Authors: Renee Simons
“I was able to hide my pregnancy but when the child was delivered in a lifeless state, I would have laid it at his father’s doorstep except that he was already gone. So I buried the remains in the wall of the room where he’d been conceived.” She sighed. “When you came here to restore the place, I was afraid my secret would be discovered during renovation.”
“I told her we should burn the place down,” Charlie said.
“Why didn’t you?”
Mercedes shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“So instead, you tried to scare me away.” Mercedes nodded. “And it got out of hand.” She nodded again. “And here we are.”
“Yes, here we are.
At your mercy.”
“Don’t beg,” Charlie said in a tone more growl than polite conversation.
“It’s little enough to do.”
Callie wondered if anyone would have taken the time or gone to the trouble of tracing the remains and if they could have been traced back to Mercedes after so many years.
Probably neither
, she thought.
Callie looked at Luc. “This has to stop. Here and now.” She went to the door and stood aside as Sergeant Rivera entered.
“So,” the lawman said, “what’s the deal?”
“No deal,” Callie replied. “I’m not pressing charges.”
“This is a big mistake,” Luc said. “You could have died and he was responsible. You can’t let him off the hook.”
“Yes, I can.”
“Are you sure this is what you want,” he asked.
“I’m sure.”
Rivera addressed Charlie’s lawyer, who’d been silent throughout the meeting. “He’s still facing time for parole violation. That’s
not
going away.”
“We won’t fight the charge.”
Rivera turned to Luc. “What about the attempt against you?”
For once, Charlie had the grace to look at his accuser.
“I could nail you,” Luc said. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know. You had me dead to rights.”
“You bet I did. So I’m gonna cut you some slack.
This time.
But if you ever pull anything again, I won’t be so obliging. And just so you know – it isn’t about you. It’s about your mother.”
Charlie straightened his shoulders. “It’s always been about her.”
Callie and Luc watched the sergeant escort Charlie from the room with the lawyer right behind. Mercedes turned to them.
“Thank you. We won’t forget.”
She followed the others out, leaving Callie and Luc in the empty room.
“What next,” Luc asked.
“We need to stop at The Mansion for some equipment. Then we’ll go take a look at what I want you to see.”
Back at The Mansion, where work was winding down for the day, Luc viewed with interest the rope ladder and lantern Callie stashed behind the front seat.
“This should be good,” he said with a chuckle.
“It will be.”
He knew where they were going but couldn’t resist teasing. “Give me a hint.”
She pointed behind the seat. “That
is
your hint.”
“We’re mountain climbing?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“And we’re heading where?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I’ll know it when I see it.”
Luc nodded. “We’re going to the mine.”
“I want us to go where I came out, not where I went in. Though I think we’re equipped for either.”
“You were pretty confused when I found you.”
“I know.”
“Keep an eye out. When you see something familiar, let me know.”
They’d gone several miles when something about the outline of the
caldera’s
far slope struck a chord. She pointed out the driver’s side window. To her surprise, Luc lifted her arm and planted a gentle kiss on her hand.
She blushed. “What was that for?”
“For being too tempting to resist.”
“Hold the thought.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We need to go there.” She pointed again. “Should we walk or drive?”
“Both.”
They drove as far as they could, then
left
the SUV parked in the shade of a small grove of trees. Callie cradled the lantern in her sling. Luc shouldered the ladder and they began a slow climb with Luc giving her a hand up and over the difficult spots. Wherever possible, she led the way, guided by a vague memory of her trip down. She traveled almost by instinct, trying to recall the twists and turns she’d taken.
“Do you think it’s much further?” Luc asked.
Callie grinned at him. “You mean, `are we there yet?’”
He laughed. “That’s the kid in me, I guess.”
“Well, the kid in you can relax. We’ve arrived.” She tipped her chin toward the cluster of cliff houses. “See?”
“
Por Dios
. This is amazing.”
“You don’t know this place?”
He shook his head. “Never knew it existed.”
“There’s more.”
She led him to the cave and then to the opening in the floor. He shone the lantern down through it.
“Not much to see.”
She chuckled. “Forgive me, but you couldn’t be more wrong.”
“Okay, let’s look at what’s down there.”
He knelt near the opening and hooked up the ladder, maneuvering the rungs so they dropped through the hole, then took the first steps down.
“C’mon, I’ll support you from below.”
Callie turned and lowered herself down the rope steps. With only one available hand, her grip was less than secure, but his hands at her hips steadied her and spread their familiar warmth as her movements led them to her waist and then along her sides. A brief moment of regret knifed through her; the memory of his touch would have to last her for a long time if what waited below sent them in different directions.
If,
she thought as she sank into his waiting arms. More like
when.
She rested against him as they cleared the last step and stood on the chamber floor. She took up the lantern and swept the light from the petroglyphs around to the other side of the chamber where the two sarcophagi stood.
“Welcome to the place of Francisco Moreno de Valencia’s last repose and the wonderland he left for us to find.”
Hours later, they sat on a ledge overlooking the small lake. Callie had led Luc on an exploration that had reawakened both the fear and the wonder she’d felt during her first time underground. His hand holding hers proved a comfort during the fearful moments. His astonishment over what they viewed made what she’d begun to think of as her gift to him all the more special.
“We should go down before it gets dark,” he said.
“Yes,” she said.
Neither moved.
“It’s hard to leave.”
“I never expected to confront my family history in quite this way.” He glanced over at her. “You’ve single-handedly solved a three-hundred year old mystery.
three-
hundred years plus.”
She gave a small laugh. “Not single-handedly. We have to give Charlie a bit of credit.”
Luc grimaced. “Not where he can hear it.” He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. “I would trade all you found to have kept you from the horror of being trapped down there.”
“Now that you know, what will you do about it?”
“What would you do?”
“I would want to protect this place, but find a way to share it with others.”
“Those two seem mutually exclusive.”
“Not if you register it as a historic site. Then you might qualify for funds that would allow you to preserve and protect it for generations to come. And your family could choose not to make this place accessible to the public if it wanted to and still qualify for tax credits. I have some information back at The Mansion. We could go over it and then make some phone calls. There’s a terrific archaeologist over at the State Historic Preservation Department in Santa Fe. I’ve found her to be knowledgeable and helpful.”
“What made you hook up with her?”
“I’d hoped to get The Mansion on the historical register.”
“But?”
Callie shrugged. “If I understand it correctly, if we have to move the house, if we
can
move it, it won’t qualify for any kind of grant. And I would have had to get approval before we started work on it.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Time.
You see, my grandmother’s legacy included a trust fund as well as the house. But I have to live in it for three years to inherit the money. Applying for historical status can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more. I didn’t have that much time, especially with the mining operation looming over my head. I needed to move in and start the renovation as soon as possible. So it’s too late for recognition of The Mansion, but not for this site. I’m certain of that.”
He smiled his slow, lazy smile. “You are.”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“You have.”
She nodded. “If I can’t stay in the house, I’ll have to move on. This place will be my parting gift to you.”
“You’re not leaving without me. And since I’m not going anywhere, we’ll have to come up with a different plan.”
He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a gold chain. Dangling from it was a gold ring, in the center of which were set a ruby and a sapphire. He removed the ring, warm from his body, and slipped it on her pinky.
“This has been handed down from the time of those two down there. Family history says it was the first gift Francisco gave Constanza. My father calls it ‘fire and ice’.” He took her hand in his. “It reminds me of you.”
Callie stared down at her hand. “You’ve been carrying this with you?”
“Since we left to see Dr. Gerrold.
I was waiting for the right moment.” He gathered her into his arms. “I do believe this is it.”
“So you’re not proposing out of pity?” She watched his expression. “You are proposing?”
“I am and not out of pity,
querida
.
Out of love.”
She stared down at the ring. “Lovely.”
“The ring?”
When she looked up at him tears of happiness glimmered in her eyes.
“Everything.”
“Is that better than `nice’?”
“Infinitely.”
He placed a soft kiss on her palm. “I like `infinitely’. It sounds like forever.”
“I hope so.”
He helped her to her feet. “Good. Let’s go home and begin the future.”