Page 18 of Digging Up Love
“Hey, girl. I’ll see you this weekend, okay?”
More rustling, then Hector chuckled. “She’s gone already.” Warmth radiated in his voice. His brother adored those tiny terrors, and so did Quentin. His throat closed up a bit.Harris family curse.
“Listen, Hector, I gotta go. I’m on the road.”
“Oh yeah, the secret dino mission. Guess reducing your carbon footprint isn’t always practical, huh?” The sneer in his words stretched across the airwaves.
“I know a car-free existence is mind-boggling for you, but I live two blocks from campus. And even if you don’t care about our planet, what about the fortune I’ve saved in parking tickets?”
“Yeah, yeah. Are you really not going to tell me where you went today?”
No way would his clueless brother be the first to hear the biggest news of his career.
“Nope. But thanks for the invite. See you Saturday.” He ended the call before Hector could grill him any further.
His dad and brother had always set him up to be the one in the family who would “make it.” They couldn’t wrap their brains around his fascination with the bones of animals that had vanished into extinction millions of years ago. Or the years of work for tenure that may or may not materialize, despite his best efforts. Still, in Quentin’s mind, hedidhave it made, career-wise.
Relationship-wise, well ...
His growling stomach interrupted his thoughts, just as he passed a sign announcing fast food. A miracle, considering the last ten or so exitshad marked country roads going nowhere. He pulled into a parking spot at McDonald’s, and his phone chimed with a text.
Not his brother this time. Alisha.
Heart thudding, he opened the message. A photo of the missing camera filled the screen. He let out his breath in a whoosh. What had he been expecting?
Another text pinged through.
Alisha:
I believe this belongs to you? Will accept 1,000,000 euros as ransom.
He laughed out loud.
Quentin:
I’m fresh out of euros. Will you accept yen?
Alisha:
Works for me. Deposit the funds in my Swiss bank account by 12:00 CST and the camera is yours.
Quentin:
This is starting to feel like a budget Bond film.
Alisha:
Lol. I can mail it out tomorrow. No worries.
Quentin:
Whew. I’m not very liquid right now.
He sent her his office address, then climbed down out of the cab, shuddering against the frigid night air. His phone beeped in the middleof paying for his meal, and he jerked his card out of the reader, dropping his wallet in a flurry of coins in his haste to pull his cell out of his pocket. Slick.
Alisha:
Got it. I’ll take it to the post office tomorrow.
