Raiders of the Lost Heart(85)

“You should eat with us,” Sunny said.

“Nah, I’m good,” he said, waving it off. “Trying to get paperwork done since we’re wrapping up in a few days.”

Corrie cocked her head at him. Of course it was a bogus excuse. Ford was meticulous about staying current on paperwork. The only thing he had to do to wrap things up was pack his bags.

“Aw, come on. I haven’t talked to you in days,” Ethan said. “And we’re all going home soon. It’ll be months before we’re all together again.”

Ford looked at Corrie. No, they’d never all be together again. As she’d already acknowledged, he’d never see her after they left the jungle.

But where he expected to see daggers in her eyes, or at least a warning to stay away, there were the sweet brown eyes he’d fallen in love with so many times.

“I’ve gotta go shower. See you at dinner, Ford,” she said before finally walking away.

* * *

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Ford’s mouth hurt from smiling. The stories about what everyone planned to do once they got home ranged from the practical—planning to take a nice long, hot shower and sleep for a solid day in a real bed—to the downright hysterical—booking a trip to the ice hotel in Sweden to recover from the sweltering Mexican heat. Around the table, they told their stories. Laughing. Teasing. Joking about returning to real life. It was definitely better than eating alone in his tent and wallowing in his own pity.

“Your turn, Ethan,” one of the interns said.

Ethan tipped back his head, looking toward the tent ceiling as he twisted his face in thought. “Hmm . . . well . . . I’ll go to the movies. Pig out on popcorn. Recline in a plush chair. Bask in the air-conditioning. Who knows, I might even watch the movie.”

Imagine that. So much of them returning home had more to do with the mundane than anything else.

“What about you, Dr. Mejía?” Sunny asked.

The pace of Ford’s heart picked up. A glimpse into Corrie. A glimpse into her thoughts over the last few days.

“Me? Oh, I don’t know,” she said, pushing her food around on her plate with her fork.

So much for that glimpse.

“Oh, come on, you have to have something in mind,” Ethan said.

“Well, I was sort of thinking of taking a sabbatical,” she said, briefly glancing at Ford. “I don’t know, though. I need a break.”

“Corrie Mejía knows how to take breaks?” Ethan said with a smile.

“I don’t,” she said with a laugh. “But maybe it’s time I try something new.”

Something new. Ford wanted to smack himself for everything he’d caused, because if it weren’t for his dickhead moves, a relationship with him could be her something new.

But now Corrie would find someone new.

The thought of her with someone else sent a wave of nausea over him. Picturing her laughing with that hee-haw boom in another man’s arms. Twisting her delicate fingers through another man’s tresses. Carrying on in her badassery but returning home and giving her warmth to someone else.

He had no right to be jealous. And no right to be hurt. But damn . . . what he wouldn’t give to take it all back.

“How about you, Dr. Matthews?” Sunny asked. The question snapped Ford out of his daydreaming. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get back?”

That was easy.

“Visit my mom.”

He’d tell her everything. Everything about how he’d gotten the money. About Corrie. And then he’d ask for her forgiveness. All these years he’d been so angry at his father and promised his mother that he’d never become him. Spent countless hours furious that his father could do that to his mother—leave her penniless, all for his own selfish reasons. Yet there Ford was, falling right into his father’s footsteps and swindling the woman he loved to get what he wanted.

“My mom wishes I’d put visiting her on my list,” one of the guys said.

“Please. Dr. Matthews is probably trying to impress the ladies, right Dr. Matthews?” Mateo joked.

A sarcastic laugh resounded in Ford’s head. “Me highlighting the fact that I’m a mama’s boy isn’t all that impressive,” he responded. Nothing like reminding Corrie of how he’d screwed her over for his mother’s sake.

“Well, it’s sweet,” Sunny said with a smile.

“What about you, Dr. Mejía?” Gabriel asked. “Do women eat that up when a man openly expresses how much he loves his mom? I need to know if I should be taking notes.”

Why? Why did they have to poke the beast? The proverbial elephant in the room. The guys were only joking, having gotten comfortable with such banter at camp. They were all more like family than students, teachers, and coworkers. The only sign that they recognized boundaries at all was the fact that still, after four months, they called him Dr. Matthews.

“Well . . .” she started, seizing Ford’s attention, “there’s no shame in admitting that, no matter who you are. If my mother were still alive, I’d want to see her, too.” A hint of sadness twinkled in her eye.

“Though I don’t think Dr. Matthews said that to impress anyone,” she continued. “He loves his mom and would do anything for her. At least he stands by something. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still need to log some items from today’s dig before I forget.”