Feeling like he’d slapped me, I turned to Kay. 

“Don’t mind Collin.  He’s got a lot on him mind,” she said.

“College?” I asked.  I knew how that felt.  Leaving my mom after all those years of just the two of us was hard.  I worried about her.  She had been so proud as my acceptance letters rolled in but I knew she really wanted me to stay close.  She never said a word though as I pondered my options.

“Sort of, but there’s a lot going on at…work right now,” Kay answered. 

“Oh?  Where does he work?”  I found it easier to ask Kay questions about Collin rather than him directly.  Kay glanced around the room as though it might give her an answer.

“He works for the tribe, doing this or that for them.”

I got the definite feeling that wasn’t the full story but it really wasn’t any of my business. 

“So did he go to work?” I asked.  I still had to get back to school and had no idea if I could get a taxi to come all the way out here to pick me up.  I also needed to call a tow truck to take care of my car.  I searched the room for a phone but didn’t see one.  Surely they had some way of calling out.

“Oh, no,” Kay said, smiling.  “He went to go find your car and see if he can get it running again.  Do you have any idea what’s wrong with it?”

I gaped at her, shocked at the kindness these complete strangers were showing me.  “It’s just a flat tire.  I actually got two.  I changed it the first time but then the spare went flat too.”

“Oh good.  That’ll be an easy fix then.”  Kay stood and began to clear the table.  As she filled the sink with soapy water I got up to help.  It was the least I could do after everything they’d done. 

“Go sit back down young lady.  I’m not the one who got sun sick,” Kay said, shooing me away.  I sat back down at the table and watched, feeling like a complete slacker.  She bustled around the tiny kitchen, her plump form never seemed to pause; wiping a counter here, washing a glass there.  Once she was done, she sat beside me again.

I opened my mouth to ask what she did but before I could say anything the front door slammed open and Collin stormed in.  His lips twisted into a scowl and his eyes were stormy as he rushed to the table.  He held something gray and rectangular in his hands which he shoved in my face.

“Where did you get this?”  Collin’s voice hissed through gritted teeth.  I blinked, backing up, and looked at the item.  It was my class binder.  Everyone in the program had an identical one.  It was opened to the section of recovered artifacts.

“My professor.  He gave all of us one,” I finally answered.  I peered up at him and flinched as he threw the binder on the table.  Though anger was on the surface I caught a hint of fear in his eyes.  His fists shook at his sides. 

“Why?”  I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.  His reaction scared me.  It was just a book.

He ignored my question and flipped the binder open.  “Where did you find this?”  He pointed to picture of an intricately painted, black and white jar. 

“I didn’t.  Someone else did.”  I said.  My pulse began to race and I felt cold trickle down my spine.  I recognized the piece in the picture.  I should…I’d broken it the day before.  Trying to keep my face blank, I pointed to the annotation below the photo.  “See, it says here that it was found in room 297 at Chaco Canyon a few weeks ago.”

I wanted to ask why he was so interested in it but was terrified it would come out that I had done something to it.

He jabbed an accusing finger at the photo.  “Was it broken?”

My eyes widened.  No one knows about that…I shrugged.  I truly had no way of knowing if it had been damaged before my accident and I wasn’t about to admit to a total stranger what had happened.  “I don’t know.”

He grabbed my upper arms and shook me.  Not enough to hurt but it certainly got my attention.

 “What are you doing here?”  He stared at me and I felt like he could see everything.  I couldn’t seem to pull my gaze away.  His inky eyes reflected my own face back to me, like I was somehow becoming part of him.  It freaked me out and I struggled against his grip.

“Collin, let go!” Kay said, fire in her eyes. 

He dropped my arms but the connection didn’t go away.  He crossed his arms across his chest and I wondered if he could feel it too. This was getting ridiculous and I decided I’d had enough.  Even if I did break the stupid jar, it had nothing to do with him. 

Crossing my arms as well, I said, “I already told you.  I’m here for a summer program.”

Collin shook his head, his eyes narrowing.  He gestured around the room.  “I mean, here.”

“I don’t know!  You’re the one who brought me here!  You tell me.”  My voice grew louder with each sentence.  Who does he think he is, the Spanish Inquisition?

His voice, in contrast to mine, went soft.  It terrified me more than the yelling.  “Well excuse me for not leaving you unconscious on the side of the road.  I didn’t realize I’d brought a witch home.”   

What did he just call me?  I opened my mouth to let him have it.  Kay stood and put a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s enough Collin, leave the poor girl alone,” she said.  He scowled at her for a second and stomped off into another room.  She turned to me, her eyes apologetic. 

I stared after Collin, outraged.  What did I do to him?

 “I’m sorry.  My grandson is kind of superstitious,” Kay explained, as though that made up for his behavior.

I nodded stiffly.  I’d heard of people like that, but her explanation felt off.  He hadn’t reacted that way when I talked about archeology and wasn’t all archeology technically the same?  Or was it just things related to his tribe?  Surely not…so what was it about that jar that set him off? 

I snatched my binder off the table and headed back into the bedroom.  My bag was the only thing I’d brought with me so I stuffed the binder in and pulled out my wallet.  I had no idea how much it would have cost to get a tow truck out this far but I knew it wouldn’t have been cheap.  I scanned the contents.  All I had was a twenty and a five.  Unless they accepted debit card it was going to be merely a token of appreciation. 

It wasn’t much but that was all I had on me.  A floorboard squeaked and I saw Kay standing at the door.  I held out the bills and she shook her head, her lips pressed into a tight line.

“It’s the least I can do for all you’ve done for me.  I wish it was more.  If nothing else, it should cover the flat repair,” I said and pressed the money into her hand.  She smiled faintly and slipped it into her pocket.   

I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed to the front door.  I peeked out the window next to it, expecting to see my dusty, red Sunfire.  The only vehicle was Collin’s pickup. 

“Collin can drive you to your car,” Kay said. 

Conflicting emotions warred in my head.  I didn’t want any more to do with Collin after my reaction to him and his explosion, but how else could I get home?  I started to ask if she couldn’t drive me but she beat me to it. 

“I’d drive you but I don’t have a license.”

Well that put an end to that idea.

“No problem,” I replied hitching a smile across my face.  “Thanks again.”  I headed back to the truck.  As I slid into the passenger seat I heard the house door crash open.  Collin stalked into view, a scowl still on his face.  He jumped in without giving me a second glance.  I got the feeling that he would have rather walk barefoot across a field of cactus than be stuck with me in such confined spaces.

I waved at Kay and we headed down the long driveway.  I sighed as Collin turned onto the road.  We drove for quite a ways before my car came into view.  The real tire was back where it belonged.

“You walked quite a ways yesterday.”  His voice was soft and I got the feeling this was his way of apologizing.

I didn’t answer him, not quite ready to forgive and forget.

He slowed down and came to a stop across the street from the car.  My hand wrapped around the door handle.  No matter his odd behavior, I couldn’t leave without thanking him.  I put a hand on his arm to get his attention.  He glanced down at it then up at me.  His eyes weren’t near as stormy as they’d been and I took that as a good sign.

“Thank you.  I don’t know what would have happened to me if you hadn’t shown up,” I said, trying to put as much sincerity in the words as I could, despite my irritation at the whole situation.  After all, they’d gone to a lot of trouble to help me out.

His eyes darkened.  “I do.” 

I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.  He stayed until I’d started the car and pulled onto the road, still puzzled at his reaction to me.