All or Nothing at All (Stevens Book 3)

Chapter 16

Grace used her arm to wipe the sweat away from her brow. It was late July in Georgia and the heat was almost unbearable. She had grown up in it so she was a little bit better off than those that were from the North, but physical labor in close to one hundred degree heat was draining.

An old friend, Francis Dillon, who she had gone to school with, had tracked her down and begged her to help her on a dig during the summer break, and Grace had wanted nothing more than to have an excuse to be away from New York for the summer, so she had jumped at the chance. Now she was almost wishing she had thought twice about it.

Almost, she had avoided the Stevenses as best she could. She hadn't seen Bryce again, knowing that if she did she would most likely cave to his offer. Cassie and Rainer had met her frequently for lunch, but Bryce must have spoken to both of them because neither one of them had ever mentioned his name, nor had he showed up unexpectedly at any of their meetings.

It was hard to believe that it had been a year since she had been in England, a year since she had been in Bryce's arms. Sometimes, when she awoke from a dream of him it felt as if it was only a few days ago. The move to Georgia to dig up the Mississippian Culture was a welcome break from the stress of possibly having to see him.

The Mississippian Culture was prevalent in North Georgia and the subject was one she had studied extensively, as well as focused one of her many internships on, so she was well versed on the mound building society that dated between 800 and 1500 AD.

The site had been discovered when BAES construction had broken ground for a new development. The owner of BAES, Brian Alexander, had immediately contacted the University of Georgia where Francis worked and requested that they do the dig quickly, so that his project was not delayed longer than necessary.

Brian had more than enough money to throw around to get the job done. The only catch was that Francis had planned her wedding and honeymoon for most of July and she needed someone she trusted to take her place for the month.

"O.K. let's call it a day!" Grace called. It was still early, but at four in the afternoon the heat was too oppressive to do anything else, and the last thing she needed was a bunch of grad-students with heatstroke.

The next hour was dedicated to securing the site and putting away the tools of the trade. Brian had ordered a security guard to watch the site so she wasn't that worried about theft. Grace gave a small smile at the thought of Brian. She was having dinner with him that evening, he had wanted an update before Francis arrived the following day.

Brian Alexander was a very handsome man. He was large and had a head of premature grey hair that was a striking foil for his deep blue, almost violet eyes. He had come out to the site to help for a few days and she had had to refocus some of her female students, especially when he had taken off his shirt. If Grace's heart had been intact she would have drooled just like the rest.

But your heart isn't, is it? She shook the thought off as soon as she had it.

In Brian, she sensed a kindred soul. He too, had had his hardships that left scars, she recognized the signs. She looked at her watch realizing that she had very little time to get cleaned up. She was meeting him at his house for dinner. Normally, she would have never have done such a thing but she liked Brian.

An hour later she rang the doorbell to his house. It was one of those McMansions that were so popular, and it was very nice but it had no personality.

"Grace," Brian greeted when he opened the door, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I thought we would grill out this evening. The heat seems to be easing off some." He was right the temperature had dropped considerably and Grace had worn a sundress so she was much cooler than she had been earlier in the day.