“Kade! Oh God … Kade!” I pushed some of the boards out of the way and managed to squeeze in. Though the entire ceiling had given way, the cave thankfully hadn’t filled in with falling dirt. I pulled the splintered, rotting boards off Kade’s body and felt for a pulse. He was face down, his arms around his head probably in an effort to protect himself. I couldn’t hold back the tears as I took note of his warm skin and then felt a strong throbbing pulse. Gently I shook him. He was bleeding at the temple. One of the boards must have hit him on the head and knocked him out. His headlamp was out, probably broken. I gently removed it from his head. “Please wake up!”
Kade groaned and began to move. “Tess?”
Relieved that he was gaining consciousness, I choked back a sob and gently continued to remove debris from his body. I managed to give him enough room to turn around and look up at me. He squinted from the light I was shining into his face. “Tess, the light … it’s blinding me.”
I lowered the flashlight to his chest and anxiously touched his face. “Are you okay? Do you have any broken bones?”
Kade moved his limbs cautiously and then slowly shook his head from side to side as if to check his ability to do so. “I’m pretty sure nothing is broke. One of the planks hit my head; must have knocked me out.” He sat up with my help and looked around him. “How did you get in here?”
I pointed at the opening in the wall. “I came from the tunnel. There is an entrance to the cellar just as we suspected. We’re going to have to get out of here the same way I came in.”
Kade motioned for me to crawl up into the tunnel. “You go first, I might need some help. I feel a bit sluggish.”
I grabbed at some of the fallen boards and hoisted myself legs first into the tunnel and then shimmied forward enough to turn and hold out my hands to Kade. “Come in head first, Kade, you’ll be facing the right direction. I can crawl backwards until we get to an area large enough for me to turn around.” Kade nodded and pulled himself up. I crawled further back out of his way. Once he was all the way in the tunnel, I began to wriggle backwards using my elbows and legs until I came to an area big enough for me to turn around. No small feat that.
Though it had seemed to take forever to reach Kade, it took no time at all for us to get to the cellar. As soon as we were both out of the tunnel, I put my arms around Kade and held him tight. He hung on just as tightly. “I was so afraid for you, Kade.”
Kade rested his cheek on my head. “I was a bit afraid for me too, Tess. I couldn’t find the opening and then I thought I heard noises coming from the cavern. I thought it might be you so I started back.”
I pulled away just enough to look at his face. “It was Hank. My guess is he thought he was doing us all a favor by destroying the cave. He couldn’t have meant any harm to you, Kade. He didn’t know about our plans for this morning.”
Kade touched my cheek. “You’re crying.” He wiped at my tears with his thumb and then bent his head to kiss my brow. “You saved my life.”
So great was my relief that he was out of that awful tunnel, more tears filled my eyes and I gave a quivering smile. “I wouldn’t have had to save your life if you hadn’t gone in there because of me in the first place.”
Kade said nothing. He was so still as he looked at me, his eyes dark and unreadable and I found it impossible to look away. My face flooded with heat and I wondered what he was thinking. The very air around us warmed considerably and my breathing deepened. Heart pounding, I watched as he leaned closer and closed my eyes just before his lips touched mine. It didn’t even occur to me that I shouldn’t kiss him back. It was strange to kiss a man again. It felt so right and so comforting and so very, very nice. Then I thought of Mike and guilt rushed through me. I pulled back from the kiss though I did not pull out of his arms. We looked at each other for a long moment and then Kade sighed and stepped back. Though his arms slid from their tight hold, he continued to rest one hand on my arm, maintaining contact.
“Just to be sure about Hank and that he wasn’t aware of my being in the tunnel … maybe I should stay out of sight for a little while, see how he reacts.”
I didn’t believe it necessary to carry out measures of this sort for I knew that Hank was much too nice a man to deliberately fill in that cave knowing Kade was in there. “You don’t really think Hank tried to kill you? What would be his motive?”
Kade brushed gingerly at the blood beginning to dry at his temple. “No, I don’t really think that, but I want to be sure. Okay?”
I glanced around the cellar, feeling a sudden urgent need to get out. “Kade, we must close up this entrance. I don’t want anyone to know it’s here.” Eventually we were going to have to tell Nancy and Jack, but not yet. It was going to be tricky explaining to them how we came to find it. They weren’t going to like it that we went exploring on their property without clearing it through them first.
Kade replaced the lid on the barrel and waved toward the open cellar door. “Go ahead and head out, Tess. See if you can let me into the house from the other entrance. I’ll stay out of sight for a while, give you a chance to feel out the situation, see how Hank is acting.”
“Okay. Are you sure you are okay until I come back?”
Kade smiled at my show of concern and brushed my hair back from my face. A simple gesture but enough to make my heart pound, and I hoped he didn’t know how much his touch affected me. “I’ll be fine, Tess. I have a bit of a headache but other than that I feel pretty good.”
“I’ll be as quick as I can.” As soon as I exited the cellar, I gave a quick glance around to be sure no one was about and shut the doors. Then I took a moment to gather myself together and give a prayer of thanks that Kade was okay. Once I felt my emotions were under control, I rushed around to the other side of the house. Modesta was in the herb garden near the door to the kitchen. She glanced up, saw me and frowned.
“Tess, where you come from?”
“I’ve been walking the grounds. Trying to get a feel for the ghosts.”
Modesta’s eyes narrowed as her disbelieving eyes traveled over me. “You find any?”
“No.”
“Nancy and Jack are having breakfast.” She waved for me to enter the house through the kitchen. “You hungry?”
“A bit. What are you doing?”
“I pick some herbs for George.”
I looked in Modesta’s basket sitting on the ground and saw she’d picked quite a bit of sage. “Need any help?”
“No, no. You go ahead and have some breakfast. Nancy, she worry about you.” Modesta again waved me away without even looking up.
“Thank you, Modesta, breakfast sounds like a good idea.” I walked past her into the house and quickly made my way to the hallway that led to the cellar door. Since I heard voices in the dining room, I had to move slow and quiet so as not to alert anyone of my presence. Thankfully, I managed to make it to the cellar door without being detected. In no time at all, I was back in Kade’s company.
“That was quick. Did anyone see you?” Kade followed me to the stairs. We ascended them quietly and cracked open the door to check the hall. “Modesta saw me in the garden but that’s it. Nancy and Jack are having breakfast.”
“Go ahead and join them. I’ll find my way to the cottage.”
“Maybe you should go to mine. No one will think to look for you there.”
“Good idea.”
I slipped through the door and turned to look at him. “There’s some food in the cottage. Make something to eat, clean your wound. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
Kade smiled at my instructions. “My, you are bossy. Don’t worry about me. Just go before we’re discovered.”
I grabbed Kade’s hand, squeezed it. “Be careful. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Kade squeezed back. “You be careful too. Be alert for anyone asking about me.”
“I will. Bye.” I walked quickly down the hall, checking the main entrance to see if it was clear and motioned to Kade that i
t was safe for him to come out. Once he disappeared around the corner to the back of the house, I entered the dining room.
“Tess! How are you this morning?” Nancy jumped up as soon as she saw me and came around the table to give me a hug. Then she took note of my appearance and stood back. “Why are you all dirty?”
How could I have forgotten to clean up first? My clothes were covered in dirt. No wonder Modesta had looked at me so suspiciously. Why hadn’t she asked me why I was so dirty? I decided to be partially honest. “I’ve been poking around your cellar, Nancy. I hope you don’t mind but I had a feeling that tunnel might have led to the house and I tried to find the opening.”
Jack frowned at my answer and motioned for me to have a seat. “In future, if you want to explore our basement, I think it best that you have someone with you, Nancy or me or maybe even Raymond.”
I sat in a chair opposite Nancy, to Jack’s left and poured myself some coffee. “I’m sorry. You’re right, Jack, I shouldn’t be so presumptuous as to search your cellar without your permission. But … well, I’ve been thinking about it all night and just couldn’t wait to get down there and check it out.”
Nancy took a sip of her orange juice, her eyes shadowed in worry. “I haven’t seen Kade this morning. Do you think he’s suffering a little from his adventure in the tunnel? I know his leg was bothering him quite a bit when he left us last night.”
“I can go check on him after I’ve finished eating,” Jack said. He glanced over at me and motioned for me to fill my plate. “You need to eat more, my dear, you are far too skinny.” He smiled to soften his words and I obediently put a couple pancakes on my plate in response. Jack nodded with satisfaction and refilled his coffee cup. “I sent Hank to the beach this morning to fill in that blasted cave entrance.”
I glanced up at Jack and tried to keep a blank face. “Oh?”
“I was going to tell the local authorities about it and let them handle it but Hank said he could give it a try. He was some upset about your almost being buried alive. He thought he’d be able to do it with a few well placed charges.”
“Where would Hank get charges?” I asked.
“We had some left over from when we put the swimming pool in. The area around here is peppered with rock ledges. Hank is qualified to handle them because he worked on a road crew for a while and had to do some detonation work. Besides, they are considered low explosives. Placed in the right spot, though, they can bring down a cave. Hank took care of it early this morning before any people were about.”
“But, what if someone had been in there?” I asked.
Nancy and Jack looked at each other and then at me. “Like who?” Jack asked.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “I don’t know, someone from last night might have gone looking for the cave. Raymond was really interested in it.”
Jack shook his head. “Hank said he called inside and waited to hear any noise, he wouldn’t go in. He said it was easy enough to close the opening and he assured me no one was about when he did it.”
I finished my coffee and concentrated on eating my pancakes wishing I’d only taken one. I was anxious to get to Kade, make sure he was okay after receiving that blow to his head. “Well, I guess we don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“But what about your theory that the tunnel leads to the basement?” Nancy asked. “Should we go down there and check it out?” She was looking worried again.
I wondered what to tell them. “You know, let’s all of us go. I want to go get cleaned up first though. We’ll check out the cellar together and see what we come up with. Okay?”
Nancy agreed to the plan. “Yes, let’s do. How about in an hour?”
“An hour is more than enough time.”
Jack stood up. “I’ll just head over to Kade’s cottage and check on him.”
I quickly stood and touched Jack’s arm. “I’ll do it. I’m going that way anyway. It will only take a moment to run over to his cottage. I’ll call you if he needs help.”
Jack sat back down. “Okay then, Tess. See you in an hour.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When I got to my cottage, I found Kade relaxing on the sofa with a cup of coffee. He had a bandage over the cut on his temple and had showered and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a blue shirt that emphasized his dark eyes and his deeply tanned skin. The change of clothes told me that he must have gone to his cottage first.
He stood up as soon as he saw me. “Hey there. Before you ask, I’m fine.” Kade frowned as he looked me over and lifted his eyes to meet mine. “You must have made Nancy and Jack real curious when they saw the state of your clothing.” He crossed over to me and rubbed a thumb across my cheek. “You even have some dirt smudges on your face.”
Feeling like I couldn’t breathe, I pulled back from Kade’s touch and went into my bedroom. A glance in my dresser mirror froze me in my tracks and I stared in horror. I was quite a mess. My hair was giving a new name to “dirty blond” and there were smudges of dirt on my cheek and chin. Kade appeared in the doorway.
“What did you say when they saw you?”
“I told them the truth, that I was nosing around in their cellar looking for a tunnel.” Hands on hips, I turned to look at him. “Why on earth didn’t you tell me I was such a mess?”
Kade’s eyes widened in surprise and then he frowned. He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and shrugged. “I guess I didn’t notice, Tess. I’m sorry.”
I quirked a brow in disbelief and waved my hands down my body. “You didn’t notice I was covered in filth?”
Kade nodded, smiled gently and then leaned casually against the door. “You didn’t mention anything about me being in the tunnel did you?”
“No, I left that part out.” I fished around for some clean clothes and then headed for the bathroom. “We’re to meet them in about an hour to check out the cellar together.”
“We?”
I looked at Kade before shutting the bathroom door. “Jack told Hank to go fill in the cave. No one was trying to kill you.”
“That’s good then.”
“Very good.” I shut the door and took a shower. Though I was not concerned that the cave incident happened with any intent to do Kade harm, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. I’d felt it on the beach while Kade and I were walking to the cave, and I felt it the whole time I waited there before heading to the cellar. Maybe it was Nathan’s presence I felt. If so, why? Had he known Hank’s intentions and was there to warn me? I should have paid more attention to the coldness, to the shimmer of unease that filtered through me. Instead I ignored those feelings and Kade was almost killed. In future, I was going to take better note of such things. Lives might depend on it.
As I dressed into a pair of jean shorts and a snug yellow t-shirt, I scolded myself for having such ominous thoughts. Our lives were not in danger. Why should they be? Ghosts were not dangerous. Spirits could be bothersome but certainly they’ve never killed anyone.
It didn’t occur to us that Kade’s bandage might cause comment until we started to enter the house a short time later. I grabbed Kade’s arm. “Nancy will want to know how you got hurt?”
“I’ll tell her my leg gave out on me and I slipped and hit my head on the door frame.”
“I hate lying.”
“You aren’t lying … I am.”
“Well, I hate being part of your lie.”
“Should we tell the truth then?”
I shook my head. “I guess not. Still, we can’t be making a habit out of this.”
“What? Lying or getting buried in caves?”
“Kade, what happened was serious. You could have been killed. I hate thinking about it. But, it won’t serve any purpose to tell Nancy and Jack that you were in the tunnel when Hank filled in the tunnel entrance. Jack will feel really bad and they have enough to worry about.”
Kade opened the door and waved for me to enter the house. “Agreed.”
Nancy waved for us to join her then pulled me close to whisper in my ear as soon as I was close enough for her to do so. “Go on out to the garden and wait for us. Jack and I are just making sure everyone in this party gets settled and we’ll join you.”
We went out to the garden and headed straight for the dolphin fountain. Raymond must have managed to fix it for water spewed from the dolphins’ snouts. I sat on the edge of the fountain wall and glanced up at the balcony area next to the turret.
Kade did the same and then looked at me, his expression curious. “Do you still feel any of that energy from Abigail’s fall to death?”
I shook my head. “Not at the moment but I feel it when I’m up there.” I turned to look at the spot where Jeanine had fallen a couple nights ago and wondered if I would be able to sense anything. It was worth a try. Without saying a word to Kade, I knelt down and touched the grass, closing my eyes as I did so.
I tried to put myself back to that moment … the storm, the rain, and Jeanine rushing toward the house as she watched Abigail prepare for her jump to death. The coldness trickled in slowly, almost sluggishly. Then the cobweb sensation brushed across my face. The sunshine faded and along with it the warmth. Alarmed, I wanted to run, but I fought against that urge and stayed put. Then I felt … someone. I slowly turned my head. A boy stood about two feet from me; he looked about nineteen, handsome, soaked from rain. Though I knew enough at this point of my life to expect anything, I was still surprised to see him so clearly. He looked quite solid, real. I sank back on my knees and stared at him, my mind racing. “Nathan?”
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