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still exploring fingertips. I tried to ignore the emptiness I felt at the loss of his touch.
    After a beat, he stepped back, too and moved to put my duffle in the bed of his truck with a plethora of supplies. It looked like he’d brought over and above hiking boots and a change of clothes, much to my amusement. I was glad he didn’t call attention to the fact that I’d come prepared for a week with him, too. The only sign that he might still be irritated was the way he clenched his jaw, like he was fighting a natural inclination to dig further.
    “I’m hoping that changes over the next couple of days,” he said, softly, before turning around again, and opening his passenger side door for me. Like a gentleman, he offered me a hand to help me into the tall truck that had no step assistance. Fortunately, because of our plans for the day, I was wearing jeans and my own well-worn hiking boots so climbing into the cab wasn’t as difficult as it might’ve been.
    After I settled into the warm leather seat, he closed my door and rounded the cab to take his place behind the wheel. He cranked the engine and put the truck into gear before looking over at me. “Well?” he asked, like it was obvious what he was asking me.
    “Well?” I parroted, looking at him questioningly. “What?”
    “I don’t know where I’m going,” he pointed out, bringing a small amount of heat to my cheeks.
    “Oh, well, I guess that would help, huh?” I giggled, hiding my flushed face.
    “Don’t do that,” he admonished, moving my hands to my lap. “Don’t hide from me, please.”
    “Um, take a left out of the parking lot, and then make a right when you get to Ellsworth,” I directed, ignoring his request. Giving me a look of quiet speculation, he finally pulled out of the parking lot and toward our destination.
    “Your truck is nice,” I said after we were in the long stretch toward the Usery Mountains.
    “Thanks,” he nodded, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of us. “I got it before I moved cause I heard trucks were a big thing here.”
    “So you like to follow the trends?”
    “Nah,” he shook his head, “I just heard that it would be good if I planned on doing any traveling, so I guess we’ll see this week, huh?”
    “I guess so,” I nodded, turning my head to look out the window as the desert passed by.
    “Where are we?” he asked as I asked, “Where are you from?”
    “Boston,” he answered me before I registered his question.
    “Apache Junction is a long way from Boston.”
    “I needed a change,” he said, his voice took on a slight edge during his answer to a question I hadn’t asked.
    “You don’t have an accent,” I pointed out, sensing that his departure from Boston might not have been a happy one. My own curiosity wanted to ask him about it, but I knew that turnabout would be fair play. I did not want to talk about myself in any real way with Ryan. I didn’t really share myself, who I really was, with anyone.
    “I do when I get angry,” he joked.
    “Good to know,” I smiled, softly. “I’ll see what I can do.”
    “Ah, so you’re going to piss me off on purpose so you can make me sound like a Kennedy?” his eyes slid, briefly, to me.
    “We’ll see, but, um, we’re in the Usery Mountain area. It’s the easiest way to get to the highway we need to be on without having to backtrack too much,” I shrugged. “Back tracking is one of my biggest pet peeves.”
    “It’s pretty, but not where I expected to be headed when you told me to dress for hiking and to meet you early,” he confessed.
    “Well, we still have another hour or so on the road before we get where I’m taking you,” I divulged. “Did you think I was going do the cop-out thing and take you hiking in the Superstitions?”
    “Well, kinda,” he chuckled.
    “That’s so uninspired,” I said in mock disappointment. “I mean, it’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kind of anti-climactic when you see it every