Forbidden. Ellen James

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       CHAPTER THREE

      L ATE NEXT MORNING, Dana sat cross-legged under the shade of a palm, drinking another lukewarm orange soda. If there was one thing she’d learned so far, it was that the tropical heat of Isla Calamar produced an endless thirst in her. It made her long to go find the beach and jump into the waters of the Caribbean. However, Dana’s busy schedule with Dr. Petrie allowed no time for frivolous activities such as swimming. It was surprising that he had permitted her even this short break. She’d spent the entire morning with him at the excavation site, learning her duties. Robert and Pat were off together, making preparations to open a new site. Apparently young Daniel had business elsewhere today, and none of the other islanders had appeared–which left Dana alone with Nick. Not the most comfortable of situations.

      Jarrett, meanwhile, was recovering well, but the kindly old village doctor had advised complete bed rest for the next few days. Dana had taken it upon herself to make sure the doctor’s orders were strictly observed. Ignoring Jarrett’s protests, she’d left him under the charge of the hotelkeeper. From the beginning, the hotelkeeper had seemed to enjoy allying herself with Dana. In spite of the language barrier, they were both women, after all, out to convince Jarrett they knew what was best for him.

      Nick, however, had followed his own agenda. Dana seriously doubted anyone could tell him what to do. He had spent the night camped out at the dig, lying in wait should the attacker return. Nothing untoward had happened, and Nick had come back to the village to announce that work would proceed as usual. He’d seemed determined to have the excavations progress–no matter what.

      And so he had made sure that Dana was very busy all morning. They’d thoroughly gone over the charts of stratum analysis she’d be updating in minute detail, as well as other complex field notes that would be her responsibility. Nick had also introduced her to the actual tools she’d be using. Screens, brushes, plumb lines, rods, trowels, shovels–and yes, her bare hands. Archaeology was definitely a hands-on experience.

      All in all, it had been a most instructive morning–but a tense one, too. Dana couldn’t seem to relax around Dr. Nicholas Petrie. His presence was simply too…forceful. At the moment, for instance, he sat across from Dana, frowning over the rim of his own orange soda, lost in thoughts she couldn’t even begin to imagine. She felt edgy in his proximity, yet her gaze kept straying to him, tracing the bold, hard lines of his face. Dana didn’t understand her confusing reactions to Nick. She far preferred more straightforward feelings. Usually, either she liked someone or she didn’t, and that was that. But with Nick Petrie, the words like and dislike were much too tame. After all, Dana couldn’t very well say that she merely disliked the uneasiness that Nick caused her, or that she liked his unquestionable virility. More potent words were needed….

      Dana shifted uneasily at the direction of her thoughts, and this seemed to prompt Nick from his own musings. He gave her a disparaging look.

      “Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me you’d never worked on a dig before?” he asked.

      “I can’t be responsible for the lack of communication between you and the Institute,” Dana said, immediately on the defensive. “Besides, you need a soil expert–and I’m a soil expert.”

      “The way you tell it, you’ve spent the last six years cooped up in a lab. That’s no experience for the type of work we do here.”

      The disgust in his tone rankled her, and she treated him to a frown of her own. “Look, I have the knowledge you need. I received my master’s from Adams College in Missouri, a very respectable school. And the Simonson Labs in Saint Louis are at the very forefront of agricultural research.”

      He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. His expression was more than eloquent, seeming to convey the opinion that her stint at the labs had been one step above a jail sentence.

      Maybe Dana was so annoyed because that was how she’d felt at her job. She’d been simply one more employee in a large impersonal firm, facing the same routine day after day. Yes…it had been a jail sentence of sorts.

      Dana tightened her grip on the soda. “You should be aware that I also grew up on a farm in Missouri. I know soil as well as anyone you’ll find–farm soil. Considering that you’re trying to prove Mayan farmers actually made a go of it on this island–don’t you think I’m qualified for the job?”

      He didn’t answer. He just went on studying her. For some reason, all he wanted to do was point out her deficiencies. He wanted to think the worst of her.

      “Why did you decide to come here?” Nick muttered at last. “You just wanted some type of diversion, is that it? An adventure, as you keep putting it.”

      Dana cursed herself for growing too voluble during the course of the morning. She’d confided in Nick her need for new experiences in her life…in other words, adventure. But maybe it was time to give him something else to think about.

      “Do you want to know why I really tossed everything aside and came flying down to Mexico? I’ll tell you why. It’s because…because I proposed to a man and he turned me down flat.”

      She certainly appeared to have captured Nick’s interest. He stirred a little. “You’re here because of your love life?”

      “Exactly. I asked Alan to marry me, he said no–and here I am.” She took a thoughtful sip of her soda. “I wasted a lot of effort on that proposal, you know. I planned everything out so carefully. The flowers, the candles, the music. Scented beeswax candles, of course, and a centerpiece of blue clematis.”

      “I suppose you’re going to tell me what kind of music you used to serenade the guy,” Nick said in a long-suffering tone.

      Dana sighed. “Alan’s always been partial to country music. Not that it did me any good. He simply ate his chicken fricassee and told me he’d be perfectly happy if he went on sleeping over at my place four СКАЧАТЬ