by
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
SHANNA HATFIELD
Capturing the Cavedweller’s Heart
Copyright © 2018 by Shanna Hatfield
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Shanna Hatfield
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Illustration by Rob Foote
To Captain Cavedweller…
Thank you for all these years of
encouragement, support,
laughter, romance, and friendship.
You are such a blessing to me, and
I’m grateful every single day for
the precious gift of your love.
Prologue
Central Oregon
10,000 BC
“It is good.”
Thor shifted his attention from the serene beauty of the lake in front of him to the man speaking beside him, a friend he considered closer than a brother.
“Yes, it is,” he said, nodding at Lusk in agreement. “The hunt was successful, no one was injured, and the women are glad to have plenty of meat for their fires.”
Lusk grinned and turned to watch his mate work with the other women as they prepared a feast to celebrate. His daughters ran back and forth with the other young girls, assisting the women.
Thor followed Lusk’s gaze. The sound of the women’s voices was a low, pleasant hum that settled on his ears with welcome familiarity.
As leader of their clan, Thor often felt bowed beneath the weight of responsibility. More than fifty people depended on him to keep them sheltered, protected, and fed. But on days like this, when everyone was safe and happy, the burden lifted and he savored the rare moments of utter peace.
Thor tipped his head toward his sister, recalling the season of harvest long ago when she’d been given to Lusk as a mate. Tilia was fourteen summers then. Ten summers had passed since she’d left his fire to build her own with Lusk. Five children had been born to them, three of which lived. Much to Lusk’s dismay, only the girls had survived.
Although he’d never admit it, Thor felt a deep fondness for the daughters of his sister and friend. It exceeded the affection he’d known for other children in their clan, except for his own infant daughter and dead son.
Unwilling to allow dark thoughts of his boy to mar the day, Thor returned his attention to the women as they worked. The hunting party, which included Thor and Lusk as well as eight other men, had returned with one of the large beasts that roamed the land west of the lake. Dark brown fur and curved horns that spanned the length of a man on each side of its head made the animal challenging to kill, but they’d brought down one with ease, thanks to Thor’s planning. On the way back, they’d also killed three elk.
The women appeared quite pleased by the bounty of meat the hunters offered. Thor knew the women would work long into the night cutting the meat to dry, mixing some of it with crushed berries and plants, then letting it smoke over low-burning fires.
First, though, they would eat a feast. He could almost taste the cakes Tilia would make by grinding nuts with juicy berries. His stomach growled, causing Lusk to laugh.
“The women are working as quickly as they can to make the meal. Perhaps Tilia should offer you something now,” Lusk teased. “Like a hungry child, you are.”
Thor scowled at his sister’s mate. “A hungry child would not have led the hunting party to where the bison roam.”
Lusk offered a brief nod of accord then grinned again as the smell of roasting meat wafted to them on the breeze, eliciting a grumble from Thor’s empty belly. The man dug into a pouch made from a lion’s paw he wore tied around his waist and withdrew a piece of dried meat. He tossed it to Thor.
“Eat, brother, before your growling frightens the little ones.”
Thor bit off a chunk of the meat and glowered at Lusk. “If anyone frightens them, it will be you. Did you crawl through a dung heap on our way back?”
Lusk glanced down at the soft hide he wore. Tied around his middle, it draped to the middle of his thighs. Mud and blood smeared across it and over his entire torso. He rubbed a hand across his chest. “Even if I did, I still smell better than you.”
“That’s enough out of you,” Thor said, pointing to the line of dwellings set back against a hill. “It’s time to ready for the feast, anyway.”
Lusk grunted and walked off toward the dwelling he shared with Tilia and their daughters.
Thor watched him go then made his way to his home. Sturdy posts braced the corners while woven mats of grass comprised the walls and roof, held in place with long, thin strips of leather. Mats on the sides of the dwellings could be rolled up and fastened to allow cool breezes to blow inside or pulled down to keep out the rain. In the winter, they lined the mats with furs. If the snows blew too harshly, they retreated to a cave half a day’s walk away.
An abundance of food could be found in the animals and plants near the lake, and the water was as fresh and clear as any Thor had ever seen. Since he’d taken over leadership of the tribe eight summers ago, they’d twice had to find new camps.
The first time, lions had taken over their area, making it unsafe to remain there. They’d found a new place, near water and good hunting. Thor thought they’d be able to stay there many years.
Five summers ago, a mighty tremor of the earth had destroyed their dwellings and claimed the lives of half the clan, including Thor’s son and mate, while he and some of the others were gone on a hunting expedition.
Beena had been a quiet, obedient woman and had given him Tag. The boy was the joy of Thor’s heart. After a difficult birth, he’d survived three winters only to be crushed by rocks that fell on their camp when the earth shook like a beast casting water off its back. Thor had found the boy cradled beneath Beena. It appeared she tried to protect Tag even in death.
Thor thought back on the twenty-six summers he’d been alive. He knew his mother had found him alone and filthy near a pool of tepid, foul water. She’d begged her mate to keep the lost baby. Thor’s father had been a mighty chief of their clan and hadn’t easily been swayed to allow the boy to stay. But, according to his mother, Thor had toddled right up to the man and gazed at him with unbridled interest. Zun, his adoptive father, decided to keep him. Of the six children they had, Thor and Tilia were all that remained.
Although Thor wasn’t blood-born of the clan, he had been named the leader when he was eighteen summers, after his father was trampled in a mammoth hunt that had gone badly.
He’d chosen Beena for a mate when he was fifteen, not because she was the comeliest woman of t
he clan, but because she was steady, dependable, and kind. Thor had known he’d someday be chief and his mate needed to be a woman the other women looked upon with respect and favor. Beena had served him well until her death and he’d treated her favorably.
Thor had waited a full year after Beena died before he’d chosen Una as a mate. The woman was nothing like his first quiet, gentle mate. Una was clever, cunning, and the most beautiful woman in their clan. Other than disdain and disappointment, he held no feelings for her. He should have known she would not serve well as a chief’s mate, but he’d hoped she would provide him with many sons and even daughters.
Yet, years passed with no children.
Then she finally began to show the signs of a life growing within. Thor’s joy ended in sorrow, though, when she died delivering a baby girl. His daughter survived, but he had no skill or ability to care for a newborn. Thankfully, Tilia had welcomed the baby to her fire and raised her these last five moons.
Tilia reminded him all too frequently that he needed to take a mate. If not for the sake of his daughter, he should at least choose a new mate for the leadership of the women of their clan.
Thor would find another woman in due time. And Tilia would do well to remember her place. Women were not allowed to order around the men, particularly the chief. Just because he’d always looked on his sister with fondness was not a reason for her to test his patience.
For now, he was in no hurry to find a new mate, especially if he ended up with a woman like Una who had disappointed him at every turn. Too bad Beena had no sisters.
Thor left his dirty loin covering, weapons, and his carrying pouch in his dwelling then made his way to a shallow end of the lake where he washed away the dirt from the hunt and his travels. The sun-warmed water eased the aches in his muscles and refreshed his weary body. He used handfuls of sand to scrub his skin then crushed a flower Tilia had discovered was good for cleansing and rubbed it over his body and through his hair. Not only did it smell pleasant, it also chased away the tiny, bothersome bugs that constantly tried to take up habitation in his thick hair.
He ducked into the water, fully immersing himself several times, before he walked out on the bank, scraping the water off his skin with his palms as he returned to his dwelling. While his stomach rumbled with hunger, he slipped on a garment that hung from his shoulders and reached his thighs. Tilia had sewn the covering for him and decorated it with beads made from shells the women had gathered and punched with holes from a stone awl.
Thor fastened a thick leather band around his waist and fastened his carrying pouch to one side of it. He slipped on shoes made from the bark of a tree that grew on the east side of the lake. Out of habit, he picked up his spear before he walked out to join the others. The meal wouldn’t be ready for a little while, so he decided to go for a walk.
Often, he enjoyed the solitude provided by a stroll along the lake. It gave him time to order his sometimes tumbling thoughts and make decisions that impacted the whole clan. As he made his way north, he glanced up at the surrounding hills and surveyed the area to make sure nothing was amiss.
Sunlight shone brightly overhead, although it would soon dip toward the earth and settle into darkness for the night. Thor left the trail by the lake and walked toward the hills, not certain what drew him but consumed by a sudden urge to see them up close.
He wandered around the curve of a hill and looked up. His breath caught in surprise as the sun shone on the entrance to a cave above him. Determined to see what the cave held, Thor began climbing upward, using the end of his spear for balance as he scrambled over rocks and around bushes.
A rabbit darted from beneath the brush in front of him, startling him. He yanked back his arm, prepared to throw his spear. Assured it was just a rabbit, he chuckled to himself and continued on his way. He topped the ledge of the hill and stared into the black hole of the cave, pondering what it held.
“No snakes,” he whispered, glancing upward. He could face down a wounded bear without flinching, but Thor detested snakes. After drawing in a fortifying breath, he stepped inside the darkness.
The cooler temperature in the cave was welcome after walking in the hot sun. In no rush, he closed his eyes and listened. No sounds of anything breathing. No scuffling of anything moving. No smell of animals or death. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found they’d adjusted from the brightness outside to the dim light.
The cave was large enough to house the entire clan without crowding them if they needed a place for shelter during the icy days of winter. This location was much closer than the other cave they’d used the last few winters.
Curious, he wondered how far back the cave went. Rather than take time to make a fire or return to the camp for a torch, he walked with careful steps deeper into the cave. Sunlight pierced into the room from the entrance, providing shafts of light that almost reached where he stood. Other than a few gnawed bones that had been there for a long time, he saw nothing of concern.
Thor continued exploring the cave, going further back. Maybe this would be a good place to paint the walls. No one, not even Tilia, knew he liked to draw. In every place they camped, he’d found a secret place to etch his memories onto the walls of a cave. Sometimes he only used a knife to draw the design. Other times, he crushed plants with soil and sand then mixed it with water to make paint. He took great pleasure in filling the drawings with color. Someone had discovered the cave he’d previously used near the lake for his drawings, so he’d been looking for a new place to leave to use.
He had nothing to be ashamed of, but Thor didn’t think it should be known that the clan’s chief spent time drawing pictures. But part of him took such delight in creating images of the things he’d experienced or dreamed, he couldn’t deny himself the pleasure.
When the wall made a sharp turn, he shifted his spear from his right hand to his left and trailed his fingers along the cool stone.
He took several more steps, straining to see through the darkness when a strange breeze blew over him. Bumps rose on his skin and made him shiver, although he wasn’t cold.
“What devils hide in here?” he questioned, but didn’t turn to leave. Determined to find the reason the air had moved around him, he continued forward, feeling his way around another curve in the wall. A noise startled him, and he stopped, holding his breath as he listened.
It was a voice. A woman’s voice. She sang, although the language was unfamiliar and the words unknown.
Was it a woman from his clan who’d found this hidden cave and come without permission? If so, she’d be punished. Of that he’d make certain.
Prepared to catch the woman unawares and teach her a lesson about running off from her duties, Thor shifted the spear back to his throwing hand and edged forward on silent feet.
Pinpoints of light began to glimmer in the darkness, disrupting the blackness in which he’d been swallowed. Each step forward drew him closer to the source of light. The sound of the woman’s singing grew louder, the noise unlike anything he’d ever heard.
Just ahead of him, Thor saw, in the muted light, another turn in the cave walls. He inhaled a calming breath, lifted the spear in his hand, and stepped into the spill of light.
“What madness is this?” he bellowed, drawing a shriek from a strange-appearing woman he’d never before seen but felt he’d known forever, far beyond the constraints of time.
Chapter One
Central Oregon
Present Day
“Go on without me. I’ll catch up to you in time for dinner,” Hannah Clayton said, offering her coworker a distracted smile.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come back now? Eric promised to grill burgers for everyone tonight.” Jen Mosley shifted the bag she carried from her right hand to her left as she took two backward steps toward the vehicles they’d parked well away from their current archaeological dig.
“I’m sure, Jen. I just want to look around a little more before I head back.” Hannah took a long drink from
her water bottle then stowed it in her pack and shouldered it. “I can’t believe everything we’ve discovered since we’ve been here. We’ve been working so hard on the dig I’ve hardly had a moment to explore the area.”
Jen grinned and brushed at the droplets of sweat trickling down the side of her face. “Just be careful. Eric said Sam almost sat on a rattlesnake today.”
“I bet that got him moving,” Hannah said with a teasing smile. She flapped a dismissive hand at her friend. “I’ll be fine.”
“If you aren’t back by the time the burgers are done, I’ll make Sam or Erik come look for you,” Jen said, taking another step back. “Don’t stay out in this heat any longer than you have to. You’d think we were in the Sahara as hot as it’s been the last week.”
“It is warm, especially for June,” Hannah agreed then tossed Jen a sassy smile. “If you have to send someone, better make it Erik. Sam’s likely to get lost between here and the bunkhouse.”
Jen laughed. The two women had mused many times over Sam’s scatterbrained tendencies. “You got it, girl.”
Hannah turned her attention from Jen to the landscape around her. A rancher had been chasing a stray cow through the brush and happened upon what he thought might have been, at one time, a dwelling. With post corners, stones lining what may have been walls, and a small piece of woven mat buried in the dirt, the dwelling could have been there for centuries. The man was astute enough to realize the find was unique and called someone he knew in Portland to look it over.
The dwelling site, as it turned out to be, was rich with artifacts that were filling in many holes in prehistoric history not just in Oregon, but also in North America. It was readily apparent this area had once been a settlement to ancient people. The artifacts they’d sent to have carbon dated placed them between eight and ten thousand years ago.
Hannah gazed out over the arid desert, dotted with sagebrush, and envisioned it as it might have looked thousands of years ago. A lake would have shimmered in the sunlight in front of her. No doubt, there were a variety of lush plants growing along the borders. Trees and bushes would have been visible.
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