The rain was coming down so hard that Aiden had to shield his eyes with his hand to see the man coming toward him. He had no idea what his relationship was to Mia, but it didn’t matter. If Mia was scared of him, that was all he needed to know.

“Hey there,” he called as he drew closer. “You okay out here? Helluva rainstorm.”

The strange man came to a stop. He wore rain pants, a rain jacket, a visored hood, and from what Aiden could see of his face, he was at least ten years older than Mia. He had a driven look about him, as if he’d be happy just to keep frog-marching across the country. They kept a careful distance, the way backpackers did before they’d scoped each other out.

“No kidding,” Darren said over the thunderous drone of the rain. “Probably looking at flash floods. Did you get caught out here without your gear?”

“Yeah, I’m camping with some buddies not far from here and I left my jacket behind. It’s all good. A little rain never hurt anyone. You’re the first person I’ve seen on this trail, just wanted to make sure you’re not lost.”

“You haven’t seen anyone else?” Disappointment soured the man’s face. “I’m actually looking for someone. A lost hiker.”

“Someone’s lost out here? That sucks. I’ll keep my eyes out for him.”

He was quite proud of that casual use of “him.”

“It’s not a ‘him’, it’s a ‘her.’ She got upset and wandered off. I’m worried about her state of mind. Women, you know. She shouldn’t be out here on her own.”

His patronizing tone set Aiden’s hackles on edge. As far as he could tell, Mia was doing perfectly fine out here on her own. She’d set him free, after all. “I hear that. What should I do if I see her?”

“Bring her to me. I’m camping at Three Forks.”

“Gotcha. Will do. Hope she’s okay.”

“I hope she learns her lesson,” the man said grimly. He shook water off his slicker with a disgusted flick of his arms. “Making me come out here in a fucking downpour.” He was in the midst of turning aside when he stopped and peered more closely at Aiden. “Clif Bar?”

Aiden looked down and saw that a scrap of wrapper from Mia’s Clif Bar had gotten stuck to his shirt somehow. He plucked it off and balled it up in his fist. “Breakfast of champions when you’re on the trail, right? I buy a case before every backpacking trip.”

He stuck the wrapper in his pocket then gave the man a last friendly wave. “Good luck with your search, man. I’ll let my friends know too.” He loped off in a direction that wouldn’t draw the man’s attention toward the overhang. It was a risk, for sure, since now he was no longer blocking the other man’s line of sight. Darren could notice the overhang and decide to check it out. Maybe Mia hadn’t hidden herself well enough. Or maybe he’d decide to take shelter in it.

But Aiden was pretty good at reading people. This man was unlikely to seek shelter. He was the “power through it” type. He’d probably watch Aiden for a few minutes, decide he was just a harmless kid, and keep on marching.

Which was exactly what happened. Aiden scrambled through the brush, showing off his agility—hoping that would goad the man into doing the same. He felt the stranger’s gaze drilling into his back for a few moments, then heard the rustle of his rain pants as he took off.

When it was safe, and the man was out of sight, he took a circuitous route back to the overhang—just to make sure Darren hadn’t doubled back to spy on him. The rain settled into a steady patter. Water dripped from every branch. His t-shirt was soaked through to his skin and he was shivering by the time he slid into the little shelter.

It was empty.

His stomach twisted and he wanted to throw up. He’d done the wrong thing. He’d left Mia unprotected. The man she feared had found her and dragged her back to Three Forks. Should he go after them? Help her escape? Call the police?

He’d never forget the frightened look in her eyes when she’d spotted Darren in the rain. She’d counted on him to protect her, and he’d let her down. What was happening to her now? He’d noticed the mark on her cheek, but he hadn’t said anything. If that man had struck her, and now he had her back…Aiden would never, ever forgive himself.

“Aiden?” Mia’s whisper seemed to come from deep inside the rocks.

The surge of relief made him feel suddenly ten feet tall. “Mia?”

“Yes, I’m back here. Go toward that slit in the rock, there’s a whole cave here, almost big enough to stand up. Is Darren gone?”

“Yes.” Aiden followed her instructions and squeezed through a gap between two rocks into a fairly spacious cavern, illuminated only by Mia’s headlamp. As soon as he came through, crawling on hands and knees, she turned on a small battery-powered lantern. Light bounced off the walls of the cave, revealing moss and a few trickles of moisture against the dark granite.

Mia took off her headlamp and her knitted hat as she smiled at him. Her wide eyes, the color of strong tea, sparkled in the light of the lantern. She had a gentle, elusive beauty that you might not notice at first. It snuck up on you when you weren’t prepared for it and knocked you right in the gut.

“Thank you,” she said, heartfelt. “What was it…what did he…”

“He said a bunch of bullshit about you being upset and in a bad state of mind. I mean, I’m sure you were upset, but the way he said it—”

Her face flushed a deep rose. “I know exactly how he said it. I can just imagine. He always acts like I’m a feebleminded little girl who needs him to watch out for me. I’ve been taking care of my mother for the past three years all by myself. I’m not feeble.”

“Of course you’re not. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be stuck in that cabin. You’re a badass.” He shivered. Now that he wasn’t clambering through the woods, fired up on adrenaline, he was chilling down. The thin material of his t-shirt clung unpleasantly to his skin.

“You should take that off,” Mia said, gesturing to his shirt. “You won’t be able to warm up with that on.”

“You sure?” He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by stripping down in such a small space. But she had a point. His father had always told him, “cotton kills,” meaning that it held on to moisture and could lead to hypothermia. Not that it was cold enough here to die of exposure, but he was already getting chilled.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I won’t look if you’re shy.” She shielded her eyes and turned aside.

He laughed as he stripped off the sopping-wet shirt. “Yeah, that’s me, shy. You should see me surfing. I’m lucky if I remember to bring a shirt.”

As soon as the t-shirt was off his body, he felt better. He flexed his shoulders and rolled his neck from side to side, then shook his arms out to generate some BTUs. In the midst of all that, he noticed that she wasn’t actually hiding her eyes anymore. She was watching him with definite interest.

When she realized he’d caught her, she turned her attention to her backpack. “I think I have one of Darren’s shirts in here.” She dug out an olive-drab thermal and tossed it to him. “Here, that should keep you warm.”

He wasn’t crazy about the idea of wearing something that had belonged to that asshole, but he pulled it on anyway. If a girl told you to cover up, you should probably do it, he figured. The warmth felt good, so he pushed aside his revulsion.

“So who is this Darren? Why didn’t you want him to see you?”

“Darren is a lawyer.” She spoke the name with disgust as she propped her back against the side of the cave. “He was my boyfriend. Then he did this.” She touched the mark on her face. “We were camping at Three Forks. He proposed to me, or he was starting to, anyway. I was going to say ‘yes,’ but when the moment came…I just couldn’t. I cut him off and said I wasn’t ready because of my mom. The whole reason I even know Darren is because of her. He’s the lawyer we hired to deal with my mom’s insurance company. He always acted like he understood about my mom and how I can’t leave her. But he had the nerve to say we could just hire someone to take care of her.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I would never. My mom is everything to me. She’s my only parent, she’s always taken care of me. She’s my whole world. I mean, we have home health aides coming in to help us, but I’m the one she trusts. She needs me, and I’d never just leave her.”

The tears spilled down her cheeks. Angrily, she brushed them away. She shot him a stubborn look, as if bracing herself for an argument.

“It’s just you and your mom?” Aiden asked.

She nodded warily. “I never met my father. I have no idea who he even is. I used to care, but not anymore.”

“Well, of course you can’t leave her. My sister Cassie was the same way. She stuck with my mom the whole time she was running from Matthew Dearborn. Not that Cassie knew that part. She was just trying to keep Mom from going off the deep end.”

She sniffed. “So you think I did the right thing, telling him no? He called me a manipulative tease.”

Aiden almost wished things had gotten physical between him and Darren. The dude deserved a punch in the nose. “Look, I don’t know the guy. But he sounds like a prize ass. If you’re not ready to get married, you’re not ready. What’s the point of rushing?”

“Right?” Her face brightened, and she tucked her hair behind her ears. “I said the same thing. What’s wrong with waiting? I’m only twenty.”

“Me too,” he said. “And marriage is definitely not on my radar.”

With a look of relief, she bent her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “So I wasn’t off base. As soon as I ran away, I started doubting myself. He’s kind of intimidating, you know? He’s twelve years older than me.”

Aiden didn’t say what he was thinking, that a thirty-two-year-old pressuring a twenty-year-old to marry before she was completely ready was a little creepy. “Not in my opinion. Whatever that’s worth.”

She flashed a smile at him. “Quite a bit, as a matter of fact. You rescued me.”

“Only after you rescued me.”

“Maybe I was thinking ahead. I knew you’d be a handy guy to have around.” Her mischievous wink made his heart give a twist. In the light of the lantern, the mark on her face stood out even more. How anyone could hit this girl, or any girl, he’d never understand.

“Well, you were right. Even more so. Because I have a feeling we’re stuck here, and I’m the master of figuring out games to pass the time.”

“Games?” She gaped at him. “You want to play games?”

“Well, it’s getting dark out there and it’s still raining, and Darren is bumbling around on the trails. Might as well stay in here and make the best of it, right?” He lay on his side, resting his head on his elbow.

She studied him for a long moment, as if looking for the catch. Then she took off her puffy parka and laid it on the floor of the cave, away from the wall. Closer to him.

She settled onto it, then broke out another chocolate bar from her backpack. “Will I need chocolate for this?”

“Chocolate can’t hurt. Okay, here we go. Favorite food?”

“Cheeseburgers with extra pickles.”

He groaned as his stomach grumbled. “Maybe let’s not talk about food right now. Summer or winter?”

“Summer.”

“Dancing or singing?”

“My mother used to be a dancer, but I’m not much good at either.”

“Okay, skating or swimming?”

“Swimming.”

He grinned at that answer. “Same. City or country?”

“I live in a city, so that’s all I really know. I would have said country, but so far the country kind of sucks.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but you might want to give it another chance. You should see the countryside around Jupiter Point. It’s famous for its stargazing.”

“Stargazing?” She hadn’t done much of that in her life, other than wishing on stars that turned out to be satellites.

“The skies are super clear and we have an observatory. And hardly any light pollution. Where do you live?”

“Fresno. We have plenty of light pollution, and all the other kinds, too.” They both laughed. “Okay, my turn. What was the cause of your six breakups with your ex-girlfriend?”

“Daisy?” The label “ex-girlfriend” didn’t seem to fit, exactly. Childhood friend was more accurate. “Breakups one through three were because we were under the age of twelve.” He grinned at her look of surprise. “We were best friends. Breakup four was when she was crushing on her piano teacher when we were sixteen. Number five was because I left for college and we wanted to give each other space to meet other people. Breakup number six was a few weeks ago. We got back together after Christmas, but I’m pretty sure it was because she wanted to rescue me from my unrequited crush. I called her on it, and she admitted it was true. I told her she was no longer allowed to be my babysitter. If I screw up, I screw up, you know? So we decided to call it quits for real. This time it’s final.”

His heart tripped a bit as he spoke the words. It was so hard to believe that he and Daisy were really through. They’d been part of each other’s lives for so long. In on each other’s secrets and fears. In and out of each other’s houses. Only Daisy knew how much he missed his brothers. Only Daisy knew that he used to cry himself to sleep over his missing mother. He trusted Daisy completely. They’d been each other’s first kiss—an experiment. Eventually they’d been each other’s first everything, sexually speaking. But it had always been along the lines of “let’s see what this is like.” And then, “is this really what the fuss is about? It feels good, but…”

Luckily, they were good enough friends to be honest with each other. They agreed that something wasn’t quite right. They knew each other too well. They were practically brother and sister. And it was time they stopped trying to make their relationship into something it wasn’t meant to be.

But it still hurt, like a bruise that hadn’t quite faded.

Except now, looking at Mia in the lamplight, with her wide brown eyes and eager smile, Daisy seemed very far away and long ago. The energy between him and Mia was completely different—more intriguing, more exciting. The little hairs on the back of his neck rose up and his skin prickled.

Oh, and he was getting hard.

Awkward.

He shifted so she couldn’t see the growing lump in his pants. He cleared his throat and tried to think of something not at all arousing. Like the fact that he was starving. Or the fact that Dearborn might be looking for him.

There, that did it. Crisis solved.

“How do you know it’s final?” Mia was asking, almost wistfully. “If I was with someone for that long, I don’t think I’d want them to go.”

“We’ll still be friends. We’ll always be friends. She’s not going anywhere. But I know it’s our final breakup because it felt real this time. It was like walking onto the Evergreen campus for the first time, or doing my first solo flight. Like, before you do it, you’re terrified and you feel like a little kid, but afterward you feel like you’ve grown up by about three years. I mean, I’m sad about it. But I know it’s the right thing. Daisy is…she’s amazing. She’s so brilliant and she has so many plans and ideas. I’m more easygoing. I kind of drive her crazy. Now that she doesn’t have to worry about my ambition level, we get along a lot better.”

He grinned, because it was totally true. Not that he wasn’t ambitious. He was, or least he thought he would be some day. He just wasn’t sure what form it would take. He had some ideas already. He wanted to do some good in the world, he knew that much.

Almost as if she’d read his mind, she asked, “What are you majoring in at college?”

“I’m not sure yet. I have a couple more weeks to decide.”

“Well, what classes do you like best?”

He thought about it. “Honestly, my Psych 101 class was the best. But I think that’s because it explained so much about my family and my mom. Not because I want to be a shrink.” He shifted the topic before she could drill down any further into his vague plans. “What about you? What do you do when you’re not taking care of your mother?”

“I do online graphic design work. I can do that from home, so it works out.”

Something in the diffident way she spoke about it bugged him. “That’s cool. Like what kind of work?”

“Oh, it’s silly. People send me their photos and I make cartoon superhero caricatures out of them. Darren says he can’t believe people pay for that, but they do. I know, it’s ridiculous, right?”

God, he was really starting to despise Darren. “No. I bet it takes a real talent to capture that one thing about them that makes them a superhero.”

“Well, talent is probably not the right word.” She grimaced. “Knack, maybe?”

He picked up a piece of crumbly reddish stone from the floor of the cave. “Can you make one of me?”

Narrowing her eyes at him, she held out her hand and he tossed her the shard. “Of course I can. You’re easy.”

“That sounds bad,” he laughed. “You just met me and you already have a handle on me?”

“Hey, mostly I work from a photo. This is practically cheating.” She moved to the side of the cave that had the biggest area of nearly flat surface. With a few deft strokes of the glittery quartz on the darker granite, she sketched a comical likeness of Aiden, all wide smile and extra-spiky hair. “Meet Captain Bedhead. He can distract mean ex-boyfriends in a single bound. He has a sixth sense for comfy hiding places in the wilderness. And he can take a leak like nobody’s business.”

Aiden burst out laughing. “Damn, and here I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”

“Oh no. Never. Until my dying day, I’ll be telling the story of how I rescued a hostage and the first thing he did was run away to pee. I don’t even recall a thank you.” Now she was teasing him, her eyes alight with laughter, and he grinned at the sight. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to know she was talented, and treasured. He hated the fact that she dismissed herself so easily, that she didn’t believe in herself.

He crawled over to the wall where she’d drawn him. With a grin as close to “Captain Bedhead’s” as possible, he posed next to his portrait. “I bet you never get to see your subjects next to your drawings, do you? Since it’s all online.”

“You’re right.” Her gaze flitted between him and the cave wall, fascination in her wide brown eyes. “It really does look like you!”

“See that? You’re a genius, Mia Grant.” He pointed at a spot near the drawing. “Do you have a signature you use?”

“No, I never sign my pieces. They’re digital so there’s really no point. People use them however they want, as avatars or profile pics or whatever.”

“Then this is your chance. Pretend this is the National Gallery. This is your first exhibit. Everyone who’s anyone wants to see the latest Mia Grant masterpiece. They all want your autograph because you’re such a superstar. And…go! Sign that baby!”

Laughing, she scrawled a quick, curlicued “Mia” on the wall. Then paused, contemplating her handiwork. She added an exclamation point.

“Mia!” he read, adding an extra note of enthusiasm to reflect her punctuation. “Yeah! Make that statement! Own that genius!”

Still laughing, she sat on her heels and turned her face toward him. “I think I left something out. Captain Bedhead! Able to boost self-esteem with a single smile.”

“Now that’s a superpower I wouldn’t mind. You deserve all the boosts you want, Mia. Don’t know why you need them, though. You’re beautiful, you’re talented, you’re brave, you’re—”

He broke off when she did something completely unexpected. She leaned toward him and touched her lips to his.