She groaned and slapped her palm to her forehead. “I should have known. What are we going to do with him?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m not his boss.”

She rolled her eyes and looked out the window at the rain.

With the shorter travel time thanks to the car, we wound up getting to the site almost an hour before everyone else was scheduled to show up. It looked like Erick hadn’t been there for long himself. He and Professor Luna were still unloading equipment from the backs of their pickups as our car pulled up to the site. A light drizzle was falling, leaving tiny droplets on their rain slickers, but it was nowhere near the storm we’d had back in Tierra Nueva.

“Now, this is a pleasant surprise,” Erick said, opening the passenger door for Mom. She leaned over to start to unhook Celeste from her carseat, but my sister had already unbuckled the seatbelt and was shoving the lap bar off herself. Erick laughed as she scrambled out of the car and leapt into his arms.

“Well, I’m not on any deadlines right now, and it’s such a lovely day for an outing,” my mom teased. She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

It’s not like they were full-on making out or anything, but my stomach still knotted at the sight of it. The easy affection between the two of them, the way my sister clung to Erick like a beloved relative. I felt like an outsider in my own family.

There was a gentle squeeze on my arm. Tamara smiled reassuringly up at me. Warmth spread from the spot her fingers had touched. I grinned back at her.

Erick put Celeste down, but she was still holding onto his hand as he turned to address me and Tamara. “Well, gang, there’s still another hour before the shuttle gets here, but I don’t know how long this weather is going to hold out. Do you want to start working early? Clara and I are working over in Trench 9. You’re welcome to keep us company.”

Tamara’s elbow jabbed into my ribs. I nodded, a barely perceptible movement. Trench 9 was the pit that the arch was in. We hadn’t been back to it since starting at the survey. This might be our chance. It was too bad Erick, Professor Luna, and my mom and Celeste had to be in on it as well—it would be harder to move toward the arch unseen.

As we slipped and slid our way down the muddy slope, I noticed the drone that had caught my first investigation of the arch was still buzzing around Trench 9.

“You keep that thing on even when you’re working, Erick?” I asked.