She shrugged. “Let the crazies be crazies. It won’t make any difference.” Her heart ached at the reminder that even once they got out of this ridiculous situation, she would still have to face up to Mrs. Sweets and the other townspeople until this project was over.
Reluctantly, Lainie pulled away from Harrison. The tunnel was cold, and he was wonderfully warm, but she knew that the longer they stayed here, the more likely both of them were to develop hypothermia.
“I can’t tell how far we’ve come already,” she said, one hand still trailing down his arm as she stepped forward. “But don’t you think the sea is sounding close—aah!”
Lainie’s feet shot out from under her. Harrison was already grabbing her arm, but she windmilled the other one, trying to regain her balance. Her flailing arm caught something on the wall and sent it crashing down onto her legs.
“Ow!” she groaned. “What the hell was that?”
She clutched her arm to her chest. Just her luck that her injured arm was the one she flailed out madly with to keep her balance. And what had she hit, anyway?
Harrison put his hands around her waist and pulled her upright. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“I hit something off the wall…” With Harrison still holding her, Lainie groped around the wall. There was a shallow alcove cut into the stone at waist height. “I must have knocked something off this shelf when I fell—ouch. And I’ve got something in my shoe now, too.”
She wriggled her foot around, trying to encourage the bit of gravel into a more comfortable spot. “On the upside, I’m pretty sure I slipped on a patch of seaweed, so I guess that means we’re near the end of the tunnel.”
The sound of waves had been growing louder, and as they rounded the next corner—Lainie limping slightly—a glimmer of light appeared ahead. Dim light, but compared to the solid darkness inside the tunnel, it might as well have been the midday sun.
The stone steps under Lainie’s feet became gritty with sand, and then disappeared completely. Salt spray hit her face, and she stopped.
“Oh, no,” she said, her heart sinking. “If the water’s already coming into the cave—” Then we’re stuck. Even wading around the bay in this weather would be suicide.
“I’ll go check. Wait here.” Harrison squeezed her hand, and she watched him as he walked slowly towards the mouth of the cave. He was barely more than a silhouette, his footsteps darker shadows in the wet sand.
I still can’t believe this is happening, Lainie thought, steadying herself against the cave wall. The house, the griffin-hallucination—God, I probably have concussion, it seemed so real—and Harrison coming to find me. I can’t believe he did that for me.
“Lainie!” Harrison was beckoning her over. She hurried over to him, wincing as the bit of gravel in her shoe cut into her ankle. Oh, don’t be such a baby, she told herself. Think of Harrison, squishing through that tunnel without a stitch of clothing on.
Harrison put his arm around her and pointed along the bottom of the cliff.
There was a small sandy beach at the mouth of the cave. On sunny days, it was a pleasant spot between the piled rocks that lay at the bottom of the cliff. Tonight, the flat beach made a funnel for the incoming storm tide.
Lainie raised a hand to keep the sea spray off her face, squinting in the direction Harrison was pointing.
“There—see? There’s a path in the rock.”
Lainie wiped her eyes. Yes—she could just make it out. A narrow path cut into the side of the cliff.
As she watched, a wave smashed over part of the path, then sucked back into the sea. “You’re not seriously suggesting we go for it?”
“I know it doesn’t look like it, but it’s low tide right now,” Harrison explained, his voice urgent. “The longer we wait, the further the tide will come up into the cave. We can’t wait out the storm in there. You’re already too cold. You’re not even shivering anymore.”
Lainie opened her mouth to protest, but it was true. She shut her mouth again. “How are we going to get across there?”
“I’ve been watching the waves. They’re going in series, starting small and getting b
igger. After the biggest wave crashes, they start off small again.” He put his arms around Lainie, and she leaned in to his warmth. “The smaller waves don’t get anywhere near the path, and the path gets higher further along. We’ll wait for the series to start again, and I’ll carry you.”
“Okay.”
“Really?” Harrison raised his eyebrows. “I expected you to—well, not argue, but I thought I’d have to convince you.”
Lainie wrapped her arms around herself. “No. You’re right. I’m cold, and wet, and we don’t know how long the storm is going to take to blow over.” And there’s a goddamn… something back at the other end of that tunnel, although right now I’m honestly not sure if I didn’t hallucinate it.
“All right.” Harrison leaned down and kissed her, so quickly she didn’t have the chance to kiss him back, and then swung her up in his arms.
He stood still for a moment, judging the waves. Lainie flinched as another massive wave crashed down on the beach, swirling around Harrison’s ankles.