Chapter 5
Paige handed Cooper a cup of coco and sat down with him, her nerves spiking with awareness. Cooper looked even more attractive in the firelight. When she looked at him all she saw was a virile man who looked like he belonged here, instead of in the boardroom where she knew he’d spent most of his adult life. She wanted to ask him about the dramatic change in his life, but sensed that she’d be going too far, so she settled back, content to let the sounds of the night and the crackling of the fire calm her beating heart.
“It’s beautiful out here. I love the fact that you can see the stars so brightly away from the city. They’ll be even prettier when the moon’s not full.” Paige said, taking a deep breath of the night air. “It’s one of the best things about being on a dig.”
“You’ve done this often?” Cooper asked, studying her in the firelight.
“At least twice a summer since I started the Master’s program.”
Cooper had been looking for a way to bring up the fact that it could be dangerous out here in the mountains and seized the opportunity. “So I guess I don’t have to warn you about how dangerous it can be out here? We’ve had some bears and mountain lions poking around lately.”
“I’m prepared, I’ve got a hand gun and a shot gun.” She said, laughing at the look on his face when that sunk in.
“That’s a lot of fire power you’re toting around with you.” Cooper said, skeptically.
Paige was used to men reacting that way to her guns, so she explained. “I’m not really a gun lover or anything, but after my first dig when I spent an entire night locked in my car watching a bear destroy our camp, I never went out unarmed again. I spent the entire next winter learning to shoot, getting certified to carry concealed, and I even took a course with the police department.”
“Wow, you don’t mess around.” Cooper said, clearly impressed. “But how’s you aim?”
“Probably better than yours.” She said, obviously offering a challenge.
“Is that a challenge?” He asked, smiling wickedly at her, making her heart hammer in her chest.
“I think it is.” She said, smiling back at him sweetly, then they both laughed.
“Well, I won’t worry so much about you out here, but if you get in trouble I’ll be just across the road.” He offered.
“I’ll be fine. I sleep with the handgun in the tent and the shotgun is in that tree right where I can reach it on the run.” She said, then wanting to change the subject, the thought of Cooper naked in his bed only yards from her, making her insides flutter, added. “The shaman will be here tomorrow.”
“That’s good, so when will he do his thing?” Cooper asked, not sure what to call the ceremony.
“The cleansing and blessing will happen tomorrow night, but David will be here in the morning to prepare.” Paige explained, then asked, “When will your brother be here?”
“Late morning would be my guess. He said that he still had a couple of things he needed to do before he leaves tomorrow. My brother is a bit of a....well I’m not sure how to explain it. I would guess that he’d been cramming as much information about this area into his brain as possible. He’s a little like you I think.” Cooper explained.
“Like me?” She asked.
“Well, yeah. When you decided to get a gun, you didn’t just go out and buy a gun. You learned everything you could about them, and that’s what my brother’s probably doing. He’s definitely the brain in the family.” Cooper said, with pride in his voice.
“I think I might like him then.” She said, poking the fire which she’d been letting burn down. “It sounds like we’re going to have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I think we’re going to be pretty busy for the rest of the summer. I’ve got a crew together for the debris removal, but Scott and I both agree that one of us should be there at all times. These guys are good with their tools and take direction well, but I’d just feel better if one of us was there.” Cooper said, rising to his feet, knowing that it was time for him to go.
Paige liked the thought of having Cooper around all the time, then realized what a distraction that was going to be. “Well, I’ll leave that up to you. I know you understand how important this is to all of us.” She said, getting to her feet as well.
Cooper found her little camp shovel and without even asking began to cover the fire with dirt, then stepped back while she poured water onto the coals. “I wish we didn’t have to put the fire out this way, but it’s so dry I’d be afraid to leave any coals. But the good news is that we should have the water flow back in just a few weeks.”
“That is good news, it will be interesting to see the land come back. Who’s coming up to study the changes? Did you get someone from one of the universities?” She asked, stirring the fire then letting Cooper add some more dirt.
“I never even thought about someone documenting it.” Cooper said, with a frown on his face. “But now that you mention it, that would be a good idea.”
“I know just the person you want. I’ll get you his contact number in the morning.” She said, thinking of her friend Steve who would be thrilled for the opportunity to see the results of the water returning to the land.
“Great another group of scientists running all over the place, it’s a good thing we’ve got 350 acres here in case I need to escape from all of you, although I don’t think I’m ever going to want to escape from you Paige.” Cooper said, his voice suddenly husky.
With the fire out, the night had grown dark, but the full moon provided all the illumination that Paige needed to see the look in Cooper’s eyes when he said her name. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she watched him set the shovel down and close the distance between them in only two steps. He took her face in his hands and before she could even breathe, he lowered his mouth to hers.
The world exploded in a flash of electricity when his mouth captured hers, his tongue gently probing her lips until with a sigh, she opened her mouth to him. It was a gentle exploratory kiss, but Paige felt overwhelmed by the intensity of her feelings, caught completely off guard by the passion that erupted between them. Unable to help herself, she slid her hands over his hard chest and onto his broad shoulders, moaning when he pulled her against him and intensified the kiss.
Paige was lost in the kiss and the feel of Cooper’s arms wrapped so tightly around her, but Brandon chose that moment to come looking for his father. “Dad” He called out the front door. “Where are you?”
Cooper broke the kiss and managed to say, “I’ll be right there.” His voice husky with desire, his breath coming in gasps as he tried to get control of himself.
Paige was equally out of breath, shocked at what she’d just felt, but also wishing the kiss could have gone on longer. Still wrapped in his arms, her head resting against his chest, she couldn’t seem to move. Cooper tipped her head up and said, “I have to go, but that was the best kiss ever.” Then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her again.
When he broke the kiss this time, he said, “Nope I was wrong, that one was the best.” Then he pecked her once more on the mouth and walked away, Paige staring after him as he crossed the road and went in the house.
She managed not to run after him, instead grabbed her flashlight and climbed into her tent still hot and bothered from Cooper’s kisses. As she snuggled down into her sleeping bag, her lips still throbbing, she admitted to herself that her attraction to Cooper was more than she knew how to handle. She’d been attracted to plenty of men in her life and even slept with a few of them, but never had she felt this kind of all-consuming desire that she felt for Cooper. It was both dangerous and exciting, and undeniably the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her.
The next morning Paige was up early doing some last minute paperwork that the university required. She found that the paperwork was the one thing she hated about being in charge of the dig, but it was important for everything to be properly recorded. Finally finished, she got one last cup of coffee and put out her fire knowing that David would be here any time.
She was looking forward to seeing David, and although they only saw each other a few times a year at digs, they stayed in touch through email. David had been on the first dig she’d ever been on, since besides being a shaman he also had a PhD in Indian Studies. He’d taught her most of what she knew that first summer and had been a dear friend ever since then, always happy to listen to her mounting troubles with her Master’s.
When she’d called him to ask him to come, he’d been almost as excited as she was about the find, bolstering her belief that this was a Western Mono burial ground with his own excitement. Naturally he’d be more than just an observer on this dig, and she was more than happy to have him there to help her. She knew that this dig was going to be one of the biggest in many years, and although she had faith in her skills, it would be nice to have someone more knowledgeable to back her up.
No matter how long she studied Indian culture, David Longknife would always have an advantage over her, his heritage. Because he was full blood Indian, although a mix of tribes, he had accesses to knowledge she’d never be able to attain, but David was always happy to share that knowledge with anyone who would listen. In fact, she’d already arranged for him to visit with Marissa about the museum they were planning.
Just as she was finishing closing up her camp for the day, she heard a truck coming up the road. From the sound of the engine it couldn’t be anyone else but David, who was famous for his old beat-up truck that just seemed to keep going no matter what kind of treatment he put it through. Sure enough minutes later, he pulled up with a screech of the trucks brakes, and a cloud of dust. Paige had ridden with David in his truck plenty of times and knew that he’d probably been driving faster than was safe on the road, making her a little shutter at the memory of some of the trips they’d made over the years.
By the time David got out of the truck, Paige was standing right by his door waiting for him. He swept her up in a big hug, pulling her off her feet and spinning her around. “You’ve actually found it.” He said.
“I can’t take credit for finding it, but I do think this is it.” Paige said, beaming from ear to ear happy to see her old friend.
The sound of David’s truck coming up the road caught Cooper’s attention, so he walked over to the window. He knew that Paige was expecting the shaman this morning, but it seemed unlikely that he would be driving anything that sounded like that. But as he watched Paige crossed the campsite and walked right up to the truck, the smile on her face clear even from across the road.
She seemed to have some real affection for the shaman; he could hear it in her voice when she talked about him and he could understand how that could happen. But he wasn’t prepared to see a tall young man emerge from the truck, nor was he prepared to see Paige throw herself into his arms. He’d imagined an old man with a grey braid dressed in leather and feathers, not the tall handsome man who’d just taken Paige in his arms with just a little too much affection.
He was out of the house so fast he didn’t even shut the front door, his actions motivated by a jealousy so strong he crossed the road before he realized what he was doing. Slowing down a bit, he took a deep breath to calm himself and plastered a smile on his face. When Paige saw him she waved him over.
“I’d like you to meet David Longknife.” She said, then saw the look on his face, the smile not fooling her for a second. The grumpy Cooper was back.
David stepped up to Cooper and held out his hand, which Cooper took and shook. “It’s wonderful that you’re willing to let us all tromp around your property.” David said, completely unaware that Cooper’s smile concealed something else.
But Paige wasn’t fooled for a second, she knew that something was coming and sure enough Cooper opened his mouth and said, “You’re not exactly what I was expecting.” He said, looking David up and down.
David only laughed, “Yeah, most people expect a wizened old man when they hear the word shaman. I am the youngest shaman in the council, but my father passed away when I was a young man and the responsibility fell to me.”
Cooper only grunted, so Paige said, “David has a PhD in Native American studies as well as being a shaman. He’s going to be very useful to us during the dig.”
“Speaking of the dig, I can’t wait to see it.” David said.
“It’s a few miles from here, but we’re going to wait for Cooper’s brother. He’s going to be our geologist on this dig.” Paige said.
“That’s fine, maybe I should set up camp now.” David said, heading back to his truck.
“He’s going to camp here?” Cooper said, shooting David a dirty look over his shoulder as he watched him unload his truck.
“Sure, he’s going to be here for at least a month, it only makes sense unless you have someplace else in mind.” She said, wondering again what had brought out the grump in Cooper.
Cooper was not pleased to hear that David would be sleeping only feet from Paige, just the two of them, but there wasn’t much he could do about it without looking foolish. So he just shrugged his shoulders and turned and walked away. Once back in the house, he tried to clear his head glad that Brandon was down at Marissa’s that day. He had no idea how to deal with this intense jealously.
He was tempted to hang out at the window and watch them, but instead he found the plans that Marissa had given him for the cabins they planned to build all over the park. The cabins were the first step in their plan and might be needed in the winter for the crew, so they needed to approve a design and soon. Thoughts of Paige finally receded once he had a task in front of him, and before he knew it there was another car pulling up into the parking area.
Relieved that his brother was finally there, he put away the designs, his mind nearly made up to go outside and greet his brother. At least with Calvin here he’d have a distraction from what Paige and David might be doing. It was silly for him to be jealous because all they’d shared was one kiss. But it had been an earth-shattering kiss for him and he’d thought for her as well, but seeing her with David had made him realize that he really didn’t know that much about her personal life.
Other than the fact that she had an eight-year-old son and no ring on her finger, he didn’t know anything about Paige. She hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend but that didn’t mean there was one out there, but he reasoned if she did she would have mentioned him at least once during all the time they’d spent together and she would have stopped that kiss last night, of that he was sure. She wasn’t the type to kiss someone when she was involved with someone else. No, he was sure that she was single, but the way David was looking at her, that might not last long.
He had a scowl on his face when his brother got out of the car, Paige and David had their heads together over some papers Paige had spread out on her camp table. They were deep in conversation and didn’t even hear Calvin pull up, which only annoyed Cooper even more. Stomping down the steps, he met his brother as he walked across the yard.
“This is pretty amazing.” Calvin said, looking at the house. “I remember being up here when we were little, but we never came up here again.”
“It’s pretty much the same as it was then, maybe a little cleaner. I’m going to have to get ready for winter eventually, but for now it’s fine. Don’t expect luxury though.” He said, leading Calvin in the house, but shooting one last look over his shoulder at Paige and David.
Calvin wandered around the rooms on the first floor, then joined Cooper in the dining room where he’d been working. “This house is great; it’s even got one of those old fashioned stoves in the kitchen.”
“That’s what we cook on.” Cooper said, suppressing a laugh at the look on Calvin’s face.
“You’re kidding.” Calving said, going back into the kitchen. When he came back into the room he was shaking his head. “This is crazy Cooper. Are you really happy up here living like this?”
“Believe it or not, I’m happy here and so is Brandon. There are more than enough kids to play with and wait till you meet Marissa and Scott, you’re going to love them.” Cooper said, genuinely meaning every word.
“Then why do you look so mad?” Calvin asked.
“I’m not mad, just a little annoyed.” Cooper had to admit, cursing himself for letting his feelings show. “But never mind, let me show you the maps I have of the dig site.”
Calvin wanted to ask more questions, but he knew his brother well enough to know when a subject had been closed. They poured over the maps for a couple of hours, then had lunch, but Calvin could clearly see that Cooper was distracted. Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore, he was dying to see what they’d found in the forest behind the house.
“Are we ever going to the burial ground? I drove all this way to see it.” Calvin said, closing the map he’d been looking at. “I’ve been through these maps a hundred times, so let’s just go to the actual place.”
Cooper shot him a dirty look but said, “Okay, I hear you stop whining. Let’s go see if Paige and David are ready.”
Calvin caught something in the way Cooper said their names, either he didn’t like them or well, he wasn’t sure what else might be the problem. He followed Cooper out of the house and across the road where there were two tents set up, when he saw the couple sitting at the table he realized that they made a striking couple. But when the woman saw Cooper, she blushed and jumped to her feet, the blush gave her honey brown cheeks a pretty glow, and when she smiled her whole face lit up.
Watching his brother’s reaction, it became perfectly clear to him what was wrong with his brother. Cooper had never been very good at hiding his emotions and he was doing a terrible job right now. The scowl on his face couldn’t hide the mixture of jealousy and attraction he was feeling. Not waiting for his brother to introduce him, he stepped up to Paige and introduced himself, going so far as to take her hand and kiss the back of it.
When Paige actually giggled at the old fashioned move, Cooper made a strangled sound in his throat, making it difficult for Calvin not to laugh. Smiling he backed away from Paige and introduced himself to the man standing next to Paige. He could see why Cooper might be jealous, the man was the very picture of health and vitality, and his brown eyes sparkled with amusement when he shook Calvin’s hand.
“Are we ready to go to the dig, the day’s half over already.” Cooper said, clearly annoyed at Calvin’s theatrics.