“There’s not much we can do here now,” Skye said. “I’d better take Jake back to the hospital.”
Jake was near enough to overhear. He glanced at his watch in agreement. “Wynne should be out of surgery within another half an hour or so. I’d probably better get back.” He nodded to Skye’s mother and stepfather. “I’m sorry about this.”
“Thanks for being such a good friend to our Skye,” her mother said. “You’ll have to come to dinner one night. We like to get to know her friends.”
Surprise rippled across his face, and he flushed. “We’ve been trying to help one another out. I’m afraid I’ll be too busy with the dig to make any social engagements.”
Skye thought the comment was meant to make it clear they were allies only, not friends, and certainly nothing more. She wanted to crawl under the counter. What must Jake think? He surely assumed her mother’s comment meant Skye had told her mother things about their relationship that weren’t true. No wonder Jake looked embarrassed.
“Let’s go, Jake,” she said with as much brusqueness as she could manage. She would have to show him their relationship was strictly as associates with no personal stakes involved.
Jake nodded distantly and went to the door. His face was a stiff mask, and his jaw was tight. Skye wanted to cry or scream, she wasn’t sure which. She hugged her mother and Peter and followed Jake out the door.
The silence as they drove back to the hospital was unnerving. Skye couldn’t stand more than five minutes of it. “Look, I know how my mother’s comment sounded, but believe me, I’ve given her no reason to think we have a relationship.”
Jake didn’t reply for a few long moments. Skye held her breath, wondering if she’d gone too far by bringing things into the open.
“I’m sorry I was curt with her,” he said. “And you’re a nice girl, Skye, but I move around too much to even think of getting into a relationship. I tried it once and that was enough.”
“What happened?” The words were out before she could snatch them back.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
She’d been nicely slapped back into place. Skye bit her lip. “Okay. Sorry.”
He gave a heavy sigh. “No, I’m sorry. It’s not something I like to remember. I dated a research student for a summer. I thought she would want to join the team on a permanent basis and travel the world with me. She informed me she wanted me to join the professor pool at the university in her hometown. She had the house all picked out near the campus.”
“I’m sorry.” Now more than ever, Skye could see there would never be a future for her with this man. She couldn’t imagine leaving Eagle Island. It was as much a part of her as the color of her hair and the gray flecks in her dark eyes. Leaving here would be like ripping out a part of who she was.
“I was, too, for a while.” He grimaced. “It was for the best. I’m the rambling kind of guy. Maybe I always will be.”
At least he was warning her of the truth. That fact proved to her he felt some kind of attraction for her. It was a small crumb of comfort. “I could never leave here,” she admitted. “So it’s just as well we had this little talk.”
She felt a small thrill of satisfaction when she saw the disappointment on his face. He’d evidently told her to see her reaction. Had he hoped she’d say she had always wanted to see the world? Some women would, she knew. Most of the women on the island complained about the small world the island offered and dreamed of far-flung, exotic locales.
She stopped the truck in front of the hospital. “I hope Wynne is okay.”
“You’re not coming in?”
She shook her head. “I need to run out to the mine before the second shift men leave. There’s something I need to discuss with Pop.”
“Why am I afraid?” He grinned. “You’ve got an expression that says something is brewing in that smart head of yours.”
“Maybe.” She found herself smiling back at him. Their little talk had cleared the air between them. Maybe they would now be free to be real friends. Though the thought should have made her happy, she found a trace of depression creeping in. She’d hoped for more, though she hadn’t admitted it to herself.
“What are you up to?”
“I’m not telling yet. I need to see if it’s a possibility. This day could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.”
He shook his head. “You’re nuts.”
“Maybe. We’ll see.” Giving a little salute with her fingers, she drove off and left him standing on the sidewalk. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw him wave as he headed toward the door.
She called James’s house and his wife told Skye he was at the mine. She drove the ten miles out to the mine and parked beside James’s car, then went inside.
James’s feet sat atop a stack of papers on his desk, and he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He saw her and sat up so sharply, he knocked the stack of papers over. “What are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same thing, Pop. You work too hard. Though you don’t look too busy at the moment.” Quickly she explained what had happened to her shop.
“Why are you looking so excited? I would have expected you to be upset.” He eyed her suspiciously.
“I was, at first. Then Peter offered me a loan.” She gave him a slow smile and winked.
His jaw slackened, and his mouth fell open. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
“Yep. The insurance money will cover replacing the store stock. Peter didn’t say what I had to use the loan money for.”
“The Mitchell tube,” they said in unison.
James leaped from his chair and tossed her a high-five. “You’re brilliant! You realize he’s going to be mad when he finds out you are opening the Mitchell tube?”
“I know, Pop.” She sobered. “That’s the only thing about the plan I hate. Peter has been so good to me and Mother. He’s just so stubborn on this subject. I know the tube badly needs to be shored up, but I think we can make it safer. And it won’t take long to find out if we’re right and the diamonds are there. If they are, we’ll have no trouble convincing an investor to give us enough money to explore it properly.”
“I like the way your mind works.” James’s face was flushed and his smile lit the room. “When can we get the money?”
“Peter talked like he could run it through right away because the insurance would take so long.”
“What about the store?”
“I’m okay to let it ride until the insurance money comes through. The things that will take the longest to replace are the dreamcatchers, and I have to make them myself, so they’ll take months anyway. This will work.”
“I know it will.” He grabbed her hands, and they did a jig around the office floor. “I was beginning to think you were losing heart, Skye.”
“I was. But not any longer. We’re going to do this, Pop.”
“I need to order the supplies.” He suddenly looked worried. “I hope Peter doesn’t blame me.”
“I’ll make sure he knows it was all my doing,” she promised.
“What about your mother? The mine belongs to her.”
“And she trusts me with the running of it.”
“What if she puts her foot down when she sees what we’re doing and tells you to shut it down?”
“I think I can talk her out of it. She doesn’t totally let Peter rule the roost at home. Remember how she let the paleontologists start digging over his objections? If she knows how much it means to me, she’ll agree to let me try. It’s not like we’re doing a full extraction.”
“No, this is just enough to see if a full one is feasible,” he agreed. “But we both believe in it, Skye.”
“I know those diamonds are there,” she said. “Now we just have to find them.”
Chapter Nine
Wynne’s usual high spirits over the next few days brought Jake relief. He skipped church to be with her, but not even a broken leg was able to kee
p her down for long, and he was able to concentrate on his dig during the first part of the week and prepare to meet Kimball Washington.
Wednesday brought clear, sunny skies, and Jake waited at the dock for the ferry. Kimball was standing at the railing. Dressed in a tweed suit and cap, he looked every bit the college professor. His chocolate-colored skin glowed with health, and his dark eyes brightened at the sight of Jake waving to him.
He stepped off the ferry and grasped Jake’s hand then pulled him into a brief hug. “Jake, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He fell into step beside Jake and tugged his rolling suitcase along. “I’m eager to see this site of yours.”
“I can’t wait to show you.” He introduced Kimball to Max, who shook the professor’s hand, then took the luggage from him.
“I’m sure you two have plenty of work to do. I told Jake I’d take your luggage on home so you can get out to the site.”
“Excellent. Give me a minute to change my clothes.” Kimball’s voice was eager.
“Lovely island,” Kimball remarked as Jake drove along the rocky coastline out to the dig.
“Yes, it is.” Jake parked the SUV. “I’m glad you’re here, Kimball. I need all the help I can get.” As they walked up the path to the dig, he told him what had been going on and the eggs he’d found.
“Paleontology can be a cutthroat business,” Kimball said. “The sooner it’s announced, the better. We can get a team together to fully excavate the site, set up security and manage what goes on.”
“That’s what I thought.” Jake stepped to his eggs and pointed. “There they are.”
Kimball rubbed his hands together. “Let’s hatch one of these babies. That will rocket the discovery to the front page of the newspapers.” He set down his satchel and pulled out two tiny microscopes as well as several small chisels. “If we can confirm what dinosaur we’re dealing with, this could get exciting. These are the largest eggs I’ve seen.”
The eggs were nearly twenty inches long, and Jake had been eager to learn what he had here. He knelt beside Kimball, and they began to work on freeing the largest egg from the cluster where it had been found.
Within an hour, the egg was loose. “Help me lift it. We’ll put it on that rock ledge so we don’t have to stoop to work on it.” Kimball nodded his head toward a nearby flat ledge.
Grunting, Jake helped him carry the heavy egg to the rock. It was the perfect height for further work. “How long do think it will take?” He knew the chipping away of rock to “hatch” what was inside was painstaking work.
“At least a month,” Kimball said.
Jake winced. “We have to protect this for a month? Maybe we should move to Windigo Manor, where it’s more able to be watched.”
“Might be a good idea,” Kimball agreed. “But let’s work a little longer today and see what we can chip loose.”
Several times as they worked over the egg, Jake felt the back of his neck prickle as though he was being watched. He looked around occasionally but saw nothing, but his unease continued as the sun cast long shadows over the site.
Around six he looked at his watch. “Let’s quit for supper. We can take the egg with us to town.”
“What about the others?”
“It’s getting dark enough that I don’t think anyone can chisel them loose.”
“I don’t think you realize what you’ve got here,” Kimball said.
“What are you thinking?” Jake hoped his friend would concur with his own speculations.
“As big as the eggs are, I suspect it might be a Sauroposeidon or something even larger. The wonders we might find at this site boggle my mind.”
The eagerness in his friend’s voice told Jake this find might be truly monumental. His own excitement kicked up a notch. “I’d hoped you’d say that and wasn’t my own wishful thinking. When can we announce this?”
“Not until I can identify the bones in this egg. We have to be very careful not to let any leaks out until the right time.”
Jake scowled. “It’s possible Reynolds might excavate the eggs he stole and announce it first.”
Kimball winced. “Then we’re going to have to work faster. I’m willing to work twenty hours a day if necessary.”
“Me, too.” Jake set his jaw. There was no way he was going to let Cameron Reynolds steal this discovery, too.
Skye sat across the desk from Peter. The shiny, expansive surface made her feel detached from her stepfather. She hadn’t often come to his office, and the distance felt disconcerting.
Peter pushed the papers across the desk to her. “Sign here.”
She scrawled her signature and tried to ignore the guilt knocking against her ribs. She should have been upfront with her stepfather about what she intended to use the money for, but he hadn’t asked. If he had questioned her, she would have told him the truth.
Excitement crawled along her spine as he handed her the check with a smile. “Glad I could help.”
“You’re a peach, Peter,” she said, rising from the slick, leather chair.
“Your mother wants you to stop by on your way home. She found some new items she thought you might want to order for the shop.”
“Okay.” She thought about telling him what she was going to do with the money, but decided maybe she’d better deposit the funds first. Then he couldn’t do anything to stop her. But guilt wouldn’t be kept quiet for long. She’d have to confess.
She exited Peter’s office, stopped off at the counter, deposited the check, then hurried to her truck. James would be thrilled. He had an order ready to go for equipment to start the extraction of the Mitchell tube.
But first she’d better get her mother on board. She drove to her mother’s and went inside. “Hello!” she called in the hallway.
“In here, Skye.” Her mother’s voice echoed from the kitchen.
Skye sniffed and the aroma of beef pasties wafted to her nose. Her stomach rumbled at the mixed scent of beef, pie crust, potato and rutabaga. “I hope those are about ready. I’m starved,” she said, walking into the kitchen. She stopped when she saw her cousin Michael seated at the table, too.
“Hey, Skye.” He swiped the gravy from his chin.
“Help yourself.” Her mother pushed one toward her. “They’re fresh from the oven.”
Skye slid one to a plate and cut into it with a fork. The beef juice spilled out and she took a bite. “Um, delicious.” She hadn’t eaten breakfast.
“You get everything taken care of with Peter?” her mother asked.
“Yep.” Skye took another bite.
“Good. I have some things I want to order for the shop.”
“You might wait on that just yet. I have some other plans for the money.”
“Oh?”
“James and I have been talking about that Mitchell tube. We’re both convinced if there are diamonds at the mine, they are down that tube.” She sent Michael a warning glance.
“Peter says it’s dangerous. And what does that have to do with the money you got from the bank?”
Michael cleared his throat. “We really think we can extract a small sample without any danger. If we can find a few diamonds, we can get some investors and shore up the tube to fully extract it.”
Skye nodded. “And I want to use this money to run a sample extraction.”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “Did you tell Peter?”
“No, I wanted to talk to you about it first. It’s your mine.” Skye leaned forward. “I have to do this, Mother. Until we check out that tube, I can’t let go of it. Daddy would have pressed forward and found out for sure. We have to have the courage to do the same.”
“Your father is gone, Skye. It’s time you realized that.”
“I know. But if we find diamonds, it would be tremendously beneficial for our tribe. We could hire a lot of other Ojibwa to work it and really make a difference here.”
“That’s true.” Her mother looked thoughtful. “Peter won’t like it.”
Micha
el jumped in again. “I promise it won’t be dangerous. James will make sure of that.”
“I don’t know.” Her mother seemed unconvinced. “Maybe it’s time we closed the mine. I know Peter would like to see it continue, but maybe it’s time.”
“You’d be firing a lot of good men if you did that,” Michael pointed out. “And there aren’t many places for them to find other jobs. Let’s not give up yet.”
Her mother looked suddenly decisive. “Okay, we’ll try it.” She glanced from Michael to Skye. “But you have to promise that if you find nothing after the money is gone, you’ll give it up. There’s no sense in beating a dead horse.”
“I promise.” Skye felt it safe to make that promise. She had a feeling in her bones that things were about to change at the mine.
“You got it.” Michael got up from the table. “I have to run. Thanks for the pasty, Aunt Mary.” He kissed her on the cheek and waved at Skye, then went out the back door.
Her mother turned back to Skye. “Becca ordered a welcome basket for a guest. Would you mind taking it to Windigo Manor?”
The innocence on her mother’s face didn’t fool Skye. “Mother, you’re matchmaking again. There can never be anything between me and Jake Baxter.”
Her mother made no pretense of denying the accusation. “He’s a fine man, Skye. I don’t understand your attitude.”
“I don’t want to leave Eagle Island, and Jake isn’t the type to settle down in one place. Besides, I’m not sure about his beliefs.”
“He has come to church with the rest of the family.”
“And that’s all. Church attendance doesn’t mean he’s a believer.”
“You need to find out,” her mother declared. “And there’s no better time than the present. Besides, much as I’d miss you, you need to get out and see the world.”
“I love my home here.” Skye heard the defensiveness in her voice.
“But your attachment isn’t healthy. It’s almost as if you’re afraid to leave. You think one day your father is going to walk back through that door, and you want to be here when he does. That’s right, isn’t it?” Her mother’s voice was gentle.
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