Free Excavated by Noelle Adams

smiling but unyielding. “I’m going to take a
shower.”
    The
shower was functional but fairly primitive—in the adjacent small bathroom. As
he disappeared into it, Lucy sighed and rolled back over.
    She
shouldn’t be grumpy. This was his life and job—not a vacation. She shouldn’t
expect him to toss it aside just to have another round of sex with her. Had she
planned to be shooting this morning, she would be out of bed and focused
too—not lolling around, thinking dirty thoughts about his fine body.
    But
still…it would be nice if he’d seemed a little more tempted by her invitation.
    ***
    Lucy shook her head and
leaned back in her chair, idly rubbing her head where the pins in her chignon
were sticking into her scalp.
    This
day wasn’t going at all the way she’d planned.
    The
rain had really put a damper on her filming schedule, and it showed no signs of
stopping any time soon.
    Michael
MacPherson, her expert on Orkney lore, had come out to the island today. Since
he was skittish about being on camera anyway, she hadn’t wanted to risk
suggesting he come another day when the weather was less inclement.
    They
could hardly film his interview segments outside in the pouring rain, so they
were now all crowded in Philip’s small office.
    She’d
started with the questions she and Dana had prepared, but soon the conversation
unraveled completely. Philip had wanted to sit in, and there was no reason why
he couldn’t. But, instead of her asking the questions, Michael had started
asking Philip questions about the island.
    Now,
two hours into it, the two men were deep in an intense discussion about minute
details of Orkney history and ancient culture.
    Lucy’s
viewers would have no interest in such specialized information, and she had
only a limited amount of interest herself.
    She
saw Sawyer make a face, still dutifully filming the discussion, and then he
shot her a questioning look.
    She
made a silent gesture with her hand, indicated he should keep filming. She’d
noticed a few good snippets she could use for the show—some voiced by Philip
and some by Michael. And then maybe she could also edit together an amusing
montage to illustrate how impassioned some scholars were with the site.
    Besides,
she kind of liked how much Philip was enjoying the conversation. He’d always
been intense, and she liked to see it channeled this way.
    He’d
always struck her as rather lonely. Maybe even more so now than when she’d
known him before. He’d had a conflicted relationship with his mother back
during the campaign, but it had been clear that she was important to him. He’d
had friends too, but he hadn’t been able to devote a lot of time to a social
life because his work on the campaign took up so much of his time.
    He’d
only been twenty-three. His mother shouldn’t have made him sacrifice a normal
life in service of her political ambitions.
    Now,
however, Lucy wasn’t sure who Philip had in his life. All of his connections
seemed to be professional.
    But
Philip genuinely seemed to like and respect Michael. And vice versa. It gave
her an odd, twisting satisfaction in her chest.
    When
the conversation finally seemed to wind down—neither man having any additional
information to share about the significance of the faint tool marks on one of
the standing stones—Lucy leaned forward.
    She
still needed a few sound bites from Michael before he departed.
    “Michael,”
she said, “I’m wondering about these rumors about the site being haunted by the
ghosts of ancient warriors.”
    Philip
snorted, and she slanted him an annoyed look.
    She
continued, “Do you think that’s based on any longstanding legend from the
islands?”
    “Most
of our hauntings are female—white women, wailing women, various and sundry
women. The stories of the warrior ghosts didn’t surface until the hippies came
with their incense and chanting.”
    Lucy
tried to keep her mouth composed, but the man’s dry response—and his strong
Orkney