“Oops.” Penny clicked it off, then waited for him to lower his guard before switching it back on again, giggling as he flinched in surprise. “This is going to be fun.” She tossed him a mischievous grin before turning toward the tour guide who was busy gathering the rest of their group.
Colt shook his head in bemusement, happy to see her in such good spirits.
“For those of you entering through the main entrance, make your way over to Brian.” The lithe older gentleman gestured toward a younger, heavyset guide who gave them an enthusiastic wave. “The rest of you, follow me. We’ll meet up in the last cavern, which we affectionately call the Concert Hall.”
Penny moved toward Brian’s group, but Colt placed a hand on her elbow. “Not that way.”
She stared up at him, wide-eyed. “We’re not going through the main entrance?”
“Nope.” His pulse quickened as he led her behind the handful of would-be spelunkers following Martin—their spry, sinewy guide clad in a full-body rappelling harness.
Either this would go very well or horribly wrong. There didn’t seem to be much room in the middle. Colt said a silent prayer against every worst-case scenario.
Their small group clustered around a large hole in the ground surrounded by a sturdy safety railing, palpable excitement rippling through the air. A young girl with braided pigtails peered over the edge, disturbing the loose earth with the tip of her sneakers. The pebbles disappeared into the darkness without a sound.
Penny gasped by his side. “We’re going downthere.” She said the last word as though they were climbing into the mouth of an active volcano.
“It’s not as scary as it looks.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “And I’ll be with you the whole time.”
Penny glanced up, meeting his gaze. Her coppery eyes searched his a moment, as if gauging his sincerity. Finally, she managed a small smile. “Okay.”
“Who’s first?” Martin grabbed a harness from the nearby rack.
The girl—who couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen—jumped up and down, flapping her arm above her head as she squealed with youthful enthusiasm.
Penny studied the scene with evident interest as Martin helped the eager child and her father get set up with the appropriate rigging based on their individual weight and size.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Colt asked playfully.
She made a face at his cheesy pun before her features softened. “I was just thinking, my dad never would have brought me to something like this.”
“Do you wish he had?”
“I’m honestly not sure,” she admitted. “Until recently, I’d never thought about it.” Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “What about you? Was your dad into this kind of stuff?”
Colt’s heartbeat thundered against his rib cage as if pushing him to tell her his long-kept secret. His father’s dying words rested on the tip of his tongue, waiting to be shared, until a gleeful shriek severed their intimate connection.
As the girl and her father vanished into the cave below, Penny seized his hand, squeezing with all her might.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” He tightened his grip to punctuate his point.
“Who’s next?” Martin asked.
Colt glanced down at Penny. “Ready?”
Keeping her claim on his hand, she gave a tentative nod.
As they took a step forward together, Colt couldn’t help wondering if their next step would define their entire future.
And if he was prepared for where it might take him.
* * *
As Martin helped Penny into her harness and set up her rigging, Colt kept a keen eye on her facial expressions and body language. Her slender shoulders seemed particularly tight and every few seconds, she nibbled her bottom lip.
Her gaze briefly flitted to his as she slipped on their last item of safety gear—thick gloves designed to protect their hands from rope burn.
“Remember, you’ll step backward into the hole,” Martin reminded them. “And what’s the number one rule?”
