by Eve Gaddy
“It’s too fast. For heaven’s sake, we’ve only known each other a few days.”
“Things like this don’t work on a timetable, Tessa. I wanted you the first time I saw you.”
Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest. “No, you didn’t. You didn’t even notice me. You were focused on Sheriff Fielder.”
He smiled and flicked a careless finger over her cheek. “The second time I saw you, then. When you chewed me out in front of my truck.” He released her and flipped the key in the ignition. The motor caught, revved. “Why don’t we just take it one day at a time and see what happens?”
She sucked in a deep breath and watched his profile as he steered the boat into the channel. His blond hair fell over his forehead, and she itched to smooth it back. Her gaze traveled down, over his chest to his arms, looking tan and powerful in a short-sleeved T-shirt. Pretty, sleek muscles, not bulky. She closed her eyes and swore to herself.
If she didn’t cool it, she was going to fall into bed, no, make that jump into bed with a man she’d known a matter of days.
Bad idea, she thought. But tempting. Extremely tempting.
BY WEDNESDAY, Tessa had seen Will a couple more times, briefly, at the murder site. Attempting to curb her disappointment that he hadn’t called, she told herself it was for the best. True, he’d said he’d been following leads and was out of touch, but she hadn’t been sure whether he was trying to let her down easy or really meant it. Given her track record with men, she figured he’d already dumped her, even before they’d gotten started. Still, he had looked discouraged when she’d gotten a glimpse of him, so maybe he’d been telling the truth.
The phone rang as she headed out the door. Hoping it was Will, she snatched it up, but the well-modulated voice she heard was feminine. “Hello, Mother.” Tessa closed her eyes and bowed her head. Great, the last person in the world she wanted to talk to right now.
“Theresa,” Olivia Lang said, “I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Where have you been?”
Tessa always wondered how Olivia—God forbid anyone call her Liv or Libby—managed to convey disgust, anger and irritation without ever raising her voice. “Sorry. I’ve been working. Why didn’t you leave a message and let me get back to you?”
Her mother sailed right past that with a disdainful sniff. “You know I don’t talk to machines. When will you be able to leave for Peru? They’re making up the team as we speak.”
“Peru?” For a moment Tessa couldn’t figure out what her mother was talking about. “Oh, the Donovan expedition. I don’t think I can make it.” Fingers tightening on the receiver, Tessa tensed and waited for the explosion. A very calm, controlled, and hideously uncomfortable explosion for those on the receiving end, she knew from experience.
“That is not acceptable, Theresa.” Ice coated Olivia’s voice. Tessa could imagine her eyes, blue and cold as permafrost, flashing with anger. “What is the delay?”
“I told you I’d been denied access to the Caddo dig because of the murder.” Had told her several times, in fact, but her mother had chosen to forget that. “I can’t possibly leave the country until my thesis is complete. But there has been progress. The police—the Rangers, actually—have now asked me to excavate the murder site and—”
“Really, Theresa.” Her mother’s tone progressed to frigid and disapproving. “The police? Now you’re involved with the police? How utterly common. ”
Tessa ground her teeth but remained silent. There was never any point in trying to explain something her mother didn’t want to hear. She considered anything Tessa told her about her current situation to be merely an excuse. Olivia Lang did not tolerate excuses.
“It doesn’t matter,” Olivia stated dismissively. “You must, simply must, find a way to be part of that expedition. The prestige of being on the team, well—” she laughed indulgently “—you’d be made for life.”
I don’t want to be “made for life,” Tessa thought rebelliously, then wondered where that had come from. After all, she’d spent the past two years, and several before that, buried in her career. She should want to be “made for life.” But the fact remained, she didn’t. She set those troubling thoughts aside to consider later, when she didn’t have to deal with her mother on top of everything else.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have time to chat now. I have a class I don’t want to be late for.”
“What do you mean, you have a class?” Olivia asked sharply. “You’ve been working at that Caddo burial site. Not that I ever understood why you chose Caddo Indians for your thesis, but we won’t get into that again.”
Damn, damn, damn, now she’d done it. She hadn’t meant to tell her mother about her teaching job. Too late, though, she’d have to come clean. Twisting the phone cord around her finger, she drew in a breath. “I accepted a teaching position here. At Caddo Lake College.”
“Caddo Lake College?” her mother echoed, making it sound as if she had named another planet. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t have. It’s quite small.”
“What on earth possessed you to take a teaching position at a place like that? What could it possibly offer you?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Mother,” she snapped, unable to hold her tongue. “I’m kind of fond of food.”
There was a stunned silence before her mother’s arctic tones filled the air. “I don’t appreciate your sarcasm. If I’d known you wanted to teach . . .” She hesitated and Tessa knew the wheels were turning. “Caddo Lake College. No, that won’t do at all,” she stated briskly. “I have some contacts, or possibly I could call in a favor or two. Harvard, or perhaps—”
“It’s temporary. Don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not worry? When my only child has forgotten all sense of responsibility, has involved herself with the police, and if that isn’t enough—”
“Gotta go,” Tessa interrupted, knowing she’d pay for it later. “Pepe just spit up a hair ball and I’m late for class.”
“A hair ball? What in the—”
Tessa quietly replaced the receiver, breathing a huge sigh of relief. A slow smile spread over her face. She didn’t often get the last word in an argument with her mother. She’d have thought by her age that she’d have learned to deal with Olivia better, but she never had. Things hadn’t been so bad when Tessa’s grandmother was alive, but a few years ago, when her father died, her mother had entered into the administrative area of archaeology. Her interest in Tessa’s career had quadrupled. That was a mixed blessing, because although Olivia had undoubtedly helped Tessa’s career along, she also wanted to manage it, just as she had her husband’s and her own. Tessa didn’t intend to let her.
At least she’d shown some backbone this time. Her step unconsciously lightening, Tessa left for class.
A FEW HOURS LATER, Tessa slid into the pea-green vinyl seat of a booth at the Caddo Kitchen, the café where she planned to meet Ellen for lunch. Her goal, a quick bite and then on to the site. Her progress hadn’t been as rapid as she’d have liked, but at least she had started, and her crew was proceeding with the burial mound itself.
She waved when Ellen arrived, though in a place the size of a postage stamp, the woman could hardly miss her. Today her friend looked practically subdued, in a striped sundress the colors of a package of Starburst candy.
“Tessa!” she almost shrieked as she took her seat. “You’re not going to believe who asked me out.”
Cassie, the waitress, appeared, and after the obligatory chat, they gave their orders. “Guess,” Ellen commanded as Cassie left.
“Robert Morrison,” Tessa said, referring to the dean of the Business College. It was widely held that Morrison had never cracked a smile, so the thought of him going out with the exuberant Ellen was a funny one.
“How did you know?” She seemed a little crestfalle
n that Tessa had guessed. “Aren’t you even shocked? I thought the man loathed me. Actually, I think he asked me out against his better judgment.” She primmed her mouth, then laughed.
“He watches you at faculty meetings. I’ve noticed it several times.”
“No way!” Ellen said, her eyes rounding. “Really?”
Tessa nodded. “Discreetly, of course. I think he’s nice. Are you going?”
“Absolutely.” She snatched up a cracker packet and ripped it open. “I can’t afford to turn down a free meal.”
“That’s not the only reason you’re going,” Tessa said shrewdly. “Admit it. You like him, too.”
“Where is that Cassie with our drinks?” Ellen said, fanning herself with a paper napkin. “I’m parched.”
“And I’m right,” Tessa said with satisfaction.
“Speaking of liking, what’s up with you and the very hot Ranger McClain?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Hmm?”
The very hot Ranger McClain had walked up just in time to hear Ellen’s comment. He couldn’t possibly have missed it, and considering his smile, Tessa would bet he hadn’t. “Nothing. A big, fat nothing,” she said, looking at him.
Ellen turned her head and her mouth dropped open comically. “Oops. Hi, Will.”
“Hi, Ellen. Tessa.” He nodded, a lazy smile curving his perfect mouth. No man should have a mouth that luscious, she thought. It simply wasn’t fair.
“Mind if I sit with you ladies? I hate to eat alone.”
“Have a seat,” Ellen said before Tessa could answer. Her lips quivered and she added, “Funny thing, we were just talking about you.”
“Is that a fact?” Will slid into the booth beside Tessa.
Lord, he was big, she thought. And so . . . close in the tiny booth. Even though she’d scooted over against the wall, their thighs rubbed against each other. Take a deep breath, she told herself, trying her best to ignore the tingling.
He signaled Cassie, who came instantly to his side. After giving his order he clasped his hands together on the marbled Formica table and looked at Ellen. “Tessa’s mistaken. There’s definitely something going on between us.”
Tessa choked in mid-sip.
“Or there will be if I have anything to say about it,” Will continued easily, turning to Tessa. “Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight? There’s a restaurant in Jefferson you might enjoy. Not far from the river.”
Ellen watched them with fascination.
Recovering, Tessa said, “What I’d like is to kick you.”
He gave her a reassuring grin. “Okay, as long as you’ll go to dinner with me.” He covered her hand with his, prompting her to look up at him. “Tessa, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I met you. I’d really like to be with you tonight. Say yes.”
Her heart took a slow tumble as she gazed into his eyes. If he wasn’t sincere, he sure gave a good impression of it.
“If you don’t, I will,” Ellen interjected. “Robert wasn’t anywhere near that smooth.”
“Yes,” Tessa said, capitulating recklessly.
The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, though Tessa discovered that Will had spent the past two days buried in work. Strain showed around his eyes and she wondered if part of that was due to worrying about his foster brother.
Ellen said she had an appointment, leaving Tessa waiting outside for Will, who had insisted on paying the bill. A pitiful yelp from several yards away snagged her attention. Two young boys and a large dog, she thought, smiling at the picture. But as she looked more closely, her smile faded. They were dragging the animal to the end of a dock by a rope, with something—several bricks—tied to it. Incredulous, she started toward them, then saw one of them kick the dog as the other tugged harder on the rope.
“Stop! Stop it! Don’t you dare throw that poor animal in the lake.” Panting, she reached the group a second after the boys had succeeded in shoving the dog off the end of the dock. Flailing desperately, the animal managed to stay afloat, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he’d be pulled under by the weight of the bricks.
Dimly aware of the boys scattering, Tessa kept her eye trained on the spot. She gave a brief, panicked thought to what jumping in that brackish water would feel like. But it didn’t matter, she couldn’t stand by and watch the poor thing drown.
Drawing a breath, she said a quick prayer and jumped in, as close to the animal as she could get. The water closed around her, dark and frightening, as vegetation and other nameless things brushed against her skin.
The dog disappeared beneath the surface just as she reached him. She grabbed for the rope around his neck, but missed. Cursing silently, she held her breath and went under. Opening her eyes, she saw the dark shape through the murky water. She wrapped her arms around him and kicked for the surface.
He squirmed, fought. She broke water, gulped in air before the struggling dog pulled her back under. Again she battled for breath, the dog clasped against her chest. The dock—so close, but it might as well have been a million miles. Strength ebbing, she closed her eyes in despair.
Let go, she thought. You’ll drown if you don’t. She sucked in more water, choked. No choice. With a last desperate surge, she fought her way to the surface. She heard a splash and opened her eyes just as Will’s strong arms closed around her.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, pushing her toward the dock.
“Help . . . the dog . . .” she gasped, her arms weakening, her mouth filling with foul water.
Though he cursed, he took the dog from her arms and pushed him up on the dock, bricks and all. The water closed over her head, but Will grabbed her and dragged her over to the dilapidated pier. Seconds later, he climbed out and hauled her onto the dock beside the hapless dog. Racked with coughs, she collapsed against him.
“Are you all right?” he demanded, his fingers digging into her shoulders. He looked angry, and something else she couldn’t quite define.
She nodded, still coughing. She tried not to think of what had been in the water or how much she’d swallowed. Neither spoke again for several minutes while Tessa regained her breath. “What the hell were you thinking, jumping in like that?” He finally asked, his voice harsh and angry. “You could have drowned.”
“I was thinking about saving the dog,” she retorted, placing a hand on the cowering animal’s back. His tail thumped. He seemed to realize she wanted to help him. “I didn’t have a choice. Some horrible boys threw him in.” She tried ineffectually to untie the rope, hampered by both the wet knot and the dog’s attempts to lick her face. “See, they tied these bricks around his neck.” Though she’d stopped coughing, she still tasted the nasty water.
“Tessa, you can’t swim enough to save yourself, much less this mutt. It was crazy for you to jump in.”
“I can swim.” Just not very well. And if Will hadn’t come in after them . . . “Thank you for helping me.” He’d saved the dog’s life, and possibly hers.
“That’s not the point. You had no business going in after that dog. Why didn’t you call for help or—”
“Will,” it occurred to her what she saw in his eyes. Fear. For her. “I’m all right.”
He glared at her. “I thought you were drowning. It scared the hell out of me.” He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, pushing his wet hair back. He looked at her a moment before a reluctant smile lifted his lips. “I guess it’s too much to expect you to pass up any creature in need.”
Or for him, either, she thought. She raised a hand to his cheek. “Thank you,” she repeated softly.
Shrugging it off, he rose, worked a hand into his pocket with difficulty and withdrew it, holding a pocketknife. “We can cut the brick off, but I’m going to leave the rope on him to use as a lead.”
“They were trying to drown him,” she s
aid, rising, her voice hitching as she watched him deal summarily with the rope. “How could they?”
“People do,” Will said, handing her the cut end of the rope. “It sucks, but it happens. I don’t know about you, but I could stand a shower. Let’s go to my place. I’ll find you something to wear.”
At her blank look, he pointed to the Kit and Caboodle Cottages, across the road. “It’s right over there.”
She stared down at the dog, now sitting on his rump and happily panting. “Cruelty to animals is illegal, isn’t it? I want you to arrest them.”
He spared her a frustrated glance. “If I had a hope in hell of finding them, I could do that. Did you know them?” She shook her head. “Get a good look at them?”
“Sort of. I might recognize them if I saw them again.”
“Asking around about who’s been drowning dogs lately isn’t likely to gain me any answers. You’re probably going to have to settle for saving the mangy mutt’s life.”
At least she’d been dressed for the field, she thought gloomily as she sloshed across the road after Will. He’d been dressed in his usual jeans and button-down shirt, which now lay plastered against that powerful body. Oh, well, everything would wash, she thought philosophically. But her shorts would never be the same, with the muck and slime from the lake soaked into them. And her best running shoes, the ones she worked in, were a total loss. The dog didn’t help matters by jumping up and planting his enormous muddy paws squarely on what had once been a white T-shirt. Apparently unaware of his close call, he was winding the rope happily around her legs, trying to trip her.
“You really can’t arrest them?”
“Not if I can’t find them. Give me a description and I’ll ask Fielder. He might know who they are.” He stopped at the door and smiled at her. “But if you ever do see them, just let me know. I can sure as hell haul them in and scare the bejesus out of them. Okay?”
“You’re a nice man,” she told him.
“Don’t believe it.” He grinned. “How do you know this isn’t a ploy of mine to get you naked?”
