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“That I slept with him?”
“That you care about him.”
I shook my head, gritting my teeth. “He had his chance. I can never forgive him for what he did.”
“That prat really left you in a lurch, didn’t he?”
I had to laugh at his word choice. “Yeah.”
“What a wanker.”
“Among other things.”
David set his glass on the table and turned back to me. “I asked you if you believe in destiny.” He swallowed and looked down at my open palm, then into my face. “Well, I do. I almost didn’t get my doctorate in Native American studies. My father kept trying to convince me to be a barrister. He said I’d never make much money living in the States and teaching history. Even my American mother didn’t want to lose me to the States, as she put it. But something told me it was the right decision. And then this archaeological site.” He waved toward the front door. “I wasn’t supposed to be here, Ellie. I couldn’t get my schedule cleared to make it happen and then suddenly it worked out.” A burning intensity filled his eyes.
“You think this is destiny? They could all be coincidences that brought you to avery bad place.” I sighed. “Look, David. You’re drunk, and you can’t make this decision lightly. I have a guilty enough conscience as it is.”
“Fair enough,” he drained the last of his glass. “You’re right. I need to give this serious thought.” He startled me by grabbing my chin and swinging my face around to his. “But I promise you this: if I decide to help you, I’m totally in. I won’t leave you to face this alone.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to find the words to respond. I didn’t trust his promise. I’d lost too many significant people in my life to believe such promises could be made.
Finally, I smiled and said the only thing I could bring myself to say.
“We’ll see about that.”
Chapter15
David had a headache when he woke up. After he took a shower and dressed, I asked him how he felt and he said, “’I’m surprised I’m not still wankered.”
If ‘wankered’ meant drunk, I was impressed. He’d sucked down the equivalent of four shots of whiskey in about ten minutes, less than four hours ago.
I dug through my salvageable laundry for something to wear for my lunch shift at Darrell’s and then bagged up the clothes that had landed in the blood for relaundering.
David was drinking a cup of coffee when I entered the living room.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
We had barely seen each other while we were getting ready, but on the walk to the inn, everything we weren’t saying hung like a heavy cloud over both of us.
“Ellie—”
“Look, David—”
We spoke at the same time and I smiled. “Let me say this first.” I turned to look up at him. “I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but I really want you to give this serious thought today, okay? This isn’t a game and it’s not a challenge. If you decide you want to walk away, I’ll understand. Honestly, I think you’re crazy if you decide not to.”
He stopped in front of a Mexican restaurant and turned to face me. “What happened last night seems like a bad dream, and getting pissed on whiskey didn’t help matters much, but I know that all of this is real. And I promise to give it serious thought and consideration. I’ll give you an answer tonight after I get back from the colony site.”
“You can take longer than that.”
He shook his head. “That’s all I’ll need.”
We didn’t speak the rest of the way until we went through the side door. He leaned close, lowering his voice. “I’ll keep my eye out for anything I think will help you, whether I decide I’m in this or not.”
“Thank you.” I watched him head for the living room with his laptop, feeling guilty about what I hoped he chose.
David headed for the living room with his laptop, and I snuck into the laundry room to pretreat my bloody clothes on the table by the washing machine.
