Excerpt of Riley by Liliana Hart

Chapter One

Riley MacKenzie wrapped his scarf around his neck, slipped on thick leather gloves, shrugged on his heavy wool coat and pulled his fleece-lined toboggan down low over his ears. He grabbed his worn leather satchel—ignoring the stack of books that slid off the chair and onto the floor—and didn’t spare a second glance at his overly cramped, disorganized office. In fact, he slammed the door behind him and locked it with what might be misconstrued as glee.

School was out for winter break. Finals had been taken. Grades had been given. And he was a free man until January. Well, almost free. He still had one thing to do before he could go home to Surrender, Montana and spend the holidays with his family.

He had no idea why he’d agreed to meet Margaret Lawrence, other than the fact he was simply curious. Not about the woman. She’d told him in her email she was the director for the Library of Antiquities in Washington, which in his opinion meant she was nothing more than a highly paid babysitter to dusty relics.

He figured by the terse and direct tone of her email that she was probably a relic herself. Deep lines would be carved into her face from the perpetual scowl she probably used to chase away those who lingered in her hallowed halls too long. But old Mags didn’t concern him in the least. What she had in her possession did.

She’d been very withholding of information in her emails other than to tell him her colleague, Dr. Jonathon Scott, had recommended Riley to her. Since Riley was considered an expert in Egyptian Artifacts and he was friends with Jon Scott, he could only assume she wanted him to identify something for her.

Her email had said it was urgent, and the tingles of excitement that ran up and down his spine told him she had something he was going to be very interested in. It was the same feeling he got just before he unearthed a priceless treasure while on a dig.

The cold Montana wind slapped against his face as he left the Archaeology Building at Declan College and headed to the faculty parking lot. The smell of snow was heavy in the air, and he hoped he could satisfy Ms. Lawrence’s curiosity and get home before it started. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped in a blizzard.

It was already as black as pitch outside, though it was barely six o’clock in the evening. No stars blinked in the sky and the moon was just a hazy glow behind the thick snow clouds. Riley unlocked his dusty 4x4 and slid in, tossing his bag to the back. The engine coughed and sputtered as it warmed up, and he turned the stereo up to teeth shaking volume in hopes it would get his mind off the cold.

Margaret had agreed to come to him. She’d seemed desperate behind her written attempt of vibrato, which would have made a normal person hesitate before going into the meeting, but his curiosity and excitement had overridden his internal warnings. Not that throwing caution to the wind was anything new for him. Of the four MacKenzie brothers, he was known as the most reckless.

He headed in the opposite direction of Surrender, to a little coffee shop just down the road. Myrna Springs was a small college town, and Declan College was its main means of support. Riley loved teaching there—as much as he was able to love teaching. He’d much rather be on constant digs and delving into piles of research and writing academic papers that would get him noticed by colleagues all over the world. But something had to pay the bills.

Declan College was a private school with a well-funded endowment, good pay and some of the best professors the country had to offer. He was close to home, his class schedule was full but manageable, he was dean of the archaeology department and he had plenty of time to work on his research papers and plan his next dig. So he wasn’t complaining.

The parking lot in front of The Coffee House was mostly deserted except for a smattering of a few cars. No doubt everyone was at home getting ready for the storm. He pushed through the glass door and a warm rush of heat greeted him. He stuck his hat and gloves in his pockets and hung his coat and scarf up on the rack by the door.

The interior was suited to the college crowd. Art deco posters framed with thick black wood hung on light colored walls. The lighting was dim and cozy. Overstuffed red chairs sat grouped around a coffee table in the corner, and a fireplace tiled with hunter green marble took up a good bit of the back wall. Riley found a booth closest to the fireplace, taking a moment to warm his hands in front of the fire.

“Hey, Dr. MacKenzie,” Tyler Whidbey said from behind the counter. Tyler had been one of his intro archaeology students last spring. “I’ll have coffee out for you in just a second. Do you want food?”

“You bet, Tyler. Thanks. I haven’t had a chance to eat today. Whatever you’ve got handy is fine.”

“Good,” he said with obvious relief. “The manager closed the kitchen about an hour ago, so all we’ve got is stew on the stove and some bread.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Riley looked at his watch and frowned as he saw Ms. Lawrence was late. If she wasn’t there by the time he finished his meal, she’d have to find another expert or come all the way to Surrender. Spending the holidays with his family was the one thing he never missed.