Page 18 of Trail to Trouble

Bianca straightened her spine. “Don’t scold me. We’re on this trip for you. If it had been up to me, we’d be on a sandy beach somewhere.”

Hannah’s nostrils flared. “I didn’t force you here.”

Oh, God, this was all he needed. Clients fighting halfway into their trip.

Alyssa edged her way between her two friends. “It’s all fine. Everyone is fine. Please, let’s not argue and make the best of this. Okay?”

Not everyone was fine. His ribs and forearms hurt like hell. He’d taken the brunt of the fall, and yet nobody cared to ask him if he was okay.

Hannah and Bianca glared at each other.

“Please,” Alyssa pleaded.

“Fine,” Hannah conceded.

All gazes turned to him.

Hannah’s emerald irises softened when she looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“All good. Thanks for asking,” he replied as he brushed the mud and debris off his forearms and clothes.

After a few cleansing breaths, he gestured to the left. “Right this way, ladies.”

Hopefully, the refreshing mist from the falls would cool his clientele down so they could get back to enjoying the hike.

In silence, the group followed him over the wet, narrow rock ledge behind the falls. They scooted along the ledge with their backs pressed against the stone wall. Being that the sheet of the falls was less than ten feet wide, it didn’t take but a few side steps to get to the tiny cave. The mouth was barely wide enough for them to stand shoulder to shoulder to watch the mesmerizing flow of water. Though there was an inch or so to spare to the right of him, he slid over a smidge to touch Hannah’s warm shoulder. Exhilaration shot through him.

The skin where she touched protested when he turned his body. He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket, flipped it on, and pointed the dim beam downward to a small entrance of a secondary cave within the cave.

“Any takers?” he asked.

They’d have to drop to their hands and knees to enter that part.

“No,” Bianca immediately replied.

Alyssa shook her head.

He turned to look at Hannah and arched a brow in challenge.

“How big is it?” she asked.

“We only have to crawl a couple of feet before it opens into a room just large enough for me to stand in. If I spread my arms, I can touch both sides.”

“What’s in it?”

“Nothing really. Some pools of water and some mossy plants.”

He put the penlight in his mouth and dropped to all fours. The rock beneath his palms and knees was damp and cool. The scent was mildewy, but he didn’t mind.

Hannah was on his heels. Within seconds, they’d both popped up in the tiny space that would have been black as night without the light. He flashed the light along the walls to show Hannah. It really wasn’t much to look at. Climbing into the cave was just something fun to do. He and his brother and sister spent hours in this tiny cave when they were kids.

Hannah quivered when he showed her the bats in the corner. He probably should have warned her about that. After the initial shock, she smiled.

“This is so cool. You played in here when you were a kid, didn’t you?”

“Guilty.”

“I would have, too.”