San Juan Mountains, Colorado
"He
hates me." Cara frowned at the bit of rock she was holding, then tossed it
aside, turning to look up at Michael.
"Nah, he only hates your Ma, and maybe because of that he takes it out
on you." Michael swung the pick and the sound of metal hitting stone reverberated
through the tunnel.
"Well, he's leaving both of us." Cara grabbed another rock and held
it up to the lantern light. "What is it we're supposed to be seeing again?"
"Flecks of silver, I imagine. Pa always says to look for amethyst. Where
there's quartz, there's usually silver." He dropped the pick and squatted
down beside her, peering at the rock.
"Amethyst is purple, right?"
"Yup." He reached for her hand, turning the stone in the flickering
light. "Nothing."
Cara sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning back against the tunnel wall.
"Well, you said there was probably a reason this place was abandoned."
Michael sighed and tossed the worthless stone aside. He settled down next to
Cara, his long legs extended comfortably in front of him. "I'm sorry about
your Pa, Cara."
Unbidden tears welled in her eyes. "It doesn't matter, really. It hasn't
been too bad. He hasn't been around much lately. I just thought…" The
tears were coming in earnest now and she swiped at them with the sleeve of her
jacket. "Well, I thought that Daddy was bringing us here for the summer to
make a new start. I thought that he wanted us to be a family again."
Michael tipped up her chin and with a gentle finger wiped away a tear. "Hey,
don't cry. Families are overrated. Look at mine. My Pa's gone for months at a
time, prospecting, and with Ma dead there's just Will and me to see to things.
And half the time he's gone, too, away at that fancy school in Del Norte."
Cara sniffed. "Well, in my opinion, you should be the one going to boarding
school." She met Michael's gaze and blushed at the look in his eyes. Confused,
she picked up a pebble and pretended to study it. "Anyway, I thought you
were going in the fall."
"Maybe, depends on if there's money for it. Will was always the smart
one. So I reckon he ought to be the one to get the schooling."
"I think you're smart."
Michael smiled and pushed a strand of wayward black hair back from his face.
Cara suppressed an urge to stroke it back herself. He draped an arm around her
and she leaned into him. They sat for a while in companionable silence. Cara let
the warmth of him surround her and for the first time in ages felt safe and secure.
"Cara?"
"Hmm?" She felt the steady beating of his heart and wished this moment
could go on forever.
"I've been thinking." He pulled her around so that they sat eye to
eye, his arms linked around her shoulders. "Why don’t we be a family.
You and me."
Cara bit her lip, and tried to assimilate the thought. He was so close she
could feel his breath on her face. "How would we do that?" Her words
came out in an unsteady whisper and she felt hot and cold at the same time.
"We could get married." He held her gaze, his steady and sure. She
felt her heart skip a beat. Married. To Michael. It sounded like a dream come
true. The pebble she'd been holding dropped from her hand, clattering against
the floor of the tunnel. Reality returned.
"My father would never let me get married. We're too young." Her
voice quivered with regret and she pulled back from the intimacy of his embrace.
He shot her an indignant look. "I am not a kid."
"Okay, maybe at fifteen you're not a kid anymore. But I'm only thirteen.
That definitely makes me a kid."
He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "All right then, we'll
bind ourselves together like the Indians did. I read about it in a book. It'll
be better than being married."
Cara raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Do you want to stay together or not?" he asked, his angry voice
filling the cavern.
She grabbed his hand and held it to her chest. "Of course I do."
"All right then, we'll make a blood oath. In the book it says that once
you share blood, you form a bond that can never be broken." He pulled out
his knife. "Give me your hand."
"Is it going to hurt?"
"I figure most things that matter in life hurt a little, Cara."
She hesitated, chewing on the side of her lip. Finally, with a weak grin she
held out her hand. Michael was the best thing in her life and if letting him cut
her meant they could always be together then it was worth it.
They bent their heads together and with a quick flick the knife bit into her
palm. Blood welled from the cut. She watched as he turned his own palm face up
and quickly inflicted a similar wound.
With a graceful twist, he captured her hand, their palms together, their blood
mingling. Their eyes met and for a moment Cara would have sworn that time stood
still.
"Forever, Cara. We belong to one another now."
She felt her breath quicken and something deep within her tightened. Suddenly
she knew that this wasn't just a childish game. This was real. This was important.
She tightened her grip on his hand. "Forever. I promise."
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Heat seared through her
at the touch. She pressed against him, her lips opening slightly to the warmth
of his mouth on hers. He pulled her closer, their clasped hands crushed between
their bodies.
"Cara? Are you in there?"
Cara jerked back. "My father."
Michael looked dazed, his breathing coming in gasps. He moved to pull her back
into his arms. "I didn't hear anything."
She pulled her hand from his. "He's out there. I've got to go." Blood
dripped onto the tunnel floor.
Michael's eyes cleared. He grabbed the bandana from around his neck and quickly
wrapped it around her hand. "Come on. I'll go with you."
"No." The word came out more harshly than she had intended. Michael
flinched. She squeezed his uninjured hand reassuringly. "I didn't mean it
like that. It's just that I'm not supposed to be here. And it will only make it
worse if he thinks I was meeting you."
"I see." He frowned and pulled from her grasp, concentrating on tying
his handkerchief around his palm.
She put a hand on his shoulder. "Michael, please."
"All right. Go."
Her father called again. With a pleading look at Michael, she turned to go.
"Cara?"
She looked back. He stood strong and tall, like a young god, his ebony hair
curling around his face. He took a step forward and reached for her.
She stepped unhesitatingly into his embrace. His lips found hers and she tasted
the salt of tears. Almost before it had begun, the kiss ended and he stepped back.
They stood for a moment, eyes locked.
"Forever, Cara."
With a nod, she turned and ran from the cave.
"I told you not to come out here on your own. It's not safe. These mountains
are riddled with old mine shafts. If you fell into one, you might never be found."
"But I wasn't alone. Michael was with me."
Benjamin Renault looked at his daughter sharply. "You've been alone in
an abandoned mine with a boy?"
"He's not a boy." She blushed as she thought again of their kiss.
Her first. "He's fifteen."
Her father's face turned a deeper shade of red. "And just what were you
doing in there, may I ask?" Cara opened her mouth to speak, but her father
held up a hand to stop her. "No, never mind, I'll find out for myself."
He strode into the opening of the tunnel. Cara had to run to keep up with him.
He stopped suddenly and she careened into his back.
"There's nobody in here, Cara. In fact, from the looks of it, I'd say
there hasn't been for quite a while."
Cara edged around her father and peered into the dim recesses of the tunnel.
It was shadowed and dark. Her father pulled out his pocket flashlight and moved
forward, disappearing around the first bend of the shaft. Following closely behind,
Cara's emotions shifted from anger at her father to fear for Michael. Where was
he?
Finally, rounding the last curve, they stopped as her father's light illuminated
the solid rock of the tunnel's end. She turned, frantically searching for another
way out, even though she knew there was none.
Her pulse throbbed in her ears. Her mind whispered no. But there was no denying
it.
The mine was empty.
