I Love You

by Shanade White

  Nearly an hour later, she was suddenly standing in front of him, her face covered with the biggest smile he’d ever seen as well as numerous smudges of dirt. “Well, I think you’ve just saved my career.” She said, when he’d managed to get to his feet.

  Cooper tried to clear his head, he’d fallen asleep watching Paige and had been having a very provocative dream about her. Embarrassment suddenly flooding him, he turned away from her pretending to look for Brandon, who was only a few feet away, entertaining himself building a fort out of rocks and sticks. Angry at himself for letting a little attraction turn into an embarrassing situation, he took a deep breath and turned back to Paige.

  “So how long is this going to take, a couple of months?” He asked, trying to clear the images of the dream from his mind, but having a hard time when she looked up at him with her big brown eyes, her breasts rising and falling with each breath she took.

  “Oh, it’s going to take a lot longer than that.” She said, then took a deep breath as if getting ready to jump in the water. “First we have to clear all this, then I’d like to bring in a sonar or radar, oh there are so many options.”

  “So how long are we talking here?” He asked again, using his anger to defray the feeling of attraction he was feeling for Paige.

  She looked at the hill, then up to the bone sticking out of the ground about the cave. “At least a year, maybe more. I have to get to that cave, I think it’s the whole key to their burial rituals.” She said, launching into a lecture about the Western Mono Indians.

  He let her talk for a minute, but soon found that her excitement was only making her more attractive, making him wonder if he could ever get her that excited. Shaking his head, he interrupted her, “Okay I get it. What’s our next step? Do you need to call whoever it is that’s going to be running this show?”

  She paused, then said, “I don’t have to call anyone, I’m in charge of this site. I might be young, but I’ll have you know that I’m just about to finish my Master’s.” Her sudden anger surprised him.

  “I’m sorry, I just assumed...well you are young.” He stopped trying to explain himself, watching as she began making her way back up the path.

  He let her lead for a few minutes, watching as her shoulders began to relax, then caught up to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything, I just made the wrong assumption.” He said, sounding so sincere she couldn’t help but forgive him.

  “That’s okay, people make that assumption all the time. I’m young and a woman, people make assumptions. Sometimes it’s because I’m black too, but I probably overreacted. I’m sorry.” She said, shrugging her shoulders and smiling at him.

  When she smiled at him like that, he knew that he was in trouble. It didn’t seem to matter to his body that Amy had only been gone for six months, he wanted Paige. Trying to summon some of his earlier anger, he gritted his teeth and kept his eyes on the path in front of them, not daring to say another word. Happy when Paige seemed content to walk silently beside him lost in her own thoughts.

  Paige was acutely aware of Cooper walking next to her, but gritted her teeth as well, promising herself to get control of this attraction and fast. This was her chance to prove herself in her chosen field and there was no way she was going to let her attraction to Cooper ruin her chance. She’d worked too hard and sacrificed too much to blow it on a man; she’d learned that lesson eight years ago and had no plans to repeat it.

  Instead, she began a mental list of all the things she’d need to clear the site and get to that cave, which was her first priority. Professor Morgan hadn’t mentioned a budget, but when she heard the news of what had been discovered, she would get some money from somewhere. This was a significant find, potentially worth a great deal to the world of science. By the time they arrived back at Cooper’s house, she had restored her inner equilibrium, her mind refocused on what it should be focused on.

  She hadn’t put much thought into where she’d go from here, but Cooper interrupted her thoughts. “Marissa and Scott wanted me to extend an invitation to stay at their house for the night.”

  “Oh, that’s nice, but I wouldn’t want to impose.” She said, thinking she could just sleep in her car.

  “You can’t sleep in your car, if that’s what you’re thinking, Marissa will have a fit. If you don’t show up, she’ll just come looking for you. Besides, it’s an experience you don’t want to miss; it might give you a better idea of what we’re trying to achieve here.” Cooper said, walking with her to her car. “I’d invite you to stay here, but the house is barely livable right now.”

  “Well, if you don’t think it would be a problem, it would be nice not to sleep in my car.” She said. “Can you give me directions?”

  “You can’t miss it. There’s a big sign that says Honey Hills, just turn there and follow the road. I’ll call them and let them know you’re on your way.” He said, helping her into the car.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning, after a good night’s rest in the charming bedroom that made her feel like she’d gone back in time, she found Marissa in the breakfast room feeding their son. “Good morning.” She said.

  “Oh, good morning Paige. There’s fresh coffee in the pot and muffins in the oven. Help yourself.” Marissa said, feeding the baby the last bite of cereal. “Did you sleep well?”

  “One of the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while. I thought that the quiet would bother me, but it was nice to only hear the sounds of nature. This house is fantastic, and that bed is wonderful. It reminds me of going to my grandmother’s house when I was a kid.” She said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and grabbing a muffin.

  “I’m glad to hear that. We’re hoping there will be a lot of people who want that same experience.” Marissa said, taking the baby out of the highchair and putting him into the playpen, where he happily began playing with his toys.

  They talked about the baby and kids in general for a few minutes while she finished her breakfast. But Paige had phone calls to make and plans to put in place, “I need to make some phone calls to get things rolling. Marissa, I don’t actually know who owns that property, we’ll need to make this all legal and everything.”

  “Yeah, Scott and Cooper have already spoken to our lawyer about the legalities of the whole thing. How about we plan to meet later this afternoon, that way you can figure out your side before we meet.” Marissa said, all business suddenly.

  “That would be fine. Is there someplace I can work?” Paige hated to ask, but she needed some privacy.

  “Sure you can use my office; it’s right at the end of the main hallway on the other side of the house. Marissa said, gesturing to the back of the house.

  Paige was pleased to find that the office was completely modern with a comfortable desk and plenty of privacy once she’d shut the door. It was hard not to scream when she thought about what was sitting just a few miles away in the forest, Professor Montgomery was going to be thrilled. But there was a lot of work to do, so she got out her computer, picked up the phone and called the professor wishing she could see the look on her face when she told her.

  By the time she hung her phone, an hour had passed, but Professor Montgomery had promised her that she’d work hard to get her enough funding to properly explore the burial ground. Feeling much more secure in her ability to see the dig through, she sat back in the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. There was a small part of her that had been worried that someone else would come swooping in and take it away from her, but her conversation with Professor Montgomery had convinced her that it really was all hers.

  That afternoon they all gathered in Marissa and Scott’s dining room, piles of papers in front of everyone. Cooper seemed to be in a difficult mood, his scowl evident as soon as he walked in the door. But when she explained that the first thing they had to do was call in a shaman to bless the ground, he made a rude noise.

  “Look, I don’t know how you feel about religion and it really doesn’t matter, but if we st
art poking around on our own, it could turn into a nightmare.” She tried to explain.

  “And what if they up and decide that we shouldn’t be messing with the site? Then what?” Cooper asked, afraid that not only would they have to leave it as it was, but that Paige would disappear.

  “Well, I doubt that the local tribe would want it left as it is. They’ll cooperate, I know most of them, they’ve been a big help to me over the years. Just trust me, this is the only way to handle this and it isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation.” She said, already becoming annoyed at Cooper.

  When they moved on to the need for a geologist to examine the site before anyone started disrupting it too much, she was relieved that Cooper didn’t raise any objections. But her relief was short-lived when she handed everyone a list of prospective geologists she’d worked with before. Instead of simply leaving the choice up to her, as she’d expected, Cooper slid the list back across the table, shaking his head negatively.

  “If we have to use a geologist, I think we should call my brother.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest, just begging for a fight.

  Paige took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, Cooper was quickly becoming a pain in her side and she was reassessing her initial opinion of him. If he wanted to challenge her on every decision then so be it, she could play hard ball too.

  “Does he have any experience in this kind of work? Those geologists on that list have years of experience working on just this kind of dig.” She said, looking him right in the eyes.

  “No, but he’s a smart guy. Tell him what you need to know and he’ll figure it out.” Cooper said, not backing down. “Look if he can’t do what you want, he’ll be the first one to tell you so.”

  Knowing that she might have to pick her battles, she relented. “Okay, but if he’s not working out I have the right to replace him.” She said firmly.

  Wanting to move the negotiations on, Scott asked, “So once we know it’s safe, we start moving the debris and start collecting the bones?”

  “Exactly.” Paige said, “I’ll bring in a crew of undergraduates and some graduate students to work the bones, but we’re going to need a crew to remove the debris. It could be tricky, so I need people who are patient and will listen to direction well.”

  “Leave that up to me.” Scott said quickly before Cooper could open his mouth. His friend was acting very strange; he had been all day.

  “Thank you. That will help, just make sure they understand that it’s going to be a long slow process. We have to document every step of the process.” Paige said, relieved to have that issue taken off her hands. “The last thing we have to discuss is the legalities of the dig. Technically, everything we find belongs to the land owner, but there’s plenty of precedent for a certain percentage of the relics to be donated to the sponsor of the dig. In this case, that’s the university.”

  “That’s not going to work for us.” Cooper said, his scowl deepening.

  “What Cooper is trying to say,” Marissa interjected. “Is that we’d like to sponsor the dig and keep possession of anything you find.”

  Paige opened her mouth to respond, but Marissa held her hand up and continued to speak. “We’d like to have a museum in Cedar Ridge and the burial grounds will be a part of that. We don’t even know if you’ll find anything, but if you do I can promise you that we’ll care for it and display it with the respect it deserves.”

  Paige considered this for a second, then realized that she didn’t really have much choice. “Okay, I guess I really have no choice. I’m not sure I understand exactly what it is you’re doing here.” She said, gesturing around her.

  “Coldwater Canyon Park is going to offer the opportunity for people from the city to get away and live much like people did right before the water was rerouted into the dam. A new kind eco-tourism might be a good way to explain it. We’ll also open Cedar Ridge to tours, and now it looks like the story of the local Indians will become a part of the park.” Marissa explained.

  “That’s quite an ambitious plan.” Paige said, a little surprised to hear their plan. She’d skipped that part of the information she’d been given, assuming that they were planning to put in a bunch of mini-mansions in the canyon.

  “We’ve got the money and the time.” Scott said, “It’s my chance to give something back, we’re luckier than we deserve to be and Cooper was just bored with his life.”

  Paige looked at all of them, noticing that Cooper’s face had softened a bit while Marissa had been talking about their plans. Feeling better about the fate of any artifacts she might find, she said, “Well, I guess that does make me feel better. I’m not prepared with any kind of a contract that outlines those arrangements.”

  “Our lawyer had already drawn up the papers and sent them to the university; they should be signed and returned by tomorrow. Have you put any thought into where you’ll stay while you’re up here? You’re more than welcome to stay with us.” Marissa said.

  “Oh, that’s a nice offer, but I don’t want to impose. I don’t mind pitching a tent, that’s what we usually do when we’re on a dig.” Paige said, then added, “It’s really better if I stick close to the students.”

  “Well, the offer is always open.” Marissa said, then asked, “Will you be bringing your son?”

  Paige hadn’t thought about bringing Justin with her, in fact she hadn’t thought about what she’d do. She was covered for a month while he went to camp, but then she’d have to do something, her parent’s couldn’t watch him all the time. It was appealing to think about bringing him with her, but he’d be underfoot all the time.

  “Honestly, I hadn’t thought that far into the future. He’s going to camp for a month, but after that I’m not sure. I’m afraid he’d be in the way up here.” She said.

  “Oh, he’d be fine. There are a bunch of kids running around up here, you met Brandon, but there are also kids with the crew, and this winter we’ll be opening a school for them. My sister is going to teach, it’s going to be a good old fashioned one room school house… well except for the computers and other modern equipment.” Marissa said, laughing.

  “Wow, really? That’s impressive. I’ll definitely have to think about it.” Paige said, “Speaking of Justin, I probably should be heading home soon. I think we’ve covered everything we need to for now. I’m going to get Justin off to camp and I’ll be back and we can get started.”

  The three of them stood on the porch watching Paige drive away, as soon as she was out of sight, Scott turned to Cooper and said, “What the hell? Do you think you could have been any more rude to her? This is a good thing for us. Why are you behaving like an ass?”

  Cooper glared at Scott, then crossed the porch and looked down the valley. “This is just way more complicated than I thought it would be.” He said.

  Scott thought about that, then decided he didn’t believe Cooper for a second. “There’s more to it than that. We knew it would take a long time, and that there would be even more people running around the canyon, so what gives?”

  Marissa chose that moment to make a quiet departure, “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.” She said, then slipped into the house.

  Cooper was quiet for so long that Scott got impatient, then it suddenly hit him. “You like her, don’t you?” He said, crossing the porch to stand next to Cooper. Looking at him now, it all made sense, although they hadn’t been close for the last five or six years, they had been very close once.

  “You still know me too well.” Cooper said. “I am attracted to her, but Amy has only been gone for six months, besides I don’t know if I can trust myself again. You do know I made a complete fool of myself, if not for Brandon I don’t know if I would have made it. I can’t do that to myself again and I have him to think about too.”

  They’d never discussed the details of Cooper’s divorce, but even this far from town it had caused a big enough scandal that he’d heard most of the gruesome details. Scott couldn’t imagine how he
would feel if one day Marissa came to him and said that it had all been a lie, but then he thought about how ridiculous that was. But still, Cooper had been deceived and badly by a woman who only wanted his money, it wouldn’t be easy for him to trust again.

  “Look, I honestly don’t know what to tell you, but I do know this: sometimes you need to think with your heart and not your head. Maybe you need to ask yourself if what you felt for Amy was real or not. Sometimes we want something so bad we make it real when it’s not. Don’t overthink what you’re feeling, whether it happens now or two years from now when you meet that one person you’re meant to be with you’ll know.” Scott said, patting Cooper on the back.

  “I just don’t know if I know what I’m supposed to feel.” Cooper said.

  “I didn’t admit it to myself at the time, but I knew that Marissa was the one for me the first time I took her out to dinner. There was a spark between us, but what really got me was when she took off her shoes and ran though the wet grass in the park after dinner. She didn’t care if anyone saw her; she just slipped out of her shoes and took off.” Scott smiled at the memory.

  “Buddy, you’ve got it about as bad as anyone I’ve ever met. That woman has cast a spell on you, I swear.” Cooper said, unable not to laugh at his friend who’d changed so much in the last few years. “You give me hope. Now let’s go eat I’m starving. I don’t know what to think about Paige, but I guess I’m going to have plenty of time to figure it out; she’s going to be around for a while.”

  “Well, if it’s a spell I’m a willing participant, I’ve never been so happy.” Scott said, as they walked into the house. “If you’re lucky enough to find a woman who can put a spell on you, don’t walk away.”