I shook the trouble out of my head and called for everyone to get ready for the hike. “It’s not a long walk, but bring your water. Professor Gill will lead the way and I will be at the rear. Let’s move quickly so that we can be back well before dark. Okay, Professor Gill, take us out of here.”

We walked beneath the old washed-out highway bridge and along the ragged ridge that led south. The sun was intense as the sun was always intense out there, and I watched the students closely from behind. It was the athletic men who seemed to complain most. At first I thought it was ironic, until I understood how much attention their complaining attracted from the women in the group.

We stopped and I lectured. “These are the oldest rock bodies found in the area. These metasediments date back to the early Paleozoic era. Who can tell me what a metasediment is?”

Of course it was Rachel Charles who offered the simple answer to my simple question. She had read her homework, of course. She smiled at me, and I told her she was correct while looking away.

“This is an alluvial fan deposit that is made up of red sandstone and boulder conglomerate from the middle Miocene, more than twelve million years old. There are several layers, but all I want you to do right now is find some examples of the youngest rocks. Remember your lab work and find sandstone and marine turbidite. And also see if you can locate oyster shells, mollusk, and coral.”

“This will go faster if you work in groups,” Hilary said.

The students managed to work out teams of three, and somehow Rachel managed to be the odd person out. “I don’t have a group,” she said to me.

Hilary stepped in. “I’ll work with you. What’s your name?”

“Rachel Charles.” This was offered flatly. Rachel’s sullen face only served to underscore her youth, and for a flash of a second I saw my Sarah, and her approach felt even worse.

The hike and lectures went their tedious and boring ways. The students, despite their complaints, didn’t seem to suffer greatly in the heat and they paid relatively close attention, with the normal jockeying to stand next to whatever creature attracted them. Again, Hilary was completely at ease, a natural with them. I wanted to be able to tell her with some confidence that the research would fall into place, but I honestly did not believe that to be in any way true. She was also admirably comfortable maintaining her boundaries with the male students who found her attractive, desirable. She never showed any panic, as I am certain I did. The young men merely wandered off, confused but unhurt, yet clear on their standing.