The October breeze cooled my skin, and I lifted my face to the sunshine. “Gorgeous day.” I peeked at the crowd below. “I think they agree.”
“Why do you think they all come?” Luke motioned to the flocks of tourists hiking on the pathways.
“The same reason we do. To touch history, to try to understand what we have in common with people who lived thousands of years ago.”
“How’s Flyboy?”
I cut my gaze toward him. “Real subtle, Luke.”
He shrugged. “You went into town without me yesterday. I have to live vicariously.”
“He’s good, I guess. His emails are short and mostly just updates on what he’s doing, but he signs them ‘Love, Josh,’ so that’s got to be good.” I pulled my engagement ring from between my breasts and slid it along the chain absentmindedly, as had become my worst habit of late.
Luke sighed. “You’ll be home next week. And he should be home soon after?”
Next week. It was hard to believe time had gone so fast here, but it seemed like forever since I’d seen Josh, or heard his voice. “Right. I’m not exactly sure when he’s due home, actually.”
Luke reached over and squeezed my hand. “It’s going to be okay. You know that, right? No matter which way things go, you will be okay.”
“There’s only one way it can go,” I said, my voice stronger than my heart felt. “I know why he did it. Logically, I know that he never would have really healed if he hadn’t gone back. It was the final stage for him, and God help me, the right thing to do. He’ll eventually reconcile himself with what happened, and I hope that’s what he’s doing there, but he never could have forgiven himself if he hadn’t finished his mission. It’s not in his nature to sit on the sidelines. It never has been.”
“You’re a damn fine woman, Ember. I hope he realizes it.”
The corners of my mouth lifted. “I have the love of a damn fine man. I hope he realizes that.”
A safari hat peeked above the hill to our left as Dr. Trimble sidestepped down the path toward us. “Miss Howard?” he called. “If I could have a word?”
Luke gave a low whistle. “Good luck with that one,” he said with a little hand pat. “Catch me up later?”
“You bet,” I agreed, and then started up the path toward Dr. Trimble. He waved me on, and I followed just over the ridge, where his trailer sat out of the sight of tourists.
“Have a seat,” he said with a smile and pulled a bottle of water out of his cooler. “You’ve been working very hard.”
I took the bottle and opened it. “Thank you. I love the work I’m doing.”
“Well, it shows.” He leaned back in his chair, studying me as I sipped the water. “You applied to the doctorial program for anthropology?”
I swallowed carefully, immediately nauseous. “Yes, sir, I did.”
“You were accepted.” He handed over a sealed envelope.
A shaky laugh stuttered my breath as I opened the envelope. Dear Ms. Howard, we are delighted to inform you…
I’d gotten in. I closed my eyes and clutched the letter to my chest. I made it, Josh. I’ll be a PhD. Dr. Walker. A small shred of my happiness flew away. The only person I wanted to tell was anything but accessible. “Thank you,” I said to Dr. Trimble, knowing full well it was his letter of recommendation and this program that had secured my acceptance.
“You did the work, Ms. Howard. I’ve never been happier to recommend a student. Your efforts here have been excellent, and I think you’ll make a fantastic anthropologist.”
“This trip has been a dream, and I can’t thank you enough for inviting me.”
“Are you ready to go home?” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk.
“Yes and no. I’ll miss everything about this place, especially the work, but I’m happy to get home to see my fiancé. He should be redeploying right about when I get there.”
He sighed. “Did you know that we were able to secure permission to continue the dig on a smaller scale for another two months?”
My eyes widened. “No. I thought the setup was on pause until next year.”
“It was until a couple of days ago. I’ve also been given permission to keep a percentage of my staff.”
Luke would be thrilled if he got to stay. “Good. That will give you time to finish the terrace house excavation.”
“Yes. Of course it would go faster if you were the one to head that part of the dig.”
I swallowed. “Sir?”
“Reed has to go home. You’re young, and it’s not like I’d let you just run roughshod. I’d officially be the lead, but you’d be leading point. No one knows that excavation site better than you, and I’m not just talking about the room you’ve been uncovering.”
“I know it exceptionally well,” I admitted. While the other dig members had taken their free time in Izmir, or visited the leather markets, I’d spent every second exploring, making sure this trip was etched into every crevice of my memory.
“Yes. So I understand that you probably need to go home next week…”
I nodded, my eyes focused out his window—toward Josh. “Yes.” What would he say? He’d probably tell me to take it, and then, for an extra rush, volunteer to go join some special ops team while I was gone. You know he needs a few more years under his belt for that. Chill out. “I do need to go home and see him. And my friend’s baby is due tomorrow.”