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‘Kind of. We were kids, so we talked most of the time. It was brilliant.’
‘Weren’t you freezing?’
‘Only the time it fell down.’
‘Good god.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose and his watch gleamed on his beautifully formed forearms.
‘Haven’t you ever been camping before?’
‘No. We once toured in a campervan but that was it.’
‘You haven’t lived. It’s an awesome way to become one with the environment.’
‘Why would I want to?’
‘You are hopeless.’
‘I tried to warn you.’
She smirked. ‘I thought archaeology would be like coming face to face with the past and experiencing it first-hand but it’s mostly either mud or computers. One extreme to the other. I do love it, but it’s like a glorified hobby sometimes. The pay is rubbish, no offence.’
‘None taken. All my employees complain about that but I’m not made of money.’
‘My parents think you’re loaded.’
‘Half the people on this island think that. I do have money and I am fortunate but it’s not endless and I’ve worked for it.’
‘I know you work hard. I wouldn’t want your job for any money.’ Rhona leaned over and patted his knee, before kneeling on the mucky ground. ‘So, your bucket list just got longer. Now, it’s to get you to like history, to get you mucky and to get you to sleep in a bivvy.’
‘That’s your bucket list, not mine.’
‘Seriously? You think my bucket list is to give you a history lesson, then do dirty stuff before sleeping with you in a tent?’ She screwed up her lips, struggling to keep her face straight.
Calum put his hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. ‘You are awful.’ He steepled his fingers, pointing them at her. ‘Really awful.’
‘Sorry not sorry.’
He got to his feet and carefully picked a path through the mud to where she was kneeling. ‘So, what is your real bucket list? To find a golden mummy in the Valley of the Kings or something?’
‘Not really.’ She grabbed her trowel and scraped at the wall. ‘I would love to go to Egypt for a holiday but I’ve already travelled so much for work. Doing this dig is fulfilling one of my dreams. Another thing I’ve always wanted to do is hire a boat and travel around the islands to see how they connect by sea. That was much more common in the past than it is now and I’d love to experience it myself.’
‘I’ve got a boat,’ he said.
‘You don’t, do you?’ She knelt up level with his crotch and he inched back.
‘Yes. I do. But I’m not letting you loose with it. Though I might take you if you ask nicely.’
‘Get stuffed. I might be on my knees but I’m not begging a Matheson for any favours.’
‘Nicely put, Miss Lamond.’
She pout-smiled at him.
‘But I’m joking.’ He flicked back his hair. ‘I would take you… If you wanted.’
‘Really?’ She cocked her head and he nodded. ‘I’d like it if you were with me.’
‘I think I’d—’ He stopped and spun around. Voices. Rhona sat up tall. She’d heard them too. Someone shouted Calum’s name in the distance.
