Part 26 (1/2)

Sign up for your dig. Right now. Today. The field school had only a week remaining, and every last person here had been toiling in the sun all summer.

His gaze bored into hers, daring her to challenge him. d.a.m.n right she'd challenge him. As soon as she could talk.

She glanced around.

And as soon as she could get away from all the prying eyes of her students.

”Glad you made it.” She forced a smile. ”Right this way, please.”

She started for her camper, then realized it would look strange, disappearing into a private room with a man she'd only just met. She changed course, heading for a rocky outcropping about a hundred yards away. The petroglyphs. They'd be within plain view but well out of earshot.

”So you're thinking of joining us. Why don't I give you a tour of the site and you can make up your mind?”

He followed silently, his gaze scanning the horizon looking for... what? Rapists? Mountain lions? Serial killers?

”Where, exactly, did you come from?” she asked when they'd reached a safe distance.

”California.”

”You drove here from San Diego San Diego? At my uncle's request?”

He said nothing to this, just followed her strides across the rocky terrain.

”Listen, Lieutenant-” She suddenly blanked on his name.

”Brewer,” he supplied. ”And you can call me Gage.”

”All right. Gage. I'm not sure what my uncle told you, but your being here, it really isn't necessary. My colleagues and I are-”

”He told me his niece needed protection. I told him I'd come. When you're safely packed up and headed back home, I'll return to San Diego, mission accomplished.”

Kelsey picked her way over the stony creek bed, fighting back tears of frustration as she listened to him talk. He was just like Joe, just like the stubborn, mule-headed man who had been a father to her most of her life. Good G.o.d, she'd never get rid of this guy. He considered her his mission mission.

Kelsey scaled the side of the creek, grabbing a branch to heft herself up. It snapped free and she fell backward. A pair of enormous hands caught her shoulders.

”Easy there.”

Her pulse skipped as the feel of him, the smell smell of him permeated her brain. A jolt of raw s.e.xual awareness zinged through her, and she scrambled away. of him permeated her brain. A jolt of raw s.e.xual awareness zinged through her, and she scrambled away.

Was that that what this was about? Was her mother matchmaking with one of her uncle's SEALs? The idea was unbearable. Mortifying. She felt color flooding her already pink cheeks. what this was about? Was her mother matchmaking with one of her uncle's SEALs? The idea was unbearable. Mortifying. She felt color flooding her already pink cheeks.

And it suddenly hit her. She must look like roadkill. She was grimy, sunburned, and her last encounter with a mascara wand had been before Memorial Day.

Kelsey scurried up the hillside to the limestone escarpment that looked out over the valley and into Mexico. She ducked under the shade of an overhang and stopped beside a wall of rock decorated with ancient engravings. She turned to face the lieutenant, waiting until her eyes adjusted to the dimness so that she could read his expression.

He stopped, maintaining a respectful distance from her as he folded his arms over his chest.

Kelsey tried to sound composed. ”My uncle is your commanding officer, is that correct?”

”Yes, ma'am.”

”And your commanding officer asked you-as some sort of favor-to come protect me for the duration of my job here, is that it?”

”That's correct, ma'am.”

She closed her eyes. ”Please don't call me 'ma'am' again, okay? I mean, you're probably older than I am.”

He didn't comment, even though she felt certain he knew precisely how old she was. Her uncle had probably given him her bio, for heaven's sake. That's how Joe worked. Every mission came with a file, a set of facts to be committed to memory. Kelsey remembered the Abe Lincoln project from fifth grade, the one that-according to Joe-couldn't be undertaken until she'd memorized the Gettysburg Address.

She shook off the memory. ”So your being here, it's not really a direct order, is that right? I mean, you're not going to get fired if you don't-”

”Joe Quinn asked me to come, so I came. It's that simple.” Something sparked in his eyes, and she sensed that whatever had brought him here wasn't simple at all.

”This may be simple for you but it's not for me,” she said. ”I'm the field supervisor here. I'm in charge of eighteen graduate students and six undergrads. I have research to conduct, reports to write, grades to submit, and a professional reputation to uphold. How do you think it looks when my uncle sends out some hired hunk of muscle to protect me from the bogeyman?”

He eyed her coolly, not even flinching at her ”hired hunk of muscle” comment, which had been intended to p.i.s.s him off. Kelsey knew the SEAL code. And she knew whatever debt this man owed Joe it had nothing to do with money.

He nodded slightly. ”That Ruger you got strapped to your belt, what's that for?”

Kelsey's gaze snapped to her holster. She'd become so accustomed to it that she didn't even notice it anymore.

She looked up and cleared her throat. ”This isn't Disneyland. We get mountain lions and rattlesnakes around here.”

He lifted an eyebrow. ”Coyotes, mules, maybe even a few border bandits?”

Her gaze narrowed.

”Don't get me wrong. It's a nice weapon.” He paused. ”You know how to use it?”

”Of course.”

”And when'd you get the holster?”

She didn't answer.

”I'm guessing back home in San Marcos, you usually carry it in your purse, right?”

So Joe had told him about her. At least where she lived. What else had Joe told him? Had he mentioned how her boyfriend had dumped her six months ago?

”When'd you get the holster, Kelsey?”

She squared her shoulders. ”Five weeks ago.”

He nodded. ”After the second break-in. That was your your camper, right? The first was Dr. Robles.” camper, right? The first was Dr. Robles.”

She bit her lip.