Page 33 of Disciplining Dana

“Look,” she instructed, pointing.

Kurt followed her finger, gazing across the canyon to the opposite side.

“Mine tailings?” he murmured.

“I don’t think so,” she replied. “It’s too jagged, too… natural.”

“A draw?”

“More likely erosion from a seep. Look at how the scree has sluffed off downslope.”

“Makes sense.” They both scrutinized the canyon side in silence as the motor idled.

“Notice anything else?” Dana asked quietly a moment later.

He squinted. “Well, it’s clearly sedimentary with a granite capstone. I’m assuming there’s an igneous dike in there somewhere, which would be consistent with the Idaho batholith…”

“Thanks, Professor.” Dana chuckled. “Look closer.”

He did, but a minute later he was shrugging. “Tell me what I’m missing.”

She wiggled her finger. “You see where the debris begins to slip to the left. Look right there.”

“Okay. Are you talking about that silvery-gray sediment?”

“Exactly.”

He turned away from the canyon to look back at her.

“That”—she stabbed her finger—“is bastnäsite. I’d bet my life on it.”

He turned back to where she pointed. “Are you sure?”

“I suppose we could hike over and look to be certain.”

Kurt glanced further down the canyon. It was a deep vee, and it was already after noon, which meant if they started now…

“I’d rather not be hiking in the dark.”

“Chicken.”

“No, cautious.” He looked back to the cut. “Besides, we’ve been partners too long for me not to take your deduction at face value.”

“Good boy,” she replied warmly. “Bastnäsite means there’s probably monazite and loparite nearby too, and that means…”

“Neodymium and praseodymium.”

“Bingo,” she mused.

“Damn, Dana…”

“I told you I was right. I mean, there’s still no guarantee, but…” She pointed to the cut. “That’s a pretty good indicator right there.”

They drove on for another hour, and though they found several more alluvial slides like the first, none of them held the same promise. Dana continued to watch the canyon sides eagerly, but Kurt was less focused. No, that wasn’t true; he was focused, but it wasn’t on the terrain they drove through.

It was on Dana.

She’d done it again. Just like he’d known she would. It was in circumstances like these he found himself drawn to her so intensely. It wasn’t just her physical appearance that had captured him earlier in the drive. No, right now, it was everything else about Dana that fascinated him. Her intensity. Her incredible intelligence. Her drive. And even though the latter was a source of friction between them, Kurt still couldn’t dislike it entirely. In fact, everything that had happened on this drive reinforced what had been a running opinion of his of late. That with some self-control and discipline, her single-minded determination would be less a risk than a feature. One he knew would take her far in the life they shared…

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