Free Guide Me Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer Page B

cave accepted all, embraced all, challenged all. Moving through the dark passageways made him feel close to his pappy, his grandpappy, and mostly to the One who’d created the tunnels, caverns, and flowing rivers.
    He didn’t say a word as he led Rebekah along the familiar underground path. He talked to the tour groups. Them who took the tours expected him to tell everything he knew about the cave, and he knew plenty, so he talked plenty. And he jested. Answered their questions—even the ones he thought foolish. But today he wanted Rebekah Hardin to focus on the cave, not on him.
    The lantern’s glow skimmed the walls and formed a halo on the ridged ground. A shadow from the solid bottom filled the center of the halo. If a person watched the shadow instead of the halo, he would trip every time. Tolly hadn’t tripped in years, but he heard Rebekah stumble a time or two. He held his tongue. Better to let her learn by experience.
    By the time they left the long entry tunnel and entered a side shaft dubbed the Church by a slave named Stephen Bishop before Tolly was even born, she’d quit tripping and was moving as smoothly as a cave spider. He couldn’t resist flashing a grin over his shoulder. Her expression drew him to a halt.
    She stopped, too. “Is everything all right?”
    To his surprise, tears gathered, and he had to blink to clear them. How long had it been since he’d gotten to see the wonder of Mammoth Cave reflected in someone’s eyes? Oh, the tourists, they exclaimed about the long passages, the eyeless creatures swimming in the underground rivers, or the trunk-like formations left behind after years of mineral-rich water dripping down. They jabbered with glee when he let them scorch their names on the ceiling with a candle’s flame or paused to watch a cave spider catch a cricket in its web. But so many of them didn’t take the time to look—to really look—at the glory of the cave. Their excitement was for themselves. A selfish excitement.
    But in Rebekah Hardin’s eyes, he saw something different. Something deeper. He couldn’t resist turning her question back on her. “What you say? Ever’thing all right?”
    She turned a slow circle, her gaze drifting from the ceiling to the floor and then back to him. “Yes. Everything’s fine.”
    If he’d had any uneasiness about hiring her, it faded clear away in that moment. Girl or not, she’d make a fine tour guide. He just knew it.

Mid-May
    Devlin
    D evlin shifted his homburg to the back of his head and sent a slow look from one end of the Mammoth Cave Hotel to the other. Mother would turn up her nose at the row of adjoined, painted-white clapboard structures with their shutterless windows and simple boardwalks. But a fancy hotel would be out of place in these woodsy surroundings. He liked the rustic appearance of the two- and three-story mismatched sections.
    He grabbed the handle of his suitcase and followed the other guests who’d vacated the trio of stagecoaches. He smacked at his suit as he moved along the dirt pathway. The open windows of the outdated conveyances had allowed in a cloud of road dust that covered each of the passengers from head to toe. He hoped the hotel had a laundry service and hot baths. He might not be as finicky as Mother when it came to cleanliness, but neither did he care for the grit sticking to his sweat-moistened skin.
    Devlin listened to the excited chatter of the other new arrivals while he waited his turn at the check-in desk. A smile tugged at his cheek. He wished Father were here to witness the eager throng. It seemed the rumors concerning the cave’s popularity were not exaggerated. The yard teemed with people, some clustered near an open wagon, waving tickets. Others filled the benches lined up along the buildings’ fronts. Still more meandered over the grassy yard. So many people…and all of them handing over their coins for the privilege of entering the cave. Devlin’s scalp tingled as he envisioned the