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ChapterFourteen
When Rick led Olivia over to Dr. Roth’s Jeep, she let out a squeal of delight. “We get to use the Jeep?”
Her enthusiasm was irresistible. “You bet. Roth okayed it. If we’re going to be digging up lost treasure, we need to look the part.”
“Damn right.” She climbed into the front seat. “I can’t believe Dr. Roth allowed me to go. Grant’s got more seniority, and this is his area of study.”
“You’re the one that found the site. And actually…” As he got in next to her, he hesitated, not wanting to trigger her anxiety.
Too late. She whipped around to face him, her eagerness turning to apprehension. “What is it?”
“Since you’re new to this and you suffer from topographic-disorientation-whatever, there’s a chance you might not have marked the location correctly.” He pulled away from the parking area and headed toward the road.
“Oh, shit. What if I messed up?” She rubbed her hands over her face. “Grant’s going to kill me if I can’t find the site again.”
He placed his hand on her thigh but didn’t let it linger. Since she’d changed from her long, baggy surveying pants into shorts, the feel of her bare skin was too enticing. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stress you out.”
“I left a tiny pile of stones next to the site. That might help.” She was clasping her hands together so tightly he wished he’d kept quiet. But the truth was, Grant would lose his shit if they failed to relocate her site.
Best not to worry about that yet.
Rick flipped through the radio dials until he found Viva FM. Some old-school pop might brighten the mood. As soon as “Dancing Queen” came on, Olivia started singing along.
Even if she was sweaty and dusty from the morning’s survey, her hair coming loose from that annoying ponytail, she was as desirable as ever. No matter how hard he tried to resist her, his attraction to her grew stronger with each passing day. Watching her geek out over a handful of eighth-century pottery made her even more appealing. He loved that she still held an unabashed passion for all things archaeology-related.
“Hey.” She turned to him. “You’re being quiet. Is my singing annoying you?”
“No. I like it. I should bring out my guitar again some night. If you’d be up for singing?”
“Yeah, why not?” She turned down the volume on the radio. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else on your mind? Besides the crushing fear that I might not be able to find my awesome cache of potsherds?”
“We’ll find it. But I was thinking I was right all along. You weren’t a failure. You just needed a little time.”
She uncapped her water bottle and took a drink. “I got lucky, that’s all. If TJ had been in my transect, he wouldn’t have missed that pottery. Same with you.”
“Maybe. But this time, the win goes to you. Why not bask in it?”
“True.” She leaned her head against the seat. “It’s so nice to sit up front. You have no idea how squished it is in the back of that teensy rental car. And I’m not even tall.” She let out a sigh of contentment. “Do you think if we pass a town or village on the way back, we could stop for ice cream? I like grapes and watermelon, but they’re not real dessert. What I need is ice cream. Cone optional.”
“Pistachio, right?”
Her eyes lit up. “Good memory. Wow. And you liked…butter pecan?”
“Be serious. No one likes butter pecan except my grandfather.”
She poked his shoulder. “Kidding. You liked chocolate peanut butter cup.”
The fact that she remembered made him smile. At Clear Lake, they’d frequented an ice cream stand a mile from their dig site. He’d often teased her about her pistachio fixation—because who preferred pistachio to chocolate?
He parked alongside the road at the exact spot they’d started their survey that morning. All they had to do was retrace Olivia’s steps back to the waypoint she’d marked on her GPS. Grabbing the equipment from the Jeep, he passed her the dig bag filled with smaller tools while he took the heavier load—a shovel, a large wooden sieve, two buckets, and a tarp.
As they followed the path of her transect, he hoped Olivia hadn’t marked the wrong spot. But even if she had, he was willing to comb the entire area until they got results. He didn’t want her to feel like a failure again.
When they reached the waypoint, Olivia rushed forward and knelt next to a small pile of stones. “Found it! I made this mini cairn just in case. This is where I was digging.” A few potsherds were visible near the small hole she’d clawed in the dirt.
Rick’s chest loosened in relief. Now they could take as much time as they wanted. As long as they brought back samples, Dr. Roth wouldn’t care if they were gone all afternoon. For the next few hours, Rick would have Olivia all to himself.
Remember, you’re just friends. No messing around.
