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“I hope we find some cool fossils,” Ace agreed. “Sweet dreams, angel.”
Feeling the skin on her back tingle at his endearment, she murmured, “You, too, handsome.” Holding the phone to her chest for a brief moment, Barbara wondered at how quickly she was becoming attached to the lonely biker. One thing was for sure, she was too worked up to sleep.
Rolling out of bed, she threw open her closet doors. Rummaging around, she found a tight black skirt and her smallest white button-up shirt. She tossed them onto the bed and dropped down at her tiny vanity. Clicking on her flatiron, she dabbed a little makeup on and arranged her red hair in a messy, cute style most often seen on women trying too hard to be sexy. It was exactly the look she was going for tonight.
Sliding into the clothing, she pulled on a pair of white thigh-high socks. Though she didn’t have glasses, she tucked a number-two pencil behind her ear. Using her selfie stick, she captured about twenty images.
Pulling up his number, she sent Ace the one with the most cleavage. Tossing her phone onto the bed, she pulled off her teacher’s outfit and turned off the light. Less than five minutes later, her phone jingled.
Reaching her hand from under the blanket, she grabbed it. Instead of a message, there was one picture. Smiling to herself, she expanded it to full screen. Her hot biker had sent her a picture of himself in the buff. He definitely looked all kinds of hot with his chest out. Annoyingly, the image at the bottom went all the way down without displaying the goods.
Chewing on her lip, her fingers flew.You’re a tease, mister sexy pants.
He messaged back immediately.It takes one to know one. Sleep tight, angel.
~ Ace ~
Pulling in behind the van, Ace quickly realized they were in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but pristine wilderness, as far as the eye could see, in every direction. Being a guy who loved the outdoors, it was a nice reprieve from the hustle of his everyday life. Barbara’s dig was today, and Tiffany’s little get-together was next Saturday. Truth be told, this was as full as his social calendar had ever been.
“This is the GEO coordinate. He said we’d be able to see where the ground had been disturbed near the tractor, which we aren’t supposed to touch.”
Walking over to her, Ace commented dryly, “It looks expensive, so I’m not surprised.”
Hipster chick waved from about twenty yards away. “I found it. There’s something here all right.”
Opening the back of the van, she began handing out canvas rolls of what appeared to be tools. Ace walked over and grabbed some shovels. Sure enough, area had been dozed, revealing some partially crumbled indentations in the dry, sandy soil.
“We need to work around the perimeter of the site and make our way inward. Be careful where you step. Toss the shovels. This find is too fragile for anything but hand tools.”
Taking out a brush, Barbara kneeled down and began gently brushing the dirt away. Everyone crowded around to see what she was doing. Ace watched her carefully brush away the shale to reveal an indentation in the soft rock.
“This is called Pierre Shale and was deposited around seventy-five million years ago. This area was probably a shallow inlet linked to an inland sea that covered most of the Great Plains.”
Pausing to explain, she seemed so content. “Then sediment in the seawater formed a black sludge on the seafloor and eventually hardened into shale. I know it seems strange to see these little crustaceans in an area we don’t normally associate with the ocean, but that’s exactly how it happened.”
One of her students asked curiously, “How many fossils do you think we’ll find?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m uncertain of the number or the viability at this point.” Gesturing toward the hill in front of them, she stood. “I believe we will find most of the fossils concentrated in the shallow crescent around this side of the hill.”
Hipster chic responded excitedly, “This is way cooler than I thought it was going to be.”
“Archeology always is, and the late Cretaceous period is absolutely fascinating. Let’s begin by inspecting the area around the hill to be sure my theory about location is accurate.”
“This area is pretty dry.”
Glancing at the student who spoke, she nodded. “The limited vegetation actually works in our favor. There isn’t as much debris to remove.”
As they walked around to the other side of the hill, Ace’s Spidey senses started going off like crazy. It was something about the terrain. Stooping down, he noticed the ground seemed worn. Touching the arid soil, he saw tire tracks moving around the side of the hill. It was strange, since the farmer was clearly using his tractor and not a truck or jeep, by the look of the tracks.
Suddenly, Barbara was at his side. “Did you find a fossil?”
“Something’s not right. We should load up and get out of here.”
“What do you mean…”
Hipster chick shouted out ahead of them. “Holy shit, what is that awful smell!”
That was the moment Ace recognized the extremely faint scent in the air. “Stop. Don’t go any farther.”
