The B Girls - By Cari Cole Page 0,36

who climbed or rappelled or both. She seemed to recall complaints about rope burns and scraped knees. Maybe Jane would have some suggestions.

Lucy edged in Jane's direction putting her hand out to brace herself on the lover's upper arm--and lost her balance when her hand traveled a couple of feet farther than expected.

Quick, surprising pain shot up her arm when her hand slapped the rock, but the new view that came with it pushed the pain into the background.

"Jane! You need to see this."

Lucy heard the sound of Jane's feet sliding over the rocks in her direction, but she didn't turn to look. She was too busy staring into the dark opening behind the lover's upper arm.

The opening had been masked by an optical illusion that was--like all such trickery--obvious once the secret was revealed.

Jane stepped up next to Lucy on the lover's forearm and looked into the darkness. "Holy Batcave!"

"I think we've found it."

"Who's going in first?" Jane asked.

"Me." Lucy took off her day pack and started searching for a flashlight. "I think I should do the honors." Only for Aunt Belle would she make this offer. Caves--the tourist kind she'd visited--made her more than a little uneasy. Something about the thought of all that weight above her head waiting to crush her.

"What's going on up there?" Mae hollered.

"We found the cave," Jane said. "You should come up."

Silence was the answer.

Jane leaned over and looked down.

"Okay, okay. I'm afraid. All right?" Mae said.

"Don't worry about it. We'll tell you everything," Jane said.

"I just don't like heights. I thought I could work around it but I don't think I can."

Lucy found the flashlight and turned it on to make sure it was working. The thought of losing light in the cave was scary. She looked down at Mae. "I doubt we'll get far without the map anyway." Pretending she didn't feel uneasy, she pointed the flashlight into the darkness and got her first glimpse into the cave.

Light bounced back from pale rock.

Jane looked over her shoulder. "Doesn't look very big."

Lucy swept the light back and forth as much as the narrow opening would allow without her stepping inside. The light didn't reflect back from either the right or the left. "Then again . . ."

"Okay, you're right. Are you going in?" Jane asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yep." But she didn't step into the opening.

"Well?" Jane said.

"I'm going." Lucy took a deep breath and tried to squeeze through the opening but her pack stopped her short. She eased back out of the crack and shrugged out of the pack.

"You sure you want to leave that behind?" Jane asked.

"I promise to stay in sight of the entrance."

"What are you doing now?" Mae wanted to know.

"Lucy's going in," Jane said.

"Wait!"

Lucy sighed and stepped to the edge to look down at Mae irritated at being interrupted just when she'd found her courage. "What?"

"I don't suppose one of you could come down and get the gun," Mae said.

Lucy choked. "You brought a gun?"

In response, Mae reached into her pack and pulled out a large pistol. "I didn't want to be unprepared if we ran into a kidnapper or another bear."

"Where the hell did you get a gun?"

"From my glove compartment. I keep it there in case of carjackers."

Unbelievable. Standing there in her khaki shorts, sun-visor and pom-pom socks holding a pistol she looked like a demented, suburban Annie Oakley. "Put that thing away. No one is coming down to get it. And don't shoot at anything."

Mae responded with an indignant sniff. "I know what I'm doing."

"Fine but if you shoot a bear when it's not in season you'll get arrested."

Jane looked at Lucy and shook her head. "I swear I didn't know."

Lucy leaned over to look at Mae again. "I'm going in now. Is there anything else you want to tell me first?"

"I still say you should watch out for the bear," Mae said.

"Fine, but I don't think this is the right time of year for a bear to be in the cave." At least she hoped it wasn't.

"Snakes," Mae said.

"I'll be careful."

"Bats?"

"Are you afraid of caves too?" Jane asked.

"I just think Lucy should be prepared. Are you sure you don't want the gun?"

"Believe me. The first sign of something alive and I'm out of there. Besides, I'd probably shoot my foot off," Lucy said.

Mae didn't look convinced but she nodded. "Okay but I really don't want to have to go for help."

"Don't worry. I have no intention of doing anything to make things worse. Having Belle