The MacKenzie Family 3 - Riley - Liliana Hart,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
//-->RILEYBy Liliana HartCopyright 2011 by Liliana HartAmazon EditionThis ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or givenaway to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase anadditional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was notpurchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thankyou for respecting the hard work of this author.Chapter OneRiley MacKenzie wrapped his scarf around his neck, slipped on thick leather gloves, shrugged onhis heavy wool coat and pulled his fleece-lined toboggan down low over his ears. He grabbed hisworn leather satchel—ignoring the stack of books that slid off the chair and onto the floor—and didn’tspare a second glance at his overly cramped, disorganized office. In fact, he slammed the door behindhim and locked it with what might be misconstrued as glee.School was out for winter break. Finals had been taken. Grades had been given. And he was afree man until January. Well, almost free. He still had one thing to do before he could go home toSurrender, Montana and spend the holidays with his family.He had no idea why he’d agreed to meet Margaret Lawrence, other than the fact he was simplycurious. Not about the woman. She’d told him in her email she was the director for the Library ofAntiquities in Washington, which in his opinion meant she was nothing more than a highly paidbabysitter to dusty relics.He figured by the terse and direct tone of her email that she was probably a relic herself. Deeplines would be carved into her face from the perpetual scowl she probably used to chase away thosewho lingered in her hallowed halls too long. But old Mags didn’t concern him in the least. What shehad in her possession did.She’d been very withholding of information in her emails other than to tell him her colleague, Dr.Jonathon Scott, had recommended Riley to her. Since Riley was considered an expert in EgyptianArtifacts and he was friends with Jon Scott, he could only assume she wanted him to identifysomething for her.Her email had said it was urgent, and the tingles of excitement that ran up and down his spine toldhim she had something he was going to be very interested in. It was the same feeling he got just beforehe unearthed a priceless treasure while on a dig.The cold Montana wind slapped against his face as he left the Archaeology Building at DeclanCollege and headed to the faculty parking lot. The smell of snow was heavy in the air, and he hopedhe could satisfy Ms. Lawrence’s curiosity and get home before it started. The last thing he wantedwas to be trapped in a blizzard.It was already as black as pitch outside, though it was barely six o’clock in the evening. No starsblinked in the sky and the moon was just a hazy glow behind the thick snow clouds. Riley unlockedhis dusty 4x4 and slid in, tossing his bag to the back. The engine coughed and sputtered as it warmedup, and he turned the stereo up to teeth shaking volume in hopes it would get his mind off the cold.Margaret had agreed to come to him. She’d seemed desperate behind her written attempt ofvibrato, which would have made a normal person hesitate before going into the meeting, but hiscuriosity and excitement had overridden his internal warnings. Not that throwing caution to the windwas anything new for him. Of the four MacKenzie brothers, he was known as the most reckless.He headed in the opposite direction of Surrender, to a little coffee shop just down the road.Myrna Springs was a small college town, and Declan College was its main means of support. Rileyloved teaching there—as much as he was able to love teaching. He’d much rather be on constant digsand delving into piles of research and writing academic papers that would get him noticed bycolleagues all over the world. But something had to pay the bills.Declan College was a private school with a well-funded endowment, good pay and some of thebest professors the country had to offer. He was close to home, his class schedule was full butmanageable, he was dean of the archaeology department and he had plenty of time to work on hisresearch papers and plan his next dig. So he wasn’t complaining.The parking lot in front ofThe Coffee Housewas mostly deserted except for a smattering of a fewcars. No doubt everyone was at home getting ready for the storm. He pushed through the glass doorand a warm rush of heat greeted him. He stuck his hat and gloves in his pockets and hung his coat andscarf up on the rack by the door.The interior was suited to the college crowd. Art deco posters framed with thick black wood hungon light colored walls. The lighting was dim and cozy. Overstuffed red chairs sat grouped around acoffee table in the corner, and a fireplace tiled with hunter green marble took up a good bit of theback wall. Riley found a booth closest to the fireplace, taking a moment to warm his hands in front ofthe fire.“Hey, Dr. MacKenzie,” Tyler Whidbey said from behind the counter. Tyler had been one of hisintro archaeology students last spring. “I’ll have coffee out for you in just a second. Do you wantfood?”“You bet, Tyler. Thanks. I haven’t had a chance to eat today. Whatever you’ve got handy is fine.”“Good,” he said with obvious relief. “The manager closed the kitchen about an hour ago, so allwe’ve got is stew on the stove and some bread.”“Sounds perfect.”Riley looked at his watch and frowned as he saw Ms. Lawrence was late. If she wasn’t there bythe time he finished his meal, she’d have to find another expert or come all the way to Surrender.Spending the holidays with his family was the one thing he never missed. It was important to all ofthem, and this was the first Christmas they’d be spending at the MacKenzie house since his brotherDane had left Surrender more than ten years before.While Dane had been under his self-imposed exile from Surrender, the brothers spent theirChristmases at different locations, usually the beach, where they had the sun, sand and their pick ofwilling women. But this Christmas was going to be different. It was going to be special. Especiallynow that two of his brothers had their own families.Dane’s wife, Charlie, as well as their son Jayden would be there, and come spring they’d beadding another MacKenzie to the family. His other brother Thomas had been head over heels in loveever since he’d laid eyes on his girlfriend Cat. It had taken a lot of persuasion of Thomas’s part, but
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]