In Too Deep (2 page)

He hated this place.

Seth hoisted Maggie out of Ethan's arms so casually that Ethan didn't have time to stop him.

“Here, hold my torch, Eth.” Seth shoved it at Ethan. “Maggie, you shouldn't have run off.” Seth tickled her under her chin and Maggie quit crying and smiled.

Ethan heard Audra breathing—it had a sort of low growling quality that reminded Ethan of a grizzly bear getting ready to pounce. She caught Ethan's arm and almost strangled his elbow.

“Let's go on out now.” No anger sounded in her voice—just a phony tinkling cheerfulness.

“But I wanted to show Maggie the big room with all the towers.” Seth looked at Ethan and Audra, who were blocking the way down. He glanced at the side tunnel he'd been in . . . the safe one.

“No, it's time to go up.” Audra dragged Ethan forward to cut Seth off from the “safe” little side tunnel in case Seth made a break for it.

Fingernails sank into Ethan's arm—and his shirt was good, thick material, so judging by the way her nails cut into his arm, she was furious.

Maggie had tears running down her cheeks, but like the good-natured baby she was, she'd cheered up and was now smiling and waving at Ethan.

“What are you doing down here, Seth?” Audra's voice lost the phony calm. In fact, she almost blistered Ethan's ears.

Seth's smile shrank like long woolen underwear in boiling lye water. “I . . . I was just going for a walk. Maggie was tagging after me, so I brought her along.”

“Into this cave?” Audra's voice rose. Lily jerked in her sleep. “Without telling me?”

Maggie whimpered. Ethan knew how the little tyke felt.

“Seth, you shouldn't have brought Maggie in here,” Audra yelled.

“Sorry.” Seth didn't sound one speck sorry. “I thought she'd like to see it. It's real pretty.”

“But I was worried.” Ethan heard Audra's fury, banked like a nighttime fire but still smoldering, ready to erupt. “Didn't you think I'd be worried when I couldn't find her?”

“Uh . . . I didn't think of that, no. Our ma never cared much where we went.”

“Your ma never—” Audra cut off whatever words she intended to say next. There was an extended silence. Her breathing slowed until Ethan couldn't hear it anymore. Finally, sounding less furious, Audra said, “Let's go.” She removed her claws from Ethan's arm and made a shooing motion.

With a shrug, Seth took his torch back from Ethan, turned, and headed up the tunnel with Maggie. Audra went next with Lily. Ethan brought up the rear.

Seth carried Maggie, but when they reached the turn in the tunnel to go out, Audra snatched Maggie out of Seth's hands so that now she carried both children.

As Seth strolled toward the exit, he extinguished the torch by jamming it against the stone wall, then tossing the smoking wood onto the floor by the cave entrance. Handy for the next time he came in here.

Ethan's heart slowed once he saw daylight. He was almost completely calm by the time they got outside, not counting his shirt being soaked with nervous sweat.

Audra stepped out into full daylight and stopped so suddenly that Ethan almost ran her down. Audra turned, both children in her arms. Ethan took Maggie to lessen the burdens this fragile woman carried.

The second Maggie was out of her arms, Audra leaned close and whispered hoarsely, “What happened in that tunnel?”

Seth went on ahead. From Audra's quiet question, Ethan knew she didn't want Seth to overhear.

His shoulders square, his feelings tucked away, Ethan slipped past Audra, into the sunlight as if he went cave walking every day.

“Nothing happened. Much.” Ethan wasn't sure he could talk about it anyway, so why try?

Audra examined Maggie, running her hands over the little girl, checking for injuries. Her eyes narrowed on Maggie's waving arm. Grabbing the child's hand, Audra asked, “What's this?”

Maggie's upper arm was bright red and swollen. Ethan knew exactly what it was. It was where he'd grabbed her. Seeing that bruise was like taking a blow to the stomach.

“I hurt her.” He swallowed hard and forced the words out. “I caught her there. I . . . I didn't mean . . .”

Audra looked away from Maggie's arm. “What happened in that tunnel, Ethan?”

Shaking his head slowly, Ethan wished himself far away from the guilt and fear. But he couldn't look away from Audra. “It's hard to say. It was pitch-dark, so I threw my torch away to get both hands free.”

“Tell me.” Audra, for a fragile little woman, had a surprisingly determined tone.

“There was a ledge. She ran away from me. I grabbed her dress just as she . . . she fell.”

“Fell off a ledge? How high a ledge?”

“I couldn't see but . . .” Ethan heard those stones falling without hitting bottom. He saw his torch arc up, then fall and vanish from sight.

Audra brought her hand up to cover her mouth, to stop the words. “Go on. How did her arm get hurt?”

“I almost pulled her dress off. For a second I was afraid she'd slip out of it and fall, so I caught hold of her arm, but I was too rough.”

Audra's eyes fell shut as if she couldn't bear to see what Ethan described. Dragging in a long, slow breath, she whispered, “You saved her.”

“I hurt her.” Maggie's injury wouldn't leave a scar, but she had a reminder of that cave now, just like Seth and Rafe. Only Ethan had come away from that pit unscathed, and he was the one who couldn't stand to go in anymore.

“She'd have gone over a ledge. Fallen heaven knows how far. She'd have died. My baby would have died.” Audra's shoulders heaved as if she was ready to cry, but though her lips wobbled, she kept it contained.

They faced each other. Lily in Audra's arms. Maggie in Ethan's. Time stretched as all that had happened—the danger, the fact that they'd all survived it—filled the silence. Finally, Audra lifted Maggie's arm and gave the red mark a whisper-soft kiss.

Maggie giggled and tugged against Audra's gentle hold and got her arm free. She was going to be fine. There would be a bruise, but Maggie's arm was working fine.

“What are we going to do, Ethan? My children aren't safe.”

Movement drew Ethan's attention. Rafe and Julia rode up. Rafe looked overly relaxed. Rafe and Julia had taken way too long riding into Rawhide to mail off Julia's first paper about the cavern. She'd written an article about a fish fossil she'd found that she thought was an ocean fish high up in the mountains. She was hoping to get it published in some scientific journal back East.

Rafe's eyes shifted from Ethan to the tunnel entrance and all his relaxation vanished. “You went in the cave?”

Julia glared straight at Seth as she dismounted. “What is going on here?”

Audra didn't answer.

“Seth, what happened?” Julia focused on Seth. It was the honest truth that Julia wasn't overly fond of Seth. Though she did like talking to him about the cavern. Seth probably knew the cavern better than any man alive.

“I just wanted to show Maggie the cave. I didn't mean to upset you none, Audra.” Seth came up and gave Maggie a worried look. The little one smiled and reached for him. After a quick glance at Audra—who hesitated, moved slightly to further block the cave entrance, then nodded—Ethan handed Maggie over. The five adults, two of them holding babies, formed a circle right in front of the cavern.

“Well, you
did
upset me. I didn't know where Maggie had gone. And that cave is dangerous.” Audra softened her words by moving closer to Seth.

“No, it's not.”

With Lily in one arm, Audra hugged Seth with the other.

Ethan saw her hands trembling, but she sounded so calm. Audra was always sweet. She liked peace.

For some reason, seeing Audra's arm wrapped around Seth irritated Ethan. When Seth's hand crept up and wrapped around Audra's slim waist, Ethan considered putting a stop to all the hugging.

Audra pulled back before Ethan could step in. “If there is anyone in the world who Maggie would be safe with down there, it's you.”

Ethan remembered the grizzly tone from earlier and knew Audra was shoving her anger and fear down deep and not saying what she really meant.

Instead, she said what she thought was kindest. “But it's still dangerous. Too dangerous for a little one. Now promise me you won't take her in there again.”

“Okay.” Seth sounded like a child, being lovingly chastised by his mother. Except he didn't look one speck like a child. He was a full-grown man and he still had his arm around Audra.

The four of them—Seth, Audra, Maggie, and Lily—were a picture.

Seth holding Maggie. Even with his hair trimmed and his beard shaved, Seth had a loco gleam in his wild blue eyes. Pretty, fragile Audra. Fair-haired, finely made. Both of them had a baby, and when they hugged they made a family.

“Good.” She patted Seth gently on the shoulder. “And I need to know where Maggie is
all the time
. If I don't know, then I'm going to be hunting for her and worrying about her. And I won't quit hunting or worrying until I find her. It's a terrible feeling to worry like that. You mustn't make me feel that way.”

“Is that what a ma does?” Seth sounded genuinely confused. “I don't remember our ma doing much worrying.” Seth looked at Ethan, his brow furrowed. “You reckon it was worry about us that made her spend all her time sittin' in her chair with her head down?”

Ethan suspected Ma had forgotten she had children for the most part. She was busy full-time worrying about herself.

“It was different for you, Seth.” Audra tilted her head up as if to prove she'd never hold it down. “You had your brothers to look after you when you were little.”

And a great job we did of it.

“Your mother knew you were with them. That's why she didn't check up on you.” Audra's voice was so kind while she stood there lying about Ma. Where was the cranky woman who'd almost knocked Ethan aside when he'd told her to take Lily out of that cavern?

“Ma mostly just cried.” Seth looked at Ethan. “She cried a lot, didn't she?”

“All the time. I think we were too much for her.” Ethan decided to break up the family and took Maggie. She grinned at him and squeaked.

He smiled, not that there was much to smile about, but it came real natural to him to laugh everything off. Then his eyes fell to her bruised arm. His gut twisted as he remembered that moment when he thought he was going to lose her over the ledge. Something had to be done to make sure Maggie never went in there again.

“Rafe, do something.” Julia's voice cracked like a bullwhip.

Rafe had married himself a nagging woman. And Ethan noticed Rafe didn't seem to mind one bit. In fact, Rafe seemed to find reasons all the time to ride off with his bossy little spitfire of a wife and not come back one bit too soon.

“You want me to do something?” Rafe looked at his brand-spankin'-new wife. His voice got deeper and he seemed to speak only to her. “Like what exactly, darlin'?”

Something very personal flashed in Rafe's eyes, and Julia seemed to forget Seth. In fact, the two of them seemed to forget the whole world.

Rafe grinned.

Julia blushed.

Ethan didn't exactly know why, but the look they shared made him restless and discontented. And it reminded him of how pretty Audra was. And how she shouldn't have been hugging Seth.

And Audra's looks had nothing to do with Rafe and his wife, so it all added up to Ethan being stupid.

“I think we're going to have to make some changes,” Audra said quietly.

Ethan turned to her and saw something he hadn't noticed before. Under the kindness she was showing to Seth. Under the calm once the crisis was over.

She had worry lines drawn in her face.

“I'll take Seth back to the ranch.” Ethan knew that had to happen. He had to go home sometime. Rafe had bought this mountain valley—Julia called it a caldera. It looked like a big scoop taken out of the top of a mountain. Julia said it was caused by a volcano in the far-distant past. Ethan had serious doubts that Julia knew what she was talking about, but he had no better theories, not to mention he wasn't exactly sure what a volcano was.

Rafe had given the old Kincaid homestead to Ethan, then with Seth's and Ethan's help had built a new cabin here in his caldera. But the work was mostly done now. Nothing Rafe couldn't finish alone. Ethan had no excuse to stay. But truth to tell, he hated to leave. He'd left home as soon as he was old enough, and now that he was back, he liked being around his big brother. Losing him to marriage and this new ranch didn't suit Ethan. And he didn't like Seth's strange behavior, mainly because Ethan blamed himself for Seth being so crazy. So he was losing his steady-as-a-rock big brother and taking on his runaway avalanche of a little brother.

“No, it's not Seth. Seth meant no harm.” Audra patted Seth again. He smiled back like a cheerful puppy. The kind that didn't mean a lick of harm when he bit you in the backside.

“It's that tunnel.” Her hand clenched on Seth's shoulder. “It's all the caves in this place. This is a wonderful place for a cabin, but . . .”

Seth flinched and gave his shoulder a nervous glance. Audra was a lot more upset than she was letting on.

“It's not safe.” Ethan looked around the mountain valley Rafe had chosen for his home. It was beautiful. Sheltered from the harsh winds by the mountain walls surrounding it. A flowing stream teeming with trout. Fertile soil and already a good-sized herd of cattle grazing in the belly-deep grass. Rafe had found a hidden valley no one had known existed. Well, honestly, Seth found it. But Rafe had tracked Seth in here and seen the value of the place and wanted it.

“We can put up gates to block the tunnels.” Julia's brow furrowed. “Maggie's getting older now and we do need to be careful with her.”