dusty side roads or dead ends, but most led you, step by careful step, where you hoped you would go.
If you did your job right.
Chapter Seven
Situated at the very edge of the desert at it was, as always it was hot, dry, dusty and windy at the dig site. Sand filtered down, over, through and beneath your clothes until by the end of the day it felt as if you were coated in a fine layer of grit. Engrossed in their work no one either noticed or cared. As much as possible, you tried to prepare for it but it was part of the job. Ky had long since gotten used to the discomfort. Some of those around him wore hats against the heat and the chance of sunstroke but he rarely did, preferring the feel of the breeze through his hair. He did wear polarized sunglasses against the brightness but also to fend off the glare from the sand that might make him miss something important.
He glanced up and across the site to the solitary form standing near the entrance to the dig site where entry through the second wall had once been.
Many of these old forts had had inner defensive walls as well as outer ones. It had worked well, forcing anyone who managed to get past the first wall to face the defenders behind a second one, while the attackers were forced to fight through a narrow passageway.
With no one at the dig site except foreigners like themselves and educated Egyptians who wouldn’t object to her clothing―in other words, no one from town―Raissa had foregone the abaya and instead wore a casual pleated linen dress that revealed her lovely legs. Her long golden hair, drawn back in a loose braid, blew in the breeze as she shaded her eyes with a hand to look across the dig site.
The sunlight illuminated her fine and lovely features, the wind pressed the fabric of her dress against her body to flutter around her legs. In some ways that dress was more practical in this heat than what some wore.
In a short time she’d become nearly as indispensible and intuitive as Ryan. She was turning into a very capable, very efficient and very pleasant distraction.
She’d been with them now for more than two weeks and she fit in with team so well, joking with Ryan, gently teasing Komi as they worked, that it seemed she’d always been a part of it. Nor was she averse to teasing Ky as well, slipping in some quiet aside, hiding her smile and her twinkling eyes behind her hair until the shot had been delivered and struck home. Then when they were all laughing he would catch that little glimmering glance from the corner of her eye.
They’d already had some lively debates over her translations. She had a marvelous mind behind those brilliant eyes, something he definitely appreciated. Nor was she afraid to state her opinion or defend it even against him and she was flexible enough to see another side.
To his surprise, though, given her background, she’d never been to a dig site. This was her first visit and she seemed to find it fascinating.
Each find had been labeled as to what had been found where with little color-coded flags stuck in the ground or tied to the twine that marked of the sections of the site. That helped those who worked her get a sense of what had been where, but it also meant that Raissa didn’t need to have someone explain everything to her. Pretty as she was, it was unlikely she would have had trouble finding someone to do so, though. She was a beautiful young woman. Ky knew he wasn’t the only one looking at her and he felt a small odd twinge at the thought. Between he and Ryan they’d cautioned her about all the things she couldn’t or shouldn’t do at the dig―as well as the inconveniences, like a lack of facilities. It was rough living, not that anyone complained, whiners didn’t last long on a dig.
Sandwiched between them on the bench seat of the ancient jeep as they’d ridden out to the dig site, Raissa had simply looked from one to the other of them as they’d explained, shaking her head in
If you did your job right.
Chapter Seven
Situated at the very edge of the desert at it was, as always it was hot, dry, dusty and windy at the dig site. Sand filtered down, over, through and beneath your clothes until by the end of the day it felt as if you were coated in a fine layer of grit. Engrossed in their work no one either noticed or cared. As much as possible, you tried to prepare for it but it was part of the job. Ky had long since gotten used to the discomfort. Some of those around him wore hats against the heat and the chance of sunstroke but he rarely did, preferring the feel of the breeze through his hair. He did wear polarized sunglasses against the brightness but also to fend off the glare from the sand that might make him miss something important.
He glanced up and across the site to the solitary form standing near the entrance to the dig site where entry through the second wall had once been.
Many of these old forts had had inner defensive walls as well as outer ones. It had worked well, forcing anyone who managed to get past the first wall to face the defenders behind a second one, while the attackers were forced to fight through a narrow passageway.
With no one at the dig site except foreigners like themselves and educated Egyptians who wouldn’t object to her clothing―in other words, no one from town―Raissa had foregone the abaya and instead wore a casual pleated linen dress that revealed her lovely legs. Her long golden hair, drawn back in a loose braid, blew in the breeze as she shaded her eyes with a hand to look across the dig site.
The sunlight illuminated her fine and lovely features, the wind pressed the fabric of her dress against her body to flutter around her legs. In some ways that dress was more practical in this heat than what some wore.
In a short time she’d become nearly as indispensible and intuitive as Ryan. She was turning into a very capable, very efficient and very pleasant distraction.
She’d been with them now for more than two weeks and she fit in with team so well, joking with Ryan, gently teasing Komi as they worked, that it seemed she’d always been a part of it. Nor was she averse to teasing Ky as well, slipping in some quiet aside, hiding her smile and her twinkling eyes behind her hair until the shot had been delivered and struck home. Then when they were all laughing he would catch that little glimmering glance from the corner of her eye.
They’d already had some lively debates over her translations. She had a marvelous mind behind those brilliant eyes, something he definitely appreciated. Nor was she afraid to state her opinion or defend it even against him and she was flexible enough to see another side.
To his surprise, though, given her background, she’d never been to a dig site. This was her first visit and she seemed to find it fascinating.
Each find had been labeled as to what had been found where with little color-coded flags stuck in the ground or tied to the twine that marked of the sections of the site. That helped those who worked her get a sense of what had been where, but it also meant that Raissa didn’t need to have someone explain everything to her. Pretty as she was, it was unlikely she would have had trouble finding someone to do so, though. She was a beautiful young woman. Ky knew he wasn’t the only one looking at her and he felt a small odd twinge at the thought. Between he and Ryan they’d cautioned her about all the things she couldn’t or shouldn’t do at the dig―as well as the inconveniences, like a lack of facilities. It was rough living, not that anyone complained, whiners didn’t last long on a dig.
Sandwiched between them on the bench seat of the ancient jeep as they’d ridden out to the dig site, Raissa had simply looked from one to the other of them as they’d explained, shaking her head in
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