“I cried,” he said. “He was the first person I knew who died.”

“And then my mom,” I said.

“Oh, by then a bunch of other people had died,” Kim said. “Remember Mrs. Ainsley? And a couple grandparents had already gone. And that fourth grader who had leukemia?”

I nodded.

“The point is,” Eddie said, “Kim reads all those medical magazines. She says there are basically drugs for everything and anything now.”

She nodded solemnly. “There are.”

“All that stuff with the lighthouse,” Eddie said.

“Listen,” I said. “I’m not going to drug my brother. There hasn’t been any stuff with the lighthouse for years. He’s, you know, quirky, yes. But he doesn’t need drugs. And there’s nothing to worry about with Cole. You’re just—”

I was going to say jealous. But I stopped myself in time. I glanced at Kim, and she nodded at me, her eyes big and trusting. Poor Kim. What was wrong with me? I immediately remembered Eddie’s hands on my hips, and felt my neck go hot.

“He says he’s trying to start over,” I said, looking away from both of them.

Eddie shook his head. “Be careful, Lyd. That’s all I’m saying. You don’t know anything about him.”

The wind blew a branch against the back of the house over and over. A few pale clouds scuttled across the dark sky. The evening felt full of secret things, skunks, and fireflies, and sudden gusts.

“I’m always careful,” I said, a little stiff.

“Are you mad at me?” Eddie asked.

I was. Or mad at myself. Or at Kim. I knew there was something strange about Cole—the way he said he recognized the island, what he said about knowing me from a dream. Maybe he was caught up in Lucas’s fairy tale—and that was my fault. I’d asked him to play along. But I wasn’t scared, and I didn’t want Eddie giving me advice about Cole, or Lucas, or anything else.

Cole was at the kitchen table when I slipped back inside. I stood with my back against the door, wondering if he’d heard us talking. “I like that guy,” he said.

“Everyone likes Eddie.”

I sat down, he slid a mason jar toward me, and I raised it to my mouth and drank. When I set it down, Cole was already reaching for the bottle to refill. The wine fell into the jar in a bright stream, and Cole tipped the bottle so the last drops could rain down, and the action was like something we’d memorized long ago. I put the jar on the table and ran my finger around the rim, faster and faster.

“Where’s Lucas?” I said.