The View From Here (30 page)
Read The View From Here Online
Authors: Cindy Myers
“No, but it will be all right now.” Though she still had no idea how they would free him.
The beam of Jameso's light glowed bright down the corridor and she turned to greet him. He carried what looked like a rusted iron fence post. “Hold the light.” He handed Maggie the flashlight. “Shine it down into the hole once I'm down there.”
Before she could protest, he lowered himself into the hole, landing heavily at the bottom. Maggie crouched beside the opening and focused the beam of light on him. Jameso was trying to move the rocks by hand, grunting and straining. “Owww!” Lucas wailed. “You're just making it worse.”
“Sorry.” Jameso glanced up at Maggie, his face anxious. “I'm going to try to pry the rocks off. It might hurt.”
“Lucas, look at me,” Maggie said. “Try not to think about the pain. Tell me what you want to eat when you get out of here.”
“Eat?” Lucas winced as Jameso moved toward the rocks that trapped his foot.
“Look at me,” Maggie commanded. “Do you like burgers? I had the best buffalo burger this afternoon.”
“Cheeseburger,” Lucas said. “With fries and a chocolate shake. My grandmother never lets me eat stuff like that. 'Course, I'm so hungry right now I'd even eat vegetables. Broccoli with cheese sauce is gooâahh!”
“It's moving!” Jameso shouted.
Lucas screamed. Maggie wanted to cover her ears, but she had to keep hold of the light. “Got it!” Jameso cried. He tossed aside the fence post and gathered the boy in his arms.
Maggie looked away, then peeked into the hole again. Lucas's face was pale, and she caught the glint of fresh tears, but he was conscious and breathing. “Everything okay?” she asked.
“His ankle's pretty scraped up and swollen, but he'll be okay.” Jameso addressed the boy. “I'm going to boost you up. Think you can crawl out on your own?”
Lucas nodded. Jameso grasped him around the waist and lifted. Maggie dropped the flashlight, grabbed the boy's shoulders, and helped him scramble out of the hole. Then she turned to help Jameso, who was already heaving himself over the side. He brushed himself off, then turned his back to the boy.
“Climb on,” Jameso said. “You can't walk on that ankle, so I'll give you a ride out.”
Maggie led the way back down the tunnel, the flashlight weakly illuminating the passage ahead. They walked quickly, up the slight grade, past the side tunnels and the niche with the saint's medal. Soon she saw the glow of light from the entrance. She frowned. Where was the light coming from?
She discovered that the combined headlamps and flashlights of half a dozen people made for quite a bright glow. As they emerged from the tunnel, a cheer went up, and Olivia and Lucille rushed forward to embrace both Lucas and Jameso.
“I'm fine, really. I just . . . I think I sprained my ankle.” Lucas leaned on his mother, balanced on one foot, and rubbed at his dirty cheek, perhaps to brush away fresh tears.
Rick hovered around, snapping pictures for the paper. “Put that damn camera away before you blind someone!” Lucille ordered.
“What were you thinking, going down in that mine by yourself?” Olivia scolded.
“I know I shouldn't have done it. I promise it won't happen again.”
“Hey, big guy, you okay?”
A young man Maggie didn't recognize stepped forward.
“D. J.!” Face alight, Lucas threw up his arms and hobbled toward the man. D. J. swung him into his arms and held him tightly.
“You okay?” he asked again.
“I think my ankle's busted, but I'll be okay. When did you get here?”
“This afternoon. I wanted to surprise you, see you in your play.”
“I'm bummed about missing it.”
“This is better,” Rick said. He snapped another photo. “You'll be on the front page.”
“We need to get your ankle looked at,” Olivia said. She'd been standing to one side, arms crossed, frowning at the man Lucas had called D. J.
“Will you come with me?” Lucas asked D. J.
“If your mom says it's okay.” He glanced at Olivia.
She hesitated, then nodded. But as he and Lucas moved past her, she touched his arm. “We're not going to pick up where we left off,” she said.
“I didn't think we would,” he said.
“I almost forgot!” Lucas whirled around. “Mama, look what I found.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of blue stones. Maggie moved closer.
“What are those?” Olivia asked.
“They're from the mine,” Maggie said. “Barb and I found some like them when we went down in there.”
“I'm pretty sure they're turquoise,” Lucas said. “There's a lot more down there, where I was stuck. I bet they're worth a lot of money.”
“Money that doesn't belong to you,” Lucille said. “You were trespassing, remember? And the mine doesn't belong to you.”
“I don't care about the money,” Lucas said. “I just think it's neat that I discovered something.” He glanced at Maggie. “Can I at least keep the stones I found?”
“Yes, you can keep those,” she said. “But you have to promise me you won't go into the mine again unless I or someone I've given permission to goes with you.”
“I promise.” He replaced the stones in his pocket and started to move forward again, but cried out as his ankle gave way beneath him.
“Not so fast,” D. J. said. He swept the boy into his arms. “I'll carry you.”
Without waiting for a reply from anyone, he started down the trail toward the cabin. The rest of the crowd set off behind them, except Maggie, who stayed behind with Jameso.
“So who was that?” Jameso asked, when they were alone.
“I'm not sure,” Maggie said. “But I'd say he and Olivia once had feelings for each other.”
“I'd say they still do.” He closed and locked the gate and returned the key to its holder behind the sign. “You'd better go on in,” he said. “It's getting colder.” Lucas still had his jacket, so Maggie knew he must be chilled, though he showed no signs of it.
“I thought I'd walk back with you,” she said. “Come up to the house and I'll give you a ride to town. You can get your truck in the morning.”
He fell into step beside her on the trail. The clouds still obscured the moon, forcing them to walk slowly, picking their way by the beam of the flashlight. “What will you do now?” he asked.
“Do about what?”
“The mine. Lucas is rightâthat turquoise could be worth a lot of money.”
“That explains where Jake got his money. He was mining the turquoise a little at a time and selling it in Montana or Denver or wherever.”
“It's your money now. You could travel, buy a new place. What do you want?”
She looked at him, wondering if she was being a fool. “I don't want Carter. And all he wanted was the Steuben glass collection he'd given me over the years. When I wouldn't give it to him, he tried to steal it.” She laughed, remembering. “Winston kept him here until I came home and threw him out.” She didn't mention Cassie, something in her wanting to protect the poor woman. “You've got nothing to be jealous about.”
He stopped, pulling her up short. “You asked me what I thought of you. That first night, when I saw you standing on the porch of Jake's cabin, that stick of kindling in your hand, all that red hair tumbling around your shoulders and fury in your eyes, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. And you were way out of my league.”
The sincerity of his words shook her. “We're not playing sports,” she said. “Leagues don't matter.”
“You can say that because you're the woman with a turquoise mine. I'm a man with nothing.”
“If money was that important to me, I'd have stayed in Houston and let Barb introduce me to her rich friends.”
His grip on her tightened. “What is important to you, Maggie?”
“You are.” She kissed him, all the anxiety and confusion that had tormented her washed away by those two words of truth and the feel of her lips against his.
His arms came around her, crushing her to his chest. They kissed for a long time, there in the chilled darkness, warm in each other's arms.
“I'm sorry I ran out on you,” he said, his voice rough against her hair when they finally came up for air. “It was a shitty thing to do. I wish I could promise I won't do anything like that again, but with my record, it probably won't be the last time I screw things up.” He shifted and moved back enough that his eyes met hers in the dim light. “But know I will never deliberately hurt you,” he said. “I love you, Maggie. I love you so much it scares me.”
“It scares me a little, too,” she said. “But we can be brave together.”
They started back toward the cabin, holding hands. She was glad of the weight of him holding her to the earthâher heart felt light enough to send her soaring off the mountain. “Do you think Jake would approve of us together?” she asked when they reached the cabin.
“If he didn't, he'd kick my ass. But I wouldn't care.” He pulled her close again and cradled her head on his chest. “I promise I'll treat you better than he ever did.”
“I know you will. And if you don't, I'll be the one doing the ass kicking.”
He slid his hand up to her neck and stroked softly. “You aren't wearing the rings anymore,” he said.
“No, I took them off after I kicked Carter out of town. I realized I didn't need them anymore.” Like the glass, the rings were ties to another life. One where she'd depended on other people for her happiness. She'd tucked them in the back of her jewelry box, like souvenirs she could look at from time to time to remind her how far she'd come.
Jameso kissed her again, his lips hot, tongue twining. Desire flared. “Come inside,” she murmured, and tugged him toward the door.
As they crossed the porch, she felt something wet and cold on her cheek. She blinked into the darkness. “Is that snow?”
“I think it is.” He aimed the flashlight up, at the shower of flakes drifting down on them, like glitter in a snow globe. “Welcome to fall in the mountains,” he said. “Snow now, warm again next week. The aspen will turn before you know it. The elk will start bugling. It's my favorite time of year.”
“I can't wait to see it.” She smiled at the swirling flakes and thought of all the wonders she had yet to discover. “I want to see it all.”
Chapter 26
“T
his is the last of the clothes, but there's still a lot of books and stuff.” Barb shoved the cardboard carton into the back of the truck they'd borrowed for the move.
his is the last of the clothes, but there's still a lot of books and stuff.” Barb shoved the cardboard carton into the back of the truck they'd borrowed for the move.
“The books can stay.” Maggie deposited another carton next to Barb's. “Most of them were here when I got here, so they'll be all right.”
Barb leaned against the back bumper of the truck. “We should have asked Jameso for help,” she said. “This is a job that could use some muscle.”
“I don't want his help.” Maggie knew she was being stubborn, but that's who she was. Considering all she'd learned about her father, her obstinacy was probably at least partly genetic. “Besides, I've got you.” She hugged her friend. “Thanks for helping.”
“I wouldn't have missed it. I've been dying to get back up here. Besides, I never knew a mining heiress before. I want to be sure you remember me in your will.”
“It's not a diamond mine,” Maggie protested. “Just a pocket of turquoise. A semi-precious stone.” Though the first estimates of the money the mine might yield had been precious enough for her to live comfortably for years to come.
“Have they started mining the stones yet?” Barb asked. “When do I get that turquoise necklace you promised?”
“I hired Bob to oversee the job.” The old man had very solemnly sworn he would never cheat a lady. “He's working with a couple of engineering students from Montrose. We want to keep the operation small and minimize the disruption to the area.”
“Just don't forget my necklace.” Barb straightened. “I guess we'd better get back to work.”
“We're almost done.” Maggie followed Barb back up to the cabin. It was a lot emptier now than when she'd first arrived. She was leaving the furniture, but she'd decided to take some of her dad's quilts and the pie crust table that had sat by the sofa. Little things to remember him by; not that she was likely to ever forget.
While Barb carried out the last packing box, Maggie went into the kitchen and pulled a box of Lorna Doones from the cabinet. She carried them out onto the porch and shook the package. In a few moments, Winston came trotting down the path from the mine and clattered up onto the porch.
“What is that old goat going to do when you're not around to feed him cookies?” Barb asked, watching from beside the moving van.
“Sheep. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. And he'll be fine. He doesn't need the cookies, he just liked them.”
“I don't need chocolate, but I wouldn't want to live without it.”
Maggie fed the last cookie to Winston, then showed him the empty box. He licked at the crumbs, then gave her a reproachful look and trotted off. She turned to Barb. “I guess that's everything.”
“We'd better get going, then. Not to rush you, but I don't want to be driving this truck after dark.”
“I just need to lock up.” Inside the cabin, Maggie grabbed her purse and turned off the lights. She'd promised herself she wouldn't linger. She'd had plenty of time before Barb arrived to say good-bye.
She shut the front door behind her and turned the key in the lock. Then, after only a moment's hesitation, she reached up and put the key above the door.
Barb drove the moving van, while Maggie followed in the Jeep, down the winding road toward town. The top of Mount Winston was shrouded in snow, though the lower elevations were clear once more. Golden groves of aspen dotted the landscape; while clumps of purple aspen lined the road. Fall in the mountains was more beautiful than anything Maggie had ever seen; she had to swallow down a knot of emotion as she studied the view out the windshield.
They rumbled into town, past a row of deserted tourist cabins and down the quiet main street. Rick's truck was parked in front of the newspaper, but he didn't come out to salute the moving van. Lucille waved from the porch of Lacy's, where Lucas was helping her to string a row of skull-shaped lights. She'd heard Olivia had decided to stay in town. D. J. was apparently still here, too.
They passed the library. Cassie wasn't exactly friendly these days, but she was distantly polite. Since that or open hostility seemed her two attitudes for dealing with everyone, Maggie counted herself among the lucky.
Barb turned down a side street three blocks from the library and headed up a small hill. She parked the van in front of a towering blue spruce and shut off the engine. “Not half the view of your dad's place, but not bad,” she observed.
Maggie smiled at the little blue house with the wide front deck. “It has electricity, a gas heating system, and indoor plumbing,” she said. “Everything a girl could want.”
“I'll say.” Barb nudged Maggie in the side as the front door of the house opened and Jameso emerged. Clad in flannel shirt and canvas trousers, he might have been a lumberjack, or a miner. “I got the bed set up and the new microwave installed,” he said.
“My hero.” Maggie hugged his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Everything go okay up at the cabin?”
“It's fine. Winston's stuffed full of Lorna Doone's and I shut the water off like you showed me.”
“You know I'll go up there later and check.”
“I know.” There was a time when she'd have been highly annoyed at him checking up on her that way, but she was learning to accept his need to look after her, and even to enjoy being looked after. “Thanks for letting me say good-bye today on my own.”
“Only because I love you.”
“I know. And I love you.”
“Could you two lovebirds tear yourselves apart long enough to help me unload this truck?” Barb asked.
Maggie reluctantly moved out of Jameso's arms and headed down the walk toward the moving van. Too many times in the past year she'd packed her things and moved away from somethingâher marriage, her sadness, her life back in Houston. It felt good to be moving toward something nowâlove and possibility and a life she couldn't have imagined before.
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