“I hope so. I hope the answer’s yes.” She turned her face into him, her lips brushing over his throat. There was a flare of warmth, of flavor, before her gritty eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I’m punchy.” She would have moved away, far away, but his arm merely tightened around her.

“Relax, Mel. Look. Sun’s coming up.”

They watched the dawn bloom together, his arm around her and her head resting lightly against his shoulder. Over the desert, the colors rose up from the horizon, bleeding into the sky and tinting the low-hanging clouds. Dull sand blushed pink, then deepened to rose before it slowly became gilded. In another hour, the baking sun would leech the color out of the landscape. But for now, for just this single hushed moment, it was as lovely as any painting.

She felt something here, watching this ageless transition with his arm around her. A communion. The first gentle fingers of a bond that needed no words for understanding.

This time, when he kissed her, his mouth soft and seeking, she didn’t resist and she didn’t question. The moment itself justified it. She was too tired to fight whatever was growing inside her. She was too dazed by the magic of dawn over the desert to refuse what he asked of her.

He wanted to ask for more—knew that at this moment, in this place, he could ask. But he could sense her fatigue, her confusion, and her nagging fears for a friend’s child. So he kept the kiss easy, a comfort to both of them. When he released her, he understood that what they had begun would not be broken.

Without a word, they mounted the bike again and headed east, toward the sun.

*  *  *

In southern Utah, not far from the Arizona border—and near enough to Vegas for an easy trip to lose a paycheck—was a hot little huddle of storefronts. The town, such as it was, had a gas station, a tiny café that offered corn tortillas, and a twenty-five-unit motel with a plaster brontosaurus in the center of the gravel lot.

“Oh,” Mel whispered as she stared at the sadly chipped dinosaur. “Oh, sweet Lord.” As she eased off the bike, her legs were trembling from more than travel fatigue.

“Let’s go see if anyone’s awake.” Sebastian took her arm to pull her toward the check-in desk.

“You did see it, didn’t you?”

“It seems that way, doesn’t it?” When she swayed, he wrapped a supporting arm around her waist. Odd that she would suddenly seem so fragile. “We’ll get you a bed while we’re at it.”

“I’m all right.” She’d go into shock later, Mel promised herself. Right now she needed to keep moving. Together they walked through the door and into the fan-cooled lobby.