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His brows rose. "Jeez, River, did you even look at it? You're the one that found the damn artifact; how do I know more about this book than you do?"
I ignored him. "Have you seen it yet?"
He shook his head. "No, we only got in late last night. Neath is at Dr. Blanton's house now, but I wanted to surprise you first. You…”
His cocky smile fell a fraction, and I caught the barest hint of uncertainty in the depths of his brown eyes. "I hope you don't mind that I—"
Relief swelled inside me like a balloon, and I was crossing the room before he could finish speaking. I flung my arms around him, squeezing so hard we both stumbled to the side. "I'm glad you're here, Teddy," I told him, laughing as he growled at the nickname. "I have so much to tell you."
"Tell me while you're driving," Theo said. He patted the top of my head, then took me by the shoulders and turned me toward the door. "Raheem's been texting me all morning. Where were you, anyway?"
I cringed, glad he couldn't see my face. "Oh," I said, hoping my voice sounded casual, "just at a friend's."
"Well, you didn't miss anything here." Theo snagged his beat-up backpack as we passed through the door and swung it over his shoulder. "Other than Vanessa insisting that the storm last night was because of the book."
I stopped in my tracks, then stumbled as Theo ran straight into my back.
"Oof." His hands clamped around my waist, nearly knocking us both to the floor. He caught his balance at the last second and tugged me upright. "Give a guy a warning, will ya?"
I ignored him. "What did Vanessa say?" I demanded, spinning to face him.
"Whoa," Theo said, taking a step back with his hands raised. "Cool your jets. She was just doing her usual Fox Mulder thing. You know how she is."
"Yeah," I said, "but what did she say?"
"Uh." Theo rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. Curses. Something about trapped spirits set free. She'd been talking to some old lady in town, I guess."
"She didn't tell anyone about the book, did she?" I said, horrified.
"What? No, of course not." Theo resumed walking. "You want me to drive?"
"No," I said, hurrying to catch up. "You are not a better driver than me."
"I mean, I am," Theo said, "but I mostly meant because you're all—" he threw his hands into the air and waved them around—"about Vanessa and her ghost stories."
"I am a calm, professional scientist," I said, in my most level and measured tone. "I have a doctorate."
"Hey, doctor," Theo said.
I glared at him. "What?"
Theo held up my bag and grinned. "You forgot your keys," he said.
10
"Reunion tour, Palia edition," Theo said, stretching his legs out on the wet grass. "Nice to have the band back together."
"Band, pfft," Raheem said. He flicked a pebble at Theo. "Face it, you're a roadie." To me, he added, "I can't believe we have to fraternize with the History department."
"Watch it, Indiana Jones." Theo picked the pebble out of a fold of his shirt and deposited it onto Raheem's screen. "You might need that later."
"Do you hear this office snob?" Raheem said, turning to me with a look of feigned incredulity. "Just because he sits in front of a computer all day—"
"Excuse me," said a voice.
Raheem and I looked up guiltily at Dr. Blanton. Raheem reached very slowly for his trowel and dragged it across a layer of muddy soil.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can see you're working very hard," she said. "Theo, I need to steal you for a moment."
