A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) by Darynda Jones

The floor was getting more uneven, the ceiling even lower, and the walls even tighter. Soon they would be on their hands and knees. “I forgot about this part,” she said softly.

“For good reason. The walls are literally closing in on us.”

She turned to him, panicked. “You’re not claustrophobic, are you?”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment and because she could barely see his face, she didn’t know what he was thinking. Then he said softly, “I can see why Ryan Spalding tried to kiss you.”

“Gross!” a kid shouted from deeper inside the mine.

They both startled and Sun almost knocked herself out on the rocky ceiling when she tried to straighten like the genius she was.

“That was so cheesy, Levi,” the kid said before he made gagging sounds.

Levi covered her head with a hand to try to keep her from concussing herself, then chuckled as a kid carrying a lantern popped his head into the narrow tunnel.

“It gets better,” he said. “Just keep coming. But only if you two stop making out.”

Another kid, Adam, poked his head into the tunnel from the opposite side and giggled as he looked on.

The older boy motioned them forward, but Sun couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. Elliot Kent, the boy she’d spent years trying to find, stood not fifteen feet away from her, as beautiful and healthy as ever.

If ever a dream had come true … She felt tears sting the backs of her eyes, the wave of emotion rising up within her unexpected and surprisingly strong.

“You okay, Shine?” Levi asked her softly.

She sank onto her knees and put both hands over her mouth.

“See?” Elliot said. “You shouldn’t have kissed her. Now she’s upset.”

She made a sound that was half laugh and half sob before regaining her composure. She filled her lungs and nodded up to Levi.

He leaned closer and tucked a strand of hair that had escaped her braid over her ear.

She beamed at him, then duck-walked toward the boys to get past a particularly low part.

“Be careful of the tripwire connected to the claymore,” Elliot said. When Sun stilled, he laughed. “Just kidding. I ran out of claymores a couple of months ago.”

“That’s too bad,” she said, easing closer to the roomy chamber where she could finally stand.

She looked between the two boys. There would be no doubting Adam’s parentage. He was the spitting image of his older brother. Smooth, pale skin. Thick, dark hair. Just enough baby fat to soften the strong features that would someday develop. It would be a sad day when that happened, because he was adorable.

“Elliot,” she said, trying to keep her shit together. “And Adam. Do you remember me? We met at your house.”

The younger boy smiled.

“I’m Sunshine.”

“For real that’s your name?” Adam asked.

“For real that’s my name.” She turned back to Elliot and did everything in her power to keep her expression neutral. “And I’ve been looking for you for a very, very long time.”

“Why?” Adam asked her.

“She’s stalking me,” Elliot said to his little brother. “What can I say?”

He laughed and Elliot mussed his hair.

“Sorry,” she whispered to him, remembering Adam didn’t know Elliot was his long-lost brother.

“It’s all good.”

It took everything in her not to pull him into her arms. She didn’t know if she could keep from stroking his hair and kissing his face, which would only scare him.

She looked around at the boys’ encampment. They had pillows and blankets. Foodstuffs and water. They even had a small propane-powered cookstove. All the comforts of home.

After a quick scan, Sun remembered the chamber, though she’d only been to it once. It was called the cathedral because the shadows cast on the walls from the lamps made the rocks look like saints watching over the trespassers. She also remembered that off to the left was an alcove, another tunnel only a few feet long that led to the pit. No one dared go down. It was too deep and too dangerous, especially for non-climbers.

“Elliot,” she began when a thought hit her. She turned to Levi. “There was only one.”

He was busy introducing himself to Adam. “One what?”

“One ATV.” She turned a confused expression back toward the main tunnel. “There should have been two. Quincy called for two.”

He tensed. “Maybe Zee came back alone? Once they got the men following us to the trailhead?”

“No. She would’ve radioed ahead.”

“Very good, Sheriff,” a male voice said to her. But the first thing she saw come out of the tunnel was the barrel of an assault rifle.

Her hand immediately went to her duty weapon, but the intruder stopped her with a soft tsk.

“Really, Sunshine? Are you faster than a 5.56 steel jacket lead core?”

Elliot stepped closer to his brother, but the rifle swung toward him.

Instinct took hold. Sun moved in front of the boys as the bearer of the rifle eased into the lantern light.

She blinked in surprise. “Carver?” Her blind date from hell?

“You never texted me back,” he said. The look he gave her expressed just how much he detested her. “I wouldn’t.” He gave Levi a sideways glance as though he were an idiot for even thinking about trying something.