One Night with the Texan(15)

“Primarily the problem is a severely limited budget. We just don’t have the resources to fulfill the needs of all the sites allotted to us. Pretty much par for course, unfortunately. Dr. Finley is donating her time and some of her own money to see her project finished. Perhaps you can—”

“So what if my corporation made a donation? Enough for you to hire, say, a dozen people for a year?”

“We are always delighted to receive donations, but I must tell you that isn’t the way it works here. Donations are handled through the museum’s board of directors. They decide the allocation of funds. There are many other programs that are waiting for backing besides archeology-related projects.”

When Cole made no response, Dr. Sterling added, “I am genuinely sorry for your inconvenience, Mr. Masters. If it’s any consolation, Dr. Finley is one of our more highly educated specialists with dual degrees in both archeology and biological and forensic anthropology. I have no doubt she will work as hard as possible to complete the dig as soon as she can.”

“Are you telling me there is no one I can call and offer to pay them to help her?”

“Not as far as I know. You might try calling the State Archeology Program Center. Perhaps they know something I don’t. Would you like that number?”

This was insane. “I’ll pass on the number. Thanks for your time.” Cole ended the call.

Before he could stand, his private line rang.

“Yes?”

“Cole, I forgot to remind you...” Debra sounded a bit hesitant. Again. What could it be this time?

“The ground-breaking ceremony for the retreat is next week. On Friday. I was afraid you might have forgotten under the circumstances.”

He had indeed. “You’ll have to cancel it.”

Another hesitation. “I can’t. The RSVPs have been confirmed with a card from you, thanking them for coming to this—”

“I know what the cards say,” he snapped. God damn. Some twenty potential investors would be arriving on Thursday. And on Friday they would be escorted to the site where the main lodge would be constructed. Would they see a foundation? Oh, no. Hell, no. They would see one little red flag among two hundred other little red flags and a woman crawling around in the dirt in the middle of it all.

“The limos are set and ready to meet each flight, pick up the guest at the airport and escort them to the hotel then bring them to the project site.” Debra stopped talking and the silence was deafening.

“Cole?”

“I’m here.” But he sure as hell didn’t want to be.

“Have you used your...skills?” He could picture Debra with that irritating smirk on her face. The one she used every time she caught him in some peculiar situation. He appreciated her humor and positive thinking. Except at times like this. “You can be pretty persuasive when you set your mind to it. Dallas magazine didn’t name you Bachelor of the Year three times for nothing.”

This nightmare just would not end. He wasn’t about to confess to Debra that the good doctor had already turned him down flat. “I’ll consider it. Thanks, Debra.”

“I’ll talk with you tomorrow. Chin up.”

Cole ended the call. What in the hell was he going to do?

He let himself consider seducing Dr. Finley for two seconds longer than he should. He knew he couldn’t do it. Not only would it feel wrong to him, a woman with her intellect would never let it happen and he would end up looking like a love-starved idiot. Again. In the short time he’d known her he knew what she would and would not accept in certain situations. And a love affair was probably at the top of her list of things to avoid.

There would be no flattery, flirting or sucking up with Dr. Finley because if he tried he knew she would call him on it. He was drawn to her, his body responding immediately and decisively every time he got close. At those times she could ask him to fly to the moon and he would do it. He had to get a grip on the attraction, step back from her and the situation.

He sat back in his desk chair, took a deep breath then rubbed his hands together, an old habit he had any time he was perplexed about something. Somehow he had to get her out of there, at least for the day of the ground-breaking. Surely she would agree once she understood the necessity.

He could offer to extend the ninety days in exchange for her agreeing to disappear next weekend. It would delay his project even further but at this point, what was another few days? The impression he made next week was vitally important. His plan had been to have the foundations poured and some of the framing completed on the main lodge structure. So much for that idea. All he could do now was pick up the pieces and go from there. And the last thing he needed was Tallie there distracting him when so much was on the line.



The next day when Cole pulled his truck up to the site, she kept working. For a man who wanted her off his property he certainly spent an exorbitant amount of time at the dig.

“Good morning,” he said, smiling.

Tallie couldn’t tell if his greeting was forced but she had an inkling he was after something. What was it this time?

“You moved where you’re working.”

She didn’t give the man the benefit of an answer.

“Didn’t you?”

With a huffed sigh, she embedded the shovel into the ground and faced the horrible man. “Yes. I moved out of the mud.”

“I hope your instincts are right,” he said. “Too bad if you spent all this time for nothing.”

Tallie chose to remain quiet.

“What’s this?” Cole walked over to the sifter, obviously choosing to ignore her cold shoulder. “Is it broken?”

“That’s my sifting box and, no, it isn’t broken. I normally use it in a plowed field but I decided to try it here. It speeds up the process especially since someone kindly provided me with thoroughly churned dirt. The negative is I run the risk of damaging a relic.”

She demonstrated by jabbing the narrow shovel into the earth, used her foot to send it a bit farther into the red soil then dumped her load into the sifter. “Now you shake it and look for anything unnatural left in the tray. Anything you think shouldn’t be in there. It could be unusually shaped rocks, onions or other roots from a past garden, or of course, painted pottery, arrow heads, jewelry...”

“Jewelry?”

“Just because people lived five or six thousand years ago doesn’t mean the ladies didn’t want to look their best.”

“Five thousand years?” Cole was surprised. “You’re attempting to find something from a culture that old?”

“That’s the plan. According to my grandmother, our ancestors’ tribe dates back that far. But it doesn’t matter because it’s none of your concern,” she replied, keeping her voice calm even though she was flustered. She seemed to constantly be flustered around this man. Thankfully, the little butterflies in her stomach remained on the inside out of sight. “Anyway, how can I help you this morning?” If she had a door, she would help him through it.

He seemed to hesitate; his hands coming to rest on his hips while he appeared to stare into space. “I need a favor,” he said, shifting his gaze to her face.

“A favor? From me?” She couldn’t keep the sarcastic tone from her voice. “This should be good.”

“There’s a ground-breaking ceremony scheduled for next Friday. I have CEOs from various companies coming in from all over the country. They are interested in investing in my project and want to see it. What little there is of it.”

“And you need me to disappear.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise, as though he hadn’t expected her to understand so quickly. “Friday, if you wouldn’t mind?”

She stopped shaking the sifter and faced him, one hand on her hip. “You need to make up your mind. You call my boss and insist I work faster. Now you’re asking me to stop working altogether.” She shook her head. “Can I know why you want me to stop my work? I mean, what I’m doing is perfectly legal. It’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of. In fact it’s been my experience that most people are fascinated by what we do. Normally we lose a couple of hours a day from having to stop and give demonstrations or explanations of exactly what we hope to find and how we go about finding it.”

“So, you’re refusing?”

The bullheaded man obviously hadn’t heard one word she’d said. She shook her head and absently pulled the banana clip from her hair. She finger-combed her locks, twisted the length back into a scruffy knot and replaced the clip.

“I’ll try and work in an area as remote and out of sight of your guests as possible on that day. But I can’t stop working completely. I’m sure it never occurred to you, but I want to go home as badly as you want me to. But this isn’t over until I find proof of what I’m looking for or run out of time.”

“Even if I extended your ninety days by another four days to make up for it?”

She shook her head. “The day after I finish here I’m on a flight to Brazil.” At least that had been the plan before an egotistical, drop-dead gorgeous male had gotten her pregnant. “I just don’t see any need to stop if I stay out of the way.” She pointed to an area on the other side of a shallow ravine. “I’ll work over there while your group is here, but that’s all I’m willing to do. I cannot lose a full day of work.”