“We used to, but now not so much,” I said. “She’s home a lot more in winter, but summer and fall she belongs to the cruise line.”

“Does it get lonely?” He lifted his hand to gesture to the lighthouse.

“No, I have Pen—”

Silence hung between us.

“I have Lucy, Tom, Busy’s. And you,” I said. “New friends, remember?”

Levi chuckled. “I’m yours.”

Playing along, I asked, “And what if I decide to keep you?”

“I might let you,” he said gravely.

It was just banter-y banter. He didn’t mean it. He was a freshly minted eighteen-year-old; he couldn’t make a decision just like that. Not when he had family and friends back home, college to decide about. Glum at the realization, I balled up the rest of our trash. “How’s the house and everything? All of it okay?”

“Yeah, perfect.” His throat bobbed as he took a long sip. “Except for one thing.”

“What?” I ran through the entire checklist of things I’d made sure were in order before he arrived. I couldn’t think of a single problem.

He mock-shivered. “The sounds here are different. Creepier. Like at night, when the rumble of someone’s air-conditioning kicks in, or the shadows that jump around on the walls when noisy drunks stumble by the house on their way home. The house groans and creaks sometimes. It’s a little disconcerting. Those are the things you never notice in the city.”

“Seriously? Old houses groan a little bit, you know.” I smiled around the mouth of the Moxie bottle.

“Seriously. That’ll teach me to read Stephen King late at night.”

“You know he lives nearby, right?” I asked. “And some of the movies were filmed in Maine, too.”

“What? Really?” He blinked.

“Yeah. I don’t think his house was marked on your map, but I could take you.” I peeked at him from under lowered lashes. “If you wanted.”

“I want,” said Levi, each word emphatic and eager.

“I don’t read a lot of horror myself, but I’ve never been weirded out by scary stuff,” I said. “Even though I’m on my own, I like living up there at the lighthouse. Because it’s like I’m alone, but also not alone. I can see everyone right below me. I can even see my mom’s house—your place.” I blushed a little, admitting that. “Though I’m technically watching over them, it feels more like they’re watching over me. Does that make sense?”

“It does, actually.”

I tapped a fingernail against my bottle of Moxie. “How are you liking the residency so far?”