“Time to wake up.”
Curse you, Rick. Not only had he invaded Olivia’s dreams, now she couldn’t get him out of her head.
The voice took on a teasing tone. “I’m warning you. Don’t make me tip your cot over.”
Her eyes flew open. It was Rick. What was he doing? He crouched beside her cot, getting a little too close for comfort.
“What the hell?” she said. “It’s only five thirty. I have another half hour of sleep left.”
“We’re on breakfast duty. Remember? I mentioned it during survey training. The teams rotate every five days.” He pointed to the kitchen. “Come help as soon as you’re dressed.”
“Five more minutes.” For once, her nemesis, the evil Crowy McRooster, had decided to sleep in. She wanted to take full advantage.
“I’m serious. I’ll tip you over, princess.”
She eased herself to a sitting position but refused to meet his eyes. Her thin tank top and tiny sleep shorts exposed too much of her bare skin. She crossed her arms, trying to hide her lack of a bra since the cool morning air had made her nipples perkier than usual. “Go away. I’ll be there as soon as I put some clothes on.”
He backed away from her, wearing a grin. “You can come as you are. It’s a good look.”
She tried to muster up a scowl, but instead of being angry, his nearness aroused other feelings. All because last night’s dreams had drifted into the erotic zone. Though they were a welcome departure from the nightmares she’d had about surveying, the steamy visions had thrown her off-kilter.
Lately, everything about Rick was throwing her off-kilter. Too often, she caught herself staring at him, admiring his toned physique, his warm hazel eyes, or the way his encouraging smile lit up every part of his face. When she was alone, her thoughts drifted back to those long-ago nights at the lake, when they’d delighted in exploring each other’s bodies. What would it feel like to touch him now? To stroke his rock-hard muscles and relish the warmth of his bare skin?
Pull yourself together. It’s five thirty in the morning.
By the time she got to the outbuilding that housed the kitchen, Rick was there, along with TJ. The term “kitchen” was generous—the gas stove resembled an antique, the cupboards were missing their doors, and the tiny sink barely held any dishes. Dented pots and pans took up an entire counter.
She reviewed the list of breakfast fare stuck to the bulletin board: hard-boiled eggs, sliced melon, figs, apricots, peasant bread, Greek yogurt, honey, juice, tea, hot water. The same breakfast they’d had every morning since she’d arrived. Not that she minded, but she would have killed for real coffee. All they had was a jar of Nescafé.
Rick tossed her a melon. “Can you cut this into slices? Knives are in the top drawer.”
“Sure. Where are Brynn and Marisol? Shouldn’t they be helping us?”
“This kitchen’s small enough as it is. I figured the three of us could handle breakfast without them.”
“No fair.” TJ filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove. “I can’t believe you’re letting Brynn slack off.”
“You want to wake her?” Olivia asked.
“Hard pass.” TJ turned up the heat on the burner. “She’s already bitchy enough.”
Olivia carved up the melon and arranged the slices in a bowl. The fruit smelled so cloying she suspected it was past its prime. “I can ask her if she wants to switch with someone on Stuart’s team. Maybe Logan.”
Rick grabbed a bowl of hard-boiled eggs from the fridge. “Let’s get through today’s survey, and we’ll see where we’re at.”
“Then it’s time for the beach, baby.” TJ lifted his hand and met Olivia’s for a high five.
One more day and they’d get their first break. A whole day off with no agenda other than beach time. She couldn’t wait.
The morning’s drive took them over the same stretch of coastal plain they’d been surveying all week. Since Marisol had decided to join them, the back seat of the Kia was more cramped than usual. Olivia fought back a stab of resentment toward Brynn, who demanded the front seat on every ride. Worse yet, she fiddled with the radio constantly, never able to settle on a station for more than one song.
Rick stopped the car on a small dirt road beside a stretch of farm field. Olivia’s stomach knotted as she extracted herself from the back seat. Despite exerting every effort not to hinder their team, she kept coming up short. Yesterday, she’d been so determined to keep up that she pushed herself too hard. When her asthma kicked in, she had to stop until she got it under control.
“Okay, everyone,” Rick said. “We’re still on the coastal plain, so you all know the drill. I realize our pace hasn’t matched the other teams, but none of you will get penalized for it. That being said, if you have a problem with my leadership, please come to me first before going to Grant so I can work out a solution. If you’d like to switch teams, I can try to accommodate your needs starting next week. Any questions?”
Olivia waited for Brynn’s response, but she said nothing, keeping her eyes on her phone. Like she didn’t give a shit that she’d gotten Rick in trouble.
“All right,” Rick said. “Since this is Marisol’s first day of survey, she’s going to be walking along with me.”
Olivia was pleased he’d agreed to her suggestion. Even better, he’d offered to let Marisol shadow him for the next few days.
Marisol went to stand beside him, anxiety etched on her delicate features. At least she was properly dressed for her first day out, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, cotton pants, and a bucket hat. Though she might roast in the heat, she wouldn’t end up with Olivia’s sunburn-from-hell.
Brynn looked up, as if suddenly aware of what was going on. “Why does she get special treatment? I didn’t get to shadow Rick.”
“You can shadow me if you want,” TJ said. “Since I’m probably the person here with the most experience. After Rick, of course.”
She scowled at him. “Hard pass. I’d rather get head-butted by an angry mountain goat.”
“Enough chatter,” Rick said. “Let’s get going.”
Olivia’s first transect went smoothly. Since it was relatively free of artifacts, she had little to record. She beat Rick and Marisol by a full five minutes, though she suspected he’d slowed his pace to adjust for her inexperience. When the two of them returned, they spent their break reviewing Marisol’s field notebook. Watching them together, Olivia admired Rick’s patience. Even if he had no aspirations to teach, he had a great rapport with students.
Toward the end of her second transect, Olivia was keeping pace with the team when she spotted a cluster of potsherds. Though she was tempted to ignore them, she squatted down to get a better look. She picked up a handful and brushed off the dirt. Each piece was decorated with black bands; one had a zigzag design. The largest piece displayed a detailed line drawing resembling a duck’s head.
A rush of exhilaration washed over her. This wasn’t like the pottery she’d found before. Based on the designs, she suspected it belonged to the Cypro-Geometric period, dating as far back as the eighth or ninth century BC. During that time, Cyprus had been divided into city-states, populated by a mix of Greeks, Phoenicians, and native Cypriots. Both Grant and Dr. Roth were interested in finding more sites from that era.
As she pawed through the dirt, her heart pounded faster. She no longer cared about the relentless sun or her growing thirst. All that mattered were the potsherds beneath her feet. Ignoring the dirt lodged under her fingernails, she unearthed more pottery.
She was reluctant to pull herself away but couldn’t risk delaying her team any longer. If Dr. Roth wanted the site explored further, he’d send someone back to investigate. She took a series of photos, zooming in on the details, and placed the biggest pieces inside a large Ziploc bag. Fifteen minutes later, she reached the car, panting and dripping with sweat.
The rest of the team stood waiting, their expressions grim. When she checked her watch, her breath hitched. Five minutes to one. No matter how fast they hustled, they’d be late for lunch. Grant would be furious.
Brynn let out a pained sigh. “You took forever. What’s wrong with you?”
“I thought you were trying to speed up the pace,” TJ grumbled.
Her shoulders tightened as she waited for Rick’s reaction, but he didn’t reprimand her. Instead, he approached her and placed his hand on her arm. “You okay? I was getting worried.”
“Sorry, but I found an artifact cluster. A real one.” Her voice shook with a mixture of nerves and excitement. “It could be a site.”
Marisol clapped her hands together. “That’s amazing.”
TJ raised his eyebrows. “You think? I didn’t see anything special in my transect.”
“Me neither,” Brynn added. “Are you sure it wasn’t a bunch of churned-up pottery?”
“Pretty sure.” Olivia thought she’d made the right call, but now she was second-guessing herself. She thrust the Ziploc bag at Rick. “See for yourself.”
He opened it and looked through the samples. His breath caught when he saw the piece with the duck’s head design. “This looks like Cypro-Geometric ware.”
Yes. She was tempted to do a victory dance, but she didn’t want to cross the line from proud to obnoxious.
TJ pumped his fist. “Sweet! Iron Age pottery. The other teams will be so jealous.”
Rick handed the bag back to Olivia. “Nice job. How’d you do it?”
“By not rushing and taking a second look.” She couldn’t help but grin. “I know I made us late, but these finds were worth it. Right?”
Rick locked eyes with her. “Absolutely. Your instincts were spot-on.”
“Thanks.” She all but melted under his tender gaze.
Brynn let out an exasperated breath. “Can we go? We’re going to miss lunch, and it won’t taste good if it’s cold. That crappy kitchen doesn’t even have a microwave.”
Rick motioned for all of them to get in the car. Despite driving well beyond the speed limit, they returned so late the other teams were already at lunch. Grant materialized within seconds of their arrival, like he’d been eagerly waiting to chew them out.
As Olivia got out to face him, her heart beat in double time. She brandished the bag like a shield. “I’m sorry I made us late, but I think I found a site.”
She braced herself for his rage as he snatched it from her hands. She’d already decided she’d take full responsibility for her actions, no matter how dire the consequences. If she’d made a bad call, she didn’t want Rick to suffer.
But Grant smiled at her. Actually smiled. He took the pieces out of the bag, inspecting each one with care. “Well done. Geometric ware. That period was the subject of my dissertation.”
“Really?” Maybe she’d found a way to win points with him.
“Yes. ‘Kingship and Social Stratification during the Cypro-Geometric and Early Archaic Periods.’ I’m working on a few follow-up articles, so another site could add to my data. With a Geometric site, there’s a chance we’ll uncover chamber tombs.”
Chamber tombs? Hot damn. Even if she’d taken five days to get into a groove, she’d redeemed herself.
Today’s lunchtime casserole—moussaka with ground lamb—was lukewarm at best but still tasted delicious. As did the bountiful village salad that accompanied it, laden with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, kalamata olives, and feta. Olivia was so ravenous she had two helpings. It didn’t hurt that everyone at the table wanted to hear about her discovery.
At two, Dr. Roth came into the lab for his daily visit. When he stopped by her team’s table, Olivia showed him her samples, which she’d washed and laid out to dry. He examined each piece, then scrolled through the photos on her phone.
“Excellent work,” he said. “You have the location marked on your GPS?”
“It’s on my topo map, too.” She forced her limbs to relax as she waited for his verdict. Would he deem her find worthy?
“Wonderful. It’s hard to judge from a handful of pottery, but I’d say your discovery merits further investigation. Rick, why don’t you head back over there and set up a test pit this afternoon? Depending on the yield, we could do more testing next week.”
Once again, Olivia resisted the urge to break out a victory dance.
Grant walked over to join them. “Since this period is my area of specialty, I should be there.”
“You’re of more use supervising the lab,” Dr. Roth said. “Rick can handle it for today.”
“But—”
Dr. Roth shook his head. “You’ll stay here.” He beamed at Olivia. “Do you want to join Rick? Since it’s your site?”
My site? If she wasn’t careful, her ego would explode.
Before she could answer, Grant spoke up again. “That doesn’t seem wise. If Rick’s going to be gone all afternoon, Olivia needs to supervise the team. They haven’t finished entering today’s data or processing their finds.”
Spoilsport. But she said nothing, too afraid to challenge him.
TJ looked up from their group’s table. “How about I supervise the lab session? I’m a pro at this stuff.”
“Thank you, TJ.” Dr. Roth said. He gave Olivia an indulgent smile. “Then you and Rick are free to go.”
Yes. She was going to check out her site. With Rick. Her heart could barely handle the anticipation.
Until Grant scowled at her. Damn it. Whatever points she’d earned from him by finding a site had vanished. If she was being smart, she’d step aside and let him take her place. But she couldn’t do it.
Temptation or not, she wasn’t passing up a chance to be alone with Rick.