Carri stumbled downstairs. She needed coffee, and she needed it badly. Going right for the pot, she poured herself a cup and didn’t even bother to wait to let it cool off, she didn’t care if she burnt her tongue. She’d never been fit company for anyone in the morning, and she hated people who woke up all cheerful and happy. Morning sucked. Well, then again, last night hadn’t been that much better.

Carri had stayed out on the porch for as long as she could, making her way inside sometime after one in the morning. She’d wanted to give Whiskey and Addy some privacy to celebrate their news, but hell those two were loud, as in really loud, and she couldn’t even say it was Whiskey. It was all Addy. Either that man was a sex god or hell, Carri didn’t know, she’d never screamed like that in her life.

She wasn’t a virgin, nowhere close to one, but damn she would like to experience what her friend obviously did often, just one time. Then, when she finally did fall asleep, her damn dreams were all about Link in the X-rated sense, adding to her frustration. Only to be woken up by some plaster falling off the ceiling because, yep, Addy and Whisk were at it again, and this time, they were trying to shake the house down. Carri was shocked they didn’t break through the ceiling.

One thing was evident though, Carri needed to find another place to stay. She didn’t know if this was a one off, but she wasn’t willing to stick around and find out. There were some things she didn’t want to know about her friend and her lover. Like how, apparently, Addy liked it harder and deeper, and Whiskey had a thing for Addy clawing him. 

After she poured herself another cup of coffee and felt a little more like herself, she turned around, noticing Addy for the first time. Damn, she must be exhausted. Addy was standing there smiling at her like she was a lunatic.

“Do you have any spackle?” Carri asked monotone, like it was nothing. 

“I don’t know. Why, are you planning on doing some remodeling while you’re here?” Addy teased. She knew Carri wasn’t a morning person and goaded her any chance she got.

“No, I was thinking about fixing the hole in the ceiling.” Addy furrowed her brows, looking confused, not having the first clue what Carri was talking about.

“There’s a hole in the ceiling of the guest room? I didn’t notice anything when I made it up for you,” Addy said, still looking baffled.

“You probably wouldn’t have noticed it then. A big old chunk of it fell right on my face last night when you and Whisk were doing... hell, honey, I don’t even know what you were doing, but as your lawyer, I can tell you it was probably illegal, not only in this state, but several others too. I thought the damn wall would crash down one me.  I even covered my head with the pillow just in case.” Carri watched as Addy's face started to turn a bright red, but she couldn’t stop there, this was too good. Addy was a good girl, she wasn’t loud or over the top anything, so Carri couldn’t resist teasing her further. “Damn, hon, I’m so amazed you can even walk today, are you sure you don’t need to sit down or something?”

Addy sat down at the table and covered her face with her hands. Carri was pretty sure she heard, Oh God and a Damn, but she didn’t, keeping quiet, waiting Addy out. Carri could barely keep from laughing her ass off, but she managed.

“I’ll have Whiskey fix the ceiling I’m so sorry. It’s just…” Addy said when she finally looked up.

Carri didn’t let her finish because she couldn’t keep her giggles inside any longer, “Damn girl, you have no reason to apologize; if a man can make you scream like that, then you are one lucky girl. I’m kind of jealous. So, I take it Whisk took the news about the baby well. Where is the man of the hour? I think I might have to bow or something the next time I see him.”

“Carri! Don’t you dare,” Addy screeched, making Carri laugh harder.

Addy’s groan of discomfort only added to Carri’s fit of giggles. Her face and stomach hurt so bad, but she couldn’t stop. After a long while, Carri finally got control of herself. “Seriously though, where is the daddy to be? I want to congratulate him before I head into town with Suzie.”

“Don’t you dare say anything about last night.” Addy gave her the evil eye. “Pinky swear you’ll keep that to yourself.”

“Hon,” Carri laughed. She held out her pinky, but when Addy grabbed hold of it to shake, she teased, “I won’t have to say anything because anyone in a ten-mile radius would have already heard.” Addy slapped her arm hard enough that Carri tried to rub away the sting. “Seriously, your secret is safe with me, but, honey, I think I need to hit Suzie up for a place to stay while I’m here. I’m really happy for the both of you, but damn girl, single women do not want to be right next door to people like the two of you. Makes us realize that B.O.B isn’t always the best boyfriend, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh God,” Addy groaned again. That was when Whisk decided to enter the kitchen.

“What the hell have you done, Carri?” Whisk bellowed, “Why is Addison crying?” Which of course made Carri laugh again. This was too much. Addy got up and went over to Whisk, giving him a kiss that Carri could tell she’d cut if off way too soon for his tastes.

“I’m not upset. Carri was telling me the ceiling in the guest room needed to be repaired. Apparently, last night a natural phenomenon happened and shook it loose. I told her you would fix it.”

Both she and Addy started laughing so hard that Carri fell off the chair. She was crying and laughing, and holding her stomach because, damn, this was so off the wall. At first Whisk looked at them like they were nuts, then he figured out what they were talking about.

“Natural Phenomenon, huh? I can live with that.”

And they started all over again. By the time Carri was sitting upright again, her stomach hurt like she’d done a hundred sit-ups. She didn’t think she’d ever laughed so hard in her entire life. Finally composed, Carri congratulated both Addy and Whisk.

“So, what were you up to so early this morning?” Carri asked.

“Feeding the horse, oh, and talking to Link,” Whisk answered. “I told him about the baby; he said to say congratulations from him, and he would speak to you later,” Whisk told Addy.

Link was here this early in the morning? What the hell was that man up to now? Carri didn’t have to ask because Addy did it for her.

“Link was here this early in the morning, why?”

“He told me he was checking out the cave; Carri told him last night about another entrance.”

Carri didn’t even think, she got up and went straight for the back door. How dare he go to her cave without even saying anything? Seeing some of Addy’s rubber boots by the door, she slammed her feet into them and grabbed a jacket off the hook. Addy and Whiskey were saying something to her, but she didn’t even pay attention. She was going to give Link a piece of her mind.

Walking toward the pond, Carri’s anger built. The damn boots were too big, and she kept tripping. She blamed that on Link, too. If he’d only come in like a normal person and said, Hey, I’m going to the cave, she wouldn’t be wearing Addy’s boots, she’d be wearing her own. Ones which fit and didn’t make her trip every frickin five seconds. But no, that didn’t happen because Link was a rude bastard.

There had to be something which said if a person tells you about something you didn’t know about and offered to show you that, you let them. Carri knew it was a rule somewhere, and she would find it. After all, it should have been common courtesy, right? Yeah, she was going with that. Common courtesy, something she was sure Link knew nothing about, but she would teach him.

Then there was the fact that he went by himself, which, in her opinion, was damn stupid. Who went into unknown, unstable caves all by themselves? No one that’s who. He could get hurt or something. Then there wouldn’t be anyone there to help his stubborn, arrogant ass. She would tell him that, too.  

What was he worried about, anyway? It wasn’t like she would have offered to go with him, caves were not her thing. But still, wouldn’t a normal person at least offer? She told him about the entrance, he didn’t even know it was there. Wasn’t it proper manners to at least say, Hey, I’m going over to the cave, you want to see it? Yeah, damn it.

Plus, it was cold outside and who the hell got up at o’dark thirty to go running around in a cave. No one, that’s who. Only Link because the jerk didn’t want to run into her. She wasn’t a bad person. Hell, most people liked her. Link was the only one who seemed to have something against her, and she couldn’t figure it out. What had she ever done to him? 

They hadn’t even seen each other in over ten years. What the fuck? So, she had a little crush on him. It wasn’t like she would act on it. Hell no, he was just something good to look at. Man candy, everybody needed some of that in their lives, right? Carri was a normal, healthy woman with a great imagination; she could look, she just wouldn’t touch. It wasn’t like she was a creeper. Stopping, she looked around and realized she’d turned the wrong way somewhere. That was Link’s fault, too. If he hadn't pissed her off by going to the caves by himself, she wouldn’t have gotten lost. Fixing her direction, she went back toward the pond and the entrance to the cave.  

Spying the pitchfork, okay more like tripping over the damn thing and stubbing her toe, she was there, but guess who wasn’t. Stomping her foot like a two-year-old, Carri looked around, and yep, the asshole was nowhere in sight. But she did see the entrance to the cave and that was exactly where she was going to go. Why? Because she knew Link was in there, and she had things to say to him, damn it.

Carri was so ramped up, she’d made it pretty deep into the cave before she even realized it. Not seeing Link anywhere, she decided she would go a little further. She could turn around if she needed to. She hadn’t made any turns, so it should be a straight shot to the outside. It couldn’t be all that bad, he was in there after all, right? When she still couldn’t find him anywhere, she went even further until she realized why she’d never once considered playing in here as a child. She didn’t like it, nope, not even a little. It was dark, damp, and there were crawlies all around. 

She tripped on something and fell to her knees. Falling back and landing on her butt, she rubbed her knee, trying to soothe the sting. Her flimsy pajama pants were not the ideal thing to wear to tromp through a cave. Damn it, that hurt. Then she felt it. Something was crawling in her pants, and it was big. Without thinking, Carri screamed bloody murder, but only one word came out, “Link!”