Which was hard to do with the way her phone continued to ding obnoxiously. She pushed it farther away. “I’m the one who’s proud of you.” She gestured to his sleepaway camp duffel on the floor of the living room, open and waiting for his favorite socks, which were still in the dryer. Maddie had had to pry them off his feet that morning. Probably the last time they’d be clean all summer, considering how he could barely stand to go a day without them. “That’s one neat and orderly bag, kid.”

“Learned it from you,” Danny said, smiling his crooked grin. Then he burst out laughing at his own joke.

Maddie smiled. Even if she wanted to, she didn’t have time to be neat, not when there was school and clients and a little brother to take care of.

As Danny read the dinosaur facts on the cereal box, Maddie reluctantly turned to the string of texts waiting on her lock screen. Ones not just from ValleyStart, but at least ten from a number she didn’t know. The first message identified the sender as Lucy Katz, proclaiming herself to be one of Maddie’s teammates and roommates. The girl had sent her Pulse handle and how excited she was to be at Thudding, whatever that meant, and as near as Maddie could tell, her life story since birth at five pounds, three ounces to . . .

Whatever.

“Packing a bag’s easy,” Danny said. “I can teach you . . . so long as a trip to J.P. Licks and a chocolate cone’s in it for me.”

Maddie shoved her phone in her pocket and put on her widest big sister smile. “Does this mean you’ve been snooping in my duffel?”

Danny shook his head. “Was going to help you get organized, but Mads, even that’s too big a job for me.”

“The creative brain doesn’t have time to fold.”

“Hope your new roommates don’t mind.”

Maddie felt her smile slipping and held on tight.

“It’s okay,” Danny said. “I already know how much you’re gonna miss me. I mean, who wouldn’t?”

They were both good at covering. A couple of nights, that was the longest they’d ever been apart. So, yeah, Maddie was going to miss Danny like she’d miss a limb—especially since she’d be spending her days at a technology incubator inventing another app people didn’t really need.

“And you’re gonna miss this.” She hopped off her stool and plastered a kiss on his cheek. “When I get back, we’re going to kick those pterodactyls off that island and claim it for ourselves!”

“Ew, Mads, that was all wet!”