Harlequin Desire February 2017, Box Set 2 of 2 by Jules Bennett

Author:Jules Bennett
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488015762
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Tallie didn’t want to go out there and address his potential investors, and the temptation to be stubborn almost won out. But, taking a deep breath, she removed the banana clip from her hair and quickly brushed it out. When she stepped outside there were approximately twenty people, men and women, all standing under the giant oak tree, and everyone was smiling. Everyone except Cole Masters.

“This is Dr. Tallie Finley, archaeologist with the North Texas Natural History Museum. She has degrees in biological and forensic anthropology. She’s agreed to take a few minutes and answer your questions.”

Without any hesitation the questions started coming hard and heavy but she’d heard them all before. Many times. They were talking her language now and she felt herself start to relax. Most people were intrigued by the recovery of ancient artifacts but very few got to visit an actual dig. She could feel the investors’ excitement building.

“We’re looking for relics dating back about five or six thousand years. We received some evidence that a tribe once lived in this area. Mr. Masters was…gracious enough to let us come in and search, even though doing so delayed his own project.”

Tallie didn’t dare look at Cole, who stood next to her. “If we find what we’re looking for, it could change the way we understand Native American history and culture, including my own lineage. We, at the museum, are holding our breath, we’re so excited about this site.”

Excitement spurred the crowd to ask more questions. Eventually someone asked to see where she was now digging. They followed Tallie down the small incline to the two large square holes.

After explaining the various tools and how they were used, Tallie reached down and picked up a tea can, tumbling a few objects onto the sifter so all could see. She picked one dark gray rock and held it up. “So far I’ve found several of these. The arrowheads were attached to sticks or poles and used for hunting.” She put down the rock and picked up several pieces of pottery. “This is evidence that a village was here. We can scan these pieces and, with today’s technology, the computer can give us a realistic idea of the size of the actual pot and, in some cases, what it was used for.”

“Isn’t that what you’re looking for?” someone asked.

“No.” She smiled and shook her head. “These are relatively new. Only a few hundred years old.”

Everyone chuckled. Except Cole.

Tallie tossed the pieces back into the sifting tray and walked over to an odd-shaped rock, round on one end with a long, narrow stem on the other, sitting near a small shrub. “This we found yesterday.” She was careful to use “we” instead of “I,” implying a much bigger operation. “It was used to grind corn and wheat.” She held it up for them to see. “And, yes, this, too, is only a few hundred years old.”

The questions continued: How did she know the age of the samples?

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