“Yeah, Corrie told us how you wanted to surprise everyone and wrap up by the end of the week so we could all finally get home. Everyone’s going to be stoked when you tell them. Thanks, Ford,” Ethan said, completely oblivious to reality.
Ford shot a glance at Corrie, catching her eye for an instant before she looked away. She’d lied. Lied to protect them. Protect them like he’d tried to do. At least she’d been successful. Ford had failed miserably at protecting anyone.
“That’s great,” Ford said, forcing his voice to keep up the facade.
“You should see it, Dr. Matthews. The bones are in excellent condition because they were protected by the cave. And we found some clothing fragments,” Sunny said, hardly able to contain her excitement.
It did sound exciting. Despite what Corrie had accused him of, he did actually care about archaeology and not just the money. But there was no way he could work in such close proximity to Corrie. Meaning there was no way she’d allow it.
“Awesome,” Ford responded, trying his best to feign his composure.
“It also appears that Mendoza may have been the one who got Yaretzi and their child sick,” Ethan added.
Ford cocked his head. “Mendoza? But didn’t Mendoza write about them settling in another village?”
“Well, according to the wall drawings, they caught something from Mendoza. Look,” Ethan said, pulling a camera out of his bag and handing it to Ford to scroll through the digital photos. Close-ups of the murals. The paintings unmistakably depicted a sick man—a Spaniard. Chimalli’s family nursing the man back to health. And becoming sick themselves. “He must have lied about it to cover his guilt. I mean, clearly they didn’t live out their days in another village.”
“Yeah, like his later accountings were his atonement. Let them live forever through his words,” Sunny chimed in.
Atonement. What would Ford’s atonement be? A lifetime of unhappiness without someone to share it with as punishment for the devastation he’d caused others?
“I know you probably want to be down there, too,” Sunny continued, pulling Ford out of his thoughts. “But I really appreciate you encouraging Dr. Mejía to bring me for the learning experience.”
Another lie. And another glance from Corrie. Lies, lies everywhere. Mendoza. Ford. Corrie. At least Mendoza’s and Corrie’s lies had been used for good.
“Of course,” Ford said, handing the camera back to Ethan.
“Oh, hey, before I forget,” Sunny said, pulling the sat phone out of her backpack. “You got a call today from Lakeview Rehab Center. They said something about a credit card getting declined.”
This time Corrie didn’t simply glance. She looked straight at Ford with worry in her eyes.
“Oh . . .” was all Ford could muster.
“Yeah, they said they’d sent several notices and need payment by tomorrow, but I didn’t catch the rest. The connection in the cave wasn’t good. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take the phone.”
“It’s okay.”
It wasn’t okay. How the hell was he supposed to find the money by tomorrow? All his money was riding on this dig, and he wouldn’t get paid until he delivered.
And he still wouldn’t be able to deliver for a few more days.
“Is everything all right, Ford?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, totally,” he said, his voice straining to choke out the words. Did he actually think that sounded convincing?
“Ford, how much?” Corrie asked, all eyes shooting to her.
He stared at her. They were the first words she’d spoken to him since leaving his tent the other night. Under normal circumstances he’d be pissed at someone bringing up his finances in front of others. But Ford had no pride left. And if he was being perfectly honest with himself, a tiny sense of hope formed in his heart at the fact that she was speaking to him at all.
“Thirty thousand.”
“Thirty thousand dollars?” Ethan asked. “For what?”
“For my mom’s treatments.”
“Do you have it?” Corrie asked.
He searched her face again before responding. “No.”
“Can you get an advance on the dig?” Ethan asked.
An advance? Ha. He wanted to laugh out loud. Seeing as he was being blackmailed, Ford wasn’t exactly in the position to be asking for advances.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure it out. Anyway,” he said, clapping his hands and trying to change the subject, “you guys should get cleaned up. Agnes has been slaving away on some red beans and rice, and it smells amazing.”
“You should eat with us,” Sunny said.
“Nah, I’m good,” he said, waving it off. “Trying to get paperwork done since we’re wrapping up in a few days.”
Corrie cocked her head at him. Of course it was a bogus excuse. Ford was meticulous about staying current on paperwork. The only thing he had to do to wrap things up was pack his bags.
“Aw, come on. I haven’t talked to you in days,” Ethan said. “And we’re all going home soon. It’ll be months before we’re all together again.”
Ford looked at Corrie. No, they’d never all be together again. As she’d already acknowledged, he’d never see her after they left the jungle.
But where he expected to see daggers in her eyes, or at least a warning to stay away, there were the sweet brown eyes he’d fallen in love with so many times.
“I’ve gotta go shower. See you at dinner, Ford,” she said before finally walking away.
* * *
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Ford’s mouth hurt from smiling. The stories about what everyone planned to do once they got home ranged from the practical—planning to take a nice long, hot shower and sleep for a solid day in a real bed—to the downright hysterical—booking a trip to the ice hotel in Sweden to recover from the sweltering Mexican heat. Around the table, they told their stories. Laughing. Teasing. Joking about returning to real life. It was definitely better than eating alone in his tent and wallowing in his own pity.
“Your turn, Ethan,” one of the interns said.
Ethan tipped back his head, looking toward the tent ceiling as he twisted his face in thought. “Hmm . . . well . . . I’ll go to the movies. Pig out on popcorn. Recline in a plush chair. Bask in the air-conditioning. Who knows, I might even watch the movie.”
Imagine that. So much of them returning home had more to do with the mundane than anything else.
“What about you, Dr. Mejía?” Sunny asked.
The pace of Ford’s heart picked up. A glimpse into Corrie. A glimpse into her thoughts over the last few days.
“Me? Oh, I don’t know,” she said, pushing her food around on her plate with her fork.
So much for that glimpse.
“Oh, come on, you have to have something in mind,” Ethan said.
“Well, I was sort of thinking of taking a sabbatical,” she said, briefly glancing at Ford. “I don’t know, though. I need a break.”
“Corrie Mejía knows how to take breaks?” Ethan said with a smile.
“I don’t,” she said with a laugh. “But maybe it’s time I try something new.”
Something new. Ford wanted to smack himself for everything he’d caused, because if it weren’t for his dickhead moves, a relationship with him could be her something new.