Chapter One

Nancy sat at a table, the top littered with pottery, jewelry, and other artifacts. Music blared through her earbuds from her Mp3 player, drowning out any other sound around her. She was carefully labeling a bowl when a hand lightly touched her shoulder, causing her to jump. Quickly pulling her ear buds out, Nancy turned to the source of the hand.

"Dean!" she cried, slapping the handsome young man standing beside her, a grin etched on his tan face. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"That was the intention, Nancy!" laughed Dean Arias, his peculiar grey eyes gleaming with enjoyment. His blond hair and tanned and toned body made for something to look at though Nancy tried not to notice. "Why are you sitting here by yourself anyway? The professor sent everyone home an hour ago."

"I was finishing something off," Nancy explained, throwing her pen onto the table after capping it. She rubbed her eyes then yawned. "You don't know me well enough to know that I that hate leaving when I'm in the middle of something."

"You've only been here a few weeks, Nancy," Dean smiled brightly, "and you really haven't made yourself known to the others. I don't think any of us can get to know you if you're not talking to us. I know I'm only speaking for myself when I say that I would like to get to know you better."

Nancy turned away to hide the blush that warmed her face. It had been a long time since someone gave her a compliment. But, even though Dean was really nice and sweet (and really cute, for that matter!), she knew she wasn't really ready for any kind of relationship just yet. In fact, she kept to herself because of what happened between her and Ned (and Frank too) causing her to be quite a mystery among the other volunteers and students helping Professor Marcus Windham with the cataloguing of the artifacts that were found in a dig weeks before. Although Ned stopped calling, Frank still called once or twice a week to see if she was okay even though she didn't answer it. Nancy knew he cared but it hurt what he said to her weeks before, or didn't say for that matter. But still…

"Hey, princess," Dean replied, interrupting her thoughts. Nancy didn't realize it until she looked up at him that she had a smile on her face. For some reason, her trip to Egypt so many years ago suddenly popped into her head and the smile soon came to her face. Thinking that the smile was for him, Dean grinned then wrapped his arm around Nancy's shoulders. "How's bout we grab a bite to eat? My treat."

As if to answer her thoughts, Nancy's cell phone rang and Frank's number came up once more. His weekly phone call could have had better timing. If Dean wasn't standing before her, she might have had the courage to actually talk to Frank. Torn, Nancy sighed and continued to stare at the phone until the ringing stopped.

"Hey, if you need to answer that, I'm fine with…"

"Sure," Nancy stopped him and put her phone away. Dean smiled broadly. "Let's go. But only as friends."

"Only as friends," Dean held up his hands in agreement though Nancy could tell that his excitement was overflowing. "We'll go to a burger joint nearby…unless you want a salad or something, I don't know."

She gave him a quizzical look that instantly made him regret his words. He cleared his throat held the door open for her as they left the museum.

"Stupid, stupid," he mumbled behind her, making her smile at his foolishness. Maybe the night wasn't going to be too bad after all.

The night proved to be better than Nancy anticipated. Dean was a real gentleman with a lot of the same interests as she did with the exception of one thing: her love of mysteries. Nancy wanted to keep that to herself for the moment since most of her cases involved the two people she wanted to forget about at the moment. She wanted to make sure that her thoughts didn't drift to either one of them so, the two talked about movies, books, and music. Dean though had trouble with more recent films than with classics from the 80s and 90s.

"What's it like in Chicago or your family? You haven't really talked about anything other than your interests," Dean suddenly said just after their entrees were set before them.

Nancy took a bite quickly and chewed slowly, thinking of something to say. She wanted to keep her promise about not thinking about certain people and if she talked about her cases, she would be tempted to break the promise.

"Well, it's just me and my dad," she said after she swallowed. Nancy went on to explain what happened to her mother when she was a child and about Hannah. She spoke about her two best friends, Bess and George who she said were probably going nuts not having her around.

"What about a boyfriend?" Dean asked slowly. Nancy blinked at him then continued to eat her food, ignoring the question. "Okay, I get it. Touchy subject. My social life isn't that great either. Girls don't seem to flock to a guy who travels a lot on digs and talks incessantly about finding the latest clay pot or burial site."

"I don't understand," Nancy said blankly.

"Huh?"

"I mean…you're…"Nancy blushed and took another bite of her pasta.

"Good-looking," Dean snickered as Nancy turned even redder. He joked by twiddling with his hair. "Yes, I'm just such a handsome guy. The ladies should be flocking to me, right?"

Nancy laughed, almost choking on her food as he pretended to pamper himself.

"Don't get me wrong, I do date women," Dean said innocently. "But I like women of high intellect even though I still have a tendency of being shy to those types. Hence the reason why it took me so long to ask you out."

Nancy stared at him, shocked by his words. She wasn't considering their night together as a date even though he offered to buy dinner and they were talking as if they were on one. Taking a sip of her iced tea, thought it better to switch gears and change the subject.

"Professor Windham seems like a good man," Nancy replied. "You two are almost like a father and son duo."

"The professor has always been my mentor ever since I was an undergraduate," Dean stated. "He's a great man with a kind heart for those who need it. He opens his door to anyone who has a problem even if it doesn't involve his class. He's also funny."

"How so?"

"There was this one time," Dean snorted in laughter, "he played a practical joke on his students. He replaced an artifact from the Mayan civilization with that of a fake alien tiki. Someone actually catalogued it and began spreading a rumor that the Mayans worshipped aliens."

Although Nancy felt the joke was a little stale, she politely laughed and smiled. She realized it had been a while since she felt so at ease and her smile got bigger. Looking to Dean, Nancy thought that maybe she could be happy with someone like him. No worries of mysteries and danger, just the ability to have a fun conversation. But her thoughts soon went dark as Ned's face loomed in her mind. He had broken her heart so badly that she didn't want to be with another man for a while anyway. Besides, there was something about Dean that made him the opposite of Nancy's type. Sure, he was handsome and sweet but his blonde hair kind of turned her off, as it were. She was more into the tall, dark, and handsome like Ned or…Frank Hardy. But those strange grey eyes

"Why?" Nancy mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and hitting herself on the head.

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, concerned that he said something wrong.

"What? Oh," Nancy said, shaking her head. She smiled sheepishly. "It's nothing. Just a thought that I told myself not to have."

"Oh?" Dean's eyebrows rose in interest. "Well, we have been here for a while and although I know a lot of what you are interested in, I still have no clue as to who you are. There must be something more to Nancy Drew than just being from Chicago with your father and housekeeper."

"Nope," Nancy lied with a fake smile and a shake of her head. "I'm just a boring person at heart. Nothing exciting. So, do you want to split a dessert?"

Dean knew she was hiding something but he didn't want to press the issue. She was a nice girl and he didn't want to blow any possible future with her by trying to poke into her past, whatever it was. Besides, who could turn down sharing a dessert with a beautiful woman like her?

A few moments later, the pair indulged themselves on a piece of a decadent chocolate cake. Dean watched as Nancy took a bite of the cake, her intense blue eyes closing in delight. He had never met a woman quite like her before. She was mysterious, intelligent, and gorgeous, three things that intrigued him about her.

After Dean paid for their bill, much to Nancy's resistance, the pair left the restaurant for the warm, Arizona air even though fall was closing in. They walked in silence with Nancy taking in the sights around her and Dean taking in the sights of her. He wanted to know all about her. There was a reason why she didn't want to tell him about herself but he didn't care. He wanted to get to know her.

As they stepped up to the house where Nancy was staying, she turned toward him and smiled.

"Thank you for a lovely evening," she replied, pulling out her keys. "You were right. I needed to get out of the museum."

"My pleasure, Nancy," Dean smiled back. He leaned toward her slightly as if to kiss her but she cleared her throat and turned. Not what Dean expected or wanted but he stepped back, abiding her obvious wish. "We should do this again sometime," he added as he stepped off the porch.

Nancy turned back to him, smiling an almost sad smile. "Maybe," was all she said before wishing him good night. Although the night seemed to go well, Dean felt that it didn't go the way he thought it would. Not that he expected much but a kiss would have been nice. Still, he had a nice time with the mysterious Nancy Drew.

As he walked back to his own apartment, he wondered about her, about who she really was. He stopped at a coffee shop and, out of curiosity and over a cup of coffee, Dean opened the browser on his phone. He typed in her name and Chicago, then waited for his answer. What he got wasn't what he expected. Articles upon articles popped up about the famous Nancy Drew, girl detective. He couldn't believe everything she had done and the places she'd seen. He also didn't understand why she didn't want to tell him about her past. It was something to be proud of, not to keep to oneself. Then Dean saw an article about the engagement between her and a man named Ned. Although he didn't remember her ever wearing an engagement ring, Dean shook with the realization that he virtually had no chance with her. What he didn't notice the date of the article nor another article from the previous week about Ned being wanted by the police.

Downtrodden with the news, Dean sighed, turned off his phone, and went home. Plopping down on his couch, he channel-surfed for a few minutes before turning the TV off and thought about his evening with Nancy. It was a good evening and he still felt he had a chance with her even if she was engaged. His thoughts soon turned to him sweeping her off her feet and away from the dead-end marriage that she could possibly face with this Ned guy. He soon fell asleep, continuing to dream of the beautiful red-head and her mysterious yet exciting past.

Nancy closed the door quickly, trying to put as much distance between her and Dean. He surprised her when he tried to kiss her but Nancy didn't feel that way about Dean. She couldn't understand what he saw in her anyway except for maybe the fact that she had some of the same interests as him. Or maybe it was because she was intelligent, she didn't know. What Nancy did know what that all it would take for him to find out about her would be for him to Google her name. Why did she keep it to herself anyway?

"Nancy?" called a voice from the kitchen. "Is that you, dear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Turner," Nancy called, making her way down the hall toward the kitchen. "Sorry I'm late coming home."

"Oh, no worries, dear," a kindly, older lady replied from behind the counter. Mrs. Turner was a widow who owned the house Nancy was staying in and was a part of the museum board of trustees. When volunteers or new employees needed a place to stay for a short time, Mrs. Turner would open her home to them, free of charge. She reminded Nancy of Hannah Gruen, the Drew's housekeeper. "How was your evening?"

"It was nice," Nancy smiled. "As you could see from the front window."

"Ah, you are too good to not notice that," Mrs. Turner laughed. She began cutting up the vegetables she was washing when Nancy entered the room. Nancy walked over and sat in one of the chairs at the island across from Mrs. Turner. "I guess that comes with your line of work back home, huh?"

"Sort of," Nancy replied, taking a slice of cucumber and popping it in her mouth. "Hannah or my dad would do that to me every so often. Then they'd rush back to the kitchen or den to make it look like they weren't paying attention. I've caught Dad several times with the newspaper upside down."

"Oh, they're just making sure you're okay, Nancy," Mrs. Turner smiled. "Just like I am. That Dean is a nice boy though. Why did you…"

"Turn away?" Nancy got quiet, staring at her hands. She wondered why herself. "It's too much right now. Ned just...and…and I'm just not ready for another relationship. It's not why I stayed in Arizona. I wanted to help the professor with his work."

"And you have done so well while you've been here, dear," Mrs. Turner gently replied. "Marcus speaks very highly of you and your work ethic. As for finding the time for a social life, that's up to you. Your heart is your own and you'll know when it's time for you to move on. Plus I think that there's someone else out there that you're not telling me about."

"You are such a scandal, Mrs. Turner!" Nancy cried.

"I try," the older lady laughed. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Absolutely."

After the tea steeped and was poured into mugs, the two women sat down together at the small kitchen table. Nancy told Mrs. Turner about her evening all the way up to the doorstep, since the older lady already knew what went on there.

"I just feel sometimes that this is not where I should be," Nancy said. "And then I think I'm in the right place. I don't know how it is when I'm thinking one thing one day and then the opposite the next. You're right, though. Dean is so sweet but I've been keeping to myself and avoiding the others for two weeks. I just wanted to think things through before getting to know anyone."

"Like I said, your heart will tell you what you need to do when the time is right," Mrs. Turner replied, taking a sip of tea. "If you don't feel like you should be here, then maybe it's time to go home."

"I like what I'm doing though," Nancy confessed. "It's fascinating but…"

"Boring?"

"Well, yeah," she shrugged. "It's a far cry from being a private investigator."

"Yes, so maybe you need a mystery to get you through it." Mrs. Turner took another sip of her tea and raised her eyebrow, waiting for Nancy to answer her.

"I'm done with mysteries for a while," Nancy replied after a brief silence. "I like what I'm doing now."

"Keep telling yourself that, dear," Mrs. Turner smiled. The two women spent another five minutes in silence, each one finishing their tea. The old woman turned to Nancy once the mugs were in the sink. "Think about it long and hard, Nancy. You have your whole life ahead of you and you have your family and friends back in Chicago waiting for you to come home. Are you sure you're ready to give them up for us?"

"Have you been talking to my dad or something?"

"No but I'm sure he'd tell you the same thing...or has he done that already?"

"I'll think about it, Mrs. Turner," she answered, ignoring the question. The pros and cons were already rushing through her mind as she said good night to her host.

After getting ready for bed, Nancy was shocked to see that the time was well after midnight. She wouldn't be getting up as early as she wanted to in the morning but then again, she had a lot on her mind to go through. Trying to clear her head, Nancy closed her eyes and prayed for a good night's rest. She knew that she needed to make a decision in the near future as to what she wanted to do but also knew that there was only one way she could make the decision. She had to go home.

Author's Note:

I know this sounds like the start of a romance novel or something but I do intend to get it going in the coming chapters. Many thanks to everyone who read the prologue and especially to max2013 for leaving the review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review. Later.