he wouldn’t find her desirable? He had never been more attracted to a woman than he was to Tess Campbell. “Why didn’t you think there’d be a problem?”
“Because all your situations have been with predatory women. Tess is nothing like that.”
Steel chuckled. “That’s very true. She’s more like a guy. I expect we’ll be good friends, but nothing more.”
Once he hung up, he mourned the relationship they would never have and then moved on. He entered the main room, smiling at Tess cooking breakfast.
“Tom Barkman will be by at noon today to drop off our computers. I need him to see the mounds.”
She turned, concern written on her face. “Shouldn’t you determine if the mounds are authentic first?”
“He’s got connections with the University of Minnesota.”
“Which is needed why?”
“They have a lab capable of carbon dating.”
She forked the lean ham slices out of the skillet and started the eggs. “So exactly how does carbon dating work? Does one little carbon bring the other a bouquet of flowers?”
He chuckled. God, he loved her playful sense of humor. “Do you really want to know?”
She nodded.
“Well, if you’re dealing with carbon-based items such as soil containing dead plants, you can use carbon-based dating if it’s not older than sixty-two thousand years.”
“So this will be young carbon dating?”
“The mounds should be within the time frame that has been proven to be highly accurate using carbon dating when compared to other means.”
“Like tree rings?”
“Exactly.”
“So how do you do this?”
“We’ll combust a small amount of plant remnants, preferably wood, but other plant residue can be used as well. The Carbon-14 is collected and then measured.”
“So it has a constant change in strength?”
He nodded. “A plant gets C14 during photosynthesis, then when it dies, the C14 has a radioactive component that starts to degrade at a fixed rate. The lab will have to make a small adjustment for isotope fractioning—”
She turned to him, but he waved her off.
“Never mind. Even my eyes glazed over when they explained that part.”
Grinning, she shook her head. “I wanted to know if you wanted two or three eggs.”
“Three…it’s going to be a long day.”
“Give him mine,” Helen called out from her chair. “I’m not hungry.”
Tess lost her smile, and her eyes turned glassy. “Grams, would you like oatmeal and blueberries?”
“Still not hungry,” Helen replied.
Abandoning her cooking, Tess went to her grams.
Noticing she’d failed to turn off the burner, Steel got up and hurried to the stove. While he was mostly clueless, he knew how to turn off burners and collect toast from the toaster. He sorted the food onto three plates, then carried a plate to Helen. When Tess looked up at him, her eyes screamed with misery. He gave a jerk of his head, suggesting she go back to the kitchen.
She kissed her grams and did as he asked.
He put the plate on Helen’s lap. The old gal glared at him.
He held his hand up to silence her scold and spoke softly. “I know you’re not hungry, but for Tess, you need to eat.”
She sighed, then frowned as she studied the plate on her lap. “Are you expecting me to eat with my hands?”
Tess was clearly listening because a second later she scampered over and delivered a napkin, knife, and fork. She smiled from ear to ear as she presented them to Helen.
Tess’s smile was so contagious the old gal gained one as well.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” She then frowned at Steel. “I can’t eat if you two plan to stand here and stare at me. Now go back to the kitchen and leave me alone.”
Tess tried to give him her egg, but Steel refused. When he noticed she didn’t have any ham, he placed a slice on her plate.
“I don’t like ham,” she insisted as she sent it back to his plate.
“Then why did you cook it?”
“Grams likes it, and I thought you might prefer some honest-to-god meat.”
Fate
“Because all your situations have been with predatory women. Tess is nothing like that.”
Steel chuckled. “That’s very true. She’s more like a guy. I expect we’ll be good friends, but nothing more.”
Once he hung up, he mourned the relationship they would never have and then moved on. He entered the main room, smiling at Tess cooking breakfast.
“Tom Barkman will be by at noon today to drop off our computers. I need him to see the mounds.”
She turned, concern written on her face. “Shouldn’t you determine if the mounds are authentic first?”
“He’s got connections with the University of Minnesota.”
“Which is needed why?”
“They have a lab capable of carbon dating.”
She forked the lean ham slices out of the skillet and started the eggs. “So exactly how does carbon dating work? Does one little carbon bring the other a bouquet of flowers?”
He chuckled. God, he loved her playful sense of humor. “Do you really want to know?”
She nodded.
“Well, if you’re dealing with carbon-based items such as soil containing dead plants, you can use carbon-based dating if it’s not older than sixty-two thousand years.”
“So this will be young carbon dating?”
“The mounds should be within the time frame that has been proven to be highly accurate using carbon dating when compared to other means.”
“Like tree rings?”
“Exactly.”
“So how do you do this?”
“We’ll combust a small amount of plant remnants, preferably wood, but other plant residue can be used as well. The Carbon-14 is collected and then measured.”
“So it has a constant change in strength?”
He nodded. “A plant gets C14 during photosynthesis, then when it dies, the C14 has a radioactive component that starts to degrade at a fixed rate. The lab will have to make a small adjustment for isotope fractioning—”
She turned to him, but he waved her off.
“Never mind. Even my eyes glazed over when they explained that part.”
Grinning, she shook her head. “I wanted to know if you wanted two or three eggs.”
“Three…it’s going to be a long day.”
“Give him mine,” Helen called out from her chair. “I’m not hungry.”
Tess lost her smile, and her eyes turned glassy. “Grams, would you like oatmeal and blueberries?”
“Still not hungry,” Helen replied.
Abandoning her cooking, Tess went to her grams.
Noticing she’d failed to turn off the burner, Steel got up and hurried to the stove. While he was mostly clueless, he knew how to turn off burners and collect toast from the toaster. He sorted the food onto three plates, then carried a plate to Helen. When Tess looked up at him, her eyes screamed with misery. He gave a jerk of his head, suggesting she go back to the kitchen.
She kissed her grams and did as he asked.
He put the plate on Helen’s lap. The old gal glared at him.
He held his hand up to silence her scold and spoke softly. “I know you’re not hungry, but for Tess, you need to eat.”
She sighed, then frowned as she studied the plate on her lap. “Are you expecting me to eat with my hands?”
Tess was clearly listening because a second later she scampered over and delivered a napkin, knife, and fork. She smiled from ear to ear as she presented them to Helen.
Tess’s smile was so contagious the old gal gained one as well.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” She then frowned at Steel. “I can’t eat if you two plan to stand here and stare at me. Now go back to the kitchen and leave me alone.”
Tess tried to give him her egg, but Steel refused. When he noticed she didn’t have any ham, he placed a slice on her plate.
“I don’t like ham,” she insisted as she sent it back to his plate.
“Then why did you cook it?”
“Grams likes it, and I thought you might prefer some honest-to-god meat.”
Fate
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