Carved in Stone Read Free

the curve in the trail, Alex undressed and rinsed off in the freezing mountain creek. The sun was well above the eastern plateau by the time she stretched out on her belly on a warm flat rock at the water’s edge. Leaning over, she rinsed her long hair in the swiftly running stream, soaking up the sun’s rays that quickly heated her back.
    The air was cool, but the sunlight felt good against her bare skin. She lay there a moment, wondering about the man, why he’d been so shocked by her presence. Other than the obvious, of course. She giggled, picturing the pink towel.
    “Crap!” She scrambled into a sitting position. What if that wasn’t Nathan Murdock? The man hadn’t given his name. She shivered as a chill raced along her spine, then just as quickly she relaxed. That had to be Dr. Murdock. The pilot wouldn’t have taken her to the wrong campsite.
    Maybe she wasn’t quite what Murdock expected. Alex grinned, wringing the water out of her long hair. Professor Murdock definitely wasn’t what she expected! But what if Jessie was right? What if this job was a mistake? She’d certainly tried to argue Alex out of coming.
    Of course, Jessie liked to argue about everything. They’d been raised as sisters, and they certainly fought like sisters, but this disagreement had been worse than usual. Staring into the swirling water, Alex thought about their argument.
    She’d been trying to convince Jessie just how much she needed this assignment. How else was she ever going to get her reputation back?
    A job like this—high-profile work with a reputable professor—could go a long way toward fixing the whole mess.
    As usual, Jessie had disagreed. “The studio’s finally coming together. We’ve got at least two months of remodeling before we can open and—”
    “And you’re perfectly capable of handling it.” Alex had refused to budge. Okay. So Jessie was worried about her. What else was new? Why couldn’t Jessie see she had to do this? The professor at UC Berkeley wanted to hire her. His secretary had called the studio and specifically requested Alex. Alex had done her best to try and convince Jessie how important this was to her career, but Jessie wouldn’t even listen.
    “It always comes down to your father, doesn’t it?”
    Alex had never seen her so angry, especially when she’d gotten right in Alex’s face and practically yelled at her.
    “When are you gonna quit competing with him?” She’d practically sneered when she added, “You can’t win! The man’s a cheat and a liar. My God, he stole your work, and you keep making excuses for him.”
    Then she’d slammed her fist down on the worn countertop and looked Alex straight in the eyes. “The man’s a bastard!” she’d said. “He’s not worth it.”
    Alex shuddered, the pain from Jessie’s harsh words still fresh, but Alex knew she was just as guilty of fighting dirty. She’d been oh so controlled when she’d replied, “I don’t want to argue, especially about my father. Besides, it’s common knowledge that if you’re going to call anyone a bastard, that would be me.”
    Ashamed, Jessie had burst into tears.
    Bastard.
    It was such an ugly word. A terrible burden to give an innocent child. Alex wondered if she’d ever be able to lay it down. She knew that it really wasn’t that big a deal, not in today’s world, but when she’d been small, she’d heard it often enough. Alexander’s poor little bastard. She was nobody’s poor anything, but the pain never seemed to lessen. Still, Jessie’s angry words had awakened long-buried questions.
    Staring into the clear waters of the creek, Alex wondered again about the unwed seventeen-year-old girl who had died giving her life. She knew so little about her mother, a woman whose Mayan heritage was stamped strongly upon her own features.
    Was that why her father had never married her mother? Because she was native, not white? Alex wondered if she’d ever know the truth. Wondered what her life