title: The Dinosaur Lady
author: Duquette, Anne Marie
description: "I think Matt likes you, Dinosaur Lady."
  
  Jason paused to adjust his crutches. "I think he likes you a lot. It wouldn't hurt you to like him back."
  
  Noelle was stunned. Like him back? Oh, but she did -- far too much! She watched Matt turn in the saddle to check on their progress, then glanced at Jason's troubled face. She sighed.
  
  "Jason, sweetheart, let me explain something to you. The fact that you found a genuine dinosaur fossil was a real miracle. The fact that Matt gave me permission to dig on his ranch was another. But I'm not here to make Matt like me. I'm here to make a name for myself as a paleontologist -- a real Dinosaur Lady, not just a TV personality.
  
  "What about Matt?" Jason asked stubbornly.
  
  "I can't give up my fossil hunting just to make him happy." No matter how much she was beginning to wish she could...
  
  Noelle Forrest -- Denver's “Dinosaur Lady.” She's a paleontologist, but she's been more successful talking about dinosaurs on TV than actually digging for them. But young Jason Reilly may change all that when he brings her a fossil he found on Mat Caldwell's ranch. He may change her life in other ways, too -- by introducing her to Matt, for one thing. And by appealing to maternal instincts she's hardly aware she has!
  
  Jason Reilly -- Life hasn't exactly been kind to this eleven-year-old boy. He's in foster care because his parents abandoned him. A few years ago he had an accident that left him using crutches and a leg brace. But Jason's a survivor. And he's very sure of two things: he wants to be a paleontologist like the Dinosaur Lady when he grows up -- and he wants a mother and father of his own.
  
  Matt Caldwell -- He turned his cattle ranch into and unusual sort of “dude ranch” -- one that specializes in horseback therapy for handicapped kids. That's how he knows Jason Reilly. And because of Jason's fossil find, he meets the dynamic Dr. Noelle Forrest, a.k.a the “Dinosaur Lady.” He's definitely attracted, but he's got a problem with her, too. She wants permission to dig on his land and Matt's concerned this will disrupt his horses' routines. But he might be willing to compromise…
  
  Hero: Matt Caldwell
  Heroine: Noelle Forrest