The Stolen Bones Read Free

to help.”
    Kyle shrugged. “I’m sure it’s nothing. The bones will turn up.” His unhappy face didn’t match his confident words.
    Steffi smiled at us and held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Steffi.” She barely came up to my shoulder but she had a strong handshake and moved like a gymnast.
    “Steffi is my assistant here,” Kyle said.
    “You’re a paleontologist?” I asked. She looked only a couple of years older than us.
    “I’m a student, working toward my master’s degree. So is Tom.”
    The young man managed a smile and shook hands. He was medium height and medium build, with brown hair and tan skin. Bess glanced between him and Kyle, and I could almost see her mind working. Tom wasn’t bad-looking, but Kyle was definitely Bess’s type, with close-cropped blond hair and a strong jaw. I smiled. Bess could have her pick; I was perfectly happy with my boyfriend Ned back home.
    Kyle turned toward the fire. “Come meet the rest of the team.”
    We joined the cozy circle. A man shifted with a groan, getting ready to rise. I said, “Please, you don’t have to get up. You must have all had a long day.”
    “Thanks,” the man said. “I think my leg muscles have seized up. Kyle, next time why don’t you get a hot tub out here?”
    Kyle smiled. “That’s Grayson. This is his first time with us.”
    “Hi, Grayson,” I said. He was an older man, with white hair, but he looked like he was in pretty good shape despite his complaints.
    The woman next to him gave a small wave. She was about forty, with silvery blond hair that hung over her shoulder in a thick braid. “I’m Abby. They’ll tell you I’m the flaky one.”
    “We’ve never said that,” Grayson protested. “At least not within your range of hearing!”
    Abby just laughed. “Don’t worry; I’m used to it.”
    “I’m Russell,” the next man said. He was probably in his fifties, with a stocky build and a thick brown beard. “Just another volunteer here. I’ve gone on these digs all around the country, but this is my first time with this group.”
    “Russell really knows his bones,” Kyle said. “Someof our volunteers know more than Steffi and I do. And that brings us to Felix.”
    The last one of the group stood up, despite my protest. He was easily the oldest person there, perhaps over seventy, with hunched shoulders but a firm handshake.
    “Felix has been coming to these digs for almost forty years,” Kyle said. “What he doesn’t know about fossils probably isn’t worth knowing.”
    “I don’t have any formal training,” Felix said. “I’m just an interested amateur, but I’ve been around a long time. Unfortunately, I can’t dig anymore, with my bad heart. But they let me come along anyway. Now I’m the camp cook.” He grinned around at all of us. “Speaking of which, who’s ready for dinner?”
    Bess, George, and I had gotten a warm enough welcome, but everyone greeted food with cheers. Felix dished out sloppy joes, the thick meat sauce spilling over hamburger buns. Steffi offered sodas from a big cooler. Then she and Kyle sat together on the cooler and gave us their chairs. Tom insisted that Bess take his chair, and he sat cross-legged on the ground.
    “This place is dangerous,” Bess said, eyeing her plate. She usually tries to be careful about what she eats.
    George shoveled food into her mouth. “You’ll work it off tomorrow.”
    Steffi laughed. “It’s not health food, but after a long day of work, nothing beats Felix’s culinary creations. We’re lucky. On most digs the volunteers have to bring and fix their own food. This is a real treat!”
    Felix gave a dismissive wave. “So who’s ready for seconds?”
    I was stuffed after firsts, but everyone who’d been working that day went back for more. I studied their faces, reminding myself of the names. It seemed like a nice bunch, and they teased one another like old friends. Even the first-timers had had two days to get to know each other.
    When everyone