Blog post – 14 days and counting

ONE NIGHT WITH YOU

11/03/09

Excerpt # 2

Raven La Blanc did her best not to stare at the gorgeous man on the porch. He was broad shouldered with smooth, creamed-coffee colored skin, a tempting mouth, and piercing onyx eyes beneath a worn black Stetson.

She’d seen handsome men before, dismissed them without a moment’s hesitation, but something about the unsmiling man intrigued her. From the way he was staring at her in his defensive stance, he clearly didn’t share her interest. He wanted her gone, but she hadn’t driven over a thousand miles to turn around and go back to Santa Fe.

Being a woman with a mixed heritage of Native American and French, Raven was used to challenges. Her smile widened as she closed the distance between them, stopping at the foot of the steps to stare at up at his unwelcoming face. “Good morning, Mr. McBride. I’m Raven La Blanc, the archaeologist Ruth Grayson spoke to you about. I’m here to authenticate the ca–“

“What?” Unfolding his arms, he quickly descended the steps. Raven had to back up to keep him from plowing into her. “You can’t be the one I’m expecting.”

Raven had heard it before. People tended to look at her face and quickly decide there was nothing but air in her head. She’d fought the battle repeatedly in her collegiate days and throughout her academic career. She’d fight again if needed. This was too important.

She needed an edge to put her on the fast track to tenure at St. John’s College. The goal of obtaining one had brought her to the Double D.

“I assure you, Mr. McBride, I am. I am very interested in—”

“Mrs. Grayson said the woman she was sending had experienced he said, cutting her off once again.

Patience, Raven reminded herself. This is your chance. “I might be young since I earned my Ph.D. at twenty-two, but I’ve been a professor at St. John’s with Ruth Grayson for the past year. Before I accepted the position there I was on several digs in America and Europe.”

“Doing grunt work no doubt,” he hurled. “I wanted someone capable of getting the job done.”

Raven’s blunt tipped nails dug into the palms of her hands. Condescending men irritated the hell out of her. “My credentials speak for themselves. I don’t plan to stand here and argue with you. According to Mrs. Grayson, you were pleased to learn that someone of my experience was free and willing to come here. You wanted the authentication done quietly and secretly.”

Black eyes narrowed on her face. “That was then.”

Raven’s chin jutted. “Think what you will about me, but you’ve given your word that I could study and authenticate the find and that’s exactly what I plan to do. If you don’t want me staying at your ranch as planned, that is your right. I’ll get a room in town and be back at eight in the morning to start. Goodbye.”

Spinning on her booted heels, Raven stalked back to her jeep. With an irritated flick of her wrist, the motor ignited. Shifting the vehicle into gear, she spun around in the wide driveway, lamenting she wasn’t on dirt so the tires could spit dust in Duncan’s condescending face.

He’d just thrown a monkey wrench into her plans. She’d counted on staying at the ranch to conserve time and money. That was out of the question now, but she had no intention of leaving Elks Ridge. If the drawings were authentic, and they certainly looked that way from the sketch he’d sent to Ruth, it was important that they be preserved and studied.

The fly in the ointment was that she needed the owner’s permission to study them. The government jurisdiction didn’t extend to private property unless there were human remains.

Raven’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. She refused to think he might be a big enough jerk not to show her the cave. Ruth had spoken highly of him. Just goes to show that a man could fool even the most intelligent woman. That was one lesson she’d learned the hard way and didn’t need a refresher course on.