“I’ve no intention of buying it.” Embarrassed, she drew the hat off and returned it to the shelf.

“Why not?”

“I’ve no need for it.”

“A woman who buys only what she needs?” Amusement crossed his face even as anger crossed hers. “A sexist remark if I’ve ever heard one,” Hunter continued before she could speak. “Still, it’s a pity you won’t buy it. It gives you a breezy air of confidence.”

Ignoring that, Lee bent down and picked up her knapsack again. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long. I got into town early and decided to kill some time.”

“I saw you wander in here when I drove in. Even in jeans you walk as though you were wearing a three-piece suit.” While she tried to work out if that had been a compliment, he smiled. “What kind did you buy?”

“What?” She was still frowning over his comment.

“Fudge.” He glanced down at the bag. “What kind did you buy?”

Caught again, Lee thought, nearly resigned to it. “Some milk chocolate and some rocky road.”

“Good choice.” Taking her arm, he led her through the shop. “If you’re determined to resist the hat, we may as well get started.”

She noted the Jeep parked at the curb and narrowed her eyes. This was certainly the same one he’d had in Flagstaff. “Have you been staying in Arizona?”

He circled the hood, leaving her to climb in on her own. “I’ve had some business to take care of.”

Her reporter’s sense sharpened. “Research?”

He gave her that odd ghost of a smile. “A writer’s always researching.” He wouldn’t tell her—yet—that his research on Lenore Radcliffe had led him to some intriguing conclusions. “You brought a copy of the rest of your manuscript?”

Unable to prevent herself, Lee shot him a look of intense dislike. “That was one of the conditions.”

“So it was.” Easily he backed up, then pulled into the thin stream of traffic. “What’s your impression of Sedona?”

“I can see that the weather and the atmosphere would draw the tourist trade.” She found it necessary to sit very erect and to look straight ahead.

“The same might be said of Maui or the South of France.”

She couldn’t stop her lips from curving, but turned to look out the side window. “It has the air of having been here forever, with very little change. The sense of space is fierce, not at all soothing, but it pulls you in. I suppose it makes me think of the people who first saw it from horseback or the seat of a wagon. I imagine some of them would have been compelled to build right away, to set up a community so that the vastness didn’t overwhelm them.”

“And others would have been drawn to the desert or the mountains so that the buildings wouldn’t close them in.”