again...at least out of sympathy for a poor battered man.”
Nessa caught her breath and forced herself not to snatch her hand out of his. Wariness settled like a ten-pound lump of lead in the center of her chest. Gabriel Burns was trying too hard. They’d just met. What was his game? It wasn’t as if she was the only female within a five-hundred kilometer radius. But then again, maybe she was over-thinking things. After all, she was exhausted.
As she remembered her nightmare of the evening before, she shook herself and shoved her misgivings to the back of her mind. As an after-thought, she made herself a mental note to stop and buy those sleeping pills. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and nodded in vague agreement. “We’ll see. As soon as you’re better, we’ll see about another date.”
“Dr. Buchanan! You’ve got to see this!” Shouts of several students echoed into the tent from the corded off section of area one.
Nessa scooped up her glasses off the desk and waved to Gabriel as she darted out the door. Grabbing her journal, she shouted back over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back. It sounds like they’ve found something major. I’ve got to see what it is.”
She jogged her way down the rough terrain. The old excitement roared its way through Nessa’s veins. There was no emotion she could think of to describe the thrill of a new find. No way to tell someone what it was like to be the first to uncover a bit of the past. Only a fellow history hound would understand the current exhilaration coursing through her body like a locomotive.
The students swarmed like a nest of ants around a tasty picnic tidbit. They parted as Nessa entered the site and waved her in to see what they’d found. She squatted down beside the student brushing away the last of the debris. Nessa’s hand clenched over her mouth. The bile rose at an alarming rate as she recognized the find. Perfectly preserved in the Scottish soil was her enraged Highlander’s claymore from last night’s dream. There was no mistaking the crest inset in the intricately carved handle or the still-lethal razor sharp blade.
Her fingers dug deeper into her cheeks. Nessa’s stomach churned, dangerously close to overflowing. She shivered against a clammy, nauseous sweat. Gabriel’s beheading replayed through her mind against all her efforts to block it. The coppery smell of the warm blood filled her mind until she tasted it on the back of her tongue. She clamped her lips tighter together. Her nostrils flared as she took deep breaths to clear her head. She had to pull herself together. She couldn’t let any of them know. They’d think she’d gone mad if any of them knew the thoughts assaulting her senses.
“This is great, excellent! It’s a beautiful piece. The blade and crest are still intact. You have all done yourselves proud!” Nessa lavished praise upon the students as she struggled to choke back the rising nausea. As she stood, she managed to stay steady on her feet and smile at the sea of excited faces. She couldn’t let any of them know she’d been unfortunate enough to see the efficiency of this weapon in action.
Nessa eased away from the group of chattering students and made her way back to the tent. She forced herself to see the ancient claymore for the archeological find that it was. She reminded herself just how pleased the University of Glasgow and the Royal Commission for Ancient Artifacts would be with the find. This would validate her grant. Her work in Scotland was safe and her peers would give her their nod of approval.
Nessa raised her head at the sound of an approaching vehicle, and gave a weak wave as Cordelia pulled up in her jeep.
“Good morning, Cordelia. Do you think you’ll actually be able to make him get some rest or are you going to have to tie him down?”
Cordelia returned a dimpled smile of agreement as she joined Nessa at the pathway leading to the tent.
“He’s a stubborn one that one is. Ye
Nessa caught her breath and forced herself not to snatch her hand out of his. Wariness settled like a ten-pound lump of lead in the center of her chest. Gabriel Burns was trying too hard. They’d just met. What was his game? It wasn’t as if she was the only female within a five-hundred kilometer radius. But then again, maybe she was over-thinking things. After all, she was exhausted.
As she remembered her nightmare of the evening before, she shook herself and shoved her misgivings to the back of her mind. As an after-thought, she made herself a mental note to stop and buy those sleeping pills. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and nodded in vague agreement. “We’ll see. As soon as you’re better, we’ll see about another date.”
“Dr. Buchanan! You’ve got to see this!” Shouts of several students echoed into the tent from the corded off section of area one.
Nessa scooped up her glasses off the desk and waved to Gabriel as she darted out the door. Grabbing her journal, she shouted back over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back. It sounds like they’ve found something major. I’ve got to see what it is.”
She jogged her way down the rough terrain. The old excitement roared its way through Nessa’s veins. There was no emotion she could think of to describe the thrill of a new find. No way to tell someone what it was like to be the first to uncover a bit of the past. Only a fellow history hound would understand the current exhilaration coursing through her body like a locomotive.
The students swarmed like a nest of ants around a tasty picnic tidbit. They parted as Nessa entered the site and waved her in to see what they’d found. She squatted down beside the student brushing away the last of the debris. Nessa’s hand clenched over her mouth. The bile rose at an alarming rate as she recognized the find. Perfectly preserved in the Scottish soil was her enraged Highlander’s claymore from last night’s dream. There was no mistaking the crest inset in the intricately carved handle or the still-lethal razor sharp blade.
Her fingers dug deeper into her cheeks. Nessa’s stomach churned, dangerously close to overflowing. She shivered against a clammy, nauseous sweat. Gabriel’s beheading replayed through her mind against all her efforts to block it. The coppery smell of the warm blood filled her mind until she tasted it on the back of her tongue. She clamped her lips tighter together. Her nostrils flared as she took deep breaths to clear her head. She had to pull herself together. She couldn’t let any of them know. They’d think she’d gone mad if any of them knew the thoughts assaulting her senses.
“This is great, excellent! It’s a beautiful piece. The blade and crest are still intact. You have all done yourselves proud!” Nessa lavished praise upon the students as she struggled to choke back the rising nausea. As she stood, she managed to stay steady on her feet and smile at the sea of excited faces. She couldn’t let any of them know she’d been unfortunate enough to see the efficiency of this weapon in action.
Nessa eased away from the group of chattering students and made her way back to the tent. She forced herself to see the ancient claymore for the archeological find that it was. She reminded herself just how pleased the University of Glasgow and the Royal Commission for Ancient Artifacts would be with the find. This would validate her grant. Her work in Scotland was safe and her peers would give her their nod of approval.
Nessa raised her head at the sound of an approaching vehicle, and gave a weak wave as Cordelia pulled up in her jeep.
“Good morning, Cordelia. Do you think you’ll actually be able to make him get some rest or are you going to have to tie him down?”
Cordelia returned a dimpled smile of agreement as she joined Nessa at the pathway leading to the tent.
“He’s a stubborn one that one is. Ye
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