made her face warm. “So when did you decide to drop pre-law and major in photography?”
She flipped the front of the camera toward her and blew on the lens, using more force than necessary to get rid of a couple of dust specks. The question was innocent enough, but it raised her ire just the same. If he’d been with her the way he’d promised, he would know why she changed majors.
She wiped the lens with the hem of her shirt, studiously avoiding eye contact.
But he hadn’t been there. He couldn’t know her disappointment when the financial aid counselor showed her how little the scholarship would actually cover considering the number of years of schooling law would take. He couldn’t know her frustration when her lifelong dream lay shattered by a dollar sign.
He’d been at Harvard, not concerned in the least about finances…or her.
Living his damn easy life.
Her hands trembled as she replaced the lens cap and eased the camera into the security of the backpack. Sometimes those emotions rolled themselves into a fresh ball of anger that bounced around inside her head. Right then, it pounded against her heart, nauseating her with its rhythm.
Lashing out at Chance now would only make him mad enough to call off this venture. Retribution would come with the lost shots of the cave and the lost job.
She covered her mouth, pretending to yawn, opening wide enough to release the tension from her jaw but not quite wide enough to release her anger. “I took a photography class as an elective during my first semester, and I enjoyed it. Got hooked, you know?” She took her time zipping the backpack closed.
“At first, the attraction had to do with being able to arrange things perfectly and capture that perfection forever. With more classes, it became a fascination with the perfection of nature. A leaf hanging in midair by an invisible thread of a spider’s web. A cave with walls of crystal or a swirl of bats. It’s just the kind of match for me that law school never would’ve been.”
She let the subject drop there. Her passion for photography was difficult to explain, especially to people who’d known her when she was younger and determined to be an attorney. Most people’s occupations caused their anxiety; photography eased hers. “I’m lucky to have found an occupation that doesn’t just earn me money. It fulfills me.” She breathed easier, amazed at how much her thoughts had cleared.
Time to get her thoughts back on track. She’d let her past with Chance obscure her passion for this mission. That he left her nine years ago had no bearing on what was going on today. He was someone she’d had a relationship with over a third of her life ago and who now owned the cave. He was the means to an end. That was all.
The past twenty-four hours had been trying. She needed some time to relax and get her head clear before updating her portfolio. “C’mon. Let’s get to that vug. I need to get home.”
She was surprised to see relief shadow his face before he answered, “Yeah. This way.” He was as anxious to get this over with as she was.
He led the way through several more caverns. One they had to squeeze through sideways. Another required more crawling. It wasn’t the way she’d come the day before, but he seemed to know where he was going. She drew a deeper breath when she saw the limestone column formation in the middle of the room. Taking the lantern, she shone it toward the crevice. Crystals winked on the other side, giving the cavern thousands of tiny, watchful eyes. She and Chance stood silently, watching back.
He moved toward the sight, lured by the same force she’d experienced the day before. He jumped, caught the rim and pulled himself up, biceps bulging under the exertion, muscles in his back rippling under the stretched cotton. It took some manipulation to wedge those broad shoulders and the arm with the lantern through the narrow gap.
“Damn! This is more amazing than I imagined.” He flashed the lantern around the room, and his voice held the same wonder she’d felt with that first glimpse. “I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this.”
Fragments of light escaped between Chance and the wall surrounding him, haloing his body with a silver lining. Kyndal fought the part of her that wanted to do some noticing of its own. With him hanging there in front of her, oblivious to