Read Online Heart Of Gold by Bird Jessica - Free Book Online Page A

he'd made the wide open space of the loft seem cramped and
suffocating. He was, she thought, larger than life.
    It took
several deep breaths before she was ready to face him again.
    “So
long, Carter Wessex,” he said when she met his eyes. With an enigmatic
grin, he slid his sunglasses back on, went to his car, and shot off down her
driveway.
    Oh, God,
she thought. The man was going to be at the lake the entire time she was there.
    Distance
was going to be critical, she decided. She was going to stay on top of that
mountain, do her job with lightning-fast efficiency, and avoid the man like he
was contagious.
    That was
just the way it would have to be.
    Setting
her shoulders, she went back upstairs and left word for Grace that the dig was
a go. Then she called the Swift household. By the time she put the phone down,
Buddy and his daughter were prepared to meet her at Farrell's house by the end
of the week. Jo-Jo, Buddy's better half, would be staying in Cambridge for the
summer to finish her current book.
    Carter
smiled as she thought about her friend and colleague. She'd met Buddy on the
historical lecture circuit and they'd bonded immediately. He was an expert on
early North American military conflict and an excellent archaeologist. Theirs
had always been a relationship based on respect and friendship, and she liked
his wife tremendously. Jo-Jo, who was a professor of chemistry, understood the
closeness between the two historians and was happy to have Carter in their
lives.
    The
Swifts, who had been married for almost twenty years, seemed like an unusual
pair. With a crop of wiry red hair on his head, Buddy was built like a string
bean and had boundless energy whereas Jo-Jo was a petite, quietly intense
woman. Their daughter, Louella, who refused to answer to anything but Ellie,
was halfway between the extremes of her parents. She had her father's height
and her mother's formidable intelligence, and could be by turns gregarious and
focused. They were a wonderful family and a lot of fun to work with.
    Snapping
out of her reverie, she got up from her desk with purpose. There was packing to
do, she had to go to her university office and get some of her tools, and she
needed to think about provisions.
    Carter
was about to go downstairs when she turned and looked back at her room.
Everything was the same as it had been when she'd woken up that morning. Her
clothes were still in the drawers and hanging in the closet, her papers were
filed next to her desk, her books were where she had left them.
    But
somehow, it was all different. It was as if everything in the room had been
moved one inch in another direction.
    Carter
thought of Nick Farrell standing by her desk, his wide shoulders taking up so
much space, those pale eyes watching her. Her memory of him was so clear, it
was as if a hologram of him remained after he'd left.
    Why the
vividness?
    She
wasn't sure, but she didn't want to dwell on that.
    And why
did she feel so exposed with him in her study?
    Of the
answers that came to mind, one bothered her most.
    In the
year since she'd moved into the farmhouse, he was the first man she'd invited
into her home.
    Carter
groaned.
    Why did
she have to pick him? Why couldn't it have been someone more run of the mill?
An exterminator. A plumber.
    An
extraterrestrial, for Chrissakes.

Heart of Gold

Chapter 4
    On
Tuesday, Carter pulled up in front of the Farrell mansion feeling conflicted.
She'd spent the previous two nights staring into the darkness and seeing Nick
Farrell's face. The lack of sleep and a curious, aching frustration were both
making her cranky.
    It wasn't
the usual way she kicked off a dig. Most of the time, she'd be so excited to
get started she could barely stand it.
    Stepping
from the Jeep, Carter wondered whether she had to check in with someone before
she headed up the trail. She was anxious to establish camp and knew from
experience that lugging her supplies and equipment was going to take most of
the day. Doing a