PIETRA

PIETRA

“Professor Doyle is in the cave. I pointed to the cave entrance. “She doesn't leave until evening, and it's pretty tight in there anyway. If you want to talk to her, you'll have to wait until...

— I have a job to do, and that job includes spot inspections of the work area. He gave me a challenging look, then walked to the cave entrance. I wanted to just walk away and let him work things out, but I was curious to see how the date with Frances would go. He would definitely make her put on a helmet.

So I followed him back to the cave entrance, rubbing my arms through my shirt in an attempt to expel the strange heat tingling them. The guard knelt in front of the small hole, sticking one leg in first, then the other. I expected him to bump his huge, chiseled, cocky shoulders, but he managed to glide easily, the rain barely touching him. Sighing, I crouched down and slid in after him.

By the time I reached the entrance, he was already treading water toward the farm, his face set in a firm line. Frances stood and dusted her hands.

“You must be the new ranger. You didn't have to come down here, you know? I understand it's a little tight.

She didn't say it, but her resentment of his presence was written all over her face, unobscured by the brim of her nonexistent helmet. Frances hated the county's meddling in her work. They were required by law to oversee the excavation, but Frances viewed DownMoor Caves as her property. She literally wrote the book on Neolithic caves in England. She didn't want a ranger who didn't know an arrowhead flint tool to tell her what to do, especially if he was as prickly as this guy appeared to be.

He didn't shake her hand either.

“I'm Josh Lowe. I will replace Daniel. Can you tell me what procedures you have to preserve the ecosystem inside the cave? I notice a damaged stalactite at the entrance.

I cringed. I accidentally did it on the first day. A stalactite formed over tens of thousands of years by water dripping through cracks in the rocks. One wrong swing of the theodolite's tripod, and I've damaged it. And judging by Josh's expression, I could be glad he didn't know it was me.

“I have a full environmental report waiting for you at camp, Mr. Lowe. Pietra will show you. I have a lot of delicate work to do here and I'm sure you'd rather get out of the rain.

“The rain doesn't bother me. What bothers me is their lack of personal protective equipment…

“Nonsense. Frances practically pushed him toward the cave entrance. "I wouldn't want you to catch a cold." I'll give you a full tour of the site in the morning, I promise. The weather should improve a bit by then. Pietra, take our guest back to camp and make some hot tea. You can end the day and we'll be together in a moment.

— I'll take Mister Lowe, if Pietra prefers to stay behind. Looks like she hasn't finished the quadrant yet. “Ruth showed up. I turned my head, watching her smile broadly at Josh and tuck her chin-length blonde hair behind her ears. For some reason, that turned my stomach more than it should have.

“Okay,” I replied. - I can do this. I didn't want to be alone with the new ranger, but I wasn't going to give Ruth the satisfaction of flirting with him for the rest of the afternoon. "Finish my quadrant for me, will you?" You must be dying to pick up a spatula again after a whole day carrying that heavy tripod.

Ruth gave me a hateful look. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I saw a flicker of amusement cross Josh's face. But when I looked at him again, he had been replaced by his now-familiar sour expression.

- This way. I gestured for him to follow me back through the cave entrance and out into the rain. I ran down the path, looking back to make sure Josh was following. He took long, graceful strides, having no trouble keeping up, despite looking like he was just taking a walk. More hair fell out of the ponytail and the rain plastered the curls to her face, making her look even more attractive. An image of him naked in a shower flashed across my vision, and I was so shocked by the thought that I turned and crashed right into a tree.

— Argh! I fell backwards, landing on my ass in a puddle. Mud splashed onto my shirt and further soaked my overalls.

“Careful,” Josh said into the rain as he walked past me. He didn't help me. What an idiot. I cursed myself for fantasizing about him.

I followed Josh toward the camp, trying in vain to wipe some of the mud off the bottom of my coveralls. The five of us were camping in a clearing about a quarter mile from the cave network. We had Dr. Doyle as an office and kitchen, a small tin shed that doubled as artifact storage, and a collection of empty tents we slept in. I guided Josh up the RV stairs and opened the door.

“Take off your shoes,” I ordered as I hung up my helmet, kicked off my boots, and stomped into the kitchen, not caring that I was getting mud everywhere as I located the tea and filled the kettle. We still had half a pack of cookies and I knew Frances was saving them for when the new ranger arrived, but I didn't get them. Josh didn't deserve the last chocolate finger.

- Why? It's not quite the Ritz here. And with you walking around, it looks like the set of Attacked by the Mud Creature from the Deep. He took off his own boots and set them down in front of the door. Without waiting for an invitation, he pulled up one of the counter stools and sat down, taking one of Frances's field notebooks from the pile on the counter and starting to leaf through.

I bit down on a million retorts threatening to come out of my mouth. I had to be nice to this guy no matter how rude he was to me. One word from him and Frances could get her fired. And as much as I resented being here, I liked her and I didn't want to be the reason she had to stop working in the caves. That and I needed to pass this course if I had any hope of getting into the Masters program.

So I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart and that strange, fluttering heat in my veins. What was it about this guy that made my whole body feel like I'd stuck my finger in an outlet?

— Do you drink it with milk and sugar? I slammed some cups down on the counter, harder than I intended.

“Just some milk,” Josh said, not looking up from his reading. “Tell me what you've found out about the place so far.

"Wouldn't you like to question Professor Doyle about that?" I demanded. “After all, I'm just a student.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to swallow them back. What was wrong with me? I've never talked like that to anyone. I was the biggest fool in the world. The very fact that I was in this hellhole instead of Sicily was proof of that. But this guy had me completely on edge.

"So we're in a bad mood today, are we?"

Josh must have sensed my discomfort because he gave me a slightly friendlier smile. He put the notebook down and looked at me, those wicked green eyes sizing me up. A wet strand of hair fell over his eye, and he reached out and tucked a hand behind his ear. I swallowed. If only he thought of me as anything other than an annoying student who wasn't worth his time… he was the type of guy I would look for, my deepest sexist fantasies would come to life… “I can see that you don't like me.

"I…it's not…I just…" I pulled away from him. Everything was going wrong. I wasn't used to being confronted like this, not when my veins were buzzing with tension. “I don't know if I should. You look like you really don't want to be here.

"Then you misunderstood me." I really want to be here. His eyes met mine. “And not just because of the caves.

My heart slammed in my chest. Did I hear right? This incredibly arrogant and incredibly handsome man was flirting with me?

I don't think anyone has ever flirted with me before.

"I... um...

I must be wrong. He couldn't be...

"Let me get that tea." Josh stood up, his body inches from mine in the small kitchen. The air around me crackled with electricity. More than anything in the world I wanted to lean forward, press my body against his and feel his lips brush mine.

No.

I had to resist these thoughts. I wasn't ready for men again, not after what happened with Ben. And I certainly wasn't ready for a man like this, who was cocky and confident and sat around camp with an I-like-any-woman-who-comes-my-path air. This guy would rip my heart out and dip it in his tea.

Josh came closer and went to get the milk. My skin tingled with heat, the urge to touch him screamed inside me. My eyes locked on his lips, imagining what it would be like to kiss them, to feel his tongue slide against mine…

"I can do this myself," I said, my words coming out cold and harsh as I tried to control my desire. I took the milk from his hands and stepped back, pouring some into his cup. “Don't think that just because you're the park ranger here, you can intimidate me with your mere presence. I'm not impressed with guys like you.

"What makes you think I'm trying to impress you?" Josh said. A wicked smile spread across his face. “Probably enough already.

"That's enough…" I looked down. As he talked, he was still pouring the milk. A small white waterfall ran around the rim of her cup and down the side of the cupboard. - Oh shit!

- Don't worry. Josh grabbed some paper towels from the closet and started cleaning. “I'll take care of it.

- Hang on. “I hated the way my voice sounded. I held my hand out for the towels. - I'm very sorry. That was unnecessary. It's been a long day and I'm very wet and cold and grumpy. Leave it to me.

I reached out to take the towels from his hand, but he pulled them away.

"I said I'll take care of it," he said brusquely. “You just sit there and try not to touch anything else.

I moved to the other side of the counter, a safe distance away from those undulating shoulders and piercing eyes. I must have been wrong. He wasn't flirting. He just made it clear he's not interested. I should have felt relieved, but all I felt was a rush of shame mixed with bitter disappointment.

Josh finished cleaning up the spill and tossed the towels in the trash. He cleaned the mug and placed it on the table in front of me, as far away from me as possible in the small space. He pushed my own mug in front of me.

"The caves," he said. "Tell me about them."

“France can…

"I didn't ask Professor Doyle," he said. — I asked you.

Without looking up from my cup, I stuttered through a basic description of the site, how an extended family likely lived in the caves for several generations, using them seasonally to store food and shelter when the weather changed.

"And you didn't find any cave paintings or anything like that?"

I shook my head.

— Cave paintings are extremely rare, especially in this period. Conditions need to be perfect or they will be destroyed. I don't think we'll find anything as interesting as that around here.

"What's that on your wrist?" Josh asked, pointing to the silver bracelet I was subconsciously fiddling with.

Hastily, I covered my hand over the strip of cold metal. My dad gave me the bracelet when I got my GCSEs. “I'm so proud of you, Pietra,” he said as he slid the cold metal across my wrist. “I know you will do amazing things.” He died two weeks later, and I haven't taken it out since. Just touching her calmed me down when I was nervous, and being in the same space as Josh Lowe made me incredibly nervous.

— Environmental regulations clearly prohibit the use of jewelry in caves. Josh frowned. “It can get stuck in rocks and cause damage to caves, not to mention the fact that jewelry in any location is a health and safety concern. Your team has already damaged a stalagmite. If I see any more damage in the caves, I'll ask everyone to leave.

“It's… it's just a bracelet,” I said, a lump in my throat. “I'm being very careful. You have no idea. I'm the only one wearing a helmet.

This is certainly more important...

“Everything is important. This bracelet is not allowed. You need to take it off.

- All good. ’ I could barely get the words out. Tears pounded against my eyelids. I tried to blink back, but they spilled out, hitting my cheeks. I couldn't stay there with him, not while he was crying. My whole body turned red with embarrassment at this. I turned my head, pushed the seat back, and shoved my feet into my boots.

- Pietra, wait! Josh called, but I was already outside and fleeing to my tent.

Once inside the privacy of my canvas walls, I fell back onto the mattress, the tears flowing thicker now. What was wrong with me? I was feeling fine a month ago. I hadn't cried for Ben in a few weeks and we buried Dad years ago…so why was I so upset now? Josh was right, the bracelet was against the rules. And I knew better than anyone how important it was to obey the rules.

It was that guy Josh. His arrogance got into my head. Maybe I wasn't over Ben like I thought, because just the thought of Josh flirting with me made me feel bad.

Why did Josh have to come here? Why didn't they send an unattractive or unattractive ranger? And, most of all, why was my own body betraying me? Why did I want him so much even though I hated him too?