Chapter Twenty-Eight
Seth
“This feels like the start of a horror movie,” Ellie says, standing in front of the entrance to Rysche Caverns.
She looks cute as hell with her hair spilling out from beneath the shiny red protective helmet that I surprised her with when we first started training, one gloved hand on her hip, knee pads strapped into place.
Frank, also sporting new equipment I gifted him, is eyeing the entrance to the cave like he’s weighing the thrill of surviving said horror movie.
I can see how the mouth of the cave, a dark, angular crevice tucked into a hillside between massive boulders, could be intimidating for new cavers, but I know how tough Ellie and Frank are.
These last few weeks, we’ve conquered endurance hikes with steady inclines, rocky ledges, small boulder climbs where the footing tested their patience and strength, and similar boulder scrambles to get their muscles used to the pull and balance of rope work.
Ellie’s skills are solid across the board, and Frank is strong and determined, but his fingers and feet don’t always comply with his demands.
I’ll be watching both of them closely, but I’ve explored these caverns before, and I’m confident they can handle them.
The terrain is rugged enough to give them a real caving experience without being too difficult to navigate, and there’s only one pit to descend with about a fourteen-foot drop.
I’ve mapped a route that’s just long enough to take strength and focus and leave them with a sense of pride without putting them in danger or wearing Frank out.
“You mean you don’t find a cold, dark, limestone tunnel that breathes damp air and smells like something ancient inviting?” I tease.
“She’s survived me for all these years,” Frank says. “This’ll be a piece of cake.”
“I’m not worried about surviving.” Ellie flashes a sly grin. “But you should be, Dad. If something grabs your ankle, I’m cutting the rope and running.”
I chuckle. “Hopefully we won’t need to sacrifice anyone today.” I pull out my phone. “Get over here. Let’s get a picture.”
“To commemorate our first adventure together?” Ellie asks.
“Every day is an adventure with you.” I steal a kiss.
“Christ, Braden,” Frank grits out. “That the best line you’ve got?”
“It’s the only appropriate line in front of you,” I tease, and he grumbles. “Marking our first trio caving adventure is only half the reason I want the picture.”
“What’s the other half?” Ellie asks.
I extend my arm, focusing the camera on the three of us, and say, “To prove three people really did go into the tunnel, no matter how many come out.”
They laugh, and I get a hell of a shot.
As we head into the cave, the light fades fast, and we flip on our headlamps, carving a path through the dark passageway of jagged rock. The air grows cooler and denser, carrying the faint tang of stone and mineral dust as we make our way deeper into the cave.
“Watch your feet,” I say, stepping over rubble.
When the passageway narrows, we walk single file. “Everyone okay?” Sound travels strangely in caves, echoing and fading.
“Yeah, fine. It’s like another world in here,” Ellie says with awe.
“More like another planet,” Frank says.
We wind through the chilly narrow passage, turning sideways to squeeze through an outcropping, my backpack and their shoulders scraping the wall.
“It’s a good thing we’re not claustrophobic,” Ellie says.
“I went caving with a friend in college who had never had any issues in tight spaces until we got halfway through a narrow passageway and he froze.” I had almost forgotten about that trip. “Poor guy had a full-on panic attack.”
“What’d you do?” Frank calls out.
“Left him there to suffer,” I say as seriously as I can.
“No, you didn’t!” Ellie exclaims.
Frank says, “She knows you too well, Boy Scout.”
I grin. “I guess she does. I tried to talk him out of it, and when that didn’t work, I had him close his eyes and focus on breathing.
Then, with his eyes closed, I guided him back out the way we came, reassuring him that he was going to be fine and promising he could tell everyone at school that he had to help me through a panic attack. ”
Frank laughs. “You’re all right, Braden.”
Ellie touches my back as the passageway widens. I look over my shoulder and catch that sweet smile that has me falling harder by the second.
We climb over boulders and crawl through tight gaps, and I check on them every step of the way.
Frank gripes when I try to give him a hand, and Ellie rolls her eyes.
When we come to the large chamber with the pit we’ll be descending, our headlights sweep over the uneven walls, mineral bands shimmering from traces of quartz and iron.
“Watch your step.” I reach for Ellie’s hand to help her off an uneven terrace of stone and dirt.
“Thanks,” she says as she jumps down.
“Frank?” I offer him my hand.
“I got it,” he says, and sits on the edge, then shoves off it to his feet, grinning proudly.
“Whoa, look.” Ellie points to the pit.
“That’s where we’re headed.” We walk over to check it out. “It looks great. Clean drop. Good footing.” I put an arm out in front of each of them as they peer over the edge. “Careful. I don’t want to peel either of you off the bottom of that pit.”
“Looks like it wants to swallow us whole,” Frank says.
“That’s what you signed up for, Dad,” Ellie says.
“If you’d rather not go down there, we don’t have to,” I offer.
Frank scoffs. “Who’re you kidding? I didn’t come all this way to sit out the best part.”
“I figured as much,” I say.
“I’m excited to descend into the depths of the unknown.” Ellie says the last part in a deep voice.
“You’re willing to go blindly into this dark pit, and you give me a hard time for going to a mosh pit?” Frank challenges.
“They’re totally different,” Ellie says.
“A pit’s a pit,” Frank says.
“Well, I’ve got no interest in a mosh pit, but this?” Ellie turns around, waving her hand as her headlamp sweeps over the chamber. “This is…otherworldly.”
She takes off her glove and walks over to the wall.
Pressing her hand to it, she closes her eyes.
My chest constricts at the peaceful expression coming over her beautiful face.
When she opens her eyes, she walks along the edge of the wall, her fingertips trailing over the ragged surface, like she’s memorizing it.
I’m fairly certain she is. Her eyes take on the same intensity as when she’s drawing.
She was so excited about going caving. I get the feeling there’s a side of her that is just waiting to explore our big, beautiful world, and there’s nothing I want more than to be the one who opens those doors for her.
But I know she wants to stick close to home for Frank.
Frank, on the other hand, is hard to read.
Half the time I think he does risky shit to get her to stick around, and the other half I wonder if he’s trying to push her farther from the nest.
Ellie looks up at the ceiling and says, “I thought it might feel a little creepy down here, but it doesn’t. It feels almost holy.”
“She’s a stunner,” Frank says, joining her.
“She sure is,” I say, eyes locked on Ellie.
Ellie looks over, catching me staring, and gives me a look that says she wouldn’t trade this moment for the world.
Neither would I, sweetheart. Neither would I.
When I pull out my phone and snap a picture, she rolls her eyes.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but you’re the prettiest thing in here.” I pocket my phone and kiss her.
“Gettin’ better at those lines, Braden,” Frank says.
“Thanks. I’m trying. Think you two can stay out of trouble while I get the equipment set up?”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Frank says.
I put canvas rope pads around two rock formations to protect them, then secure a rope around them, using one as a primary rig point and the other as a secondary rig point, in case one gives.
Then I do the same a few feet away with a second line.
I’m sure Ellie can make it up and down that shaft, and I’m ninety percent sure Frank can, but I want to descend beside him, in case he runs into trouble.
Once the ropes are secure, we put on our seat and chest harnesses.
“You’re sure about this rig?” Frank asks, fidgeting with the equipment. “Or are you setting yourself up for another headline: Hotshot Businessman Earns Brownie Points Rescuing Girlfriend’s Father?”
“If that’s all it takes, Frank, then maybe I ought to recheck your equipment,” I joke.
Frank grumbles something I can’t make out, but his eyes are smiling even if his mouth isn’t.
“Are you ready to do this?” I ask.
“Yes!” Ellie exclaims, bouncing on her toes.
“All right. We’ll do it just like when we practiced. Try to keep three points of contact with the wall of the pit at all times, and go down slow and steady. Frank, how are your hands? Think you can do this, or do you want my help?”
“My hands are fine,” he snaps. Then he waggles his finger at me. “Just don’t let anything happen to my daughter.”
“I never will. That’s a promise.”
“Now, that line gets an A-plus,” Frank announces.
I’ll take it, and the way Ellie is beaming, it looks like she will, too.
“Do you remember how to work the equipment to control your speed on the way down?”
“Yes,” Ellie says.
“Frank?”
“My brain still works. I didn’t forget,” Frank barks.
“I didn’t think you did,” I reassure him, knowing it’s his nerves barking at me.
“Are you going first?” Frank asks.
“No. I want to make sure you two get clipped onto the equipment securely and can manage climbing over the edge without issue.” I reach for Ellie’s hand. “Sweets, you’re going down first.”
“That sounds really good to me,” she says with the sexy glint in her eyes.
Stuffing the urge to drag her into a dark corner, I clear my throat and secure the rope to her harnesses.
As she eases over the edge of the pit, she braces her boots against the wall and grins up at us. “Here goes nothin’.”