Rockhound Love

This time Brett and I walked the same ground, stopping at the point I had been at before. We studied the map and it appeared the alternate mine location lay at about the same elevation perhaps a quarter of a mile away. We walked in that direction for a short distance and noticed a flattened area that ran into a debris field from rocks that had fallen from above. We walked around this debris and found a narrow path that ran along the flank of the mountain where the map showed a potential mine. My father and I had completely missed this feature as we had never walked this far thinking we had found the mine.

We followed the path and found ourselves going into an indentation in the mountainside, which when I turned back to see our starting point and found I couldn't see it. We walked a short distance and found an area of flattened ground with a grove of trees growing on it. We walked into the grove and turned towards the mountainside—a dark area appeared, the opening of a mine. We had found it! I could hardly believe it had been so easy, it had been here the whole time, my father and I hadn't looked closely enough. I was so happy I gave Brett a big hug, which totally surprised him.

"If you're that happy to see the outside I guess we should take a closer look."

This time I looked for the footprints of animals outside the opening and didn't see any, then shined my light into the opening to see if I could detect eye-shine—I wasn't taking any chances this time. I saw Brett smiling at me.

"What!" I exclaimed.

He laughed, "I'll go in first, just in case there are any dragons in there."

I stuck my tongue out at him even though it wasn't very ladylike, but it made me feel good. He just laughed, turned his flashlight on, and walked in slowly, playing the light along the walls and ceiling, I assumed to see if wooden support beams had been used to stabilize the shaft. The shaft was about the same dimensions as the mine we had entered together before, like that mine there were no support timbers installed due to the nature of the substrate. We slowly explored the shaft and frankly found it unremarkable for the first 50 feet or so, after that it became more exciting as several seams of different minerals appeared that would provide good material for our family business.

After two hours Brett and I decided to return to the entrance as we chose not to continue with just a single flashlight each as the shaft turned to the left following a strong vein hiding the entrance from view. We couldn't see the end of the shaft in our beams and we could hear dripping water, suggesting a change in conditions deeper inside.

I didn't mind being cautious. I had heard enough stories of people entering old mines and falling into a shaft in the dark they didn't see and were busted up pretty well, or worse. When we got back to the house and told my parents we had found the mine they were thrilled with the news. We had collected a few specimens that showed the potential of that portion of the shaft we had traversed, including several excellent calcite crystals from an exposed pocket in the mine ceiling we had chiseled out.

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon as we took my gear out of Brett's truck and put it away in the workroom. When we walked out my father looked at us, then asked, "Well, I expect the two of you are going to go into town to celebrate your success. I think it's well—earned finding another source of income right on our own property. The rock gods are smiling on you two so I'm happy to assist them, here are fifty dollars, go have a good time."

I took the money and gave my father a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks Dad, but you know you really don't need to do this."

"No, guess I don't. But I did, so get yourself around and get out of here. Your mother and I already have our supper in the oven so we're all set."

I looked at Brett—it wasn't like we had planned to do this, and I didn't want to assume he had the time, or interest, to do it. I was about to ask him when he smiled and placed his hand on my arm, "Go get yourself ready, nothing fancy as I don't have a change of clothes with me."

I was ready in ten minutes after changing into a clean blouse with frilly short-sleeves, clean jeans, and my good cowboy boots. I brushed out my hair, then put it into a ponytail. I felt wonderful as I took a glance in the mirror. When I walked out I could tell Brett approved, giving me another look from head to foot.

We picked the restaurant we had gone to before and ordered our food in short-order, then Brett left for the restroom. I was taking a sip of my Coke when a male voice called my name, one I recognized. One I really didn't even care to hear again. It was my former boyfriend, Ted, and he was heading my way. I hadn't seen him in what, five months? I felt my stomach tighten. He had broken our relationship off with me and a week later was dating another woman. Word came to me two weeks later that he had broken up with her, then started dating another girl I knew from the community college. The breakup had been hard on me as we had been together for over five months at that point and I found him quite acceptable and I thought I was to him too.

"Samantha, nice to see you," as he glanced at the table and saw the other glass of Coke sitting there. He looked at me with a smile, "So, still hanging with Stella?" It was clear he thought I was with my long-time girlfriend, not a date. Well, I guess it wasn't a date, was it? It didn't really matter, it was what he thought that irritated me. I was about ready to tell him it wasn't Stella I was with, then decided not to as I planned on getting rid of him before Brett returned.

I saw him shuffle his feet as if he were unsure. "Sam, I'm really sorry for how I treated you. It wasn't fair, but I was confused at the time. Now, I'm ready for a serious relationship and wanted to know if you would go out with me. I promise it will be different, better than last time. I promise."

I had never allowed any guy to call me Sam unless I was convinced I would marry him—Ted had been that man, the only one ever. I felt a tinge of pain again as I looked at him not smiling; to think he would have the guts to ask me to consider him again. I reminded myself I was in a public place where I should be something of a lady—if we were somewhere else out of earshot I would tell him not so politely to go screw himself, only use another word.

"Ted, that's not in the cards so it's best just go and find another woman to play with."

"Sam, I've changed. I'm serious about getting back together with you. I've been trying to get my courage up to ask you for a month. When I saw you sitting here I decided I had to do it. I promise it will be different this time."

"Ted, listen to me, I'm not interested in you plain and simple. I've moved on and you should too," as I looked him in the eye wishing he would disappear. I saw his expression change. Apparently, I had made my point and he understood it. I saw his gaze shift from me to the other side of the table. I followed his gaze and saw Brett had slid into his seat across from me, sorry I hadn't conveyed my true feelings more forcibly.

"Well, nice seeing you Sam, be seeing you around," as he made haste to leave. No man wants to get shot down in flames in front of another man.

I looked back to Brett, who had a grin on his face.

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Why is it you draw men like bees to honey?"

"Is that a question or a statement?" I replied trying to blunt the question.

His grin grew into a vulpine smile. "Yes."

"Why do I spend time with you?" I asked exasperated, knowing his one-word answer had bested me again.

"Good question. I kind of wonder that myself as it seems you have quite a few options to pursue."

I was about to give him a flippant answer when the waitress walked up with our food. I took the time to regroup and collect my thoughts—I did enjoy my time with him. Maybe it was time for me not to be such a badass and admit it to him, and to myself.

I had just watched my ex-boyfriend slink away without a word to him and Brett hadn't acted as if he was bent out of shape about it. I smiled and reached across to place my hand on his, "Maybe I consider you an option worth pursuing."

Brett cocked his eyebrow and took a sip of his Coke and didn't say a word. I still had my hand on his and caressed it a little and felt my heart rate tick upward telling me once again he was able to affect me whenever I allowed him in—letting my defenses down. Seeing my ex had somehow allowed me to let go of the pain he had caused me, perhaps because Brett had given me so much joy earlier in the day. It had been a sudden and unexpected benefit of having seen Ted again—though I took tremendous satisfaction from telling him to get lost. I removed my hand from Brett's, picked up a home fry, put it into my mouth, and took a satisfying bite as I looked at him with a sly smile.

We took in a movie that night and when he dropped me off at home we talked for a few minutes before I went inside. It was almost midnight, my parents were in bed sleeping, the stars shone above in a clear sky, the moon a silver sliver in the stillness of the night. I suppose I could have stood a little closer, looked into his eyes a little longer or more often, maybe fiddled with a few strands of my long hair to show I was ready for a kiss, but I didn't.

Our evening ended with his telling me he had enjoyed being with me and hoped I had liked it too. I watched as he drove off, the headlights of his pickup disappearing behind the low hill between the house and the highway. I went to bed feeling it could have gone better, he didn't say he would call me or suggest we go on another collecting trip the next weekend. It ended without a hint we were anything more than buddy Rockhounds after a successful day of collecting.

I found myself wishing it had ended differently and knew in all likelihood it was me, not him, as I never really considered myself particularly attractive and didn't go out of the way to look that way. I had always been a tomboy and seldom ever went out of my way to look feminine—I figured I didn't need to as I was asked out often enough just the way I was.

The week went along fast enough as I worked on the specimens we had collected, did some grocery shopping with my mother, and finished the end of month tax summary for both the ranch and rock shop after paying bills. Saturday came and went without a call from Brett and I grew restless, finally deciding to take a long hike to a hillside I had wanted to explore on the neighbor's ranch. I stopped in for a friendly visit and told them I was heading to the portion of the ranch they referred to as Snake Bluff.

I spent the afternoon puttering around the bluff, a layered sandstone outcrop with a small igneous dike intrusion I hoped would be interesting. It wasn't and I returned home with but a few mediocre specimens of common minerals --plagioclase feldspar, potassium feldspar, quartz, muscovite, augite, hornblende, and olivine. It was better than nothing, but not much.

All the while I wondered what Brett might be collecting somewhere without me and why he hadn't called. I wanted to explore the mine shaft we had found but knew it was not something to do alone and my parents were off visiting relatives overnight. Then I realized I could have called him but was too stubborn to do it. What was I doing wrong? He hadn't tried to kiss me after taking me home the last night we were together. It bothered me in a way—men always wanted a kiss and to cop a feel after a few dates, though we really hadn't dated in the formal sense. Still, I had shown some interest—he should have known what I was up to.

I returned home and started supper, my parents not back yet. I had taken a bite out of my sandwich when it hit me—I had told Brett maybe he was an option worth pursuing. How would I have reacted to being told by a guy I may be of interest? I realized I had really put my foot in it. Damn, he was probably sitting down to supper right now with a good looking, college-educated girl who was more than happy to show how much she appreciated his handsome features. He was a well-educated man, respectful, and honest, why would he be willing to settle for 'maybe?' A vision of a naked, lithe woman with a handsome rack and tight ass, nestled against him appeared in my mind.

I may be stubborn, but I wasn't stupid—I picked up my phone and dialed his number wishing I hadn't waited until Saturday to call.

"Samantha, good to hear your voice. What's up?" his voice sounded confident.

"Tomorrow would you like to explore the rest of the mine we found? I haven't wanted to go back in by myself and Dad has been too busy to show any interest."

There was a long pause and I felt I wasn't going to like the answer, I found myself holding my breath, fearing rejection of my offer.

"Samantha, I think I can make it tomorrow late in the day, my sister has been visiting all week and I need to get her to the airport tomorrow morning. Best I can do is probably two in the afternoon if all goes well."

I felt better hearing his words, but that probably would not be enough time to do much. But I would be happy just to see him, to hell with the rocks. What was I going to do, give up? No! That wasn't much in my character once my mind was made up.

"That's okay, it may be enough time to go in a bit deeper. I'm game if you are."

"Samantha, I have Monday off, I guess I could stay overnight at the mine and you could go home to sleep for the night and come back in the morning. I can't see driving all that way just to turn around to come back home again."

If it worked for him it certainly worked for me. He lived on the other side of town, making it over an hour's drive to our ranch.

Saturday crawled along as I finished chores and spent some time checking my gear, making sure I had a large flashlight and spare battery to take with my regular gear. Stella called me and we talked for a while, promising we would get together mid-week to visit in person. She was engaged now and after my breakup where we double-dated, our time together had become less frequent. Brett didn't show up until almost three and by the time we spent a little time with my parents to visit we didn't leave for the mine until almost four. The trip to the old mine took almost forty minutes plus the walk to the new mine which added another fifteen minutes to get in place to begin our exploration.

We arrived at the mine entrance and walked in after checking our gear—flashlights, spare battery, gloves, 100 feet of rope, and our collecting bag, and hammers. We started in and had a few bats fly out once we were inside about seventy feet which startled me as they dropped off the ceiling, circled, and then flew towards the entrance. We found a small mound of droppings in one spot that showed where the bats were hiding. We continued on far enough that the entrance disappeared as we rounded a corner, we had gone another 50 feet or so before we heard water dripping and a slight odor of rotten eggs, same as on our first trip. We approached slowly and saw our light reflecting off a pool of water. Then, our lights fell upon a pile of bones and hair—Brett put his hand up to halt my pushing past him as I wanted to get a little closer.

Brett pulled his small camera out of his breast pocket and took several flash photos. I waited until my eyes adjusted to the flashlight beams again.

"Samantha, no farther, it's not safe."

"Brett, it's just some animals that got lost and couldn't find their way out. It won't hurt to get a little closer," as I pushed past his hand.

"Samantha, I said stop!" he barked.

I took another step two steps and then he grabbed the back of my shirt pulling me hard backward. I turned on him with a hard stare.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

He looked at me, then calmly said, "Saving your stubborn ass."

I was getting angry, I didn't need a man who was overly protective to watch over me. I took a couple of deep breaths, then felt a little faint. Before I could say anything he grabbed me under my arms and dragged me backward, then picked me up and carried me towards the entrance of the cave. I began fighting him and he hissed at me.

"Damn it, Samantha, those animals died of asphyxiation, oxygen deprivation is affecting your ability to think straight. Now stop."

I heard his words and stopped struggling as I began to feel a little different. He carried me back to the entrance and set me down. After a short time my mind cleared and I began to understand as I looked at him, his expression firm. I took another few large breaths and knew I had almost screwed up big time—I had read about this kind of thing in rockhounding publications.

"I'm sorry Brett. How did you know?"

He pulled out his digital camera, turned it on, put the camera on review mode, then picked an image, and showed it to me. I gasped—not only were there animal bones and fur in the photograph but a human skull stared back at me.

"Samantha, when you see a collection of dead animals it means something is wrong. Not even the bats went that far back into the mine to roost, but there were several fairly fresh dead bats on the cave floor. Then I saw the skull and the reason why the mine was probably abandoned. It was either due to a lack of oxygen or gas."

I felt my body shudder as I sat thinking about the image on the camera, I could have added another skull to that collection if I had gone in by myself; at least I had gotten that much right. I owned my life to Brett. I began to stand up and Brett reached for my hands and pulled me upright. I fell into his arms and hugged him tight not believing I had come that close to death.

He held me close and said quietly, "Sorry I said 'stubborn ass.'"

I leaned back and looked at him, "You should be, but it got my attention."

His face grew that sly smile again, "I should have said sweet stubborn ass."

I wanted to laugh, but couldn't, as tears welled up in my eyes, so I simply hugged him. He had bested me again and I really didn't care.

"Okay, I think we call the authorities from here and tell them we found human remains in this mine. I think that will take care of the rest of our time here today. We will have to lead them back up here so the day is shot for collecting so we may as well head back to the house. I guess we get to relax after that."

I watched and listened as he spoke into his cell phone giving the 911 operator the basic information and answered a few questions. After he finished the call he placed his phone back into his pocket and we started walking towards the parking area at the shallow mine.

"I can hardly wait to see what mom and dad have to say about this. I wonder if anyone ever reported someone missing from this area in the past."

An hour later we pulled in front of the house and went inside to tell my parents what we had found and that they should expect a crowd of people almost anytime. We had hardly gotten the words out of our mouths when the sheriff's car pulled in. Brett and I answered questions and showed the officer the digital photographs—those removed any doubt about the veracity of our report. Over the next half an hour the drive and road filled with a collection of cars, trucks, all with flashing lights as if something was taking place that needed immediate attention. It seemed kind of funny to me—that guy wasn't going anywhere real fast and we had told them the skull was old without hair or flesh.

I elected to stay home as Dad and Brett took the first group up to the mine. I told Mom what had happened, trying not to reveal I had almost bought the farm so to speak. I waited for things to die down and wondered what Brett and I would do after the excitement died down. It sure did seem I made his life more interesting and I began to wonder if that was a good thing.