Chapter Eight

Telling Ellie and Desire Ignites

That night, after Mike had drifted off to sleep on the living room couch, Ellie and Grant strolled up to the top of Site D overlooking most of the excavation.  As they sat in communal silence sipping their lemonade from canteens, Grant decided it was time to tell Ellie about Lisa.  He cleared his throat, removing his cowboy hat and twisting it around in his hands.  "I was married once."

Ellie gaped at him in shock.  She had heard rumors of Grant being involved long ago with a woman, but she hadn't paid any heed to them.  "What happened?"

Grant took a swing of the juice and wished it were alcohol.  "Her name was Lisa VanLori from California.  Her mother was a part-time actress, hence the last name.  Lisa never really knew her real family name, but VanLori was catching and intriguing so it didn't bother her much."  He sit the canteen down, more comfortable with holding his hat.  "We met in college and married a month after she turned twenty-three."

"How old were you?"

"Twenty-three.  I was only six months older than her."  His jaw clenched at the thought.  Lisa had gotten pregnant due to his gift the year they turned twenty-seven.  "She was eccentric and full of this…this…joyful energy.  She loved life with such a passion that everyone around her felt it, too."

Ellie smiled at the thought.  "She sounds like a lovely woman."

"Oh, she was very lovely.  Her smile could've prevented the ice age."  A small smile graced his mouth at the memory.  "Our marriage wasn't perfect.  It was rocky and full of flaws, but we always managed to pull through.  We even worked around her being a marine biologist and I being a paleontologist."  He stopped.  It hurt to go on.  He was suddenly regretting the decision of telling Ellie about Lisa.  He wished he could back out.

Ellie stroked his cheek.  "What happened, Alan?" she coaxed soothingly.

"Lisa got pregnant.  Her body couldn't adapt to the change and the doctors were forced to remove the three-month-old fetus."  He swallowed, trying to keep the anguish away.  "She grew weaker and incredibly more sick.  Near the end she suffered so horribly she could barely get of bed.  Yet, through it all she never showed negativity.  Three months after the abortion, on her twenty-seventh birthday, she asked me to carry her to the beach."  In response to her questioning look, he added:  "We were living in California at the time.  Anyway, I took her down and held her in my arms, sitting on the sand.  She told me she loved me, then, asked me to tell her about dinosaurs and birds.  While I talked, she turned peaceful and…passed away."

Tears poured out of her eyes and Ellie wrapped her arms around the man who meant so much to her.  "I'm so sorry, Alan.  I had no idea."  She caressed his face, ran her hands through his hair and down his back.  "I wish I could've met her.  She had to have been special to of had you.  You're a good man, Alan."

He gazed over at her and the electrical current erupted in bursts of tingly waves.  He traced the outline of her mouth with his eyes and she felt her entire body shutter.  She peered hungrily at his lips and had the dire urge to lean over and capture his mouth with hers.  God, I want him, she thought lustfully.  Her eyes flew back to his and searched his hazel depths and saw desire burning there.  She leaned forward, feeling his breath grazing her lips…

"Ellie!"

Ellie snapped back, her eyes wide and frantic.  Mike was coming up the slope, jiggling his keys.  "Ellie, here you are.  I was wondering you sneaked off to."  He glanced at Grant.  "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," Grant spoke softly.  He crawled to his feet, replacing his hat on his head and gave Mike a slight nod before making a gradual retreat.

Ellie stared after him, her mouth still yearning for the taste of his.

End Chapter Eight

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