With here and there a page;
And some were being written
And some were dim with age.”
~Earl Douglass,
from his poemNature’s Noblemen
SATURDAY, JULY20
They were making great progress on the bones from the spine. Well, progress for a small, five-person team on a paleontological dig where everything moved at a snail’s pace because of the tedious nature of their work. But Anna couldn’t be more pleased.
And not just with the dig.
The Oppenheims weren’t underfoot every day. Joshua convinced her he never cared for Rosemary and never would. Dad was discovering something new each night when she showed him her sketches.
Now she had a detailed plan in front of her, with each item numbered in order of how it should be removed from the rock.The larger bones appeared intact from the surface, but she and her team didn’t know what to expect underneath. That was the most difficult part, using great care with the removal using delicate tools to ensure they didn’t have anything crumble or break off in the rock. Even though the bones were fossilized, they were still fragile.
She darted a glance across the washout. Julian’s garden bloomed in a vast array of color. It drew her eye often—a welcome sight after staring at rock and dirt all day long.
As she’d promised Joshua and her father, she hadn’t gone to see Julian without someone else along. The big man probably felt like something was off, that she didn’t trust him—which wasn’t true—but hopefully he wouldn’t go back in his shell. They’d made so much progress. Mary would be so happy to see Julian smiling.
Anna had almost gotten him to laugh. Almost. Hopefully one day.
Losing a mother was so hard. She’d gone through that herself. But having a violent father must have made everything that much worse for Julian and his brother.
The men who worked for Walker Ranch all these years had plenty to say about how Randall Walker had done things. How his temper was brutal.
Everyone suspected he’d treated his family much worse than anyone else. Especially since no one ever saw Julian’s mom. At least not on a regular basis.
Anna had seen her maybe twice.
She was a lovely woman with a warm smile. But there was always a bit of a haunting in her eyes. It made Anna feel sad as a child.
The sound of a horse’s hooves echoed through their little canyon.
Anna lifted her face from the drawing she’d been working on. All the guys were busy digging. Who was that?
Then the top hat became all too visible.
Albert Oppenheim.
Now what was he doing here? She wasn’t expecting any of that family again until Thursday.
She set her pencil down and let out a grunt. She didnothave time for this today. Neither did she have any desire to deal with this arrogant man.
He rode up and dismounted, a swagger in his step as he approached her.
“Good morning, Mr. Oppenheim.”
“Good morning to you, Miss Lakeman.”
She waited for him to state his business.
“Would you perhaps pour me a cup of coffee?”
Huh? He came out here for coffee? “Um ... of course.” She went to serve her guest.
