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‘I’m still hopeful,’ Rhona said.
Calum jerked up, almost knocking his head.She followed me.‘About what? Hopeful that we don’t find anything?’
‘Yes, of course, cheeky.’
‘Hmm.’ He poured a cup of tea into a plastic mug and passed it to her, taking care not to touch her. Too risky.
‘How come you have all this stuff in your car?’
‘Because this is my mobile office. I have properties all over the island. From Fionnphort to Tobermory and in between.’
‘And you’ve never had archaeological conditions before?’
‘This is my first new build.’ He perched on the edge of the boot, bringing him eye level with her chest.Shit.First mistake. He dropped his gaze to the swirling liquid in his cup. ‘Most of my properties have just needed general upgrades. The one at Fionnphort was an extension and no conditions were attached other than the aesthetics had to be in keeping with the area.’
‘I think it’ll become more and more a thing here.’ Rhona sipped her tea. ‘So little archaeology work has been done on this island.’
‘I still don’t share your enthusiasm, sorry.’
‘Don’t you care about who might have lived here in the past?’
‘Not really.’
She snorted. ‘At least you’re honest, but I can’t imagine that mindset. You want to build a home here. People’s lives are going to unfold inside it. Imagine unearthing a story of someone else’s life. People whose stories have been buried for thousands of years. Imagine finding even one clue as to how they lived.’
‘I don’t think my imagination works like that. I tend to imagine things in the future rather than the past.’
She flashed him a smile. ‘I’m going to convert you.’
‘Good luck with that.’ He raised his mug. ‘Just make sure it doesn’t cost me any more money.’
∞∞∞
Calum checked his watch – almost three o’clock. The tension in his shoulders ebbed. Nothing of note had turned up. He glanced at Rhona. Her head hung to the side, her hands slung in her pockets. Her bounce had deflated, or was she concentrating?
A few minutes later, she held up her hand again, and the driver backed off. Crouching, she scrabbled around in the dirt. Calum approached, folding his arms, a frown growing. His shadow crossed where Rhona was combing the ground and she squinted up. ‘You’re not going to like this.’
‘You’ve found something?’
‘It might not be anything significant, an old farm wall perhaps, but I have to investigate it.’
Calum sucked in his lips and rubbed his chin. So this was it.
‘Look.’ She beckoned him. He stooped and peered over her shoulder. ‘You have to get right in.’
He shuffled in beside her, resting his backside on his heels. His bare arm a hair’s breadth from hers. The heat from her skin was palpable. She pointed into the soil at a ridge. ‘This is a solid line and it’s man-made. Do you see here?’
‘Kind of, but it doesn’t look like anything to me.’
‘That’s why I have to dig. Then I can investigate it. You’ll need to call off the excavator for today. This is a hand job.’
‘A what?’
‘Shit, sorry, that sounded wrong, didn’t it?’ She screwed up her face.
Calum covered his eyes and shook his head, then slowly drew his fingers around his jaw. ‘Ok, I’ll tell the driver he can go.’ He made to get up but stumbled over an uneven patch of overturned soil and fell onto his backside. ‘Bugger.’ He leapt to his feet, dusting the mud from his rear.
Rhona smirked. ‘I told you to wear old stuff.’
