It had been seven days since they stopped searching for Caleb.
Six out of those seven—Sunday, they rested—Anna’s team had worked out at the dig site.
Five of those Joshua had helped.
Anna wasn’t sure how she felt about that yet. She’d been ignoring the fact that he was there every day. At least, that’s what she’d told herself each time her thoughts drifted to him. Which was often.
She looked down at the paper in her lap and then back up to the bones in the wall in front of her. The layer of white rock that held them was quite beautiful.
Joshua had voiced the same thought yesterday. His admirationof their work and marvel at the fossils was invigorating. So why did she continue to keep him at arm’s length?
He hadn’t pushed his way in. In fact, he steered clear of her most of the time. With a grunt, she shifted her thoughts.
Her sketches kept her busy and her pencils dull. Every single fossil would need to be well documented. Multiple times. Before the digging started. During the process. And then once it was removed. So far, they’d retrieved one small bone out of the rocky wall, but she’d filled pages and pages working to make sure her representations were perfect. Complete. Without mistake. It was crucial for the scientific journals and papers she and her father hoped to publish.
She’d sketched the whole wall. Ten times. Now, she was working on it in sections. In finer detail. Up close. She worked at one end of the dig site while the men worked at the other end so she wouldn’t be disturbed.
Not that she hadn’t worked side by side with her father. But that was different. They understood each other. Knew each other’s quirks and working habits.
Oh, she had worked just fine with the other men too, so she should give up with the excuses. Time to be honest. She preferred to keep her distance from Joshua. Plain and simple.
Wiping the sweat from under her wide hat with the back of her wrist, she caught sight of the dirt and grime that had accumulated on her hands and under her nails. That was why ladies weren’t supposed to do things like this.
She’d heard the whispers and murmurs as she’d traveled with her father and schmoozed with the investors. One of the wealthy women had even stated that she would faint dead away if she were found unclean like that.
The thought made her chuckle. Good thing she wasn’t rich and part of high society. Of course, if she wanted to be respected in this field, she had to follow society’s rules. Wouldn’t it be nice if one day she could have a name for herself as apaleontologist and not just as the daughter of one? To capture people’s attention with a specimenshe’duncovered and not just sketched.
She winced. That sounded so ungrateful. It was a privilege to work alongside her father. He’d made sure that she was credited for her work every step along the way. Now that he was laid up, her sole focus should be doing this job well and making him proud.
Wiping at her sweaty forehead again, she shook her head. The heat was intense. Even with the shade of the canopies, it was sweltering today.
Anna took a sip of water from her canteen and chanced a peek at the men.
Joshua had been a huge help. The team had welcomed him and appreciated that Dad hired him.
Every evening, Joshua left the dig to fill Dad in on the day. Rather than be a part of those conversations and deal with her emotions, she’d stayed out at the site re-drawing the same bones she’d already documented. Zach and Luke stayed as well since the long summer days gave them plenty of light to work by. But Anna kept an eye on the watch pinned to her shirtwaist.
Each night, she’d tried to time her arrival home so that she wouldn’t have to cross paths with her former beau.
Each night, she’d been too exhausted to think.
Each night, she’d stared at the stack of letters on her desk.
As she gazed at the wall of bones, weariness invaded. Something had to change. It wasn’t wise for her to be draining her energy simply to keep her distance from Joshua.
Besides, she’d gotten used to him being around again. Not that they’d said more than a few sentences each day to one another. He probably wanted to give her space. But, he’d been such a large part of her life since before she could even remember, she didn’t realize the hole that had been left. Ahole that no one else had filled. Or evencouldfill for that matter.
Dad had been disappointed that she hadn’t spent more time with him in the evenings, but avoiding Joshua meant avoiding her father.
Her focus completely gone, Anna covered the sketches and stuffed all of them into her satchel. Maybe she should go home early today and try to do something nice for her father. Spend some time with him.
“Good afternoon, Anna.”
Julian’s voice behind her made her jump. She put a hand to her pounding chest. “Julian. Good afternoon.”
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Not at all. I was deep in thought.”
