Birthright Read Free Page B

she thought, and tried again. “You do a lot of traveling, acquiring and selling antiquarian books. It must be fascinating.”
    â€œI like it.”
    Roger leaped into the awkward pause. “I don’t know what I’d do without Doug. Can’t get around like I used to. He’s got a feel for the business, too. A natural feel. I’d be retired and boring myself to death if he hadn’t taken up the fieldwork.”
    â€œIt must be satisfying for both of you, to share an interest, and a family business.” Since Doug looked bored by the conversation, Lana turned to his grandfather. “Well, Roger, since you’ve blown me off, again, I’d better get back to work. See you at the meeting tomorrow night?”
    â€œI’ll be there.”
    â€œNice meeting you, Doug.”
    â€œYeah. See you around.”
    When the door closed behind her, Roger let out a steam-kettle sigh. “ ‘See you around’? That’s the best you can do when you’re talking to a pretty woman? You’re breaking my heart, boy.”
    â€œThere’s no coffee. Upstairs. No coffee. No brain. I’m lucky I can speak in simple declarative sentences.”
    â€œGot a pot in the back room,” Roger said in disgust, and jerked a thumb. “That girl’s smart, pretty, interesting and,” he added as Doug moved behind the counter and through the door, “available.”
    â€œI’m not looking for a woman.” The scent of coffee hit his senses and nearly made him weep. He poured a cup, burned his tongue on the first sip and knew all would, once again, be right with the world.
    He sipped again, glancing back at his grandfather. “Pretty fancy piece for Woodsboro.”
    â€œI thought you weren’t looking.”
    Now he grinned, and it changed his face from surly to approachable. “Looking, seeing. Different kettle.”
    â€œShe knows how to put herself together. Doesn’t make her fancy.”
    â€œNo offense.” Douglas was amused by his grandfather’s huffy tone. “I didn’t know she was your girlfriend.”
    â€œI was your age, she damn well would be.”
    â€œGrandpa.” Revived by the coffee, Doug slung an arm over Roger’s shoulders. “Age doesn’t mean squat. I say you should go for it. Okay if I take this upstairs? I need to go clean up, head out to see Mom.”
    â€œYeah, yeah.” Roger waved him off. “See you around,” he muttered as Doug walked to the rear of the store. “Pitiful.”
    C allie Dunbrook sucked up the last of her Diet Pepsi as she fought Baltimore traffic. She’d timed her departure from Philadelphia—where she was supposed to be taking a three-month sabbatical—poorly. She saw that now.
    But when the call had come through, requesting aconsultation, she hadn’t considered travel time or rush-hour traffic. Or the basic insanity of the Baltimore Beltway at four-fifteen on a Wednesday afternoon.
    Now she just had to deal with it.
    She did so by blasting her horn and propelling her old and beloved Land Rover into an opening more suited to a Tonka toy. The dark thoughts of the driver she cut off didn’t concern her in the least.
    She’d been out of the field for seven weeks. Even the whiff of a chance to be back in again drove her as ruthlessly as she drove the four-wheeler.
    She knew Leo Greenbaum well enough to have recognized the restrained excitement in his voice. Well enough to know he wasn’t a man to ask her to drive to Baltimore to look at some bones unless they were very interesting bones.
    Since she hadn’t heard a murmur about the find in rural Maryland until that morning, she had a feeling no one had expected them to be particularly interesting.
    God knew she needed another project. She was bored brainless writing papers for journals, lecturing, reading papers others in her field had written for the same journals.