Carved in Stone Read Online Free Page A

foremost is a poster, one of an eagle in flight. I have it framed in my office, and I’ve always been struck by not only the clarity of the picture but the vitality as well.”
    Warming to his subject, Nathan allowed himself to relax a little, but he couldn’t ignore the contemplative look in her sea-blue eyes. “You’ve probably seen the photo I’m talking about.” He matched her direct look. “Your dad caught the eagle just as it started its dive. You can tell whatever it sees has definitely met its match. There’s such pride in those eyes, so much life. The photographer couldn’t have taken a better shot. It’s unbelievable.”
    “Thank you, Dr. Murdock. I’ll take that compliment, since I’m the photographer who took the picture. I understand it’s not up to par with the photos of little children on their mommies’ laps, but I’m quite proud of it.” She took another long sip of coffee, but her gaze never left his.
    “I’m supposed to believe that shot is yours?” Nate snorted his disbelief. He realized immediately from the flash of angry pride in her blue eyes how insulting he sounded. “Prove it,” he said, beginning to regret his sarcasm.
    “Believe it whether you want to or not, Dr. Murdock. I don’t have to prove anything to you. I know I’m good and, like I said, I have a contract with your signature on it. Whether you want me or not, you’ve got me. Either that or you’ve got one hell of a sexual discrimination lawsuit. The head of the department of one of California’s premier universities turning down a highly qualified photographer because of her gender? After signing the contract? You really don’t want that, do you?” Tossing her hair back out of her eyes, she silently dared him.
    Nate sensed the vulnerability in her proud stare, an unguarded moment of pain that quickly disappeared behind her stubborn gaze. He’d sensed honesty as well, a morality as inflexible as his own.
    He tried to imagine this exotic-looking woman, loaded down with climbing gear and camera equipment, hanging from the face of a cliff. Maybe she was telling the truth, maybe . . . “If you’re that good . . .”
    “I am.”
    He let out a sigh and shook his head. Her pain was almost palpable. “Then why the studio? Why the children, and the moms and the graduations and all that mundane stuff when you . . .”
    “Can fly?” she asked softly, almost reverently, her eyes sparkling, suddenly brilliant with unshed tears. “When I can scale the cliffs and capture that moment of freedom forever in a perfect shot? Well, I’ll tell you why, Dr. Murdock,” she added, her voice thick with sarcasm as she wiped the back of one hand quickly across her eyes.
    “It’s because of men like you, Dr. Murdock. Men who would rather break a contract than work with a woman. I’m good at what I do, but I’m getting damned tired of constantly having to prove that, in spite of my gender—which, for some strange reason, men in positions of power consider to be a liability—I am just as capable of doing my job as my father is. Better, in fact, because I’m younger and stronger, and I’m damned good with a camera.
    “And, for your information,” she continued, her voice going flat, “half of the shots in that National Geographic article about the Anasazi cliff dwellings were mine. I was only nineteen years old then, and working as my father’s assistant. He submitted my photos along with his. Unfortunately, he neglected to give me credit for my work.”
    She stopped speaking a moment to gaze in the direction of the towering pinnacles, then faced Nate again. “He got a Pulitzer Prize for that series. My name wasn’t even on the byline. I got a ‘Thanks, Alex. You did a good job, but I don’t think we should tell anyone, do you?’ Well, I haven’t, until now, but I think you ought to know what you’re giving up.”
    Rendered speechless, Nathan gaped at Alex. As crazy as her story sounded, he knew she was telling the