Goddess by Kelee Morris Read Free Book Online

through my head, I needed to get out of the house for a while. Van, dressed in sweats, stood next to me as we watched CC cavort happily on the beach, racing back and forth with the other hounds that eagerly chased balls thrown for them. CC was never much of a retriever, which suited me fine. I wasn’t much of a thrower.
    “Why not take it?” Van asked, offering me a sip of her coffee. She looked amazing as always, a baseball cap pulled tightly over her head against the wind, her face perfect without makeup.
    “For one thing, they haven’t offered it to me. And it just seems strange. How did Nina know that I’d done translation work?”
    “You posted your resume online for the world to see.”
    “Not the archeological world.”
    Van frowned at me. “Maybe you told someone at the party.”
    “I do find myself quoting Don Quixote at odd moments. But there has to be more qualified people than me.”
    “Not desperate enough to work for grad student wages. Besides, she knows you, she likes you, and you live close by.”
    “Your logic is beginning to annoy me.”
    “As is your intransigence. I don’t think it’s the job that’s bothering you.”
    “What is it then?”
    “Ashland Stewart.”
    I gazed out at the gray water. It reminded me of my initial reaction to him—brusque and off-putting, but at the same time, mesmerizing. “This has nothing to do with him.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “You’ve avoided talking about him since that night you met. You can’t blame a gal for wondering if something more went on in his office.”
    I tried to hand Van back her cup but she shook her head. She could see how much I needed the jolt of warmth. “I hate to disappoint, but my tattoo and I didn’t exactly knock his socks off.”
    “You must have done something to impress him or Nina. Who knows, maybe this is a chance to solve the mystery of your tattoo.”
    CC ran up to me again, eager for another small token of affection on his wet fur. “Don’t get your hopes up. The answer is probably going to be a lot less exciting than an Indiana Jones movie.”
    ~*~
    The archeology department was housed in a long, three-story brick building covered in vines that wrapped themselves around its tall, arched windows. It was how I imagined college would look when I was young, not the enormous, modern, concrete structures that had taken over most of the campus.
    I mounted the cracked steps that reminded me of Dr. Stewart’s front porch and pushed open one of the building’s enormous wooden doors. Inside, ugly florescent fixtures hung from tall ceilings. The broad wooden staircase was worn gray from countless shoes. As I climbed, my footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell.
    When I reached the second floor, I could hear a class in session. Glancing in, I saw Thomas Cheng at the front of the room, lecturing to unseen students. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he appeared much more animated than the reserved young man I met at the party.
    I ventured further down the empty hallway until I found room 210. The door was open. Nina sat behind a modest desk covered in neat stacks of papers. She looked up and smiled warmly. It was only when I stepped inside her narrow office that I realized Dr. Stewart was also there, sitting off to her side on a wide windowsill. He seemed to be hanging back, as if he didn’t want to be involved in this conversation.
    Nina rose to greet me. “Thank you for coming.”
    “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Nelson,” Dr. Stewart said, his voice neutral. Our eyes met briefly, but then he turned to Nina. I sensed that something had changed since the last time I saw him. He seemed on edge, like a skater after a hard fall. I wondered if there had been bad news from the North Koreans.
    Nina offered me a seat and poured me a cup of green tea from a heavy iron kettle as we exchanged pleasantries. Dr. Stewart sat quietly in the background. I thought I could feel his