“Yeah, I think so.” Jayce slowed the car when the cavern entrance came into view. Evelyn had already spoken to her friend Adam, who worked there. Most people didn’t take the early tours, but he’d assured her that even if other people were there, he would make sure it was just Evelyn and Jayce in the boat. She appreciated that Adam didn’t make fun of either of them when she told him they both wanted to face a phobia. She’d known Adam all her life. He was two years younger than her, and one of two Amish people who worked at the caverns.
Evelyn took a deep breath.
* * *
Jayce put the car in park as he stared at the walkway leading to the entrance. He’d woken up this morning knowing this wasa bad idea. He was pretty sure the bats would stay in place, hanging from the top of the cave. But he ran the risk of makinga total fool of himself. He could already feel the sweat beading on his forehead. His stomach growled from being hungry, buthe hadn’t been about to eat breakfast this morning. The potential for it to come up was too great.
He liked Evelyn, probably way more than he should. But the reality was, he’d be leaving and didn’t ever have to see her again.No matter how humiliated he might be in front of her, he wouldn’t have to face her again. And even though he wanted to dothis for himself, if he was able to get in the boat tomorrow with the rest of the crew, it would prove to his father thathe’d conquered this fear, at least this once. And hopefully, he would be helping Evelyn too.
They walked into the small gift shop and up to the counter. Jayce paid for two tickets, and Evelyn introduced him to Adam,their guide for the hour-long tour.
“I’ve seen you around,” Adam said as they made the trek down the four hundred feet to get to the water’s edge. Then they took a right, and he saw the four boats docked. “You’ve been with that film crew. Evelyn said the man making the film is your daed.” He flinched. “Mei friend was the one driving the boat the day the big man jumped in the water to save that lady.”
“Gus.” He forced a smile and nodded as he wondered who he would be most embarrassed in front of—Evelyn? Or another man? “DidEvelyn tell you why we’re doing this?” He stopped, a little breathless from the long walk, although the return trip goinguphill was much worse.
“Ya, she did.” Adam was a tall, lanky guy with a friendly smile. He had on the normal Amish garb. “No worries, mei friend. This is usually an hour tour—about a half hour down the river and a half hour back. But since no one else is in theboat, we can turn back in five minutes if you want.”
Jayce tossed his head back, then ran a hand through his hair. “Man, this makes me sound like such a wimp.” He shook his head,still eyeing the boat without making an effort to follow the guide onto the metal structure. Evelyn seemed to be waiting forhim to take the lead.
Adam smiled in a friendly, sympathetic sort of way. “I’ve had to turn back with a dozen people onboard. You’d be surprisedhow many people have a problem with being so far underground and on a river. Most of them were surprised they reacted theway they did.” He laughed. “And you wouldn’t believe how many cameras and cell phones are resting on the bottom of the river.”
Jayce had intentionally not looked up details about the cavern, particularly how deep the water was. As he finally stepped into the boat on shaky legs, he could see the bottom. The water here couldn’t have been more than three or four feet deep. It was bound to be much deeper the farther in they went. And he could see ahead that it was only a few yards before the boat would turn and daylight would be out of sight. He’d watched his father and the crew make the turn, and he’d been able to hear them talking for about a minute more before it was quiet.
He turned to Evelyn when he realized she hadn’t gotten on the boat and was still standing on the dock. Somewhere along theline, the color had drained from her face, and her green doe eyes looked bigger than normal.
“You okay?” Adam asked. Jayce wished he would have asked first.
“Ya,” she replied. Adam offered her his hand and helped her into the boat. She sat down when Jayce did.
“Ready?” Adam had his hand on the rope to untie the boat from the dock.
Jayce had never been more unprepared for anything in his life. Then he felt Evelyn slip her hand into his, intertwining theirfingers. Maybe they would be okay after all.
Eighteen
Esther delivered the last tray of appetizers to the crew. They had gathered in the dining room again and moved in extra chairsand two folding tables since the gatherings had become daily.
After she asked if anyone needed anything, she went to her bedroom and picked up the mysterious box. As she crossed throughthe living room, she almost bumped into Lizzie.
“Don’t say a word,” Esther said as she stopped to face off with her sister. “I firmly believe that it should be up to Guswhether or not he shares the contents of the box.” She raised her chin, ready for a new round of squabbling with her sister.
Surprisingly, Lizzie just frowned and marched to their bedroom.
As Esther closed the distance between the main house and the cottage, she noticed the generators on the motor homes weren’t running. Maybe the film people decided to save on propane while they were having their meeting in the dining room. Whatever the reason, it was a bright sunny day, and it was quiet. Maybe those factors would entice Gus to be in a decent
