“I thought you’d left,” she said, before she could censor herself.

“I went to a talk about military in science fiction,” Aaron said. “I had to fight all the outgoing traffic to get back here.”

“How was the talk?”

“Interesting, actually. I had no idea you did so much research for your books.”

“We try.”

Damn, he was cute.

He looked at her boxes. “Where to next?”

“My truck, once I finish packing up.”

“Need some help?”

She blinked in surprise. “Um, sure.”

Aaron set down his poster, squeezed between her and Lucia’s tables, and began putting books into her boxes. By the time she finished packing away her banners and her other paraphernalia, Aaron had her books packed up and the boxes neatly taped and stacked onto her dolly.

“What about the tables and chairs?” he asked.

“We leave those.”

Aaron picked up his poster and tipped back the dolly. “Where to?”

She hesitated. He wasn’t going to haul everything out to her truck, was he? “My truck is kind of far away…” When he just looked at her with those steely eyes, she added, “It’s hot out. I’ll feel bad if you lug my books all the way there in this heat—”

“I think I can handle it.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Off they went through the exhibit hall, until they reached the exit. Finally, they emerged into Tucson’s blazing afternoon heat. Teagan carried her banners and her bag as Aaron effortlessly rolled the dolly along the sidewalk. How much easier it was with his help.

When they arrived at her truck, sweat glistened on her and the sun had already begun reddening her shoulders. She opened her topper’s back window and lowered her tailgate, revealing her makeshift home. Teagan prayed she hadn’t left out anything embarrassing for him to see.

Aaron raised his eyebrows. “You’re sleeping in your truck? In this heat?”

She shrugged. “At a campground. It’s not that bad. I’m only there at night, anyway…”

He continued to stare, his expression difficult to read behind his sunglasses. She couldn’t tell if he found her adventurous… or just crazy. Within no time, Aaron had her boxes stowed away under her platform bed and she closed it back up.

“Thank you, Major.” She smiled. “It’s much easier when you have help.”

He nodded briefly, hesitating for a moment. “I don’t know what your plans are… but do you feel like getting something to eat?”

Teagan stared at Aaron in surprise. He was asking her out?

“And no, I’m not hitting on you,” he said. “I’m done with women.”

When Teagan saw the tiniest smirk on his lips, she laughed. “In that case, I’d love to.” Any plans she’d had to get a head start on her journey home fell by the wayside, disappearing into that place where logical thoughts and consideration for the big picture met their untimely deaths.

“There are some good Mexican joints in town, or we can try something else if you prefer vegetarian…”

“Mexican sounds good. And I do eat meat.”

“I wasn’t sure. You have that look…”

“I get that a lot. But I’m an omnivore.”

The intense afternoon sun bore down on them. Aaron looked up. “Let’s get out of this heat. There’s a good place south of here, called El Saguaro. I’d have you follow me there, but I’m parked a few blocks away.”

“I’ll take you to your car,” she offered, deciding she trusted him enough to allow him inside her car for a few blocks.

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Aaron directed her to a parking lot as she drove past the convention center, the AC beginning to cool her sweltering cab. He pointed out his white Chevy truck and she pulled up to it, then followed him until they arrived at El Saguaro. Before she got out, she quickly checked herself in her rearview mirror. Her mascara hadn’t smeared in the heat, but her hair needed brushing.

Inside the adobe restaurant, busy for a Sunday evening, they had to wait a few minutes for a table. Teagan excused herself and went to the restroom to brush her hair, suddenly conscious of her appearance. She wore jeans, a plain black tank top, and pink Converse. She looked kind of cute, actually. Not that she cared what he thought.

Once they got seated at a booth, nervousness suddenly set in. She was having dinner with a guy. A hot guy, who’d asked her to join him. Wasn’t that a date? Across from her, Aaron studied his menu with his usual unreadable expression and his enviably long eyelashes. He didn’t seem the least bit nervous. Was he looking for an easy lay with the pink-haired nerd who made dumb jokes?

She rolled her eyes at herself. If Lucia hadn’t had plans with her family Saturday night, she’d have had dinner with her too. Dinner was dinner. She scanned her menu, silence at the table until the server arrived to drop off some chips and salsa and take their drink order.

“Margarita rocks, please,” Teagan said. “With salt.”

“Same,” Aaron said.

After the server brought their drinks, she took their order and disappeared. More silence. She took a salsa-loaded chip and popped it into her mouth. The chips were hot and fresh and the salsa spicy and delicious.

Say something, Teagan. You’re the talker, not him. “So… how long have you been stationed here?”

“Seven years,” Aaron said, taking a tortilla chip.

“And before that? Assuming there was a before that…”

“All over the place, here and overseas.”

“Career Army man, then.”

He nodded.

“What do you do there, at the intelligence school? As you’ve probably guessed, I don’t know anything about the military or military intelligence.”

“I teach. I train officers and NCOs—non-commissioned officers—on how to operate military intel equipment, including UAVs.”

“UAVs?”

“Unmanned aerial vehicles. Drones.”

“Really?” Teagan said, excited. “Wow. Fair warning, though: I might need you as a source for book research…” She assumed he would shrug that off, either out of disinterest or because he couldn’t reveal sensitive information.

“Happy to help,” he said.

Not expecting him to be so obliging, Teagan pressed on. “Tell me more about your work.”

Teagan expected a sentence or two, a concise summary of the kinds of things he did all day. But Aaron talked for a while about his work and the school’s mission. He spoke at length without rambling, went into detail without going on tangents, and answered questions she had. It was the most she’d ever heard him talk.

Their dinner arrived, chili rellenos for her and a giant burrito for Aaron. The first bite of her cheesy rellenos tasted delicious. Was it just her, or was the food good in Tucson?

“You’ve written a lot of books,” Aaron said. “I hope you don’t mind, I looked you up online.”

She smiled. “I don’t mind. And I’ve only written five. Working on my sixth.”

“How long have you been an author?”

“Officially… three years. That’s when I published my first novel, so that’s when I start the clock.”

“What’d you do before?”

“I taught biology. I still do, actually, part time, to supplement my income.”

“You need a side job with that many books?”

She nodded. “Oh yeah. Making a living as an author is really tough. I hope to someday, but until then I need to teach.”

“Do you like teaching?”

“I like helping people learn about science and about the natural world. It’s just so amazing, all of it. But teaching has its challenges too: shitty pay, students who don’t show up to class and then wonder why their grades suck. But you probably don’t deal with that kind of thing with your students…”

“Not that specifically, but there are other challenges.”

“Do you like to read?” she said.

“I’ve never been much of a reader. When I do, it’s usually military history or something related to work.”

“No fiction?”

He pondered that. “Some. But it’s been a while…”

“Let me guess. Tom Clancy?”

He gave a half smile. “How’d you know?”

She grinned. “Oh, wild guess. In my experience, love of reading, especially fiction, is taught early. If you don’t come from a reading family…”

“My dad reads a ton. It’s just…” He hesitated for a moment. “I have dyslexia.”

“Oh,” she said, surprised by Aaron’s admission. “So if you’re anything like my students with dyslexia, you don’t have positive associations with reading.”

“I don’t. I mean, I read fine, although I’m not fast. But it’s held me back in my work at times. I suck at learning foreign languages and that’s an important part of intelligence work.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.”

He shook his head. “It all worked out. I found my place and I like what I do.” He paused. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“Me neither,” she teased. “It’s shocking. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your dirty little secret.”

Aaron chuckled at that. “What’s your dirty little secret?”

“My dirty little secret?” she said. “Other than being a nerd?”

He shook his head. “You aren’t that nerdy. I want something good.”

“Something good, huh?” Then she thought of one. “Okay. Your cute little dog, Patton? I had one just like him once. I adopted him, walked him, fed him… and I lost him in the divorce.”

Aaron brows came together. “Fuck. Really?”

She nodded. “His name was Harry. I got the house, but had to give Harry up.”

“No wonder Patton liked you so much. He’s usually nervous around strangers.”

“He’s adorable.”

Aaron took a sip of his margarita. “When do you head back to the Mile High City?”

“Soon. I’ve got work to do, and it’ll be nice to get back to my own bed, tolerable temperatures, and, no offense, greenery.”

“I still can’t believe you’re camping in this heat. But I hear you. When I got relocated here, I didn’t like it. Too hot, too dry, too brown. But it grew on me. It’s got its own beauty.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

When the server offered them another drink, Aaron looked to her. “Have time for one more round?”

With two fresh margaritas in hand, they sat and talked. An hour later, their glasses empty, Teagan looked around. El Saguaro had mostly emptied, and she’d been too engrossed in conversation to notice. When their server brought the check, they both reached for it. Teagan was quicker and snatched it away.

Aaron scowled. “I invited you, remember?”

“You helped me with my boxes. That’s worth more than the price of a burrito and a couple margaritas.” She pulled out her credit card.

Aaron grabbed his wallet. “We’ll split it.”

“Fine,” she conceded. She couldn’t argue with that. Newly divorced people who’d sworn off the other sex split the check. Everyone knew that.

But when the server came to pick up their check, Aaron grabbed Teagan’s card and handed the server his instead. Their server walked off before Teagan could say a word. Aaron handed over her card, his blue eyes gleaming with triumph.

“You sneaky bastard!” she cried, taking it.

He shrugged. “Sorry.”

“You are not sorry!”

“You’re right. I’m not. I can’t let a struggling author buy me dinner. My dad would kill me.”

Any pseudo-outrage Teagan felt melted away. How thoughtful he was. Who did that anymore? “Thank you, Major.”

“You’re welcome.”

When they stood up to leave, Aaron motioned for her to lead the way. Outside, it was still plenty hot out despite the sun having set. Streaks of orange and pink stretched across the sky, making it so an intense warm glow settled over everything—the rest of the darkening sky, the city, the mountains beyond, and even El Saguaro’s parking lot. It felt magical, almost like being on another world.

“Nice sunset tonight,” Aaron said.

“It’s gorgeous,” Teagan said in awe, staring at it. “I’ve never seen one like this before. It’s like… it takes over everything.”

“You get some good ones here. Better than most places I’ve lived.”

Teagan continued to stare as they walked to their cars. Once at Teagan’s truck, they stood there in silence, Aaron gazing down at her. His gaze took her breath away.

“Thank you again,” she finally managed to say, unable to come up with anything better. “I… had a great time.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, still gazing at her with those gray-blue eyes. Before she could find something more inane to say, Aaron pulled out his wallet and retrieved a card. “If you’re planning to stay another day or two in Tucson, give me a call.” He handed her the card. “I’m off at four tomorrow. Maybe we could go for a hike.”

She smiled. “I’ll let you know.”

Back at the RV jungle, Teagan lounged in her chair and propped her feet up, chugging on cold water and waiting for the air temperature to drop before she called it a night.

In the distance, the other campers played cards, splashed in the nearby pool, or swapped stories over beers. The air had the odor of desert brush that reminded her of old times. Like when they visited Grandpa Larry and Grandma Nancy in Utah when she was a child, or when she and her friend Diana would bike the Utah slickrock before their careers took over their lives. Utah had different desert, but it had the same dry brush smell and crisp air.

She pulled Aaron’s card from her pocket. It was plain white with the Army insignia, the logo for the intelligence center, and Aaron’s information. Major Aaron Slater.

She couldn’t stay. It would be stupid to stay. What good would come of it? The last thing she needed in her life right now was a guy. Not that he was interested in her anyway. He only talked to her at the trailhead to be polite, offered to share his table at Blake’s because there was literally no other seat in the place, and asked her to dinner because, well, maybe he was as sick of eating alone as she was. He was apparently an officer and a gentleman. A friend, not a prospect.

Yet… she felt happier than she had in weeks. In months. Aaron didn’t look at her with pity. If anything, he understood her pain. And what was her big hurry, exactly? To get back to her empty house that still had Harry’s dog hairs in hidden places? To run into her ex somewhere else?

No. She would stay another day.