“Look.” I point to the fragments, then to my sketch. “This vessel wasn’t just ceremonial. The designs are showing the location of something.”
Calvin moves closer, studying the fragments with new attention. “How can you tell?”
“Because I’ve seen this on other sites. Ancient cultures often kept their history this way, drawn or written into objects that meant something to them.” I’m talking fast now, my fatigue forgotten in the rush of discovery.
“So, this map shows…”
“Where we are. Or, more specifically, where the temple complex should be. If I can decode the rest of the symbols, I might be able to predict exactly where the main chamber is located.”
Calvin is staring at the fragments with an expression I haven’t seen before. Wonder. Hope. Maybe even respect. “You’re sure this is a map?”
“Yes.” I meet his eyes directly. “I’m sure.”
For a moment, something shifts between us. The tension eases. The air crackles with excitement. I smile. He smiles—and what a smile it is.
Then Ella’s cry breaks the moment.
“Go,” Calvin says, and his voice is different. Softer. “Take care of her. This can wait a few minutes.”
He’s probably being generous because he just received a huge cookie, but right now I don’t care.
“Hey,” he says as I’m leaving the tent. “You made a significant discovery. Good work, Dr. Halford.”
It’s the first genuine compliment he’s given me, and despite everything, despite all the frustration and tension, I feel a warm glow of satisfaction.
I was right. My instincts were right. All those hours studying while everyone else rested, all my training and experience and Henry’s teachings… they paid off. “Thank you,” I manage. “I’ll start the detailed analysis tonight, after Ella’s asleep.”
I walk towards my tent, trying not to read too much into Calvin’s change of mood. Trying not to care. Because I know that he’s only sated right now. As soon as we hit the next bump in theroad, as soon as things aren’t moving fast enough for his liking (which is nearly always), he’ll be barking like a drill sergeant again.
The trick is to not let my guard down around him. Which I know I won’t.
As long as he never again smiles at me like he just did.
CHAPTER 12
CALVIN
Iwake from the dream disoriented, my heart racing.
Georgia was laughing, her head thrown back, eyes bright with joy. We were walking on a beach somewhere. Somewhere tropical, warm. She was wearing a sundress that caught in the breeze, and when she turned to look at me, her smile was…
I sit up abruptly, scrubbing my hands over my face.Yikes.
It was just a dream. A meaningless dream brought on by stress and isolation and too much time in the desert sun. But my chest still feels tight with a longing I don’t want to examine.
At the same time, I know it doesn’t mean anything. Georgia is the only woman here remotely close to my age who isn’t married. Of course my subconscious would fixate on her. It’s basic biology: proximity plus limited options creating false attraction.
Not that I’m attracted to her. Obviously not. She’s infuriating. Defensive. Constantly distracted by her child. We argue more than we agree. She called me out in front of the entire team. Twice.
The fact that she’s also intelligent and passionate and… fine, yes, objectively attractive even when exhausted and covered in sand and sweat, that’s irrelevant. I don’t mix business and personal. I never have. And I’m not about to start with an employee who’s already made working together complicated enough.
Throwing the blanket off, I check my watch. Nearly seven. Later than I usually wake, but I was up past midnight reviewing the topographical surveys after Georgia’s discovery. The mapping system. That was brilliant work, exactly the kind of insight I hired her for.
And today, we’ll redirect the excavation based on her findings. Today, we might actually find something significant.
The thought should excite me. Instead, I feel unsettled, like something is off-balance… Probably just the dream lingering in my consciousness.
I dress quickly and step outside. The camp is already active, with voices coming from the excavation site, the clatter of equipment, Fatima singing something in Arabic while she prepares breakfast.
