Jake turned the wheel of the Jeep, guiding the vehicle into the Volcanoes National Park through an entrance nestled between beautiful lava stone entry portals. He glanced at Sophie. “Do you mind taking a run along the rim of the crater? We have a few hours of daylight left.”

Sophie’s smile warmed him. “You must have read my mind. I need to discharge some energy. Get the kinks out, as Marcella would say.”

Jake nodded. Relief that she so clearly understood allowed his tight jaw to loosen.

He paid their park entrance fee and drove to a parking lot near the Volcano House Inn and Restaurant. That venerable old establishment perched on the rim of the caldera, a historic barnacle on the living organism that was Kilauea volcano. Sophie took running shoes out of her backpack after they parked. “I think the dogs will be glad of this too.”

“Yeah. We get to see how Tank does on a leash.”

Soon they were jogging along the wandering path that circumnavigated the edge of Kilauea Volcano. The dogs were perfectly behaved on their leashes, and Jake felt the frustration and tension of their challenging day drop away as they ran.

The views from the edge were stunning. The caldera was as austere as an asteroid and just as foreign, sweeping out below them hundreds of feet, a cliff ending at the flat black field that had once been liquid stone. The active vent of Pu’u O’o gushed sulfurous steam, looking like a giant campfire set on the barren surface of the moon.

Sophie took the lead, her athletic body moving easily along the trail. Jake glimpsed those sexy tattoos on the insides of her arms, but regrettably, the ones on her legs were hidden by nylon pants.

They ran for miles, until the dogs were panting with tiredness and sunset was a glowing coal in the west.

Eventually, they returned to the Jeep and fed and watered the dogs beside the vehicle. Jake cocked his head as he met Sophie’s eye and pointed. One of the frequent rainbows of the area caught the last of the sunset’s light, landing on nearby rocks. “Must be a pot of gold somewhere around here.”

Sophie scrunched her brow. “Pot of gold? This must be one of those cultural things.”

“Indeed it is. An old Irish legend is that at the end of a rainbow, there’s a pot of gold guarded by leprechauns. Wee folk. Related to fairies.”

“A common enough conceit. Almost every culture has some version of magic and . . . tiny people.” Sophie was cute when she groped for words.

“Never say leprechauns are common in the presence of an Irishman.” Teasing, Jake hooked an arm around Sophie’s neck to give her cropped head a knuckle rub. Sophie stiffened in surprise. She tossed his arm off as she spun to confront him, eyes wide with surprise and apprehension.

Jake felt a stab of pain to his chest that he had activated that old fear in her. He held his hands up, palms out. “I’m sorry. I was only playing.”

Sophie’s gaze softened. She smiled. “Thor save me from a large man with a sweaty armpit anywhere near my face.”

“Thor save you?” Jake got into the Jeep as she secured the dogs.

“I’ve decided to rotate my insults among all the known deities.”

Jake laughed and fired up the Jeep.

They drove out of the park toward the cabin where they’d be staying. He forced himself away from imagining how he’d like to fill the hours alone with her in the dark.

Jake drove Sophie to Hilo the next morning. They’d had fish tacos at Volcano Village after their run, then a platonic evening working quietly on their laptops and early bed. Freitan had called and given the okay for Sophie to come into Hilo to work at the computer lab at the station, and Jake could tell by Sophie’s tense silence that she was dying to get to it.

Last night in the cabin had been torture, knowing that Sophie was sleeping naked in the room next to him, with nothing but a thin wall and an unlocked plywood door separating them. He hadn’t gotten any rest until Tank got up on the bed with him, curling up at his feet with a warm comforting weight. Ginger was similarly keeping Sophie company. Something about the situation with the dogs had finally given Jake the peace to sleep.

He glanced at her profile. “I’ll take Tank to the Humane Society while you work.”

She was still looking at the dogs. “What if they don’t find a home for Tank? What if no one wants him? Tank looks rather . . . scary.”

Jake swallowed. “They get put down.”

“Put down? You mean killed?” Sophie glared at him. “What’s humane about that?”

Jake cleared his throat. “I guess . . . it’s humane the way they do it. The animals get a shot. Never feel a thing.”

“No. Unacceptable.”

Jake felt bad about it too, a queasiness roiling his gut as he thought about filling out a form surrendering Tank and leaving him in a cage. “He’s not technically our dog. We rescued him from a bad home.”

“Only to put him in a place where he’ll be killed if he isn’t adopted? Through no fault of his own?” Sophie snorted. “I’ll keep him.”

“Right. Because you’re in a position to take care of two dogs.”

She made no response to this, and he glanced over. Her eyes were downcast, her mouth pulled down. Even sad, Sophie’s mouth looked kissable. “I should go back to Oahu and quit this attempt to hike around. Then I could keep both dogs. But I’m not ready to. I want to keep exploring for a while.”

Jake sighed. “You hardly had time to do much of that this time.”

“I’ve been able to see a lot of interesting back roads, got to see the lava hit the ocean, and I’ve run on the rim of the crater, thanks to you. But you are right. Ginger is more than enough for me to deal with while hiking and camping.” She looked regretfully into the back seat. “She seems so happy with him.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to give him up either.” Jake shook his head. “I just don’t know what else to do.”

They reached the station, and Sophie’s phone dinged. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it up. “It’s the contact who knows something about the missing persons again. I think we should meet whoever it is when I’m done here. I don’t know how long it will take, but I will likely need a break at around two p.m. Will that be an okay time for you to pick me up?”

“Fine. I’ll deal with the dog situation and keep an eye on Ginger. I’ll be back for you at two.”

“Sure you don’t want to come in and greet Detective Freitan with me? I’m confident she will want to see you—preferably without clothing.” Her eyes sparkled playfully at him. “I cannot help enjoying this a bit after how you used to harass me.”

“And if you were half as uncomfortable as I am, then I apologize again for the teasing,” Jake said. “Freitan is a piece of work.”

“The same has been said about you.” Sophie picked up the small daypack containing her laptop. She petted Tank’s head. “Goodbye, my friend. I hope you quickly find a new home.” She dug into the outside pocket of her pack and pulled out a fistful of cash, tucking it into Jake’s pants pocket. “Here’s some extra money to pay for him to be there longer. Without being put down.”

“I will talk to them. Make sure everything that can be done for him is done.”

“I know you will.” She shut the door with a bang. “I still hate it.”

Tank whined sadly as if understanding exactly what was going on. All three of them watched Sophie walk into the station’s utilitarian storefront doorway, and disappear inside.

Jake sighed and put the Jeep in gear. “Might as well get this over with.”