The Prophecy (Daughters of the People Series Book 1) (10 page)

“It’s not just
the IECS we’re protecting.” She tugged on the shade. It slid upward, revealing
the view. “We have a school on the other side of campus, plus the Archives.”

“Ah,” James
said, though he certainly didn’t understand. He’d never seen a campus with such
high security. The White House, maybe, but not an institute devoted to studying
the past, and though he’d heard rumors of the IECS’ high security, the reality
was a long way from what he’d imagined.

Maya crossed to
a round table situated near the kitchen and picked up a folder. She wiggled it
at him before setting it back down. “Your welcome packet. There’s a map to
campus, keys and directions to your office and lab, and so on. You’ll likely
need it for a few days. Just stick to the IECS side of the campus and you’ll be
fine.” She walked toward the door and put her hand on the knob. “Oh, and the
running trails and such. There’s a town business directory in the packet, but
if you have questions, just call. Do you need help getting your bags in?”

“I’ll get them,
thanks.”

Maya smiled.
“All right, then. I’ll come by in the morning and give you the tour.”

James nodded and
showed her out, then flopped into one of the chairs in the sitting area. It was
surprisingly comfortable and after a while, he nodded off. In his dreams, Maya
chased him, German Shepherd in tow, the Guard Pack hot on her heels gleefully
waving paintball guns at each other.

Maya knocked on
the door of James’ suite early the next morning. He’d looked tired the night
before, security’s prank on him notwithstanding. Hopefully, he’d gotten a good
night’s rest.

For her sake,
she’d hoped the attraction she felt for him would’ve dimmed by the time he
arrived in Tellowee. No such luck. He’d been so cute the previous evening,
gawking at the guards as if he’d never been through a security check point
before. They’d been a little rough on him, all in the name of good-natured fun.
Poor kids.

And he’d been so
cute
, though he probably wouldn’t appreciate that particular description.

A grin still
lingered on her features when James opened the door, alert and apparently
well-rested. He was sharply dressed in a sky blue button-down shirt and khaki
slacks and he’d even taken the time to shave.

She eyed his
clean-shaven jaw, a steady sinking sensation filling her gut. How could she
possibly prefer his lean face covered in stubble? She didn’t even like men with
facial hair.

“Hey.” He
stepped aside and gestured her in. “Just a minute more. Briefcase? Ah, there it
is.”

“No rush.”

He nodded
absent-mindedly, shoved his welcome packet in the briefcase, and slammed it
shut. “All set then. So, what’s on the agenda today?”

Maya waited
until he closed and locked the suite’s door. “Not much. I thought you’d appreciate
a day to settle in before we get to work on the artifacts. Breakfast first at
the cafeteria, then I’ll show you around.”

Sunlight bathed
the campus in early morning heat as Maya led James from his suite to the
cafeteria. There, they joined a growing line of teachers, professors, interns,
students, and other campus residents. Maya helped him juggle his briefcase and
a tray of food as they worked their way through the line and to a table.

As they sat down
to eat, James leaned forward and quietly asked, “Is it just me or is everybody
staring?”

“It’s not just
you. We don’t have many visitors here. The word’s already out on who you are
and why you’re here. Office hours.” She waggled her spoon at him. “Trust me.”

Dierdre bounced
up to them, tray in hand, a huge smile on her face. She set her tray on the
table and plopped into a chair. “So, this is the famous Dr. T., huh?”

James swung his
head toward Maya and mouthed,
Mom?

Maya introduced
James to her daughter, adding, “Dierdre attends school here.”

“Pleased to meet
you,” James said, nodding.

Dierdre nodded
back solemnly, then turned in her chair and held up two fingers. A group of
girls at a nearby table broke into giggles and gave her two thumbs up all
around.

Maya bit the
inside of her cheek and glanced at James. He appeared to be completely
engrossed in his bacon except for a faint tinge of red creeping up his cheeks.

“What brings you
by, Squiggles?” Maya asked.

Dierdre feigned
an innocent look. “Gee, Mom. Can’t a daughter have breakfast with her only mother
without it being a big deal?”

Maya stared
steadily at her daughter.

“Ok, all right.
Geez. Everybody wanted to know what Dr. T. was like, so I volunteered to come
check him out.” She waggled her eyebrows. “And I have to say, he is
hawt
.”

James dropped his
head into a hand and muttered something under his breath that sounded
suspiciously like,
God save me from teenage girls
. Maya stifled a laugh.

“But the
mother-daughter thing was totally true, too,” Dierdre said, her brown eyes wide.

Maya had pity on
James and changed the subject. “How are plans for the Labor Day camping trip
coming along?”

Dierdre perked
up. “It’s gonna be totally awesome. Except, you know, not many of us are going.
But Maetyrm Holly said some of the interns might go, too, which would be
sweet
‘cause they know all the good ghost stories and stuff.”

“How long will
you be gone?” James asked.

Dierdre lifted
one shoulder in an off-hand shrug. “Just two nights so we can be back for the Labor
Day stuff in town.”

“There’ll be a
parade, then fireworks,” Maya said. “Most people bring a supper picnic and sit
out in their yards or on the athletic field here on campus for the light show.”

“Sounds like
fun. My daughter Amelia’s coming down the week before Labor Day, so maybe we’ll
go.” In an aside to Dierdre, he said, “School doesn’t start back home until
mid-September.”

“Oh, well, Fall
Term hasn’t started here yet either.”

“Many of the
students choose to attend a summer session where they can work on particular
skills,” Maya explained. “Dierdre is taking classes in martial arts and
horseback riding.”

“And outdoor
survival skills,” Dierdre added.

“Hence the
camping trip,” James guessed.

“You bet.”
Dierdre beamed at him, then screwed her face into a thoughtful frown. “Your
daughter can go camping with us, if she wants to.”

“That’s a
generous offer. I’ll ask her, but she’ll probably want to spend most of her
time here with me, since we won’t see each other again until Thanksgiving.”

“Aw.” Dierdre
wrinkled her nose. “She’s not a girly girl, is she?”

James laughed.
“Only when she wants to be. She used to be more of a tomboy, and then she
discovered the magical land of shopping.”

“Woot!” Dierdre
shot a triumphant look at Maya. “Mall of Georgia, here we come!”

Maya sighed.
“Don’t encourage her, please.”

He crossed a
finger over his chest and held up a hand, palm out. “No more. You have my word
as the Payer of Shopping Bills.”

Maya laughed as
Dierdre giggled and clutched her stomach.

“Whew! You’re a
riot, Dr. T.” The table of girls Dierdre had signed to earlier rose and
gathered their breakfast trays. One of them called Dierdre’s name, and she
looked around. “Time to go.” She rose hastily, dropped a smacking kiss on her
mother’s upturned cheek, and said, “Laters!” She held up two fingers to Maya and
grinned, then bounded off, joining her friends as they emptied their trays and
pushed their way outside. The cafeteria was noticeably quieter after the girls
left.

Maya picked up
her spoon and stirred her oatmeal. “Sorry about that. If I’d known she was
stopping by, I would’ve warned you ahead of time.”

“No problem. Just
two questions, though. First, Mom?”

“She’s my
youngest daughter.”

James’ eyebrows
shot up. “What were you, twelve when she was born?”

“Hardly. I told
you, I’m older than I look.”

He eyed her critically.
“Are you sure she’s not adopted?”

Warmth pooled
low in Maya’s abdomen, curling through her in insidious tendrils. She reined it
in and cleared her throat. “Positive. Your other question?”

“What’s with the
peace sign?”

“Dierdre’s been
hanging around Dani too much. Two fingers means you’re a two hubba guy.”

“Hubba?”

“You know,
hubba,
hubba
.” Maya sipped her coffee and peered at him over the cup’s rim. “She’s
got good taste. You’re definitely at least two hubbas.”

James leaned
closer. His eyes bored into hers and the warmth in Maya’s middle morphed into
breathlessness need.

“So, does that
mean you think I’m
hawt
, too?” he asked.

Maya laughed and
the spell was broken. “I’m so sorry. She’s not normally that bad.”

“It’s ok.
Amelia’s about the same age, and she and her friends do the same thing. You’d
think I’d be used to it by now.”

“I don’t think
anybody can ever get used to teenagers,” Maya said wryly.

After breakfast,
Maya took him by the office he’d use during his time at the IECS, then by a
small room in the lab building where he could work with the artifacts. She
showed him where her office and lab were, then took him to meet Director Upton,
who graciously welcomed him to the IECS.

In between, she
filled him in on the history of the area, the town, and the IECS in particular.
Some of the buildings dated back to the Civil War era, including the main administrative
building where Director Upton’s office was located.

“This
structure,” she explained as they left the director’s office, “was built just
after the war to replace an earlier one destroyed by fire.”

“Sherman?”

Maya shook her
head. “That’s what everyone thinks. The truth is much less glamorous. At that
time, the building was used primarily as a school for girls. The local Sheriff
heard rumors of a large Federal force nearby and took it upon himself to come
by and check on the students, and one teacher in particular who, rumor has it,
he was sweet on. Unfortunately, he was a bit tipsy at the time and not quite
steady on his feet.”

“I can see where
that might be a problem.”

“Oh, yes,” Maya
agreed. “He tripped over a chair, knocked over a lantern, and managed to spill
his flask full of corn liquor into the fire. The building went up in flames too
fast for it to be saved. Fortunately, everyone was evacuated before it was
fully engulfed, including the Sheriff.”

“Lucky save,
then, but what about the budding romance?”

“Those seeds
never bore fruition,” Maya said, mildly and with a straight face. The poor man
had chased after her for months. After the fire, he’d been too embarrassed to
approach her again and had eventually married a local girl and raised a large
family.

She and James
chatted comfortably as she guided him back to their offices. Had she imagined
the heat she’d felt earlier when he’d teased her over breakfast? He was so at
ease, so laid back, she simply couldn’t tell if he felt anything in return.

And she wasn’t a
teenaged girl, so why was she obsessing about it? Yes, he was
hawt
from
his lean, athletic build to the keen intelligence hidden behind his rich, gray
eyes. She itched to explore him, to learn every curve of muscle and the exact
feel of his skin under her fingers, but he was just a man. Nothing to be afraid
of, nothing to fret over.

He held the door
open for her, and she entered the air conditioned interior of the building that
held their offices, the library, and several classrooms. Her arm brushed his as
she passed and a spark jumped over her skin.

She sucked in a
breath. Maybe there was something to fret over after all.

Their footsteps
echoed in the hallway as they walked to his office. When they arrived, James
groaned. Half a dozen notes were tacked to the corkboard affixed to a wall
beside his door. “This is like being back home. I’ve not even been here a full
day, and look at this.” He pulled down two separate requests for consultations
on doctoral dissertations and shook his head, then took down a third note and
held it out to her. “Is Dr. Upton who I think he is?”

“That’s the
director’s husband. He’s our resident genealogist.”

He glanced at
the note. “Hmm. Wonder what he wants.”

“I’d guess he
wants help translating something written in an obscure archaic language.”

“Har.” James
pinned the notes back onto the board. “Tomorrow.”

“Post office
hours,” Maya reminded him. “You’re the only language expert in residence right
now, so do yourself a favor and set limits while you still can.”

“I’ll do that.”
He turned his back on the corkboard and leaned casually against the wall, his
mouth tilted in a grin, his gaze warm. “So, what does a beautiful woman like you
do for supper around here?”

Maya eyed that
grin and cursed the answering heat rising within her. “Are you asking me for a
date or trying to weasel the names of the best local restaurants out of me?”

“Both,” he
admitted. “I can’t take you out for a thank you meal if I don’t know where you
like to eat.”

“You don’t have
to take me out.”

“Oh, I insist.”

He brushed his
hand over her shoulder. The fleeting touch heated Maya’s skin through the
barrier of her cotton shirt and she shivered. One touch from him, one charming
offer for a meal, and she was ready to yank him close and discover how his
mouth would fit against hers.

“After all, you
protected me from the vicious security guards and a gaggle of teenaged girls. A
meal’s the least I can do to thank you.” His voice dropped a notch as he leaned
closer. “Is it so awful, spending time with a man who thinks you’re
attractive?”

Maya narrowed
her eyes. “Are you flirting with me?”

He straightened
away from the wall and lifted both hands in a shrug. “I must be rustier than I
thought if you have to ask.”

“Not that
rusty.”

Two female
students walked by, chatting quietly with each other, both surreptitiously
studying James. One held up two fingers to Maya and winked broadly, and Maya
heaved a sigh. Dierdre had been busy that morning.