Amber surveyed the group of fifteen children who participated in the museum’s summer camp this week. In addition to the camp, Dr. Selman had worked to make the museum child friendly with interactive and hands-on exhibits. He’d incorporated live animals such as lizards, snakes, and turtles—all in appropriately contained environments in their respective exhibits, of course. The dinosaur exhibit included an area where children could don hard hats and dust sand from dinosaur fossil replicas.
His efforts revealed his obvious soft spot for the very young. The thought sent a tremble through Amber’s heart. It also made her wonder if he’d ever married. But she didn’t have much time to ponder the question.
Katie, a darling little girl with curly blond hair, held up a large sheet of paper covered in wet paint for Amber’s approval.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Amber proclaimed.
Katie stuck her fingers into brown paint, expanding on her impression of a triceratops. So far, they’d spent the week learning about dinosaurs, doing arts and crafts, studying the exhibits. Amber even gave them a tour of the nearby digs—a day they’d enjoyed the most. The museum had created a safe path for young children, or those who simply wanted a glimpse of the prehistoric dig site. No actual digging for them.
She put a finger to her lips and smiled. That day had been her first time anywhere near the digs since Dr. Selman pulled her out. She missed it. In fact, she missed him. His company. She’d spent time working with him on the displays and then briefly participated in the Lewis and Clark drama with him.
Then, there’d been dinner at Gladys’s home.
Amber recalled that night. After the crazy way she’d acted, she was surprised Dr. Selman hadn’t sent her packing. But the museum had been exceptionally busy the last two weeks. They needed her help.
Hating her thoughts at the moment, she walked around the long table where the children concentrated on their art. When Muriel had made the silly reference to a kiss during the reenactment, though furious, Amber had guiltily imagined sharing a kiss with Dr. Selman. During the busyness of that week, she’d longed to see him and had been delighted when he showed up at Gladys’s home. But then…she’d ruined everything because of her brother’s call. He’d left her a voice mail that he was in town, now that he was out of prison, and he wanted to see her. How was she supposed to react to that news?
When she’d told Dr. Selman she wanted to keep her personal life to herself, her heart had screamed in defiance as she watched the hurt shimmer in his eyes.
And now, she couldn’t get that image out of her mind.
If only there were a way…
“Now what do you think?” Six-year-old Andrew lifted his finger-painted stegosaurus.
“I think you’re going to be a famous artist one day.” Grateful she had the children’s camp as a distraction, she tousled his hair.
He beamed with pride. “Can I take this home to my mom?”
“Of course you can. In fact, make sure you take all your creations home to show your parents what you’ve been up to this week.”
She directed the children to begin cleaning up after themselves—a rule put in place from the beginning, thank goodness.
In her pocket, her cell vibrated, causing her pulse to race. It was sad when every phone call scared her. Tugging it from its snug hiding in her pocket, she looked at the number before answering.
“Cams!”
“Did I call at a bad time? I never know when you’re working.”
“I’ve got the museum’s summer camp this week. This is the last day and we’re cleaning up. I really can’t talk now.”
“No problem. Just wanted to find out how you’re doing?” Cams’s tone held subtle concern.
“What’s wrong?” Amber tugged on her earlobe while watching the children. Hurry, Cams.
Cams sighed on the other end. “Have you heard from…Michael?”
The garbage can brimmed with paper and art scraps. Amber pressed the trash deeper, allowing the children to stuff more in. “Oh Cams. How did you know?”
“He left a message here, looking for you. I arrived a few minutes ago and found it.”
“Look, I know you never would have given me away, had you been there. Who do you think told him where to find me?”
“Considering you haven’t told too many about your aversion to him, almost anyone could have told him where you are. My guess would be Dr. Young.”
“I figured. He had no way of knowing.” And I plan to keep it that way.
“What are you going to do? I’m worried about you.”
“Keep ignoring his calls, maybe get a new number.” Hope he goes away.
“Amber. Look, are you sure you shouldn’t just talk to him? I mean, come on. He’s your brother.”
“That’s mine!” Jonathan shouted at Greg.
“No, it’s mine.”
“Cams, I’ve really got to go. We’ll talk later.” She ended the call. “Boys, calm down.”
The next morning Amber awoke feeling grateful she had a day off. She stretched and rubbed her eyes then rolled to her side. Another half hour of sleep would be nice, especially if it kept her from thinking about all that had gone wrong. About her brother.
If she got out of bed now, she could go for her morning run, something she hadn’t done in a couple of weeks. Funny how painful it could be to run, yet it made her feel great. All that oxygen pumping through her body energized her and lifted her mood. An image of colliding with Dr. Selman on her first run in Harrington came to mind. She groaned. Nope. Running would definitely not clear her mind today.
“Knock, knock,” Muriel said, in a singsong voice. “Who’s hungry this morning?” She waltzed into Amber’s bedroom with a plate of pancakes and orange juice on a tray.
Amber pushed up on her elbows. “What are you doing?”
“I made breakfast. What does it look like?” Muriel set the tray next to Amber on the bed.
The pancakes smelled great. “Don’t you have to work today?”
“No. We’re off on the same day for once. It occurred to me this morning that we should do something together for fun. You seem like you could use some fun in your life.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Don’t thank me until you’ve heard what I have planned.”
“Uh-oh. Better tell me now before I’m fully awake.”
“Horseback riding.”
Amber sat straight up. “What? You’re crazy. I can’t—”
“In the Badlands, Amber. You’ll love it.”
“I’m…afraid of horses.”
“Have you ever ridden one?”
“Nope. And don’t plan to.”
“These are trained trail horses.” Muriel sank to the bed next to the tray, careful not to tip the juice. “Look, Amber. You need to get out more. Please, do this with me?”
Why did Muriel care so much? Truth was, Amber could use a distraction. “Oh, all right.” She grabbed the orange juice and jumped from the bed, taking a pancake with her as she headed to the bathroom for a shower.
Muriel laughed, following her down the hall. “We leave in an hour.”
“You sure you can handle this?” Jim asked, skimming the list of artifacts due to arrive next week. “I can reschedule my vacation if I need to.”
“Come on. I don’t need you to reschedule.”
“It’s not as if you have enough help. I wish we could hire more. At least we could bring in more volunteers.”
Like Amber. Brandon frowned at the thought of her. He’d not been able to get her off his mind, or rid himself of concern for her, even after she’d drawn the strictest of lines. But she was a volunteer for the museum, a sister in Christ—shouldn’t he be concerned? Nevertheless, he’d avoided her, telling the Lord that He’d have to give a sign if He wanted Brandon involved.
“I can handle it, Jim.” Brandon toyed with a paperweight on Jim’s desk. “Sounds more like you don’t trust me to cover for you while you’re gone.”
“You know that’s not true.” Jim took the paperweight from Brandon and moved it to the credenza behind him.
Brandon laughed.
“You’ve been distracted lately. Might I suggest you have Miss McKinsey help you? Working under you is the main reason she signed on for the intern program. You’ve had her doing grunt work, nothing serious.”
Earlier Jim had suggested Brandon dismiss Amber entirely. Brandon cocked his head. Could that be sign number one? No, he’d need more. “She’s gaining experience in all aspects of the museum.”
“Cataloging relics is part of that as well. I’d planned to have her help with that.” Jim eyed him, arching his left brow. “Look, we’ve known each other a long time. What’s really going on here? You kept her on and had me let Jason go instead, and now you don’t want to use her where she’s needed.”
Brandon turned his back and walked to the door, then faced Jim again. “Yes, we have known each other for a while. Which is why I don’t understand your concern over who assists me, if anyone, in your absence.”
With that, Brandon left. He tugged on his shirt collar, feeling a little guilty for his brusque response. Jim was only trying to help and yet Brandon had snapped at him simply because he didn’t want to explain the odd rapport he had with Amber.
Today was supposed to be Brandon’s day off, but Jim had called him in to discuss the arrival of the artifacts next week. Brandon hadn’t exactly said that he wouldn’t bring Amber in to help him, but after how she acted at dinner last week, Brandon wasn’t sure working with her would be the best thing. He kept telling himself his concern was appropriate, but his feelings were anything but brotherly toward her.
Not good. Once in his office, he sank into his chair, put his feet on his desk, and leaned back. At least he admitted he had feelings. Still, he wasn’t a professional if he denied her the opportunity because of his own weakness. He looked up the number at the cabin. He’d ask if she was willing to work with him on the Hamlin Exhibit, starting Monday.
Let her decide. If she didn’t want the task, then he could work alone. Jim couldn’t accuse him of avoiding Amber. And if she agreed, would that be sign number two? Brandon rubbed his chin. A simple phone call would give him the opportunity to ask her if she was all right. How she was doing. Never mind that he wanted to hear her voice.
He dialed the number. The phone rang twice. “Muriel here.”
“This is Dr. Selman.”
Quiet lingered on the line, then, “Hi. They need my help in the digs today?”
Now it was his turn to give pause. “Actually, I wonder if I could speak with Amber…er…Miss McKinsey.”
“Amber isn’t available.”
A bad sign. “Please have her call me when she can.”
“Okay. Are you working at the museum today?”
Brandon hadn’t thought of that. “As a matter of fact, no. Have her call me on my cell.” He relayed his number, cringing at the possible gossip that could arise. “I need to discuss a new assignment I have for her starting Monday.”
“Got it. Would you mind if she calls back later today? We’re going horseback riding in the Badlands, and we’re running late. Hey, if you don’t have plans, maybe you could join us. It’s called Badland Adventures or something.”
Could Muriel’s invitation be sign number two?
“Thanks for the invitation, but I can’t.” Considering Amber wanted her personal and business life separate, he’d need more than Muriel’s invitation.
“That’s too bad. Because…,” Muriel fairly whispered, “I think she could use more friends.”
At her words, his pulse pounded in his ears. Still, Brandon sighed at the news. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He ended the call. Ridiculous. No way would he show up at their outing.
Why had Muriel thrown a rock hammer into his thoughts? What had she meant? Most likely, nothing more than she said. Amber needed more friends. Except at Gladys’s house, he’d had the funny idea that Muriel had attempted to pair him with Amber.
He rubbed his temples. He should have invited Amber to Bible study when he had the chance.
He considered himself an intelligent person and had the degrees to prove it. Yet even with all his education, he couldn’t seem to figure out the right thing. He was attracted to this woman on many levels, and it was that attraction that kept him from thinking straight.
Her frazzled reaction after that one phone call had worried Brandon. Apparently Muriel was concerned as well….
Okay, Lord, I’m taking that as the third sign. I need to get involved in her life. Personally.
“Whether she likes it or not.”