Page 65 of Camelback Falls (David Mapstone Mystery 2)

She sat beside me, and for long time I just savored her warmth and softness as counterpoint to the rock beneath me. Then we stood up and I brushed away her dark hair, ran my finger down her cheekbone. Her eyes were full of tears, and then mine were, too. I didn’t know why I was blessed enough to be loved in a cold, deadly world where everything was at risk.

“What happened?” I gently touched the empty skin of her nostril, where the nose stud used to be. “Are you going back in uniformed duty?”

She shook her head and smiled. “Oh, Dave. The world turns around. Life goes on.” She held up her hand. The engagement ring sparkled. “This is the jewel I need in my life now.”

I kissed her lightly and slipped my hand around her waist, so familiar and so wondrous. We stood in the darkness of the mountainside, alone now. The great desert city spread out at our feet, vast and charmed and cursed, destiny and history, a billion electric diamonds, shimmering with possibilities.

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

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