I sense something hiding under the waves of this trip, like the treasure itself. It’s a trip on roads and through towns and cities, yes, but it’s also a trip through those memories. Through who we were, which means who we still are, and who we can still be. The move years ago had been exciting for us, for the most part. I’d had a few friends I was going to miss, and leaving our house was scary, but new adventures were exciting, weren’t they? Plus I’d still have Ruth, and that’s what mattered. She’d started having a few dark moments before the move, but she told me she was excited about it too, that maybe after a move things would be better. We had so much fun doing the Treasure Hunt across the country I thought things were getting really good again. It wasn’t until after the move that she started feeling … far away.

Mom and Dad sandwich me in a big hug.

“Be safe,” Mom says. “And be good for Ellie and Eddie. Remember the Instagram rules. I’m so, so excited to see all the pictures you take.”

“And have fun,” Dad says.

Ruth steps out onto the front porch with her luggage, the blue tips of her spiky black hair flashing in the sunlight, and Dad catches her in a tight side hug and plants a kiss on the top of her head.

“Hey, Mom?” I say.

“Yeah, sweetie?”

I step away from Dad and Ruth, and Mom leans toward me. Before we leave, I feel like I need someone to know at least a tiny bit about what I’m going to try to do. “I’ve got kind of a surprise planned for Ruth at the end of this trip and I really hope she likes it.”

I don’t want to say too much more about it, and Mom doesn’t ask. I knew she wouldn’t. She just brushes her hand down my hair. “My patient, patient girl,” she says. “You always take such good care of your sister.”

That urgent voice deep in my mind says, But not good enough.

Well, that’s about to change. This trip is going to be more than good. It’s going to be the Viking hoard of Treasure Hunts.

I look between the RV and my sister, then back to my mom. There’s blue sky and concern reflected in her eyes.

“I hope it helps,” I say.

Above anyone else, I think, Mom knows what I mean. That I’m talking about my plan and this trip and the pirate ships and … well, everything. Anything. Mom pulls me into a gripping hug, her hand tense on my back.

“Me too,” she says. “Me too.”

Mom steps over and gives Ruth a hug and says something in her ear that I can’t hear. Ruth sighs and nods.