“Really?” Julia shot him a pointed glance as she set her hands on her hips. Sierra slid her eyes sideways at him.
“I’ll open the door.” He kissed Julia on the cheek before he shifted her out of the way.
“Happy wife, happy life, Daddy,” Sierra said as he tugged at it until it finally gave way, screeching against the jamb.
“What’s inside?” Sierra asked as she shoved her way under Grant’s arm to shine her light inside.
Her features twisted from a smile to a grimace.
“What is it?” Julia asked.
“Stairs,” Kyle said. “That look like they are ancient and really dangerous.”
“Let’s go down them!” Sierra exclaimed as she took a step toward them.
“Wait, Sierra,” Grant said, pulling her back. “They do look dangerous. You could fall.”
“Seriously? Fine, do we need to have another vote? Who wants to go down the scary staircase? All in favor, raise your hand.” She poked her hand in the air along with Julia. Her gaze slid sideways to Kyle, and she elbowed him.
“Oh, right.” Kyle raised his hand.
Grant eyed his son with a shake of his head. “I cannot believe you keep voting with them.”
“I don’t want to be accused of hating Julia again,” Kyle said with a shrug. “Plus, we did come here to investigate.”
Grant heaved a sigh as he shook his head. “Fine, we’ll all go down the scary staircase into the terrifying tunnel.”
Sierra arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know how you made a billion dollars, Daddy, I really don’t.”
“That’s harsh,” he said as she stepped onto the first creaky stair before she carefully proceeded further down.
Kyle followed behind her as she made it to the ground.
Grant frowned as he shot a glance at Julia. “It’s getting a little hostile in here.”
She smiled at him as she patted his cheek. “She means well.”
She slid past him and gingerly made her way down the stairs. With another grimace, he mounted the stairs and made his way down to the ground.
“Stop touching things,” Kyle said as he batted at Sierra’s hand.
“It’s light switch, genius.” Sierra pressed the button and bare bulbs bloomed to life, illuminating a passage hewn from the earth. “See?”
Grant clicked off his flashlight and stared down the length of the long corridor. “I guess we’ll keep going.”
Sierra’s challenge cut through the stale air, her silhouette a blur as she dashed ahead. “Race you to the end!”
“Race me? Grow up, Sierra. That’s stupid,” Kyle said as he followed her.
“Because you’re going to lose, loser!” Sierra taunted as she called over her shoulder.
Grant stared after them. “This family togetherness is not what I expected.”
“They’re enjoying it, though.”
Grant slid his arm around her as they traversed the long hall. “Are you?”
“Yes. I’ll be very interested to see if we can find what this key opens.”
