The Promise (42 page)

"Just a few more feet," Michael called.

Cara could see his face now. It was strained from the
effort of pulling her out, but it had never looked so wonderful.
With one last tug, she was up and over, arms pulling her onto the
rocky floor of the tunnel. She rolled onto her back, gasping for
breath, and smiled up at the three pairs of eyes staring down at
her. Loralee, Patrick and Michael. All present and accounted
for.

She sat up slowly and began to fumble with the
knotted rope around her waist, her hands shaking too badly to
accomplish much of anything. Michael knelt beside her, his hands
covering hers. "I'll do it."

With something approaching reverence, he untied the
knot and slid the rope away, his hands leaving a trail of fire
where they touched. With a groan, he pulled her forward, settling
her on his lap, his lips taking possession of hers. She opened her
mouth, drinking in the taste of him, knowing she would never be
able to get enough of him.

"Uh hmm." Patrick cleared his throat loudly. "Not to
interrupt, but I think we ought to think about getting out of
here." As if in echo of the sentiment, the mine walls began to
rumble ominously, the noise crescendoing and then dying away. "All
the shooting has made things a bit unstable." Patrick pointed at a
timber that had cracked. Dirt was trickling from the ceiling.

Cara scrambled to her feet, reaching into the pocket
of her jeans. "Wait a minute. You need to see this." She handed
Rose's ring to Michael. He stood up and held it to the light.

"My God, was this—" He looked down into the dark
shaft.

"Yes, I… I took it off her finger, I figured she'd
want you to have it." What had seemed right in the dark of the
mineshaft, suddenly felt really wrong in the flickering light of
the tunnel.

Michael handed the ring to his brother and pulled
Cara into his arms. "You did the right thing. She can rest
now."

"Is she alone down there?" Loralee's question was
low, almost unintelligible.

Cara broke away from Michael and reached for her
great grandmother's hand. "No. Zach was there, too. At least I'm
assuming it's Zach."

Loralee nodded. "Is he…I mean…was he…"

Cara tightened her fingers around Loralee's. "I think
he's at peace, too. I have a feeling he knows about Mary and you.
About how much you loved him." Again she ducked her head in
embarrassment. There just weren't any words.

The mine shook again, this time sending a shower of
rocks and pebbles. The timber cracked and fell forward, leaving a
yawning cavity behind. Cara froze as the candlelight glittered off
of something wedged behind the fallen beam. It spilled out of the
opening, neat stacks collapsing into random piles, each bar marked
with a single rose.

"The silver." Cara breathed the words, just as
Patrick and Loralee said them almost in unison.

The walls shuddered again and she was thrown off
balance, stumbling forward, hands out to break her fall. Her left
hand slammed into the pile of gleaming metal, pain shooting up her
arm. Strong hands grasped her elbows, pulling her upright.

"We've got to get out of here." Michael's voice was
hard to hear over the cracking and groaning of the mine. The whole
place was beginning to break up. Large chunks of rock and timber
were falling everywhere. Dust swirled, filling the air.

"What about the silver?" Patrick yelled above the
din.

"Leave it." Michael's words were sharp and he was
already moving toward the main tunnel.

Cara choked on the dust and Michael pulled her
closer, protecting her from the falling debris. As they came
through the opening into the main tunnel, the shoring broke and
crashed to the ground behind them. Cara whirled around, eyes
searching the swirling grime for Loralee.

"Patrick." Michael yelled, his voice lost in the
rumbling.

Cara waited for them, her heart beating out the
seconds, then suddenly, they were there, emerging from the cloud of
dust. "Which way?" Patrick mouthed and Michael motioned toward the
glimmer of light at the east end of the tunnel. With a nod, Patrick
ushered Loralee forward. Michael's arm tightened around Cara and
they hurried forward, too, dodging and ducking as the walls
crumbled around them, heading, literally, for the light at the end
of the tunnel.

They burst out into the bright afternoon light. After
the gloom of the mine, it was almost blinding. The wooden planks
shuddered as the tremors from the mine rippled outward. Cara looked
down at the tiny ribbon of the creek below. "I don't suppose
there's an elevator?"

Michael squeezed her shoulder. "You're looking at
it."

She eyed the cables with resignation. "I guess it was
pre-ordained."

The platform shuddered again, the entire entrance
collapsing into a solid wall of timber and rock. Michael shoved her
toward a car already occupied by Loralee. "There's no more time.
It's now or never."

Cara looked deeply into his eyes. "I choose now." She
kissed him and jumped into the already moving car. With one last
shove, she and Loralee were airborne.

As Cara locked her arms around her
great-grandmother's waist, Loralee's laughter filled the air. "I've
always wondered what it felt like to fly."

*****

The landing wasn't quite as wonderful as the
take off. The little car jerked as it hit the station and ground to
a halt. Michael's car skidded to a stop inches from theirs, bumping
them as it landed on the platform. And behind Michael, Loralee
heard Patrick swearing as his tramcar slammed down with a crunching
thud. At least everybody was in one piece.

"You all right?" Loralee turned to look at Cara. Her
great-granddaughter's eyes were still tightly closed. "We're on the
ground."

Cara opened an eye. "You're sure?"

"Yes indeedy, and we all made the trip just
fine."

Cara opened both eyes, looking relieved when she saw
the inside of the rickety building. "So how do we get out of here?"
The two women laughed, giddy with relief as they worked to untangle
arms and legs and climb out of the car. Finally, they were each in
charge of their own limbs again. Loralee stood up and took the hand
Cara offered her. Clutching petticoats to belly, knickers in full
display, she straddled the ore bucket one foot in, one foot
out.

"Here let me help." Michael stood by Cara, his amused
gaze taking in the show.

Despite the fact that many a man had seen her in a
heck of a lot less than her knickers, Loralee felt the heat of a
blush steal across her cheeks. "Thank you kindly, but I can
manage." She stepped out of the bucket, quickly releasing cotton
and lace, allowing her skirts to tumble back into a more ladylike
position. The clatter of metal striking metal filled the tiny
station as silver bars tumbled out of the skirt and onto the
platform.

Loralee froze, eyes on the silver, purposely avoiding
Michael's gaze. Patrick stepped to her side, his face the perfect
picture of a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"We, ah, hated to see it all go."

"It was my idea," she put in hastily, trying to judge
Michael's reaction.

"You could have been killed." Michael spoke softly,
but there was a tremor in his voice.

"But we weren't." Patrick said perversely.

"Michael?" Cara stood by the oar cart, looking like
that cat who swallowed the canary. She slowly pulled two silver
bars from the pockets of her pants.

He ran a hand through his hair. "You, too?"

She smiled and shrugged. "It seemed like such a
waste. And they were right there."

Michael sighed and removed a bar from the waistband
of his pants. "I guess we all had the same idea."

Everybody started laughing at once and what started
as a tickle soon dissolved into hysterics, everybody hugging
everybody else, until Loralee figured they were bound to have used
up all the laughter they had between them.

Loralee was the first to sober, and she walked to the
edge of the platform, looking up at the remains of the mine.

"You thinking of Zach?" Cara asked, coming to stand
beside her.

"Yes. I know his bones are trapped up there, under
all those rocks, but, somehow, I think his spirit is free." She
sighed, her eyes still on the mine. He'd kept his promise. Her hand
automatically reached for the locket, surprised when she found
nothing there.

"I think maybe you're looking for this," Cara said,
handing her the locket.

Loralee's hand closed around the familiar silver, and
a feeling of absolute serenity settled around her. Yes, indeedy,
Zach Bowen was doing just fine. And now that she thought on it, so
was she.

She held the locket out to Cara. "You keep it. I
suspect you need it now more than me. It's the key to your going
back."

Michael's face tightened at her words, but he didn't
say anything.

Cara waved it away. "No, it's yours, Loralee. Zach
gave it to you. And you in turn need to pass it along to Mary. A
little piece of her father." She reached up and laid a hand against
Michael's cheek. "Besides, I have everything I could ever want
right here."

Loralee fastened the chain around her neck, turning
once more to look at the mine perched high against the rocky
cliff.

"God's speed, Zachariah. God's speed."

*****

"Did you mean what you said?" Michael's voice
was cracking with emotion.

"You mean about having everything I want?" Cara
whispered, her heart reflected in her eyes. "Of course I did. Do
you want me to say it again?"

He nodded, drinking her in, his heart hammering.

"Everything I want is standing right in front of me,
Michael Macpherson. I love you. I think maybe I always have."

"And you don't want to go back to your own time?"

"No, I want to be here, with you. Now and for
always." She kissed him lightly on the nose. "That is if you still
want me."

"Want you?" Michael exploded. "I want you every
single moment of the day, with every breath I take." He tightened
his hold on her shoulders and drew a shaky breath. "I love you,
Cara Reynolds, and I'll do everything in my power to give you the
best that life in any century has to offer."

"Well," she smiled up into his eyes, "there is one
thing."

"Name it."

"I'd really like a shower."

He laughed as he pulled her to him, his mouth tracing
circles along the line of her jaw. "Now that, my love, is an
absolutely marvelous idea."

They stood on the platform of the turning station
looking up at the ruins of the Promise. A hazy cloud of dust still
hung over what had been the entrance. Timbers hung at crazy angles,
leaning drunkenly against each other. One shifted and fell end over
end crashing against the hard rock of the cliff, a last tumbling
testament to man's insignificant attempt to conquer the
mountain.

Their
insignificant attempt.

The Macphersons.

Michael stared at the remains, his mother's tomb, and
wondered if it had all been worth it. Cara stirred in the circle of
his arms, her golden head lifted up to the cliff. The sun came out
from behind a cloud, its rays catching the particles of dust, they
glittered and twinkled in the light and then with a last flash were
gone, leaving only the magnificence of the sun-washed mountain.

He tightened his arms around Cara, the day suddenly
seeming bright with promise.

Silverthread, one month later

The railroad station was busy, the small
frame building teeming with people. Miners mostly. The wide-eyed
hopeful lot, in search of their fortune, and the weary-eyed,
wounded lot, heading home with empty pockets.

And Loralee was leaving it all behind.

She watched as Patrick tipped an elderly porter. The
old man hoisted her brand new trunk, settling it on his shoulder
with the ease of long practice. She clasped gloved hands together
and wondered for the hundredth time if she was doing the right
thing.

Patrick started back toward her, his green eyes
narrowed against the noontime sun. "All taken care of." He took her
hand in his. "You're sure this is what you want?" His voice was
low, held in tight control.

She nodded. "I need to be with Mary. She's got a
right to know her ma."

"But you could do that here."

She sighed, tipping her head back to meet his solemn
gaze. "Folks here know who I am, what I was, and no one is likely
to ever let me forget it. I want more than that, Patrick. For her,
if not for me."

He drew in a deep breath, his mouth settling into a
thin line, but he didn't say anything.

She licked her lips nervously, reaching out to cover
his hand with hers. "You could come with me." She wasn't sure why
she'd asked him. There wasn't anything between them. Only the
promise of things that would probably never be.

He released the breath on a sigh. "You know I can't
do that."

She nodded, the plume of her hat bobbing in front of
her face. "I suppose I do."

"Loralee, my brother has spent all of his life trying
to make a home for our family. And, now, I'm the only one he has
left."

"He's got Cara." She heard the pleading in her voice
and was ashamed. The right thing to do was to let him go. She'd
always known there was no chance for them. Silly to wish for things
she couldn't have.

"It's not the same and you know it. He built Clune
for me, Loralee. I can't just run off and leave him here on his
own. We're partners. Hell, it's more than that. We're brothers. And
I belong here, with him."

"And I belong with my Mary." Which left them right
where they'd started. She bit her bottom lip, trying to prevent the
threatening tears.

"Thank God, you're still here. I was afraid we'd
missed you." Cara rushed up the platform steps, taking them two at
a time.