Melt by Robbi McCoy Page A

one’s brain.
    She snapped the belt to check its tension. Satisfied, she slid out from under the vehicle. Brian took the socket wrench from her and helped her up.
    “Is it fixed?” he asked, his asymmetrical face even more than usually askew with concern.
    “Yep.”
    He handed her a rag and she wiped her hands on it, standing back to admire Curly in all his utilitarian glory. Brian loomed over her at six-three, tall and lanky, wearing a knit cap over the careless hair that rarely saw a comb. A heavy brown beard obscured the better part of his face. Earlier in the year, in class, he had been clean-shaven and Jordan preferred him that way. He was shaggy and slapdash enough as it was. But he had decided that a remote Greenland science outpost deserved no less than completely unrestrained hair growth. She couldn’t criticize him for that. She herself hadn’t shaved underarms or legs for the three weeks she’d been here. With the inadequate military-style shower, about all they could do was keep from being offensive. Malik somehow managed to keep himself groomed to perfection, however, and was always clean-shaven. But Julie, like Brian, had gone primal. Not too often you saw a straight American woman with hairy armpits.
    They were a good group, for the most part. All smart and serious about the work. They didn’t love each other, but they worked well together. That was actually better than some of the more friendly alternatives, she mused, recalling groups from the past.
    It was hard to tell ahead of time how a group like this would function under these conditions, especially with the added element of the unknown member, Malik. He had joined them after they arrived. None of them had known him previously, but he was working out well and Jordan was happy to have a Greenlander on the team. It seemed right. He was responsible for the name Camp Tootega. Before any camp construction began, Jordan always had her team choose a name. This time, Sonja had insisted that it invoke some sort of female spirit because their leader was a woman and she wanted to emphasize female power. Brian had rolled his eyes at that, leaning toward something more natural, like the name of a bird or fish. Of course, he didn’t know any Greenlandic names, and a couple that Malik provided were utterly unpronounceable to the Americans. But then Malik had granted Sonja’s wish with Tootega, the name of a wise old goddess of Inuit mythology who could walk on water. “Perfect!” she had declared, holding a hand out to present Jordan, as if she were the earthly incarnation of the deity herself. Jordan had burst out laughing. But it wasn’t a bad name and they had voted to go with it. So this summer, it was Camp Tootega. From that moment on, Sonja and Malik had been friends. Jordan was glad of that because Malik had not gotten on well with Brian or Julie. But so far, thank Goddess Tootega, no fights.
    “Can I start it up?” Brian asked, nodding toward Curly.
    “Sure. Go for a spin.” She tossed him the keys, then glanced down to the dock to see a bright orange kayak on the beach. “What’s this? A visitor? That looks like Nivi’s kayak.”
    “Who’s Nivi?” Brian asked.
    “She’s a local. Lives nearby. I haven’t seen her since last summer. Every once in a while she’ll come by to sell us fish. Maybe she’s brought us a salmon or a halibut. I hope so because I’m tired of eating out of cans.”
    Jordan walked to the center of camp just as Sonja arrived, her arm around another young woman’s shoulder, a shapely brunette wearing a T-shirt, shorts and hiking boots. Her boots and legs were splattered with dried mud and her demeanor suggested weariness.
    “There’s been an accident,” Sonja explained as they approached. “We need to call for help.”
    The stranger looked up and met Jordan’s eyes with her own light brown ones. Eyes the color of amber ale, searching, worried and instantly familiar. Jordan uttered an involuntary gasp. Kelly