Love Country (BWWM Romance) (10 page)

She quickly put the papers back in the trunk and held Craig’s hand as they went towards the other end of cave dwelling. There were Indian pipes and artifacts that had to date over 70 years ago. She was glad to finally give her grandfather peace of mind and for him to have closure to not only the feud but the mystery around his mother’s death as well. They walked hand in hand, both smiling.

Keeara stopped dead in her tracks when the light from her lantern fell on a shape that was too big to be a rabbit. Looking back at her were two golden eyes. They bore into her like they were trying to read her soul or something. She got a feeling like she shouldn’t be there. Craig pushed her back behind him.

The eyes got closer and the light revealed a very large black wolf. The wolf walked to her and sniffed her hand. Keeara couldn’t stop the trembling that was making her teeth rattle. The wolf nuzzled her hand with its nose. Did it want to eat her? Oh God. She didn’t just find the answers she needed just to be eaten by some overgrown wolf. Lord help them. She jumped when she felt the hot wetness on her hand and squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Please just let it be quick. Lewis! Oh her darling boy.

When nothing else happened, she opened her eyes to see the wolf sitting there looking at her with its head cocked to the side. She looked down as the wolf whined at her. She suddenly wasn’t afraid anymore. She looked up to see that Craig’s eyes were as wide as her own as the wolf nuzzled her hand again. She held her hand out and petted the top of the wolf’s head. Suddenly the wolf whined again and started off.

Keeara went to follow it when the wolf stopped and turned back towards them like it was seeing if they were going to follow or not.

“I think it wants us to follow it,” Craig’s whisper made her jump again. If she didn’t get out of this cave then she was going to die of a heart attack from fright. She nodded and started walking faster in the direction the wolf had gone. They suddenly came to another clearing but this one wasn’t as wide. There were however, three different tunnels leading from it. She quickly took up a rock and carved an arrow into the cave wall. “Smart. So we can find our way back.” She nodded at him.

Chapter 14

Suddenly the wolf was back in front of them and whined again. They continued to follow it. They had been walking in the same direction for about 15 minutes and Keeara was about to give up. Finally they saw a stream of light up ahead. She looked at Craig and they smiled as they started to walk faster. They came through to a clearing of land. Keeara looked up at the sun ahead. She had never been more thankful of the sun in her life. She looked around for the black wolf and saw it sitting over by the edge of the woods.

Just then the wolf let out a long howl before it bounded off into the woods. They searched for it for a while but they never found their furry friend. It was like it had disappeared into thin air. Craig held her hand and pulled her along behind him as they came out of the woods. Just ahead was a large cliff.

“Wow. Let’s not get too close. I don’t know how far down it goes.” She nodded her agreement. She looked around and noticed that they were high up in the mountains. Craig pulled out his phone but saw that he had no signal. They were surrounded by mountains and wildlife and she knew that the wolf wasn’t the only thing that could be out there. They started the trek down the mountain holding each other’s hands as they went.

Keeara slipped quite a few times on the rocky surface of the mountain. They finally made it to another stretch of woods. They were both soaking wet with sweat and shirtless. Her legs ached from the hours of walking and she knew that they probably only had a few more hours of daylight left and she really didn’t want to be stuck out in these woods in the middle of the night.

The trees broke off into a small clearing. There was a bunch of rocks with a small waterfall in the middle of the trees. She smiled at Craig as they took off towards the water.

Keeara slipped to her knees and dipped her hand into the water. “Oh my goodness it’s hot. Feel it. Oh what it would feel like to dip my body into that water.”

“Wow.” Craig held the water to his face and she watched the water trickle down his neck. “I heard of these. It’s a natural hot spring. Come on. Let’s enjoy it.” He stood up and started to remove his pants. Keeara giggled as she followed suit.

They stepped into the spring naked and both of them sighed as the hot water enveloped their bodies. She felt like she was in a warm cocoon. “Man. The hot tub has nothing on this.”

He laughed as he nodded. The water melted away the soreness from their walk. “Come on, sweetness. It’s getting dark and we still need to get home. I still don’t know where we are at.”

She nodded as they both stepped from the spring. They were dripping wet and she looked over his naked body.

“None of that. We don’t have the time for it.” She nodded in agreement but gave him a frustrated sigh with it.

Slipping back into their clothes, they made their way into the next set of woods. They heard howls all around them and the sun was starting to set. Keeara shivered as they kept walking.

They stepped into a clearing and Keeara sighed with relief when she saw the little cabin sitting up ahead. They ran to the shelter and banged on the door but there was no answer.

Craig pushed the door open slowly. It creaked with the movement and he held the lantern they had carried with them. The sunlight streamed into the cabin. The cabin apparently hadn’t been used in many years. There was nothing but some old tin cups in the cabinet and they looked all around the cabin. When their eyes fell on the bed they saw that there were some blankets.

Craig walked over and picked one up carrying it back to them. It looked fairly new and they wondered if they had come upon a place that was deserted or if someone lived there. Nobody was around at the moment.

Keeara looked around and smiled with recognition. “I know where we are. We are at Old Rusty’s cabin.”

“Old Rusty’s cabin? Okay. Well where is Old Rusty then?”

“Oh he died before my mother was even born. We just call it that. Does your phone work?”

He pulled the phone from his pocket and sighed with relief when he saw that he still had two bars and the reception was good. Handing the phone to her, he waited while she spoke to her father and demanded that he bring her grandfather with him. She told him there was something very important she needed to show him. Her father agreed and told her that the path was blocked and it may be morning before they could get there. He told her about the wood in the little house out back and said that he had stashed some food out there a couple weeks back as well.

Craig carried in the firewood and placed it on the ground next to the fireplace. They found a couple cans of soup and she found a hand held can opener. They sat down and ate their soup out of the tin bowls that were in the cabinet.

They were cuddled together on the floor. They had also found some comforters out back and realized that up in the mountains where they were, it got a lot colder at night. They decided to get some sleep while they had the chance. They knew the next day was going to be hectic and exciting. Keeara curled up into Craig’s arms. With her stomach full and finally feeling safe, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

***

She was woken up by a kiss on her ear. She turned to smile up at the man beside her. “We need to get up. The sun’s up and I'm sure your father is going to be here. I don’t know if he would appreciate walking in on me ravishing his daughter.” She giggled as she sat up and swatted at him. Just then they heard horses in the distance and he laughed at her as she scrambled up and started putting her pants back on. He did the same and both were dressed and walking out the door when they saw the horses come up.

Lynn Murray jumped from her horse and gathered her daughter in her arms. For a fifty-something year old woman she still handled a horse like it was nothing. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Momma.” She rolled her eyes at her father and felt like she was fifteen and had fallen into the river again.

She was happy to see that not only were her parents there but so was her grandfather and son.

“Grandpa, are you up for a little walk?”

“This old bird still has some flying time left to him, young lady.”

“Good. We found something we want to show you.”

“Lead the way, honey.”

They made it to the first cave they had entered that was still blocked by the large tree. Between the five of them they were able to move the tree enough so that they could get through. Lewis sat there and pouted (because he couldn’t help move the tree) until her grandfather told him they might find treasure. Her grandfather had no idea how close he was to the truth.

They walked into the spot before the clearing and Craig asked them to wait. After he and Keeara lit the lanterns in the cave opening they went back and escorted the rest of the bunch into the space.

Her grandfather instantly went to the initials on the wall. His eyes filled with tears and he traced the letters with his hand. He looked around and Keeara took him by the hand and led him to the chest where the letters were kept. He slowly lifted the lid and gasped at the sight. There were hundreds of letters in the chest. Later they would find out that his father wrote a letter every week to his deceased wife until two weeks before his death.

Jack gathered his granddaughter close and held her for a little while. She could tell by the sniffing that the old man couldn’t hold the tears in.

“Grandpa? Are you okay? Why are you crying? Are you sad?”

Jack gathered his great grandson into his arms and held him as he smiled. “No, my boy. These are tears of joy. Of the greatest joy. I think your mother and Mr. Craig have given me the best gift I have ever received. Thank you.”

“Oh yeah and Grandpa, look what else is here.” She led her parents over to the other chest.

“Oh my Gosh. These are the documents that old man Jenkins told everyone burned in a fire. They were never burned. They are right here. Daddy, look. It shows that the land was always ours. You know what this means.”

“An end to that damn feud. And oh yeah, we are getting married.” Everyone turned to see Craig smile at Keeara.

“Oh really?” Josh looked at them both.

“Oh yes, sir. That is, if you don’t object.”

Her father walked over to Craig and looked him up and down. “Oh son, I’m not the one to worry about. You still have her two older brothers to meet. Actually how about tonight? We can have a cookout and celebrate what was found yesterday.”

“That sounds great.” The older man clapped him on the back.

Josh and Craig carried the huge chest out of the cave after multiple stops. The thing was huge and heavy. It was like carrying a couch. Upon reaching the entrance, they decided that they would head back to the house and bring a wagon to take the chest home. Jack, not wanting it to leave his sight, decided to stay back and read some of the letters. They agreed, although Lynn was hesitant on leaving her father by himself. After Jack’s stern demand she left with her husband and she realized he wanted some time alone, she left with the others.

When they came back, Jack was sitting in the same spot reading through the letters. There were drawings that his mother had sent to his father and he was caressing one of a wolf when they came back.

“That… That’s the wolf.” Keeara held up the picture. It was a solid black wolf that had a shape on top of its head that looked like a white star. It was very distinct and she knew it was the wolf that had helped her and Craig escape the cave the day before. Keeara calmly told her grandfather about the wolf. He smiled up at his granddaughter and didn’t say a word just nodded at her. Pushing himself up from the ground, he helped them load the chest on the wagon and then went back to get the other items they had found.

Keeara sat back and watched her brothers with Craig. He had instantly won them over when he told them that his cousin Antonio played for the Titans and he could get them tickets to the next game. Although Lewis said that football didn’t compare to baseball, he wanted to go too. They planned on a trip with all the men to a football game in the near future.

Lynn choked that it would be nice to spend time with her daughter and daughter-in-law without the loud noises of the men.

Craig had called his parents at Lynn’s insistence and invited them to dinner as well. His parents fit right in with hers and they were all one big happy family.

Keeara walked into the house carrying the empty pitcher of tea. She had just set it down when someone whispered into her ear.

“You think we can sneak away for a little bit? I haven’t been able to play with you all day and I think I am having withdrawals.” She felt Craig’s hands cup her breasts and sighed with pleasure. He turned her and kissed her deeply.