“Are you leaving today?” She directed the question at Derek, bypassing Harrison entirely. “I’ll need about an hour to pack and make arrangements, but I don’t foresee any problems. In fact, it’s fortuitous timing. My mom came for an unannounced visit this morning. A prolonged unannounced visit. You’d be doing me a favor by letting me come along.”

Derek, who Harrison knew visited his mother almost every day for no other reason than his pure delight in her company, shuddered. “Oh, shit. It doesn’t get much worse than that. Is she a gorgon?”

“No.” Sophie sighed. “She’s the nicest woman in the world.”

Derek laughed. “I wouldn’t want to subject anyone to such horrors. By all means, let’s get you packed up and out of the way.”

“Yes, please.”

As if suddenly realizing that her plans hinged on Harrison’s acceptance, she turned to him and smiled prettily. It was the same look Bubbles had given him when he’d wrangled her into the goddamn sweater. “That is, if you don’t mind my coming along,” she added. “My reasons for wanting to go are selfish, I won’t lie, but I do think it’ll be good for you—and for the puppy. Give her a taste of what it’s really like out there.”

Harrison glanced doubtfully at said puppy and then back at Sophie. Both of them stared at him expectantly, like all their hopes and dreams hung on his willingness to play along. He couldn’t decide if it made him want to laugh or howl. It wasn’t as if he had any say in the matter.

“Fine. We can all go on the stupid camping trip. But,” he added before the bright light in Sophie’s eyes toppled him over, “you have to help me figure out what to pack for this creature. I have no idea what a skittish, traumatized service puppy is going to need for a three-day stay in the wilderness. There are cougars out there, you know. And coyotes.”

Sophie nodded solemnly, but it was impossible to miss the gleam in her eyes or the way her suppressed excitement made her whole body come alight. This was not a woman who got out much, that was for sure. No one should be this excited at the prospect of a weekend in a tent with the wildfire crew. He sure as hell wasn’t.

Well. Maybe he was a little now.

“It’s a deal.” She extended her hand and held it there. If it wasn’t for Derek standing there, watching the interaction with unholy glee lighting his face, Harrison might have been able to avoid taking her hand. As it was, he was forced to slip his palm against hers, once again feeling that sharp juxtaposition of his own rough skin and her soft, supple touch. “You and Bubbles won’t regret this.”