“If he’s offering to watch Sage and loaning you his truck”—She smirked as he spoke. Okay fine, the Bronco was a truck if her dad said so—“he’d call you his girlfriend if you let him.”
She thought on those words after they’d said their goodbyes, as she texted Toby to let him know she’d gotten there safely and was on the way back, then pulled away from her family home. She’d dared not tell her dad that Toby had offered her a job casting her as the principal investigator of the Legacy’s prehistoric rock shelters. He’d tell her the man was ready to buy a ring…
The thought slowed her churning mind. They’d only known each other for a short amount of time, but already she felt as if she knew him well. She wanted it to work with him, and if that was going to happen, she’d have to take a deep breath and step off that cliff of emotional safety and into the abyss. She’d have to give him a full chance and not guard her trust like a wounded animal in a snare. Sage was lucky to have never known his father, for at least the heartbreak of a little boy waiting for his deadbeat dad to show up wasn’t his reality. But she might have prevented many a good man from ever getting close to them and becoming a father figure because she always kept them at arm’s length. She didn’t want to live like that anymore. If Toby was serious enough to buy out Porter’s Grocery Store’s supply of peanut butter, she ought to return the favor, relax, and see where this thing led.
Her phone buzzed on the console beside her.
Toby:Drive carefully, babe.
She smiled as she took in the stretch of long, flat road laid out before her, receding from the reach of her headlights into the milky darkness. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day on the jobsite. And yet she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she thought of the blond man waiting for her return with the porch lights on and a warm bed for her to crash in. After nearly three hours of driving back in the wee hours of morning, she finally turned onto the most beautiful stretch of ranch land she’d ever seen, with one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen waiting up for her, as promised. Well, dozing on a porch chair.
Toby stood up and shed a fleece blanket from around his shoulders, stepping down off the steps as she pulled the Bronco to park in the circle drive. Nights in the desert were surprisingly chilly sometimes when the heat dissipated from the gravel. She pushed the door open, beginning to climb down, when he took her by the waist and lifted her the rest of the way, planting his lips against hers for a quick peck—
“Whoa.” She looked him over. His hair. It was clean cut, trimmed. The scruff before had been rebellious. He looked the same but so different. Fresh. Ready for something new.
“Welcome back,” he smiled, nuzzling her ear.
She ran her palm up to hold his head and feel the soft prickling from the clippers, taking in his smell, pecking his neck beside her lips. “You cut your hair. Why?”
He shrugged, still nuzzling her, and didn’t answer. “You like it?”
She smiled fondly, nodding. “You look so grown up, Doctor Dixon.”
He snorted. “Everything okay with your folks?”
She contemplated the fact that he hadn’t actually answered her question. “Yup. My dad’s probably with her by now. They’ll Skype with me tomorrow.” Not wanting to talk further of her mother, exhaustion threatened to drag her eyes shut. “Sage is asleep. And Peanut Butter and Jelly are in the back.”
“More peanut butter? Dang, you weren’t kidding about his obsession. I already bought five jars.”
She couldn’t help laughing. “I mean the goats.”
He snorted. “Cute names.”
Smiling, she slipped from his arms and walked around the vehicle, pulling open the door on a creak. Sage, in his booster seat and propped against the window, tipped outward. She lunged to catch him, while Toby captured him around the torso to prevent farther falling. She marveled at his reaction, done so reflexively.
Toby unclicked his seatbelt and hauled the boy down, who now stretched groggily. Rose felt the need to take him into her arms, but when the child resettled his head to Toby’s shoulder and draped an arm around his neck, falling back asleep, she watched Toby freeze, his breath catching, and his eyes met hers over Sage’s hair. What was he thinking? She stayed her reaction and held Toby’s gaze. And—blast it—swallowed hard and allowed whatever was happening to happen.
“You grab his bags?” he finally whispered. “I’ll come back for the goats.”
She did so and followed Toby up the stairs to put her son to bed.
*
The sun wasso hot today that even in the rock shelter, Rose began to worry. It was only twelve thirty, but already Kelsey had run out of water after forgetting her second jug, and another student was complaining that they didn’t feel well. Last thing she needed was a student going to the hospital with heat stroke.
“Let’s pack up, guys!” she called. “And get y’all back to the AC.”
She met with no complaints. Trowels dropped where they were in the dirt. Notebooks and site forms fluttered as they were shoved into backpacks. She handed Kelsey her water jug. “Pour some in your bottle. I brought extra today.”
“Thanks, Doctor R,” Kelsey muttered, taking it and unscrewing her lid to pour it in. “I guess I’m not so cut out for this archaeology thing, am I?”
Rose smiled wearily. Kelsey’s enthusiasm had waned over the past two and a half weeks, but Rose didn’t want to be discouraging.
“There’re lots of specialties in archaeology. You don’t have to be an expert on panther shaman. My program is designed to give you general experience and practice, that’s all. You know…I think there’s an archaeologist in you yet. You just need to find your niche,” she said with an encouraging lift to her voice. “Don’t give up on this program, though. Even if you want to become an expert on, say, Greek wine vessels, the practice you get here will help you achieve your goals. And see? Already you’ve gotten over your fear of tarantulas.”
Kelsey laughed and smiled, too, and Rose led her beleaguered crew down the trail into the canyon that wavered in the heat, to hike back up to the RV site. Once there, she ensured that all the AC units were cranked and that everyone had water. No longer fearing that she’d have to rush a student to the nearest urgent care, she pulled out her phone to see if Toby had texted her. He’d said he’d let her know when he and Sage got back to the house, and she was anxious to see them.
A photo sat in the screen. She tapped it, entered her password, and the full message opened. A selfie, time-stamped from a few hours before. Rose smiled. Sage was grinning, the tip of…was it a light saber sticking up by his face? She’d never bought Sage a light saber. Had Toby given it to him?