Page 83 of See You at the Sunset

When he got almost to the north end of the city, he turned and headed up a small hill. He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car. It was quiet here, it being off-season and all. Henry turned to look at her with a small smile.

“Come with me?” he asked.

Jia nodded. She’d go anywhere with him. She’d follow him into the sun.

It was late afternoon, and the heat was at its highest. Jia closed her eyes for one brief moment and took a deep breath. After the chaos of the day, the quiet of the desert hit her, and she felt fortified by it.

Henry walked around to her side and stood in front of her,blocking her from the blinding sun. With it hiding behind his tall frame, illuminating him from behind, he looked like an angel. She smiled at him, and he grabbed her hand, and they walked into the visitors center.

Henry got them two tickets for the Aerial Tramway. Jia remembered riding this as a kid, but it had been years since she’d been to the top of the mountain. The ticket counter was busier than she expected, and the small number of cars in the parking lot didn’t reflect all the people inside. She looked down at her watch and then out the window and realized it.

Henry and Jia and all these other people would make it to the top close to sunset.

“I promise I’ll feed you after,” Henry said.

Jia leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder. “Always coming to my rescue,” she said.

“And you mine,” he replied.

She didn’t know what that meant. Jia hadn’t rescued Henry, not like he had her. Twice now, he’d put on his lawyer hat and saved Jia from her enemies, from her own peril.

They boarded the tram and started the slow journey up into the sky. Jia stood near the window in the back of the car, watching the city move farther and farther away as they made the climb. Henry stood behind her, her back against his chest, his hand steadying her on her hip.

Their tram car had a family and two other couples aboard, so Jia remained quiet despite all the questions she wanted to ask Henry. It could wait.

When they got to the top, Henry got off and offered Jia his hand to help her step out. Most people went inside the visitor area in the air conditioning, but Henry and Jia walked to the outdoor observation deck and stood side by side, taking in the view.

“Thank you, Henry,” Jia started, “for coming today. For helping Mimi. For helping me.”

“Jia,” Henry said.

“And thank you, for saving the day in New York too, at the Bakerson’s Group. I know that couldn’t have been easy,” she said before he could brush off what he’d done for her.

“I quit,” he said, like it was no big deal.

She whipped her head around to face him. “What? You loved that job. It wasn’t because of me, was it?”

“I didn’t love that job. In fact, I hated it. And I hated who I was doing it. And quitting was most certainly because of you. I couldn’t stand how they treated you and the other women. They might have been able to find a loophole with the law, but it didn’t negate the fact that they mistreated you. I just didn’t want to do it anymore. In fact, I don’t want to do New York anymore.” He let out a sigh like he’d just admitted a truth he’d been hiding for a long time.

Jia wrapped her hand around his. She didn’t want to assume what this could mean for them. She wouldn’t get her hopes up.

She asked what had been on her mind since the moment he walked into the office today. “How did you end up working with Mimi? Last time I asked you to help with this issue, you said you weren’t able to.”

She hadn’t meant to sound hurt, but she was a little. She’d asked, and he’d said no. So what had changed?

“I was scared of getting involved... emotionally,” he said.

“With the residents? Or with me?” Jia asked.

He looked down at her, and the side of his mouth lifted. God she loved that small smile of his.

“Both.”

“And you’re not anymore?” Jia pressed.

“Scared shitless,” he admitted. “But unwilling to walk away from them. From you.”

He turned his body to face hers, and she met him there. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He smelled woody and fresh. Jia wanted to bury her nose in his neck.