so I didn’t bother to check it out any closer. Maybe you’re right … maybe the tunnel does have two paths.”

  Before I could respond to that, I heard voices and both Kade and I turned our heads toward the sound. We saw lights moving around up on the peninsula’s high point and the outlines of people as they frantically dug at the earth where they believed Kade and I to be. Kade grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him as we went running along the beach. “Nancy and Jack are probably frantic as hell.”

  We rounded the peninsula and ran a little further down the beach toward the part of the embankment that we could actually climb and then called out to the figures huddled around the area where the hole had been. As we suspected, Nancy and Jack and several other people were indeed digging frantically.

  “Nancy! Jack! We’re here!” I let go of Kade’s hand and waved wildly as I jumped up and down. Flashlights swung in our direction and then everyone was running toward us.

  “Tess! Kade! Thank God, thank God!” Nancy flung her arms around me. “We thought … we thought the worst.” She pulled away, patted my cheek and then turned to Kade to hug him just as hard. “Thank God you are okay.”

  Jack waited for Nancy to get done with her hugs so he could have his turn. “You don’t know how happy we are to see you!” Jack engulfed me in a gentle hug, then pulled away and gave me a big, relieved smile. “Thank God you’re okay.” He turned to Kade and hugged him too. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jack. There was no time for us to tell you that there was a tunnel,” Kade told him. “It led to an opening on the other side of this peninsula.” Kade put his arm around my shoulders and drew me close. “Tess is cold. We need to get her warmed up and fed.”

  Nancy slid an arm around my waist and the three of us started walking. Hank, Raymond, the Rosens and a few other people probably from nearby properties gathered around us as we headed toward the house. Andrea handed me a blanket, giving me a quick hug as she did so and Raymond pressed a flask of hot coffee into my hands. Behind me Hank touched my shoulder. I turned to look at him and smiled, my teeth chattering too hard to speak.

  “Glad to see you alive and kicking, little lady,” He gave me a wink and then fell back as Raymond moved in to give my shoulder a quick squeeze.

  “So glad you and Kade are okay, Tess.”

  As with Hank, I could only manage a smile in response. Nancy gave my shoulders another warm s
queeze. “I’ve never prayed so hard in my life!”

  “I’m okay, Nancy. Really. I feel so stupid for falling into that hole.”

  “Nancy, you have your phone on you?” Jack asked. “You better call the authorities; tell them that Kade and Tess are found.” Jack no sooner said that then the sound of sirens filled the air and flashing lights lit the night sky in the vicinity of the resort parking lot.

  “I’ll take care of it.” Raymond took off at a run.

  “We would have called for help sooner but neither Jack nor I wanted to waste time going for help when the hole first caved in. We weren’t sure how far down you were but we felt time was of the essence and we needed to get you out as quick as possible.” Nancy explained. “It was Modesta who finally got enough sense to call 911.”

  Once the rescue personnel were assured that there was no longer an emergency and took their leave and Nancy managed to get all her guests squared away, we met in Nancy and Jack’s private quarters to talk. George brought me a hefty portion of the pot pie I’d been looking forward to and I savored every delicious bite. Everyone waited for me to finish eating before the questions started.

  “So, there’s a tunnel under the ground, now partly caved in … but it leads to an opening in the cove on the other side of the peninsula’s point?” Raymond looked like he’d love nothing more than to head for the cove, find the cave, and explore it himself.

  “Don’t even think about going in that cave, Ray,” Nancy said. “I mean it.”

  “Nancy’s right, Ray,” Jack agreed. “It obviously isn’t safe and we already know where it goes anyway so there’s no need to be exploring it.”

  Hank shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe the tunnel even existed. He stood leaning against the wall near the door, his head bent as if lost in thought. Nancy had whispered earlier that maybe it was time Hank was told about my ability. She thought the more who knew, the safer we would all be. She was convinced, I think, that the tunnel adventure was at the prompting of her ghosts. And maybe to some extent it was. After all, I was pushed into that hole. That bit of information, I felt, was better kept to myself.

  “I sure am glad you didn’t die down in that tunnel.” Hank shook his head again, took off his hat and rubbed a hand across his balding scalp. He was looking guilty for some reason; as if it was his fault the hole even existed. I wanted to go over and reassure him that he was not responsible for my stupidity, but Nancy put a hand on my arm, squeezing it gently.

  “I have to keep touching you just to reassure myself that you are really okay.” Nancy gave me a watery-eyed smile and I patted her hand wishing to put her at ease.

  “I have no injuries. A few scratches, nothing more.”

  “That tunnel’s existence doesn’t make sense,” Kade said. “Why is it even there? Some of it was obviously man-made but that cavern you fell into, Tess, looked natural.”

  Jack made a frown as he gave it some thought. “I’m going to make a guess that the hole Tess fell into was initially made by a groundhog or something. All the rain lately must have made it unstable. Though why it didn’t cave in sooner is beyond me.”

  I remembered the flat rock I’d seen on the grass and knew instinctively that someone had moved it recently. I’d be willing to bet it used to cover the opening. That’s why it looked out of place where it did.

  “But what about the tunnel? Why would someone dig a tunnel there in the first place?” Kade’s face deepened into a thoughtful frown as he tried to come up with a plausible answer. After a few quiet minutes, he sighed warily and rubbed his face. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “The tunnel led to another small cavern.” I reminded him. “Maybe the whole area is peppered with tunnels.” Once I voiced that suggestion, it took hold and grew. If that were the case, then there was a possibility that another tunnel existed that went to the cellar. Before I could voice my thoughts, I noticed Kade rubbing his leg, his face pinched with pain. I touched his shoulder. He turned to look at me, one brow quirked in question. Although he was trying to hide it, I could see pain lurking there in the shadows of his dark eyes. “I’m just glad there was a tunnel and I’m so glad you came down to help me through it.”

  Kade’s hand covered mine for a brief moment and then went back to rubbing his leg. “So am I.”

  “Are you okay?” I couldn’t quench the guilt piercing through me that he was in pain because of me. If only I hadn’t fallen down that stupid hole.

  “I’ll be fine; I just need to rest for a while.” Kade stood, stretched. “I’m going to my cottage to take a long hot shower.” He grimaced as he started walking toward the door. “I’ve overdone it a bit on the leg today.”

  Hank pushed away from the wall. “I best be goin’ too.” He gave me a wink just before disappearing out the door Kade was holding open. “Sure am glad you are okay, little lady.”

  So much for letting Hank in on Sea Willow’s ghostly activities. Kade paused to give first Nancy and then Jack a long level look. “Do not blame yourselves or fuss over this. Nothing too terrible happened. And please, Nancy, stop fretting.”

  As soon as he went out and closed the door, I decided to voice what was beginning to concern me more than anything else at the moment. “You two aren’t planning on cutting my visit short are you? I really want to finish out my stay.”

  “After what you’ve been through, you should be staying here for free,” Nancy said. “I’m amazed that you even want to stay at all.”

  “No, no I don’t expect to stay for free. It costs a lot of money to run this place. I just want you to know that I don’t hold you responsible in any way. You didn’t know about that hole and can’t be accountable for it.”

  Jack smiled at me in a way that indicated he didn’t agree with my statement. “Well, that’s where you are wrong. It’s on our land and you are a paying guest. Anything that happens to you while you’re here is our responsibility.”

  “Honestly, Jack, you have nothing to worry about concerning me. I promise I won’t sue.” Jack made an exaggerated wipe to his forehead as if vastly relieved and I laughed. “I think I would like to go take a long hot shower myself, so if you two would excuse me …” Jack and Nancy followed me to the door and I gave them both a hug. “You two are wonderful and I’m glad I came to Sea Willow Haven and met you.”

  Nancy returned my hug with a tight squeeze. “Me too, Tess. Me too.”

  Jack walked with me to my cottage and I was quite touched by his thoughtful concern. “The hole you fell into is pretty much filled in now, so there’s no danger to anyone else. I’m thinking I might alert the local authorities about the cave’s existence and what remains of the tunnel. I think it would be best if it were destroyed or at least sealed up so no one else discovers it and decides to go exploring.”

  I agreed with Jack that the tunnel should be sealed, but I also felt it shouldn’t happen until I had a chance to explore its existence just a little more. I did not voice this thought, however, for I knew it would deeply concern Jack and he would forbid further explorations of any kind. “I’m sure there’s no need to do anything in the immediate future. No one knows where the tunnel came out except for a few of us … you guys, Hank and Raymond. I don’t think any of them will talk.”

  “Maybe so but I won’t feel comfortable until it’s gone or sealed up for good.” Once we arrived at my cottage, Jack waited until I opened the door before giving me a quick hug and stepping away. “Call us if you need anything.”

  “I will, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, Jack. Thank you again.” As soon as I closed the door behind him, I headed for the shower and thought longingly of the garden tubs up at the spa. I’d love to take a leisurely bath. But the hot water pummeling my skin did feel soothing and helped ease my aching muscles.

  Once clothed in a comfortable pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that said I Believe in Angels, I headed to the patio with a hot cup of coffee. Though I was doing pretty well staying away from the cigarettes, I felt like I c
ould smoke one right about now and actually enjoy it.

  As if reading my thoughts, Kade showed up … a cigarette in his hand. He saw me glance at it and shrugged ruefully. “I couldn’t help it.” Then he noticed my longing look and held it out to me. “Go ahead. Long as you don’t smoke a whole cigarette, you can still say you’ve quit.”

  I smiled and took his cigarette and drew a shallow drag. The smoke that went into my lungs made them protest at the invasion. I started coughing and handed it back to him. “Guess I don’t need it after all.”

  Kade laughed softly and sank onto a patio chair. “Wish I had that response, maybe I’d leave the darn things alone once and for all.” He took another drag, stared at the burning tip with disgust and walked to the edge of my patio to crush it out in the dirt. After tossing the mutilated butt in the trash, he sank down on the lounger next to my chair and stretched out his sore leg. He was wearing a pair of gray sweat pants and a gray t-shirt that said Marines across the front in faded red letters.

  “How’s your leg?”

  “Hurts like the devil.” He tossed me a grin. “But it performed for me quite well today so I can’t complain.”

  “Want some coffee?”

  “Did you make some?”

  I held up my cup. “Sure did.”

  “In that case, thanks, think I will.”

  Kade followed me inside and then stood silently watching as I filled his cup. I was proud that my hands didn’t shake for he was making me nervous being so close. Wanting to cover up my nervousness, I decided to share my thoughts with him about the tunnel. “Kade, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “What’s that?” He took a cautious sip of his coffee, his eyes not leaving mine as he did so.