“You’re welcome.” She set her bottle down and walked me to the truck, gray eyes glimmering with the copper of the sunset. “We’ll meet you at the trailhead at five-forty-ish? That should give us enough time before sunrise.”
“I’ll meet you there,” I promised, glancing back at her house. “If you ever need help with the renovations, I’m going to be around for a while. My offer still stands.”
She laughed, but at least she didn’t accuse me being sexist this time. “Don’t you have a life somewhere out there to get back to, or are you going to move with the wind on your motorcycle forever?”
I opened my mouth to tell her I did have to get back to my actual life at some point, but instead, I just smiled and climbed in the truck. “Well, the wind isn’t moving me anywhere on that motorcycle anytime soon, so just say the word if you need any help.”
I knew that hadn’t been an answer, but as I drove into the fading desert light with guilt about how tight-lipped I’d been about my family gnawing at my gut, I realized I didn’t know how to respond to that question honestly anymore. I did have a life to get back to, sure, but I genuinely didn’t know if I was ever actually going back.
CHAPTER 10
RAQUEL
The desert before sunrise had always felt like another planet to me. I loved this time of day, when it was so quiet that every sound carried and the air was still cool. Miley yawned in the passenger seat beside me, clearly not sharing my enthusiasm for being up so early.
“The view better be worth it this morning,” she muttered as I pulled into the packed parking lot at the Black Mesa Canyon trailhead. “If it’s hazy, I’m filing a complaint.”
“With who?” I asked. “God?”
“Humanity,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We’rethe ones messing up the planet. Do you know the last time I came out here, it was so foggy, we couldn’t see a thing?”
“I don’t think humanity can be blamed for fog.”
“Maybe not, but it’s too early for this argument. I’m not entirely sure I’m not still asleep in my bed and this is all a dream.” I pinched her arm and she jumped. “Okay, okay, I’m not dreaming.”
I smirked as I put the truck in park. “If it helps, it seems to be clear this morning.”
“Until we get to the canyon.” She pulled her hoodie tighter around herself after unbuckling her seatbelt. “I just don’tunderstand why nature has to start so early. Couldn’t sunrise just be a little later?”
“You said you wanted to come.”
“Yeah, because it’s gorgeous, but I also volunteer for lots of things I regret later.”
I smiled. “That explains your dating history.”
She gasped and pressed a hand to her chest, feigning offense. “Wow, you’re mean first thing in the morning.”
I chuckled and killed the engine. “At least you’re awake now.”
“Regrettably,” she said, but then smiled as she reached for her door handle. “On the flip side, it’s been ages since we’ve done this. I’m glad we came. It was a good idea.”
“Yeah, it was. Too bad it wasn’t mine.”
“Speaking of, how are things going with your favorite customer?”
“He’s not my favorite anything and things aren’tgoing. Because there’s nothing between us that could be going.”
As I climbed out of the truck, the horizon was just barely starting to lighten, soft blue bleeding slowly into purple over the mountains. A handful of hikers moved around the lot, water bottles glowing beneath their headlamps.
Black Mesa wasn’t exactly a secret. The sunrise hike through the canyon was worth waking up offensively early for. Especially this time of year.
Miley followed me out of the truck, groaning like a creaky door as she looked around. “There’s more people here than I expected.”
I grabbed my backpack and glanced at her over my shoulder. “Everybody wants the sunrise.”
“Unlike you, who’s only here for Theo.” She shot me a wicked grin. “You want something to rise, and it’s not the sun.”
I snorted and locked the truck after she’d grabbed her own backpack. “How many times do I have to tell you that I didn’tagree to this because he was the one asking? It’s like you said, we haven’t been out here for ages, so when he brought it up, it seemed like a good idea to join him.”
