Debra Holland - [Montana Sky 02] (36 page)

Samantha stepped forward. “I’m going too.”

“Oh, no you’re not, Samantha. It’s too difficult.”

“Yes, I am. They are my sons. If you don’t take me, I’ll just follow.”

Wyatt obviously knew when to accept defeat. “All right. Stay close to me though.”

She nodded.

Wyatt gazed around the room. “Gentlemen, I suggest you go and get changed. Bring some blankets and plenty of lanterns and rope. Let’s meet at the Rodriguez ranch.”

The people scattered.

Pamela Carter touched Samantha’s arm. “If you don’t mind, Beth and I will go home with you.” Her brown eyes radiated concern. “We’ll have food and coffee ready at the house. And if any of the children come back, we’ll send word.”

“Good idea.” Wyatt strode back to the group clustered around Samantha. He searched her face, relieved to see gratitude replace the anger in her eyes. Not caring what the others thought, he took her hand and held it tight, striving to give her reassurance. “If we hurry, we might catch up with our two.”

Samantha looked down, smoothing her black skirt with her other hand. “I’ll need to change. A dress isn’t the best apparel to wear crawling around caves.”

“Fine. Need to pick up rope and lanterns from your place anyway.”

Pamela looked over at her husband. “Let’s first catch up with the Cobbs. If we can persuade them to open up the mercantile, we can get some extra food and coffee. I’m sure Samantha isn’t prepared to have most of the town descend on her home.”

“Thank you.” Wyatt answered for Samantha as if knowing she’d fire up with false pride. He placed his hand on the small of her back, steering her toward the door. “Best be going. Longer we wait, the more chances those children have to get themselves into trouble.”

Wyatt slowed Bill to a halt, pointing to a narrow crack leading into the mountainside. Driving the buggy behind him, Samantha reined in Chico and Mariposa. The four unlit lanterns piled on a stack of blankets in the seat next to her clanked together. John Carter and Nick Sanders stopped on her other side.

She shaded her eyes against the afternoon sunlight, trying to make out the details of this part of the mountain. Several pine trees shadowed the slash into the earth, and some bushes fringed both sides. If Samantha had been by herself, she’d never even have noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Wyatt slid off his horse, tying the reins to a bush. “This is the entrance closest to the house.” He strode over to Samantha, motioning to her to hand him a lantern. “Don’t see Christine’s pony. They might have gone in another way.”

With a surge of fear, Samantha tightened her gloved hands on the reins. She could tell Wyatt was staying calm for her sake. What if the children were wandering lost in these twisted tunnels? What if they were hurt? What if the searchers couldn’t find them? She shook her head, forcing herself to stop the litany of her fears.

John urged his black stallion closer. “There’s another opening farther down. As I remember, it’s bigger than this one. Hand over a lantern and some blankets, and Nick and I will head over there.”

Wyatt nodded. He walked around the buggy, pulled out a second lantern and two blankets, and gave them to the two men.

Nick touched his hat to Samantha. “Good luck with your search, Miz Rodriguez.”

“Thank you, Nick. You men take care of yourselves.”

He flashed her his sweet smile. “Did some climbing in these here caves as a boy, with my pa. We’ll be just fine.”

They kneed their horses forward and soon disappeared around a bend in the trail that circled the base of the mountain.

Wyatt reached out his hand, palm up.

Samantha placed her hand in his and stepped down from the buggy. Just the act of touching him gave her courage. This was the first time the two of them had been alone today, and she had to resist throwing herself into his arms for an encouraging hug.

Seeming to sense her need, he pulled her toward him in a tight embrace. “We’ll find them, Samantha. I promise.”

She rested her head on his shoulder for a few precious seconds, storing up the feeling of his strength for the search ahead. Then, taking a deep breath, she stepped back. “Let’s find them before anyone gets hurt.”

The narrow entrance to the cave was just Samantha’s height. Wyatt ducked in first. She followed, the rope Wyatt had coiled around her waist bulky and heavy. In the light of the lantern she held, Samantha could see they walked through a stone corridor, but Wyatt’s broad back blocked her view of what lay ahead. The farther in they traveled, the more the air cooled and moistened, a not unpleasant contrast to the sunny outdoors.

The ceiling lowered, forcing Wyatt to walk with a low stoop, and even Samantha had to keep her chin tucked to her chest. Her heartbeat thudded to the sound of their boots ringing against the stone floor, and her breath wheezed in and out. She made herself take deep inhalations, and to distract herself, started to recall folktales of trolls, dwarves, and other mythical beings who lived under the earth.

They rounded a bend, and Wyatt straightened, taking several slow steps into a cavern before stopping. Samantha paused at his side, wrinkling her nose at the acrid smell. She caught a glimpse of some odd rock formations, then something fluttered low across the room, darting close before winging upward. Samantha gasped and ducked, almost dropping her lantern.

Wyatt chuckled. “Just a bat. Harmless.”

“A bat.”

“Yep. Hundreds of them in this cave.” He lifted the lantern.

On the ceiling she could see tiny brown bundles bunched together. She hunched her shoulders and squinted up, fearful the bats might move. She crouched a bit, ready to dive behind the nearest boulder if one so much as twitched.

“I should bring you and the children over at sunset one evening. The way those critters stream out of the cave is a sight to see.”

Samantha shuddered. “I think it’s one I can live without.”

Wyatt grinned down at her. “Trust me. It’s interesting.” He studied the floor, the smile slipping from his face. “Bat droppings. That’s what causes the smell. But they’re only in this one. I don’t see any footprints. None of the children have been this way.”

Samantha sucked in her breath in disappointment. The powdery gray floor looked undisturbed. “Should we go back—try another way?”

“No.” He pointed toward two openings. “We’ll go through.” He started toward the one on the left. “If I remember right, there’s a series of small rooms, then an underground pool room. But”—he grimaced—“from then on it will get harder.”

Samantha clenched her jaw. No matter how difficult, nothing would keep her from finding her boys.

In the darkness of the cave, Jack lay on his grass pallet staring at the ceiling. The light from the single candle flickered on crystals embedded in the roof of the large cavern, each one sparkling like the diamond ring he’d seen Ben’s mother wearing.

Over on the right, several massive columns guarded the exit leading to the underground river. And on the left, two
upside-down cones almost touched noses with triangles of stone beneath them. The steady drip of water splashing into a tiny shallow pool at the back of the room soothed him enough to make him sleepy. Jack’s excitement during their initial running away had faded. Now boredom set in.

Tim and Little Feather sprawled out on their makeshift beds. In the flickering light, they both seemed deep in thought. Were they missing home as much as he was?

Jack let his fingers wander over the stone floor next to his pallet. He captured a pebble, tossing it in the direction of the water, and heard it thunk off a wall. He’d never counted on gettin’ attached to Miz Samantha, to the little horses, to his new brothers. Never counted on having a place he’d call home, ever again.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he dug his fingers into his muscles. Somehow love and belonging had crept under his skin, become part of him. The loss burned behind his eyes. Never again would he let himself grow attached to anyone or anyplace. Just him and his twin. He’d better get used to it. Although maybe, just maybe, he could say a prayer.
“Please, God, somehow make everything work out right.”

The scrape of footsteps and the glow of lantern light near the entrance to the room alerted him. His drowsiness vanished. He jumped up, the other boys following. Had they been caught already?

Hand in hand, Daniel and Christine crept into the room. Daniel held a lantern high. In the dim light, Jack could see the boy’s raised eyebrows relax when he caught sight of them. He skipped into the room, jerking Christine behind him. “We found you. Mama’s been so worried. Why didn’t you take me with you?”

Jack couldn’t help but smile at Daniel and Christine, even though he’d have to send them away right quick. He held up his hand to halt Dan’s flow of questions. “What cha doing here?”

Christine slid forward. “We came to warn you.”

“Warn us?”

Daniel wiggled. “Yah, Ben and Arlie are playing sheriff. They figured out you’d be holing up here in these caves and set out to find you.”

Jack met Tim’s eyes, and his brother nodded in agreement. No matter what, they didn’t want those two bullies to be the ones who found them. “Thanks for the warning.” He looked at Little Feather, standing silent, one hand clutching the hem of his blue-striped shirt, and said, “We ain’t done much exploring, ’cept around this here cave. Ya know the way in deeper. Can ya find a place where us ’uns won’t be found?”

The Blackfoot boy nodded, brown eyes solemn. He squatted, picked up the matchbox, and lit the lantern.

Tim knelt down and rolled up the blanket he’d draped over a pallet of leaves.

Jack laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder and squeezed. “Much obliged for the warnin’. Now you two lite on out of here. If you stay, won’t be nothing to keep your pa from coming after us.”

Christine tilted her chin. “My pa will come anyway. He wouldn’t leave you alone here.” She glanced around, blue eyes huge, and shivered.

Daniel squeezed her hand. “I like it here,” he said to her. “You’ll get used to it, I’m sure. I want to go with them. You coming along or going back?”

Alarm shot through Jack. “Wait a doggon minute. You two ain’t coming along.”

Daniel’s eyebrows drew together in a stubborn look. “My mama wanted to find you right away, but then she thought we should wait until after the town meeting. She wanted to be able to say that she didn’t know where you all were. She was mighty upset that you all ran away.”

Christine released Daniel’s hand, propping her hands on her hips. “Are we going to stand around all day and argue, or are we going to find a hiding spot away from those bad boys?”

Jack growled in frustration. “Come on, then. But once we find a hidey-hole, you can’t stay. Deal?”

Daniel’s grin showed all his teeth. “Deal.”

Rolling his eyes, Jack tucked up his supplies in his blanket. Deep down inside, he knew they were only headin’ into trouble.

Samantha’s hands and knees ached from crawling on the stone walkway. As her knee landed on yet another pebble, she bit off an unladylike exclamation. She didn’t dare let Wyatt know how sore she was. After all, she was the one who had insisted she accompany him.