My shoulder rises and falls. “Call me curious. I’ve never seen someone so completely engrossed in looking at dirt and rocks.”
Her lips tip up in one corner. “Soil and substrate, not dirt and rocks.”
I can’t help but return her half-smile. “Okay, soil and substrate. You’re the expert.”
Her tight smile doesn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “That was the plan. I had intended to be a professor at a university. I’ve always been interested in rocks. My mother would get aggravated at the massive amount I would pack in my pockets any time I went outside. My dad, on the other hand, saw my fascination and began planning our camping trips around what we could go rockhounding for. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. It’s amazing to me how we can figure out what happened on Earth millions of years ago by studying the ground beneath our feet.”
“So how did you go from planning on being an academic to working in oil?” I question with an arched brow.
She spins the ring on her right thumb, shaking her head. “For the same reason most people end up in oil. The almighty dollar.My mother had a massive stroke just before I got my PhD, leaving her partially paralyzed and incapacitated. She requires a specialized care facility. I had student loan debt, and my younger sister was a senior in high school headed to college as well. The amount I would make as a professor doesn’t begin to compare to what I make at Linco and they have top-notch benefits that help cover costs as well.”
I frown. “What about your father?”
The ring spins faster. “He died of a heart attack when I was in high school.”
My chest clenches at her quiet words, knowing how hard that must’ve been for her on both accounts and that she’s had all the responsibility on her shoulders all this time. “I’m sorry. It sucks when life doesn’t work out the way we expect.”
“Sounds like you speak from experience as well.” Her eyes study me as I keep my gaze on the road, hating she heard the understanding in my comment.
“Something like that,” I mutter. The glint of the sun reflecting off of something on the horizon has me pulling the vehicle over behind a nearby cluster of boulders. “Stay here,” I command as I fetch my binoculars from the pocket of the door panel where they’re stashed for convenience.
I close the door as quietly as I can before climbing my way to the top of the rocks we’re parked beside, keeping as low of a profile as possible. Lying on my belly, I focus the field-glasses on where I saw the movement. Two older SUVs are parked facing each other while four men stand beside the vehicles talking.
The man on the far right abruptly reaches behind his back, pulling out a pistol and pointing it at the two men on the left. The other man on the right also produces a pistol, aiming at the other two, who now have their hands raised.
My gut churns at the possible outcomes I might become a witness to. The seconds crawl by as the standoff continues.Finally, after what feels like hours but in reality is only a couple of minutes, guns and hands are lowered. The men continue talking for another ten minutes or so before they each climb into their respective vehicles. One heads south and the other north. I continue watching and waiting several more minutes as the dust settles.
The snick of the door closing on our SUV has me spinning toward the car to find Emerson creeping over to the boulders. I swiftly climb down to confront her, pissed she didn’t listen to my instructions at the first sign of danger.
“I told you to stay in the car,” I hiss with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw.
Head held high, she meets my glare with one of her own. “I did, but it’s been over twenty minutes and I have to pee. How long was I supposed to hold it while you were lying around sunning yourself with no indication of how long you were going to be?”
Hell, her not cowering to me has heat, which has nothing to do with the blistering sun, racing through me at her fire. Of course, this woman has a backbone and stands up for herself. My hand rubs the whiskers on my jaw as I curse, not for the first time, this woman not being the meek academic I had expected.
“Fine, do your business then.” I stalk to the car, wrenching open the door and tossing the binoculars on the seat.
I’m working on getting my shit under control, flabbergasted at my irrationality. Yes, I told her to stay put, but she had a point. Besides, the threat had passed. But I need to know she’ll follow directions because next time there could be danger. That thought has my pulse racing and gives me that feeling of my skin being two sizes too small.
Emerson being vulnerable is not an option. As soon as the thought crosses my mind, an unmistakable rattle reaches myears. Chills run down my body, leaving me an ice cube despite the blazing sun as Emerson’s shaky voice calls out my name.
Chapter Seven
Emerson
Sweat drips down my spine as tremors shake my limbs. It’s all I can do to keep from collapsing where I stand, knowing that’s the worst possible thing I could do. As it is, I’m rooted in place, afraid to move.
The snake is coiled only a couple of scant feet from me on a rock, tail rattling nonstop in warning. I must’ve missed it in a hurry to empty my bladder. Though my mind was caught up in being angry at Clancy for chastising me like a child so I wasn’t as aware as I should have been. Fortunately, I relieved myself before it made itself known, otherwise I’d have for sure wet my pants.
I’m usually very conscientious about looking for the reptiles, because if there’s anything I’m afraid of, it’s snakes. I’d take a bucket of spiders being poured over me as opposed to having to touch even a garter snake. It’s an irrational fear I’ve had since I was very young. I’m pretty sure it traces back to watchingLonesome Dovewhen I was five or six with my dad. The scene where the kid dies after his horse steps in a nest of snakes while crossing the river traumatized me beyond belief. So much so I’m still afraid of them to this day, even though as an adult I rationally know how fake that scene was.
“Don’t move.” Clancy’s steady voice helps to calm me ever so slightly.
“Don’t plan on it,” I shakily reply, doing my best to keep upright. Sucking in a deep breath, I watch Clancy creep forward with a long stick.
“When I tell you to, I want you to jump back as far as you can.”
“That might be a problem. I don’t think I can.”
