Mayan Lover Read Free

something; let yourself feel it. You need to learn to
trust yourself, trust your instincts. That was easier said than
done. Her instinct a moment ago had been to run screaming bloody
murder through the hallowed halls of the museum over a kid who at a
scrawny five foot six stood maybe an inch taller than her and was
ruled by his parents.
    “So I heard you had a boat-load of
internship offers.” He lifted his brows with curiosity.
    Gwen started taking the ten steps. How many
times would she have to deflect the same question? Finding out the
location of Gwen’s internship had become a challenge to the
entire science department. Maggie outright lied when people asked
her. Greece, Honduras, Egypt … she gave everyone a different
country, which probably stirred the pot of curiosity.
    “Come on Gwen.” He stood and
followed as she backed to the door. “I got ten bucks in the
pool.”
    The brass rod touched her center back. One push
and she’d be free. “What did you bet on?” she asked
with a grin she hoped remained friendly on her face.
    “Tasmania.”
    Gwen caught her breath. That had been her
choice, but at the last minute she’d changed her mind. Matt’s
smile widened as he watched her reaction. No reason to burst his
bubble, right? “You win.” She used her chin to indicate
the desk. “Your paper dolls are waiting.”
    “Really? I knew it!” He air punched
and she almost felt guilty. She ducked out the door without saying
more for fear of saying the truth.
    After her day in court and before the call from
her mother, Gwen had been wandering the campus that practically
defined her life, for what might possibly be the last time. She was
only six when her father had moved them to the quiet college town of
Oxford, Mississippi, to be a professor of archaeology. Gwen had sat
in on her father’s classes her entire life, accompanied him on
dig sites. She adored him … away from their home. When she’d
graduated high school, her academic career was already set. Then
she’d met John and everything changed.
    Knowing he was in Oxford this very minute
instead of seventy-five miles away in Memphis gave her goose bumps.
She walked quickly to the bus stop, the sound of her sandals on the
concrete heightened the feeling of being watched.
    The bus pulled up and she climbed in. “Hi,
Henry.” Without a vehicle, she relied on public transport as
her mode of transportation between school and the apartment she and
Maggie shared nearby.
    “I’m surprised to see you, Miss
Kramer … or should I say Dr. Kramer, now. Congratulations on
your graduation. I thought you were leaving today.” Henry
pulled the door of the bus closed and smiled to reveal the deep
wrinkles that came from a lifetime of smiling often.
    “Thank you. My flight leaves tonight.”
Gwen sat behind his seat and looked out the windows for the source of
the “being-watched” feeling. Nothing seemed ominous, but
the feeling persisted when she stepped off a few blocks from her
childhood home. She almost asked Henry to wait in case she needed a
witness. You’re a grown woman, Gwen. Because of her
school load, finding the time to take self-defense had been
impossible. Right now, she wished she had lifted it higher on her
list of to-dos.
    Henry waved goodbye as the bus accelerated from
the curb, billowing black smoke. After weeks in the hospital, Gwen
had hidden from John in a battered women’s shelter for a few
months. Then one day Martha had come to speak about legal protection,
etc. Gwen’s heart had raced in her chest as fear coursed
through her body, yet somehow she’d broached Martha afterward.
Martha had listened to Gwen’s brief, downplayed version of her
marriage and immediately taken Gwen’s case pro-bono.
    She pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her
shorts and dialed.
    “You’ve reached the voicemail of M.
Lacrosse. Please leave a message—” Gwen shut the phone
and gripped it in her hand. Most people had the single-digit speed
dials