Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
C heyenne
The next morning, Cheyenne couldn’t wait for her surfing lesson.
When Micah stopped by to pick her up, he pulled up with a motorcycle instead of the truck. His eyebrows waggled as he walked her to it. “It’s my uncle Marshall’s, but he doesn’t care if I drive it. Should we go for a little ride before the surf lesson?”
Cheyenne laughed, feeling young and free. Micah got on, and she hopped up to sit behind him. They put their helmets on.
As they were taking off, she saw Eli come out of his condo and glare at them, his arms crossed. She ignored him, too busy having fun to deal with his drama.
She wasn’t sure where Micah was headed, but he drove her down a winding road that led to a mountain and some caves. South Port was beautiful. She was surprised at how much she loved it here.
It was warm this morning. She clung to Micah’s waist but tipped her head back to feel the sun on her face and the wind rustling her hair. She never wanted this day to end. If this was the only day they had before the righteous indignation of their families rained down upon them, they had to make it count.
Micah brought them to a stop in a parking lot. He turned off the engine, and they left their helmets on the bike.
She looked around in wonder. “Where are we?”
Micah grabbed her hand and had a big grin on his face. “There are hieroglyphs in this cave. Have you heard the whole story about the hieroglyphs and Mr. Banks and my uncles and father cutting the hieroglyphs out of these cave walls to protect them from being damaged?”
Cheyenne racked her brain until she remembered what he was talking about. “I have heard that story. I mean, it seems a bit like lore at this point. If I wasn’t part of this family, I wouldn’t believe half of the stories.”
Micah laughed. “Me neither.”
After a short walk along a path, they entered the cave. She was blown away by the hieroglyphs. It looked like they were telling a story, but she didn’t know what that story was about. She could barely make out the edges where they had been cut away; it seemed like they’d been put back perfectly. “I seriously can’t believe there’s actually treasure. I mean, our families have handled gold.”
“Right?” Micah laughed. “We still have one gold bar that my grandparents left the family. Of course, it’s protected in some top-secret FBI place at the moment.”
Cheyenne kept searching the walls, trying to envision the conquistadors who’d left these markings. “It sounds weird, but I’m not sure I want the gold to be found. I mean, we know it exists—it’s been melted down—but there’s a whole lot of it out there. In some ways, I think it will be sad to find it, because then the mystery will be gone.”
Micah put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I know what you mean. It’s like the story will be over.”
She looked up at him, her heart racing. “Micah, I don’t want our story to be over after today.”
Micah focused on her. Then he took her by the hand and led her out the other side of the cave. “Let’s keep walking. I want to take you to a lighthouse.”
Cheyenne was fascinated by the geography around them. It was strange that only twenty minutes ago they had been on the beach, and now it felt like they were in the mountains.
They continued along the trail for a while, and then another beach area opened up. A lighthouse towered nearby.
“My uncle Marshall got married there,” Micah told her. “It was a cool wedding.”
She wanted to get closer to the lighthouse and found herself skipping along the beach.
Micah skipped with her. “I heard that children skip when they are happy, so I guess we are too?”
She giggled. “I’m so happy. But I am also a bit edgy.” She stopped skipping but kept his hand in hers. “I feel like this is the last day of our lives or something.”
Micah stopped and pulled her against him. He held her tightly in a hug. She hugged him back, hoping she could tell him everything she was feeling through just a touch.
When he bent down and pressed his lips to hers, she was caught up in fireworks and the feeling of flying. Everything about kissing this man made her happy. Yet this bright glow of happiness was surrounded by a bitter edge of the unknown.
He pulled back and gazed into her eyes, running a hand through her hair. “We’re not over, Cheyenne. I was thinking about it all night. We’ll call our families and tell them what happened. Together. I’m sure they’re going to come down on us and it’s going to be this big thing. I don’t know how that looks for us, but I don’t want to be without you now.”
It was crazy how she could be so happy and at the same time suddenly want to cry. “I don’t want to be without you either. I don’t even know about SEAL training, so I looked it up last night. It’s pretty intense. You’re going to be gone for, like, nine months, and they’ll be taking you to all these different locations.”
“I know.” He pulled her into him again and just held her. “We will figure something out.”
She pulled back and tried to smile. “I want to see this lighthouse.”
Micah took her hand, and they walked into the lighthouse. It was empty, and they took the stairs up to different floors until they got as close to the top as they could. He showed her the lantern and other mechanisms that made it work, and Cheyenne could tell it had been kept in good shape. It was a really cool place.
“Look.” Micah led her to the railing, giving them a view of the whole ocean. “I like to think about all the people that were sailing, all the sailors, and how this light symbolized hope for them. It gave them something to come home to.”
It hit her again that he would be gone. She couldn’t just hop on a plane and go see him. He would be doing dangerous things that she could never imagine.
He squeezed her hand. “What are you thinking about?”
It took her a minute before she could answer. “Nothing.”
“Cheyenne. Tell me.”
She swallowed. “I don’t know how much I have told you, but you know my mother died in childbirth. And you know my father was a Navy SEAL, because he knew Trey.”
He nodded, looking somber.
“I always imagined how hard it was for my mom. My brothers always talk about the years that Dad was gone. I know it caused a lot of problems between him and Porter.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I guess I’m feeling defeated before even starting. I don’t know.” She didn’t want to say everything else on her mind. Could she really be the kind of woman who waited for her man when he was gone all the time?
Micah ran his hand over her hair. The gesture was intoxicating. He pulled her in and kissed her again. This time it felt like they were drinking from each other.
The kiss deepened, but she pulled back. “Micah, I can’t.” She was referring to more than one thing. She couldn’t do more physically with him, and she wasn’t sure that she could handle waiting for him.
Micah visibly shook himself. “Okay. Let’s get back and hit some waves before they’re gone.”