Page 11 of Out of Time (Undaunted Courage #3)

SIX

AS A CAR CAME INTO SIGHT in front of Natalie’s house, Cara eased back on the accelerator.

Steven must not have left yet.

Shoot.

Could she park, circle the house, and escape to her cottage?

A definite temptation after the long drive.

But that would be rude. Natalie had mentioned that her cousin might still be here, had intimated she’d like to introduce them.

What would a five-minute meet-and-greet hurt?

Cara inspected the late-model BMW as she pulled in behind it. Whatever Steven did for a living must bring in a generous income if he could afford a vehicle like that. Unlike the salaries earned by associate professors, which lent themselves more to older but trusty models.

She set her brake and patted the dash of her Accord. “Don’t get an inferiority complex. Reliability counts more in my book than a high price tag.”

After fishing out the keychain Natalie had given her with the instruction to come and go as she pleased in the main house, Cara let herself in.

Her hostess was seated in the living room, a teapot and two cups on the table in front of her, along with a crumb-littered plate.

As the man in the chair across from her rose, Cara did a double take.

This tall, fortysomething jeans-clad guy with striking good looks and a warm smile was Natalie’s cousin?

But ... weren’t most cousins somewhat similar in age? Natalie could almost be this man’s grandmother.

“Cara, my dear, welcome back. I trust you had a pleasant and uneventful drive.”

As Natalie spoke, she focused on the older woman. “Yes, I did. I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation.”

“Not at all. I was just telling Steven that I hoped you’d return before he left. And here you are.”

As she did the introductions, Steven walked over and extended his hand, eyes twinkling. “You were expecting someone older, weren’t you?”

Drat.

Was she that easy to read?

“Hey. No worries.” His grin broadened. “I’ve seen that expression on many occasions after Natalie introduces me. I’m actually a first cousin once removed. My dad was Natalie’s first cousin.”

“A cousin is a cousin.” Natalie dismissed the distinction with a wave.

“I must admit I had you pegged as an older man. But it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She returned his firm clasp. “It was kind of you to drive down from St. Louis to check on Natalie.”

“I like to keep tabs on my favorite cousin.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, young man.” Lips twitching, Natalie rose and joined them. “Cara, would you like to share another pot of tea with us? It wouldn’t take me long to brew more.”

“Thank you, but I splurged on an espresso earlier. That gave me my caffeine fix for the day. Besides, I don’t want to interfere with your visit.”

“You aren’t. We were wrapping up anyway.” Natalie turned to her cousin. “Steven, if you can spare half an hour, why don’t you give Cara a tour of the property, show her the trails?” Natalie angled toward her. “Unless you’ve already gone exploring on your own?”

“No.” Nor would she until she talked to Natalie about Micah and got a better handle on the man.

Even if her hostess assuaged her concerns, however, the company of an able-bodied man on her first foray would be welcome.

“I don’t want to delay your cousin, though.

” Nevertheless, she sent him a hopeful look.

He picked up the cue. “I’m happy to oblige. I don’t often get to play the role of tour guide, and I’m in no hurry to get back to the city. This will be fun.”

“In that case, I accept. I assume jeans and sport shoes are acceptable for a hike around the property?”

“Perfect. Micah keeps the walking trails groomed, so we won’t need our machetes.” Steven leaned over and kissed Natalie’s forehead. “But send out a rescue party if we aren’t back by sunset.”

“Ha-ha.” She gave his arm a pat. “Cara, you’re in excellent hands. Steven knows this property inside and out. I can’t imagine how many miles he’s logged during his visits.”

“Blame that on all the sweet treats you feed me while I’m here.” He winked at her and motioned to the empty plate beside the teapot. “And I’d rather shed them walking this beautiful property than working out in a gym.”

“Well, you two have at it. I’ll crochet a few more rows on my current project while you’re gone.”

“Shall we?” Steven motioned toward the back of the house.

Cara took the lead, but once they exited the house, he drew up beside her.

“I’ve been wanting to explore the property.” She slipped on her sunglasses. “Thanks for offering to show me around. One caveat, though. I have cochlear implants, so I may occasionally have to ask you to repeat yourself if there’s too much extraneous noise in the woods.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll do my best to enunciate. And showing you around will be my pleasure. The path starts behind the cottage and follows a loop that has a couple of forks, but they all lead back to the main route. You wouldn’t have gotten lost if you’d struck out on your own.”

“I considered doing that, but...” How much should she say about Micah?

“But what?” Steven prompted as they passed the cottage and veered onto the well-groomed trail.

Cara hesitated—but only for a moment. What would be the harm in getting his read on the groundskeeper? Steven was here on a regular basis, and he seemed like an intelligent man who would have sound judgment. It couldn’t hurt to see what he offered.

“But I wasn’t certain I wanted to run into Micah.”

“Ah. Totally understandable. He can be unnerving. As far as I know, though, he’s harmless. Or so Natalie tells me whenever I mention that I’ve seen him prowling around in the shadows.”

“Do you know anything about him?”

“A little.” He motioned to a fork in the path up ahead. “That’s the first branch-off. It leads to the top of the cliff. There’s a beautiful view from there, but the climb can be strenuous on a hot day.”

“I’ll save that for cooler weather.”

“Smart choice.” He continued down the main trail.

“Back to Micah. He’s been here for fifteen, twenty years, I guess.

Natalie’s father knew Micah’s father and hired him as a favor.

Apparently Micah suffered a traumatic brain injury and PTSD while he was serving in the Middle East. From what I gathered, he was homeless for months, and his father was desperate to save him from the streets. He came here and never left.”

Though some of his words were a bit garbled as they walked through the woods, she was able to pick up enough to get the gist of his comments.

Cara dodged a pine cone. “Doesn’t he have any family?”

“None that I know of. I think his father died years ago. I used to try to talk to him when our paths crossed while I was walking, but I never got more than a dozen words out of him before he hightailed it back into the woods. I gave up after it became obvious he didn’t want any social contact.”

“What a sad story.”

“And what a wasted life—unless you like being a hermit. But he must be content or he wouldn’t have stayed all these years.”

They rounded a bend, and the lake came into view.

Cara stopped to take in the expanse. “Wow. I can see a piece of this from the cottage, but it’s much bigger than I expected.”

“It’s one of my favorite spots on the property. The trail follows the perimeter.”

They struck off again at a brisk pace, but after several minutes Steven stopped and motioned to another, narrower track. “This is a short loop that will bring us back to the main trail. It goes by a limestone cave at the base of the bluff. Want to see the entrance?”

“Sure.”

They veered off, and within a handful of minutes they came to a small opening at the bottom of the cliff, partly obscured by vegetation.

“Not too impressive from the outside, but it opens up inside and tunnels back to a huge cavern with other passageways going different directions.” Steven stopped beside it.

“Is that knowledge based on personal experience?”

One side of his mouth quirked up. “No. I’ve peeked inside with a flashlight, but I’ve never been attracted to caves.

In fact, I rarely take this loop. I heard the description of the inside from my dad, who heard it from his father.

” His lips flattened, and as he stared at the entrance to the cave, twin creases appeared on his brow.

“What’s wrong?”

After a moment, he shifted his attention to her. “I was thinking about a story Natalie told me, from while she was growing up here. You know part of this land belonged to her family from way back, right?”

“I thought all of this land had always been in her family.”

“No. Only the four acres in the vicinity of the house. After her father moved back here, he bought surrounding properties to create a large estate. But there was a lot of resentment from the locals because he returned a wealthy man, thanks to an inheritance from his wife. Everyone else here was struggling and dirt poor. They didn’t want to sell their property, but they needed money, and he made them offers they couldn’t refuse. ”

Interesting as that information was, it would have been more appropriate to hear it from Natalie rather than Steven. Her hostess might prefer to keep that sort of background to herself.

Best to get the conversation back on track.

“So what’s the story Natalie told you about the cave?”

“She said there were always rumors it was haunted. Thanks to Marie, I suppose. None of the local people would come anywhere close to it. That makes venturing inside even less appealing.”

“I’m with you. Not that I believe in hauntings, but dark, closed-in spaces give me the creeps.”

Yet if a haunting were to happen on the property, this would be the place. They had to be standing in the vicinity of the spot where Natalie’s aunt had landed after plunging to her death from the cliff above.

A shiver rippled through her.

“They give me the creeps too. Let’s continue on to the lake.”

“You don’t have to ask twice.” She started back down the trail.