Page 76 of Valor (Long Hot Summer: Christian Romantic Suspense #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Northern Moravia, 2025

Meghan weighed her choices. She could follow Oliver or wait out here for a gang of Russian men. When Oliver reached for her and held her tight against his chest, she knew he wasn’t just doing his job, protecting an asset . He cared for her. Meghan took a deep breath and squeezed between the boulder and the rock face.

Oliver turned his phone light on.

“We will need to go deeper into the cave in case they find the entrance. Watch your head; the ceiling drops a little further ahead. There are also a couple of tight squeezes, so turn sideways when we get to them.”

“You had been here before?”

“A few times.”

“Lead the way, then.” She pulled out her phone and turned the light on.

“Let’s just use mine in case it runs out of power; we will have yours to light the passage on our way back.”

Meghan tucked her cell away and followed him. The first few meters were fine. Oliver’s light bounced off the glistening walls. The squishy sound made by her drenched shoes drove her crazy, but given the overall situation, that was the least of her concerns.

How long did he plan to stay in the underground hideout, and how would he know that the Russians had left?

God, what did he mean when he said he had been to this cave several times? Could Oliver be a cunning serial killer, orchestrating this entire adventure for his amusement? Meghan looked at the man confidently guiding her through the narrow passage. She could let her mind spiral down into a fantastical nightmare, or she could choose to trust. Trust Oliver? And if she wasn’t all that confident about him, she could trust God. Even though, at times, she didn’t understand His guidance, He had never let her down. She gripped the little heart-shaped pendant. God is love . As their footsteps echoed through the corridor made of bare rock, Meghan forced her mind to focus on the ancient prayer.

“Our Father, who are in Heaven…”

* * *

When they finally reached the cave’s inner sanctum, Oliver took off his jacket and spread it on the ground.

“We can rest here,” he lowered himself to the cave floor, leaving enough space for Meghan to do the same. She dropped her weight next to him and leaned against the cold stone.

“How long do we need to stay here?”

“I’ll go out and check the area in about an hour. If I don’t see them, I will call for the evac with our new coordinates. Hopefully, the weather will clear.”

“So, we wait?”

“Yeah,” he grumbled.

“In that case, maybe you can finally tell me what is actually going on.” She turned to him. Her eyes glistened in the dim light of his phone. He liked having her sit this close to him, even if it was under these circumstances.

“A couple of friends of mine and I found this cave. Years ago. I was twelve.” Oliver shone the light around the perimeter of the space. “This is where my interest in history was born.” He illuminated a list of names marked on the wall opposite them.

“What is that?” Meghan asked.

“That’s what I wondered. At first, my friends and I wanted to add our names to it, thinking everyone who had found this cave in the past had done so.”

Meghan got up and took a few steps closer to the graffiti.

“It’s part of the history of this place. Let me start with the mill.”

She carefully touched one of the names with the tips of her fingers as if concerned that her hand could erase it. Meghan sat back down next to him.

“Okay.” She scooted closer. “Hope you don’t mind. I’m starting to feel the chill.”

‘Take off those wet shoes,” he said and reached to untie them.

“You don’t need to do that.” She gently brushed his hands away, then pulled off her soaked running shoes. Meghan rubbed her toes. “You can continue. I don’t require silence to get the circulation back into my feet.”

She had not forgiven him yet. That much was clear from her tone. Oliver moistened his lips.

“Your grandfather moved into Dr. Weiss’s villa after the war.”

“What?”

“Once the Germans were gone, there were many vacant properties in this area, so the government created a program for Czechs. Anyone willing to live in this region was able to buy any property they desired, as is, where is.”

“How would he get the money to buy a house? He was in his early twenties after the war, right?” She leaned back against the wall.

“The assets were sold for a symbolic price. No one had money back then, and the post-war government wanted the Czech people to settle here so there would be no chance for the Germans to return. Ever.”

“But you said the family was Jewish.”

“With a German name. When no one returned after the war, the house was added to the list of vacant properties, and Fred was able to take possession of it. I think he did it in case Hedvika or Jakob returned.”

“That’s kind of twisted.” Meghan rested against him. She was shivering. “So, what does that have to do with the mill?”

“Fred, as the only eligible surviving family member, also secured the title to that.” Oliver moved to the right. “Give me your feet.”

Meghan looked at him quizzically.

“You are freezing.” He stretched his arms toward her and wiggled his fingers, an open invitation.

After a moment of hesitation, Meghan shifted and gently laid her feet in his lap.

“Cold as ice,” he said under his breath and began to massage her toes.

“What happened to the rest of them?”

Oliver looked at her. “Let me just say Fred’s father didn’t meet a good end.”

“What happened to his mother and sister?”

“Marta, since she was married to Fritz Eisenhart, had to leave. If they stayed, they would have been executed, of course. He was a high-ranking Nazi officer. At that time, no one would care that her father forced her into the marriage.”

“What about grandpa’s mom?”

“She didn’t make it through the winter of 1944. I assume that working the mill with Fred’s father was beyond exhausting, and she got ill. With no available medicine?—”

“That’s so sad.” Her voice was filled with empathy.

“It was a terrible time.”

“What about the names on the wall?”

“My research led me to believe that those are the names of people who were trying to escape the Nazis. This cave became a transfer station of sorts. The members of the resistance would hide here, before hiking across the mountains, or arranging for places to hide the Jewish families.”

Silence settled between them as Oliver continued to work on her feet. A few moments later, he cleared his throat.

“Would it be okay if you switched on your phone light so that I can save some battery power? Once we get out of this cave, I will need to contact the team with our location.

“Okay.” She did as he asked. “Tell me what happened to Fred’s father.”

“You really want to know?” He looked deeply into her eyes.

Meghan nodded.

“When Fred finally made it home after the war, he went to the mill to see what had become of it. He found what was left of his father hanging from a tree. The mill was burnt out, the way you saw it today.”

Meghan placed a hand over her mouth.

“Yeah, it’s terrible,” Oliver said into the silence.

“What am I going to do with such an awful place?”

“The place isn’t awful. It is the history that is horrific. The people who lived there were both good and bad. I believe that history should not be forgotten or rewritten. It needs to be remembered. That’s why I teach at the high school.”

She frowned.

He knew she wasn’t buying that.

“I work for an international agency.”

“Care to explain?”

“Sorry, I can’t right now.”

“You have been lying to me all this time.” She pulled her feet out of his hands.

“No. I didn’t tell you the entire truth.”

“Which is the same.”

“It isn’t. But you are right. You need to decide what to do with the mill. But before you do, you have to know the rest of the story.” He hoped that redirection of their conversation would defuse the tension between them.

“There is more?”

“Yes,” he said and reached for her feet. “Okay?” His eyes were pleading with her.

She wiggled her toes. He wrapped his hands around them. “The old rumor says there is gold hidden somewhere on the property.” He said as he rubbed the heel of his hand against her sole. He could see himself doing this every day for the rest of his life.

“Hello, Indiana Jones,” Meghan chuckled.

Oliver didn’t respond, silently wondering if this was the right moment to tell her that he had feelings for her.

“So, tell me.”

“What,” he looked up as if he had already forgotten the tale he was about to share. His heart sped up.

“About the gold.”

“It’s a bit more serious than a movie treasure hunt.” Perhaps diving into the story would refocus his mind.

“I promise to listen and not make any more jokes.”

He smiled. “In that case,” he said conspiratorially. “After Fred took over their home, he did search it for valuables. He found nothing. But he knew that Dr. Weiss paid his father for the food and shelter at the mill with rings and other small items. So, he returned to the mill and started to search there.”

“What did he find?”

“Nothing. Three years after the war, there was a communist revolution and, subsequently, a change of government. The new regime issued decrees confiscating all private property except residences. Fred lost the mill. He wasn’t happy about it and started to make a fuss. A couple of turncoats raised the issue of his father collaborating with the Nazis and his sister’s marriage to one of the commanders. You need to understand the political situation of that time. Anyone accused of collaboration was tried and executed, often without any due diligence. Fred, fearing for his life, left. That is how your family ended up in Canada.”

Meghan stared at him. Had her mom known any of this? And if she did, why had she never shared it with her?

“You know quite a bit about us.”

“You have met your grandfather. He was a peculiar man, spending the later years of his life searching for this treasure that may not even exist.”

“Judging by the small army out there, I think that it actually might. But if Grandpa had not found it, how would we? It had been lost for over eighty years, and maybe God meant for it to be hidden forever. “

God again? He had wondered about what she believed since the time she prayed over her desserts in the coffee shop but had not found an appropriate moment to ask about her faith. He looked around the cave. This wasn’t the place, he concluded and focused on her cute toes.