“Naw, we need heavy equipment to move that soil, reinforce that cliff, and make sure the ground’s stable, before you play Lewis and Clark and go off on some expedition.”
She shook her head harder, withdrew her hands from her pockets to swipe up a stem of brome grass fringing the edge of the dirt track so she could twist it in idle spirals around her finger, because she was about to argue with him. He might be trying to look out for her safety, but he was definitely being pushy. He clearly didn’t handle not being the decision-maker very well. Huh. So they did have something in common after all. And he didn’t get to remind her she was gone in a week and then dictate her decisions like he owned her.
“No. Now is when a paleontologist needs to see it. With everything still in context. You remove this soil and pack it all nice and neat into perfectly measured Tyler Dixon hills, you’ll screw up the information I need.”
“I got kids, Heather. I gotta deal with that area.”
“And you should. I just need a week.”
“You already have a week.”
“A week more.”
He froze. Eyed her. Her skin tingled, but not in that satisfied, turned-on way. No. She’d once again thrust him out of his comfort zone.
“I can get a hotel, Tyler, or stay with Charlie,” she said more quietly now. “I know we only agreed on a week.”
Her eyes darted away when she said that last bit, her cheeks flaming with uncharacteristic heat. Was asking for another week too much?
He exhaled. Said something under his breath about the boys still being at summer camp, and then shook his head. “You don’t need to get a hotel. But I’ve gotta consider liability with you out there.” He scoured his hand over his face. “You’re my responsibility while you’re here.”
Their eyes met. Was he offering to be nice? Or because he wanted her to stay? He’d been so tight-lipped since a moment ago, she got the impression she’d offended him somehow. He nodded once to her as if he could read her mind and a brief smile yanked the corner of his mouth up.
“I’m my own responsibility,” she frowned.
“You’re not getting a hotel,” he said more firmly. “But I gotta reinforce it.”
“Ty, I don’t disagree. I just caution you not to do anything until I can throw together some semblance of a survey plan, because if my hunch is correct, you might have some leverage against Fossyl.”
His face relaxed. He glanced sidelong at her. “That would be ‘you helping me…’”
“You’re a quick study, Ty,” she quipped. “Your farm is over a hundred and forty years old. One of the oldest in the state to still survive. Depending on what I find, have you ever considered a conservation easement?”
“Yes, but I can’t sign an easement when I’m saddled with this mineral lease.”
“Have you considered that it’s not just farmland that can be preserved, but also, any major cultural or natural site?”
“Gotta have something significant first.” His brow knitted.
She scoffed. Gestured toward the escarpment, then palmed her chest. “Precisely why I need to go investigate. Before you play Marie Kondo and organize the hell out of those hills.”
A chuckle barked from his throat, catching them both off guard, easing the mounting tension.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re not being impartial.” His eyes flitted to something beyond her, lingered, but then back to her, waiting.
She glanced back, following the path his eyes had taken. A little white butterfly, the type that looked sweet and innocent, but whose larvae could ravage a crop of broccoli in a matter of days. Still, she smiled. “A butterfly.”
“You seem to like them,” he replied more gently, but she still felt irritated. He didn’t get to go all alpha on her and then fish for deets on her life, even if she owed him that exchange.
She walked past him, snagging her keys from his finger as she went and patted his pectoral.
“I like to talk about them as much as you like to talk about your kids’ mother.”
She climbed into the driver’s side, fired up the engine and began adjusting the seat, and waited for him to mull over her words and hop in the passenger side. He climbed in as she set her phone down on the middle console, right as it buzzed with an incoming text:
Charlie:Hey babe. Daisy loved the picture. This is why you’re the best godmom. Miss you but gonna see you soon. I’m on the database. Will let you know soon about a fault line.
Tyler cleared his throat, eyes unable to help reading the message. He glanced sharply at her, then looked away.