Chapter One
Emerson
A knock draws my attention from the squiggly lines of the maps on the computer screen I’ve been studying. I blink several times to lubricate my dry eyes, because apparently I’ve been so focused I’ve forgotten to do so.
My best friend, Terra Strickland, struts into my rarely used office. She plops down in the wooden chair across from my black metal desk before straightening and smoothing out her black pencil skirt and ivory silk shirt. Her dark hair is pulled back into a sleek coif. You would never know this elegant woman grew up on horseback with dirt under unmanicured nails.
“I can’t believe you’re already running off and leaving me again. You’ve only been back less than a week from your last assignment.” She pouts as she inspects her now perfectly manicured blood-red nails. “I need more time away from Rick and the kids.”
I roll my eyes at her dramatics. She pretends to use me as an escape from her family when I’m in town, but I know better. She loves her husband and two kids more than anything. It’s just more fun to drink wine with me while she maintains a running monologue of bitchiness watchingReal Housewives of Wherever.I indulge her while Rick tunes her out, not that I blame him. No man would ever be interested in that trash. I just happen to think it’s funnier than hell people actually believe it.
“Yes, it’s terrible you having to spend time with your perfect husband who dotes on you and your genius children with their overachieving grades and activities.”
“Yeah, well I’m always worried about setting a good example when I’m around them. With you, I can just let loose, and you don’t judge when my born-in-the-sticks upbringing comes out. I’m a prime example of you can take the girl outta the country, but you can’t take the country outta the girl. I’ve learned to control it, but it’s nice when I don’t have to.”
I snort. “None of them would care, and you know that. You’ve taken them home to the ranch. It’s not like they don’t know.”
“Yes, but they’re country club brats. Now what’s this I hear about Miller not being available to go with you on this next assignment?” She narrows her eyes at me in disapproval.
“Apparently, his doctor told him he can’t put off the knee surgery any longer. His limp has gotten worse. Feldmen’s chomping at the bit to get this new property assessed. The company’s been eyeing it for years, but the owner refused to entertain any offers. Now he’s passed, his relatives are ready to sign on the dotted line. So they want the assessment ASAP.”
“But that area’s right on the border and a high traffic area for smuggling both people and narcotics. You can’t be going out there by yourself.” She crosses her arms over her chest as if she has the final say.
I lean back in my chair with a sigh. “Well, I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea, but it’s not like I have a choice. You know that more than anyone.”
Losing this job is not an option. Between the salary and health care package that keeps my incapacitated mother in the care facility required to take care of her, I could never find another position which would come close to covering the costs. It’s the only reason I took this position with Linco Oil instead of becoming a professor at a university, which had been my original plan.
“It’s a liability, that’s what it is.” A frown mars her face before she snaps her fingers. “I know! You said this parcel was near Valor Springs, right?”
I nod in confirmation. “Yes, it’s the closest town of any size, which isn’t saying much.”
“Perfect. That’s where Lone Star Security is located. I’ll get a hold of Clancy and arrange for him to be your bodyguard.”
Now it’s my turn to frown. “Clancy? Your brother who refuses to answer your phone calls? How exactly will you make that happen? And you really think Feldman will go for paying for a bodyguard?”
“You just leave the arrangements to me. I’ll call Lone Star direct if Clancy won’t answer, and Feldman will gladly pay when I explain to him the liability of leaving an employee unprotected like that. If anything were to happen to you, your sister could sue for millions, making the fee for a bodyguard look like chump change.” She preens like a peacock as she ticks off each point on her fingers.
I shake my head. “You really are a shark. I bet the opposition wets their pants when they see you coming, don’t they?”
A coy grin splits her face as she winks. “There are rumors some have thrown up when they hear they’ll be up against me.”
I bark out a laugh. Only Terra would be proud of making someone throw up in fear, or maybe it’s just a lawyer thing. The only thing I know is I plan to never get on her bad side, and I couldn’t be more thankful she has my back. While I don’t love the thought of a bodyguard and don’t know if it’s completely necessary to go to those extremes, I wasn’t looking forward to being on my own in an isolated, potentially hostile region.
Terra leaves to make arrangements or, more accurately, reign terror until she gets her way. I return to studying the multitude of maps available for the several thousands of unexplored acreage I’m expected to assess. I make notes of areas I’ll most likely want to take samples of in the field.
The sheer amount of data I have to sift through is mind-boggling, but doing so saves an enormous amount of time when I’m on site. I can head straight to the coordinates most likely to yield results instead of wandering for days hoping to get lucky. Covering that much acreage without research first would waste time and resources and take a hell of a lot longer.
To most, it’s mind-numbingly tedious work, but for me it’s more like a treasure hunt, so I don’t mind it at all. What I really love, though, is finally getting out in the field and confirming if my research is correct. Besides finding out whether I’m right, I love spending time in the fresh air, seeing the geophysical composition with my own eyes and touching the actual soil.
My gaze shoots to the photograph on my desk at the thought. It was the last camping trip I went on with my dad before his heart attack when I was in high school. He was the person who encouraged and indulged my love of rocks. From a very early age, I was always collecting them. I would come home with my pockets weighed down. My mother was exasperated by the sheer amount of hardened substrate I amassed. My father, on the other hand, would grin and plan our next camping trip around finding different types of rocks and minerals.
My right forefinger rubs the silver ring inset with green agate on my thumb. The agate is one we found together on the Washington Coast when I was ten. He’s been gone for almost three decades now, and I still miss him as much as when he passed.
Heaving a sigh, I pull myself from the melancholy direction of my thoughts and return to my research. At the rate I’m going, I’ll never get these preliminary reports done. I need to focus if I don’t want Richard Feldmen, the CEO of Linco, breathing down my neck more than he is already. I keep at it until the bright blue sky turns to an inky dusk without me realizing it and my eyes are burning once again.
Chapter Two
Clancy
