Unexpected Love (White Oak-Mafia #2) (6 page)

“Even though I don’t believe these were created in modern times, it remains the likely explanation until proven otherwise. I’m sorry to say, fraud is the first conclusion the archeological world will make.”

“How do you even prove something like this?”

“We’ll start by giving these guys a sonogram.”

His reply worried her. “And how big is the equipment you need to do that?” Large equipment could do serious damage to the trails.

“It’s a portable unit. Can be carried in by two strapping young men.”

She glared at him.
He still sees me as a useless woman?

“What?” he demanded.

“You don’t think I can do it?”

“I’m sure you could, but I tend not to waste my best assets on jobs beneath them.”

Bullshit!
“Well, besides me, you don’t have any
assets
yet. In fact, you aren’t even hired yet. You’re still on your initial looksie.”

His eyes darkened. “Tess, I’ve wanted this job since the sun rose this morning. And until a short while ago, I thought you were fine with me having it.”

The hurt in his voice hit her hard. “I was… I still am.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Now, is there any chance you can dump the grumpy Tess for the nice one because I much prefer to work with the latter.”

“Sorry. I’m still mad at myself for telling you the story about Grams.”

He turned her face to him so his stern gaze could meet hers. “Tess, that story is put away and shelved. It will never be mentioned again to anyone. I realize you have reason not to trust men, but I am nothing like the men you’ve dealt with, and if this working relationship is going to function, you need to trust me.”

She stared back with sad, worried eyes. “A part of me wants to, but I can’t commit to that just yet.”

***

Tess’s response disappointed Steel, but at least it was honest and wasn’t a definitive refusal to even try.

“Then assuming you give me a thumbs up when we get back to your house, I’ll take the job. However, there will come a time when I’ll need to know you have my back, and if you are still on the fence, then I’ll resign.”

“Just because I don’t fully trust you? I don’t trust anyone but Grams.” She rolled her eyes. “And I betrayed her today.”

He gripped her arms. “No, you did not! You merely opened your trust to me for a brief moment before fear shut it down. Helen was not betrayed because I will never repeat her story, and for a brief moment, you knew that.”

“No, I didn’t,” she muttered.

Losing all patience, he threw his hands into the air. “All right, have it your way. You betrayed her, but lucky for Helen, I won’t.” He grabbed his backpack. “Let’s go. I’ve seen enough.”

“We can stay a few more hours.”

He turned and nailed her with an angry glare. “For what purpose? I’m going back to England. I can’t do this.”

“But why? We can still work together. You must have worked with people you didn’t trust before?”

“Frequently, and it’s always ended up with me getting fired.”

“But I can’t fire you!”

“The people I haven’t trusted in the past were above me, meddling in my future. The only difference here is that you’re supposed to be my employee, albeit one who is more qualified for this job than me. And because I recognize that, we could still make this work…if there were mutual trust between us. But there isn’t. And that’s a problem. If I can’t develop trust in those who work for me, they’re gone. Otherwise, I’d be spending all my time double-checking every task I give them.” He sighed. “So while this looked for a short while to be a dream-come-true job with a second so competent I could treat her as my partner, it’s not going to happen.”

He wasn’t going to get into the emotional side of the problem, but it was the deciding issue. He couldn’t endure a relationship, even a professional one, with Tess if she couldn’t trust him. He needed her trust or he needed to get out now.

He glared around. “Is there another way back, or should I just return the way we came?”

She stared at her feet, scuffing the ground. “I’ll show you,” she muttered and sniffed.

Great! He could make her cry, but he couldn’t make her trust him.

Tess headed home in a near sprint. She needed Grams and a safe place to cry. Her heart ached with misery, and it was all self-inflicted. If only she hadn’t told Dr. Castile about her grams, then this whole trust issue wouldn’t have come up.

But she had.

Why? Was he right? Had she for a moment not just liked him, but trusted him as well? Why had she done that? Men always betrayed women. Always! Even Jonas, who Grams had loved her whole life.

Men betrayed. Period. End of Story.

But Dr. Castile was so different than any man she’d ever met. It wasn’t just his British accent and shoulder-length blond hair that made him stand out. Those were superficial differences. It was little things. Like when he lectured her about how to be a proper limo driver. There’d been no evil intent, no threat in his words. He just wanted her to learn her job. She smiled at the memory.

And since he discovered who she was and saw her in her natural habitat, he’d been nothing but supportive and respectful.

And he was funny, smart, and competent in his own right.

She couldn’t let him go. This park needed him, she needed him, both on a professional and emotional level. No man had ever treated her with so much respect.

If only she hadn’t told him Gram’s story.

But she had, and now she’d made her lack of trust an issue.

She considered his words about firing employees he couldn’t trust. It was a reasonable attitude if you trusted more people than your grandmother. If she had a choice between hiring people she trusted and didn’t trust, she’d sure as hell choose the first.

She stopped and turned, expecting to see him pulling up behind her.

Nothing.

She waited five minutes, but still he didn’t show up.

God, what if he’d fallen and broken his ankle or knocked himself unconscious? What if Grumpy was tearing at his flesh as she stood here like an idiot?

She ran full speed back the way she’d come. Dr. Castile wasn’t hurt. He’d probably returned to the mounds. Yes…

She slowed a bit at the probable answer.

He had most likely returned to the mounds and was presently photographing them.

But no. He’d said he would leave. There was no reason why he’d photograph the mounds now.

She resumed her full-out run. Upon reaching a bend in the path, she came to a screeching halt. Black fur stretched eleven feet onto the trunk of a white oak.

“Tess, get back before the bear sees you,” Steel warned.

Too late, Grumpy turned in her direction and roared in fury. Before the bear could make a move toward her, Steel hurled a hammer from the tree and smacked him on the head.

The bear bellowed in rage as he returned his focus on Steel who stood on a limb twelve-feet up. Problem was, this was a tree with low-hanging branches large enough that Grumpy could climb.

Tess pulled loose her bear spray, disengaged the spray lock, and approached the bear, yelling “Scat!” Unfortunately, the bruin remained focused on Steel. As she moved closer, she slowly bent down and grabbed the hammer that had bounced off the bear and landed twelve feet away. She hurled it at the bear just as Grumpy attempted to pull himself onto the first branch of the tree.

The hammer smacked him on his head and got his full attention. He twisted and leapt from the tree in her direction.

His teeth were only feet away when she shot the bear spray full force into his mouth and eyes. She emptied the entire contents of the can on him. When his misery took hold, she ran for a smaller six-inch diameter white oak and scrambled high into its branches

“Any chance your Gram packed a gun somewhere on me?” Dr. Castile yelled over the raging bear beneath them.

“No, I think it’s in your dresser drawer,” she replied. She focused on Grumpy swatting the base of her tree in rage. She could feel each thump vibrate up the trunk. The poor tree would probably be stripped of its bark, but it should remain standing.

“Tell me what I can do?” he asked.

“Well, you could try to make it home while I keep the bear distracted.”

“Got another plan?”

“You could climb up the smaller tree about seven feet over. Grumpy can’t climb that one.”

“And how is that going to solve our problem?”

“It won’t, but it’ll keep you alive. Grumpy can climb the tree you’re in.”

“So both of your plans save me, but not you. We need a better idea.”

“I’d offer to run home and get help, but Grumpy is too focused on me. Hold on. That’s it. We’ll take turns distracting Grumpy. To do this you’ll need to run fast while I distract the bear. When my distractions cease to work and he goes after you, I’ll yell ‘tree’ and you need to climb a tree no more than twelve inches in diameter. Grumpy can’t climb those. But he will try to shake you out of it.”

“And how does this get us both home?”

“I’ll drop and run, which will get Grumpy refocused on me. When he gets too close, I’ll climb a tree and then it’s your turn to run again.”

“I’m not crazy about this, but let’s give it a try. Okay if I drop this backpack?”

“You can toss your belt, but keep the backpack. It might save your life if Grumpy catches you. If that happens, drop face down, letting your arms protect the sides of your face. Your backpack will cover the back of your neck.” Hopefully…

“Okay, I’ll try for the run and distract plan,” he yelled.

The moment he hit the ground, Grumpy’s head turned his way. Tess climbed farther down her tree until she stood on a branch right above the bear. Grumpy roared at her, swatted the tree, and then headed after Dr. Castile.

Tess screamed, “Tree,” as she followed in Grumpy’s wake. Her yell caused Grumpy to slow and turn. She quickly scampered up a tree, but remained on a lower branch so she could keep the bear’s focus on her. “Try again,” she yelled.

Steel leapt down, and once again Grumpy went after him. Tess quickly followed. When Grumpy got too close to Steel, she yelled, he climbed a tree, and Grumpy turned on her again.

She stayed low in her new tree, but out of his swatting range. “Catch your breath and try it again when you’re ready,” she yelled over Grumpy’s roars.

She’d lost count of the number of tree ascents they made on this dangerous hike home when she heard a gunshot. Less than a second later, Grumpy scampered off like a frightened dog.

Tess waited until she could see the shooter.

“Thank God,” Steel said as he climbed from his tree. “I thought we’d be playing games with that beast forever.”

“Where’s Tess?” Grams demanded.

Hearing Grams’ worried voice, she climbed down. “I’m here.”

Grams waved them in her direction. “Let’s get home. I have no desire to deal with that damn bear in the dark.”

Tess realized it was near dusk. They would have never made it home tonight without Grams’ help.

When she reached her beloved grams, she hugged her tight. “My savior.”

“My saviors,” Steel corrected. He then wrapped his arms around them both. “You both are heroes in my eyes.”

Tess appreciated him spreading the credit, so she reciprocated. “Not many people would leave their tree to run for help. Thank you for trusting me.”

His eyes met hers. “Honestly, I thought you were mad when you told me to abandon my nice big tree for a smaller one, but I followed your advice.”

“This is going to sound a bit weird, but I wouldn’t have told you to run if I hadn’t had faith that you would climb up a smaller tree when I said ‘tree’. So I trusted you as well.”

Grams looked at Steel and then Tess, then shook her head. “This is all very nice, but I don’t trust that damn bear, and I want to be home by dark.”

“I’ll second that,” Dr. Castile said.

“Yeah, Grumpy is definitely not trustworthy,” Tess added.

Once home, Tess made her soothing tea. She first brought Helen’s tea and placed it on the stand next to the old woman’s chair. Soon, she returned with two more mugs. She stood in front of Steel and waited for him to accept his tea. His hands curled about the cup, touching her fingers. Instead of pulling back, she smiled and sat down beside him on the couch.

That gave him hope. If nothing else, the damn bear and their survival team-work made her realize he had her back. That was at least a start.

Tess tilted her head and studied her grams while she sipped her tea. “I’m surprised you didn’t shoot Grumpy.”

Grams snorted. “I was tempted, but I hate wasting money.”

Steel couldn’t follow the old woman’s logic and looked to Tess to make sense of it. But her bewildered eyes said she was clueless as well.

“How would shooting Grumpy waste money?” Steel asked.

“Tess found this place in Minnesota that has agreed to trap Grumpy and put him in their sanctuary, although God help their male bears and tourists when Grumpy gets there. But that’s their damn problem.”

“Grams! You gave them twenty thousand dollars to save Grumpy?”

“Hell no! I gave them the money so my softhearted Tess wouldn’t cry over a vicious bear’s demise when her sane and rational boss decided to remove the menace once and for all.”

Steel chuckled. “I must admit, if I’d had a gun on me today, I would have shot the bear without hesitation.” He turned to Tess. “The moment it went after you.”

She sighed and nodded. “I’d have been sad for him, but now that bear spray no longer controls Grumpy, I doubt he’ll even be tolerated at the sanctuary.”

“You should have named the bear Satan, not Grumpy,” Helen chided.

“When should we expect these bear lovers to arrive?” Steel asked.

“I called them today. They promised to arrive tomorrow. A female went in heat four days ago, and they are bringing her down.”

“I’ll talk to Tom about getting you reimbursed for removing this menace from the park.”

She waved him off. “When a fifty-cent bullet would’ve solved your problem? Don’t you dare. I’m the one who should indulge my sweet Tess, not the state of Iowa.”

He smiled. “Well, thank you.” He then told her of the discoveries they’d made that day, making sure to credit Tess whenever possible.

Once they were talked out, they watched the lights of the Mississippi appear as night fell.

“You have a perfect life, here,” Steel said as they sat in growing darkness and enjoyed the view.

Tess rested her head upon his shoulder. “We do. But having you here makes it better.”

Her words and actions touched him. They had been through a harrowing event today and had come out the stronger for it. That had not always been the case. But this time fate had favored him. Tess was exactly what he needed.

Helen spoke from her chair. “I talked to Tom today. For some reason he thought you’d be done with your tour by noon.”

“That’s how long his tour took,” Tess said.

“Well, I assured him I would be most disappointed if that were the case. Still, when it neared dusk, I got worried.”

“Normally, I hate to worry people, but in this case, I’m glad you did.” Steel looked down at Tess to get her opinion. She was sound asleep. “I should call Tom and let him know I’d love to have this job.”

“I already did,” Helen replied.

Her admission shocked him.

“You belong here, Steel. I can see it clear as day. You’ll have your archeology to focus on and Tess, as your assistant, can manage the forests.”

He nodded in agreement and stared at Tess, pressed to his side. He did belong here, not only professionally, but emotionally.

“She’s let you in. Never done that with a man before,” Helen admitted.

“I think the credit goes to Grumpy.”

Helen grunted. “Glad I didn’t shoot the menace then.”

“Me, too.”

The stars were now shining in the sky. Helen sighed heavily. “When I’m gone, she’ll need you.”

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Hard to say.” She stared out at the stars. “Where do you think heaven resides?”

His body tensed at her words. “Helen, do you think someone intends you harm?”

She shrugged. “If they do, they haven’t much time to act. But for Tess’s sake, I hope they don’t. When your own father and brothers are the worst people you know, it makes it hard to trust anyone.” Her eyes grew watery. “But she trusts you, and so do I. You’re a good man, untainted by evil. Make sure you stay that way.”

He nodded, but could find no words to form in response.

“There’s a lot of space down here. It would make a nice lodge for you and your park rangers.”

“And where will you be?” he asked, finding her tone worrisome in its peaceful finality.

“I’ve left clear instructions on that. I’d hoped Jonas would see to them, but I fear the old man beat me to the punch. Probably just as well. He let me down so many times in my life. I thought we’d gotten past all that, but I was wrong. When it came between family and love, he always chose family.” Her eyes met Steel’s. “I’m trusting you’ll side with love.”

Given how little he cared for his family, he nodded in agreement.

“I need to talk to Tess now. So you go on to your room, but stay awake. My little angel will need you before long.”

“Is there something I should know?” he asked.

“I’m sure she’ll tell you soon enough. Now go on.”

The minute he shifted his weight and tried to ease away from Tess, she woke and straightened up. “Sorry, did I fall asleep on you?”

“Not complaining. I just need to call Tom and tell him I really want this job.”

Her smile radiated with joy. “Thank you.”

He stroked her face, feeling more at peace than he could ever recall.

***

Once inside his room, he called Tom.

“Well, is this not the perfect job for you?” his old friend asked.

“More than you know.” He then told him about the village and mounds he’d found.

“Thank God I didn’t find them,” Tom said. “That would have put me in a bad situation, but fortunately, all that is behind us. This is great news! Can’t wait to see them.”

“We need to proceed cautiously. These mounds are distinctly different than Effigy’s. We might be looking at something that was built in the eighteen hundreds.”

“I doubt it. People who settled here back then had no time to build useless mounds. They struggled to survive. And the only reason they would have gone into these woods was to hunt deer.”

Which meant it had to be later. “When do you think they might have been built?”

“Are you asking if I think Helen or Tess built them? Hell no.”

“What about their family?”

“Now, I would have believed that very possible, but had they done so, they would have used the mounds’ existence to have the prior governor claim Helen’s land. Since they didn’t make such a claim, they certainly didn’t build them. You have to be looking at something the Indians did because that’s all that makes sense.”

“And that will be your official stand?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Then I’ll focus on dating the site first thing. Until we do, we need to keep quiet about these sites, or I’ll have other archeologists claiming they are a fraud before I can gather the data to prove they aren’t.”

“My lips are sealed. Think you can have me a project plan within a month?”

Steel grimaced. He hated government project planning. “I suppose. Tess and I’ll both need laptops with the various software required to present whatever you’re looking for.”

Tom chuckled. “I’ll have my assistant handle that. I just see the output at my level. I wouldn’t have a clue how to create them. However, if you need to be trained on the software, let me know and I’ll make it happen.”