How was this man managing to stay so calm? Caleb didn’t seem bothered one bit by their predicament. As the seconds ticked by, she was beginning to feel like the walls were closing in around her. Her throat was beginning to feel tight.
“I’m sure someone is going to come to find us. Maybe we should start yelling at the top of our lungs,” he suggested. He let out a series of screams.
“These walls are insulated,” Sophia said, looking around at the pink cottony-looking material. “Maybe banging on the door would be better.” Surely someone would hear them and come to their rescue.
“Okay, here goes.” Caleb banged on the door with his fists. She had to admit, he seemed to be giving it his all. Over and over again he pounded on the door until he seemed spent. She was praying someone would hear the racket and open the door for them.
“I’m not sure this is working. We might just have to ride this thing out.” Appearing exhausted, he sank down onto a crate.
“Let me give it a try,” Sophia said, standing by the door and copying Caleb’s actions. Within a matter of minutes her arms felt heavy from the effort. She made a mental reminder to get back in the gym for her strength training class. This was a pathetic showing.
“I can’t be stuck in here with you,” she wailed. Seriously, how long would it take before they were out of oxygen? Her head was pounding just thinking about it. Pretty soon she would be gasping for air.
“Well, thank you very much, but you’re not exactly winning any Miss Congeniality contests yourself,” Caleb cracked.
Sophia sat down on another crate. “That wasn’t a dig at you,” she explained. “I need to get home.”
Their gazes locked. Curiosity radiated from his eyes. “What’s waiting for you there?”
“My daughter. And we’ve never been apart a single night. Not ever.” Due to her frazzled state of mind, the words simply slipped out of her mouth. She could barely think straight due to a rising sense of panic.
Sophia then did the unthinkable. She burst into huge, chest-heaving sobs.
CHAPTER TWO
There wasn’t anything in the world that Caleb dreaded more than a woman crying. Just seeing Sophia break down made him feel powerless. He knew exactly why tears were his kryptonite. He could trace it directly back to his childhood.
Back when his mother, Daisy, had left Moose Falls and taken him and his brothers with her, she had cried herself to sleep every night for months. Leaving their father and filing for divorce had been brutal. He winced just thinking about the D word. Even as a little kid he’d known that she had continued to love her husband despite her desire to cut him out of her life. He, Landon, and Xavier had taken turns consoling her. She had smiled through her tears, never really managing to convince them that she was all right. She’d just held on for their sakes.
“Your daughter?” Caleb asked, bringing his thoughts back to the present.
“Yes,” she answered in a small voice. “Lily. She’s four.”
Aww. She was little.
“That’s a pretty name. Is someone watching her for you?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, sniffling. “My sister, Patience.”
“So she’s safe?” he asked her.
“Of course,” she said, sounding slightly indignant.
“And your sister isn’t going to leave her, right?” he pressed.
“She would never,” Sophia said staunchly. “She’s the world’s best auntie, bar none.”
Already he could see her calming down.
“So despite the inconvenience of being trapped with yours truly, there isn’t really a problem affecting your daughter, right?”
“Right,” Sophia said, drawing out the word as if she was pondering the matter. “But I’m a single mother, so I always have to think of her before myself.”
“I’m sure the two of you are super close, but remember, this is just a moment in time. Before you know it, you’ll be back home with her, and this will be nothing more than a memory.”
“I don’t like small spaces. They give me a panicky feeling.” Her voice sounded really small. Right before his eyes Sophia appeared to have shrunk down inside herself, reminding him of a scared little kid.
Caleb looked around the attic. “It’s actually pretty spacious. When we were kids, my brothers and I used to hide up here as part of hide-and-seek.”
