Then another.
She held her breath.
But he shook his head and stepped back. “I can’t keep up this charade, Eliza, and you know it.”
What was he talking about? Blinking away the image of him kissing her in her mind, she focused on his words. But she still missed his presence. Right there. With her. What had just happened?
“You’re going to have to fix this with Dr. Masterson. I’ll meet with him, butyou. Are going to have to. Fix. This.”
THURSDAY, JULY13, 1916•DINOSAURNATIONALMONUMENT
The quarry was beautiful. He’d never seen the likes of it, not even in his old digging days. Envy sliced through him. Earl Douglass had hit the proverbial mother lode of fossils.
Allhisdiscoveries paled in comparison to this.
Still, Douglass was a respected man of science now. All thanks to the bones here.
Being able to see various dinosaur skeletons emerging from the ground as if coming to life? It stole breath from his lungs. This was where he was meant to be. Not stuck in some museum, working for a man who didn’t know the difference betweenDiplodocus carnegiiand aBrontosaurus.
He ground his teeth together. The ignorance was insulting.
Every time they received bones at the museum, he cringed whenever he saw where they’d been found. Every skeleton that Mr. Carnegie raved about would bear Dinosaur National Monument and Douglass’s name on a placard.
Carnegie wasn’t terrible. He had given him the job of head curator for the Hall of Dinosaurs, and that was something.Even though he should have had his name on the displaysandbeen appointed curator. He’d poured himself into the work for Carnegie for more than two decades. Just because the man had money didn’t mean that he should be the one making these kinds of decisions.
Why, the note the philanthropist dropped on his desk before he left practically begged Nelson to set things straight.
Well, now that he was here ... perhaps he could wreak a little havoc. Opportunities for revenge were plentiful out in the middle of nowhere.
And someone else obviously didn’t want the quarry and its workers here.
The newspaper had quite the write-up on the vandalism, theft, and the fact that the quarry was closed for the time being. Even though many headed out on the train were anxious to see the site, himself included, there were obviously dissenters.
Not that he would want any of the priceless fossils damaged. No. He just didn’t like anyone else getting his credit.
Especially Miss Mills. That rich socialite didn’t have any right to be there. And to hear that not only was she giving tours but had helped with actual excavation and preservation of select skeletons being shipped back to Pittsburgh... well, it made his blood boil.
He turned away from the quiet quarry and shoved his hands into his pockets. What if he ruined her good name here as well? He already had someone playing a part. Why not get his money’s worth?
A smirk twisted his lips.
He could hire some other men to do a little dirty work. Men who loved money above all. No need to dirty his hands.
The idea took root and expanded in his mind. It was almost too easy to think about her demise. She’d be humiliated and would go back to her big mansion and leave his Hall of Dinosaurs alone.
Then, he would be there, ready to step in and show the world what a real paleontologist looked like.
Hisname would be on all the placards.Hisname would be behind the Hall of Dinosaurs.Hisname would be synonymous with the greatest discoveries of all time.
THURSDAY, JULY13, 1916•JENSEN
Back at the boardinghouse, Devin chugged down three glasses of water in rapid succession. He’d marched around the God-forsaken desert landscape to work off his temper. But when he almost passed out from the heat and lack of food or water, common sense finally knocked into him, and he headed back here.
He caught a brief glimpse of Eliza on his way back but refused to acknowledge her. He couldn’t.
Because he’d almost kissed her. Even in his anger, he loved her with a passion he couldn’t comprehend.
But she didn’t see it. How could she? She didn’t seehim.
