Houses of Stone by KATHY (booksvooks .TXT) 📕

spoken till then. Karen didn't doubt he meant to be helpful, but Cameron's response was not particularly gracious.

"In the back of my truck."

"Right. I won't be long."

He went loping off and Peggy squatted in the corner, poking with a trowel at something that had aroused her curiosity. The boys had gathered around the cooler. Cameron said in a low voice, "I haven't had a chance to apologize."

"What for?"

A wry smile further distorted his abused face. "The list is fairly extensive, isn't it? My rudeness to you the other day, the fire, Miz Fowler's insults and insinuations, Lisa's questionable business dealings, my brother-in-law's foul mouth—"

"None of them were your fault."

"You're lying in your teeth," Cameron said pleasantly. "They were all my fault, directly or indirectly. That damned apartment was a firetrap, and I let the old . . . lady . . . talk me into insuring it for more than it was worth. I let Bobby badger me into losing my temper and behaving like a jackass. And the things I said that afternoon, when you were a guest in my house—"

"Cameron, please." Karen put her hand on his arm, and saw him flinch at her touch. "Stop doing this to yourself. I don't blame you for any of those things—even for yelling at me that day. It was understandable. I don't know how you could do what you've done all these years; I'd have cracked up long ago with the misery of it."

"It hasn't been easy. She used to be so ... The only way I can cope is to think of her as someone other than the bright, cheerful woman I used to know. In a sense, she is someone else. There used to be moments when she recognized me, but that hasn't happened for months."

Karen wondered how often he had allowed himself the indulgence of talking about his mother. "Will you be able to get her the help she needs now?"

"I think so." He leaned back against the wall. "The place I have in mind won't take her without a sizable down payment. My share of the proceeds of the sale and the house should do it. If she—" He broke off with a sharp intake of breath and shoved Karen aside. "Peggy! Watch out!"

He reached Peggy in time to grab her around the waist as the stones at which she had been prodding sagged and shifted. Earth and twisted roots prevented a complete collapse; only one stone fell, and it would have done even greater damage if Cameron had not pulled Peggy out of the way. When Karen reached them she saw that Peggy was half-lying, half-sitting on the floor clutching her foot and cursing.

"Did it hit you? Is it broken? What happened?"

"Get back," Cameron ordered, taking Peggy into his arms. They both grunted as he lifted her.

"Cracked rib?" Peggy inquired.

"For God's sake," Cameron groaned, "stop prying into other people's business." He carried her outside the house and lowered her to the ground.

The boys converged, questioning and exclaiming. Bill ran up, dropping an armful of plastic bags. "What happened?"

"One of the stones fell," Karen said, kneeling by Peggy and reaching for her foot. "Is it broken, Peggy?"

"I don't think so." Peggy bit her lip. "It hurts too much to be broken. Oh, hell! What a stupid thing to do. I got so interested in ... I've gotta go back, there's something buried under the—"

"You're not going anywhere, except to the emergency room," Karen said, taking a firm grip on Peggy. "Bill, will you drive her in your car? I'll bring hers."

"Does this mean you ladies are finished for the day?" Bucky asked hopefully.

Peggy was forced to admit that she, at least, was finished for the day. Two of the boys made a chair with their hands and carried her off, but she was still yelling orders at Karen as they vanished among the trees. "Don't you dare leave this place until you've collected the nails and the wood scraps! Look there by the wall where I was digging! But be careful! I think it—ow!"

"Don't you dare do anything of the kind," Bill said firmly. "Come on, Karen, I'm not leaving you here alone."

"I'm not alone." She indicated Cameron, who had backed away when Bill and the boys took over. He stood watching them, arms at his sides, his face unreadable.

"But—"

"Don't argue with me, Bill. Peggy needs you and I don't. Hurry up."

"Oh, all right. I'll see you later. I damn well better see you later," he added, with a sour look at Cameron.

Karen waited until the sounds of his retreat had died away before she picked up the plastic bags and turned. Cameron had not moved. "You'd better go," he said very quietly.

"I'm not leaving you here alone either. There have been too many . . . accidents."

"Accidents," Cameron repeated. "Yeah. All right, let's get it over with. Where are you going? I thought you wanted—"

"Did you see this?" Karen indicated the fissure in the rock, now gaping open. Beyond the entrance, narrow and low, darkness filled it.

"What is it?" Cameron came to her side.

"You have a flashlight up at the house, don't you?"

After a moment Cameron said, "I don't think I like what I think you're thinking. There can't be anything there; it's only a—"

"I've got to see for myself. This may be my only chance. You don't have to come with me."

"For God's sake, Karen! Never mind my damned claustrophobia, you could get stuck back there or mashed by falling rock, or ... Look, let's collect Peggy's bits and pieces first, and have a look at that place where she was digging. If you're still set on this crazy stunt after we've finished, I'll get the flashlight. Okay?"

"All right."

She knew what he hoped: that it would start raining, and that that would put an end to her crazy stunt. They gathered the scraps of wood and nails and stowed them in the bags, not without damage to the objects. Leaving them to be soaked