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‘Yep, definitely.’ Her excitement was childlike.
He hadn’t seen her like this before, she was always so serious and pensive and contained.
‘Not entire creatures, these are parts of, or pieces of preserved fossils. Some of the shells and pinecones might be whole,’ she said.
‘Wow!’
‘Yes, wow. And there’s some connection to the house, I just haven’t worked that bit out yet. There are pebbles, fossils throughout the house, those ones on the back deck, for example. Peter from the antique store said the previous owner made silver jewellery. I’m convinced one piece I found is jewellery with the remnants of silver that’s worked away. He might have found these thinking they were opals and made them into jewellery.’
‘The old place has quite the history, then.’
‘Yes, it sure does.’ Ava couldn’t stop smiling.
‘Honestly, this is incredible. Imagine how many people have traipsed over this land and never seen a thing. Never suspected something of such importance lurking just beneath the surface.’
Ava stared at him then, deep down into his soul so that he could feel her energy and warmth as if it was beams lighting him up from the inside. She contemplated him, but he wasn’t sure what for.
‘Thank you,’ she finally said. ‘Thank you for listening. For not making light of it, for not making fun of my excitement or dismissing what I’ve found as pointless or as belonging in the past. Or’ —she pointed her gaze in the other direction, looking out over the hills and landscape— ‘as something that a woman shouldn’t be interested in or pursue. Preserving history is important to me. It always has been.’
He knew she wasn’t simply referring to these finds. He’d reacted this way because it was important to her. It didn’t mean much to him … unless it was important to her.
‘From the moment I met you, it was obvious that restoring the house properly and with elegance and justice to the time period was the right thing to do, and therefore that’s what you’d do. You care so deeply about everything: Duke, the dogs, the horses, local history and the relics you’ve found in the house.’ Now he was veering wildly off course and this wasn’t just about her passion for her job.
‘What now?’ he asked wanting to have his feet firmly back in safe territory. What had gotten into him?
‘Okay.’ Ava focused too, back into the present. ‘I have some experienced archaeologists coming out to confer with me, but in the meantime, I need to protect this specimen. Can you help me do that?’
‘You mean like a shelter or cover or something?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I have a marquee that I use if I’m working outside or for backyard barbeques, will that do?’
‘Oh, yeah, that’d be awesome. Is it pretty big?’
‘Yep, it’ll cover this entire space with room to move.’
Noah retrieved it from the tray of the truck and they worked silently to construct the cover. Ava considered their handiwork. ‘I don’t want to leave. It’s like having a newborn baby and not wanting to be parted.’
Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, ‘It’ll be fine. It’s your land for starters and no one comes out here. I’ve never seen this place before and I’ve pretty much seen every square inch of Bellethorpe.’
‘I’ve trumped you, then.’ They exchanged grins.
‘Let’s get back.’
‘Has Duke been okay?’
‘He’s been a champ. Loved getting dusty and dirty with the boys.’
Chapter Eighteen
Back at the house, Noah spoke to his team, checked on their progress and returned to the deck.
‘The kitchen looks amazing so far,’ Ava commented, admiring the work.
‘It’s coming up nicely. Those Tassie oak timber doors and benchtops were a great idea. I probably wouldn’t have chosen them myself, but they work.’
‘Thanks. Glad you like them.’ Ava’s fingers itched to start recording her findings of the fossil and arranging her photographs.
