Page 209 of Her Reluctant Hero
Chapter Four
Peyton woke with a start and looked into Gabe Cooper’s hard-hat light. She blinked, taking a moment to realize he’d wakened her. His hand remained on her shoulder until she sat up against the cave wall.
“You curl up like a damned snake when you sleep. Doesn’t your back hurt?” he asked, close enough that his breath stirred the opening of her shirt.
Annoyed when he didn’t move back, she took a quick inventory. “Everything hurts. What’s wrong?”
“One of your campers has run off.”
Panic at his words chased the cloud of exhaustion from her mind, and she reached for her helmet. Why the hell had she let herself fall asleep? He hadn’t. These people were as much her responsibility as his. “What? When?”
“About thirty minutes ago. Don’t worry, I’ve found her,” he added, moving back before she could get up and crack him in the jaw with her head. “But I can’t get her and she won’t come to me. She’s lodged herself up in a crawl space.”
Blood drained from her face. “Oh no” slipped out before she could stop it.
“Problem?” Suspicion darkened his tone.
She shook her head, swallowing hard. Gabe wouldn’t allow himself a weakness, she couldn’t show him hers, especially not with a child in danger. Not when she’d used the children as a reason to come up here. “Not at all. Show me.”
He nodded. She followed him out of the main “room” at a crouch.
“How long did it take you to find her?” She took the flashlight he offered and jammed her hard hat on.
“About ten minutes. This cave isn’t very big and she isn’t exactly quiet. On the plus side, I found the only way out is the way we came in.”
She narrowed her eyes at him though he’d turned away. “How is that a plus?”
He pointed to a skinny tunnel, something only a child would think to climb in. “She’s in there.”
Peyton’s ribs refused to expand with her breath, and her throat closed. Only because Gabe watched her did she nod once and brace her hands against the opening.
“I’m going up to the surface, see if we can exit safely.” He turned away.
“No!” Her shout made them both jump as the word bounced in the small space. She released his arm as soon as she realized she’d gripped it. “What I mean is, can’t you wait till I get her out? Then you can go. There’s no hurry, right?”
He opened his mouth to argue, then looked at her and closed it. Heat crept up her throat to her cheeks as he evaluated her weakness and judged her on it. He probably saw “Not Hero Material” stamped on her forehead.
“I’ll stay right here,” he said in the calmest tone she’d heard him use.
She shouldn’t get mad at him for patronizing her when he was working in the best interest of the group to keep her calm. But something in his tone grated over her already-raw nerves. She used her anger to work up the courage to crawl into the tunnel.
The tunnel was just a hair wider than her shoulders, but she pushed the thought aside. She crept along on her belly, her chin brushing the limestone, and nausea welled up in her throat. She’d only think about Gabe and his “there, there” tone of voice and of the child whose legs were illuminated by her headlamp.
Even though she was not much smaller than Gabe, he couldn’t have fit in here.
Lucky her.
“Hi, sweetie,” she crooned, and was surprised by the quaver in her voice. Some comfort she’d be to the child. Taking a deep breath only reminded her of the narrowness of the passageway. She dropped her head to her hands on the floor of the tunnel, refusing to hyperventilate in front of Gabe.
Something touched her ankle, and she almost kicked out before recognizing the warm touch of Gabe’s hand.
“Peyton? You doing all right?” he asked from the nice roomy cave, his voice uncommonly gentle, which only freaked her out more.
She sucked in a breath through her nose. “Peachy.”
“I couldn’t hear you anymore. I thought something was wrong.”
“I’m fine. I see her.”
