Willa hits send before she loses her nerve. She’s not the kind of girl who acts out. She’d rather choke on her own tongue than sass her mother. But right now everything sucks. Finley is dead, Taylor is mad, and Campbell is gone. Somehow they have to recapture the magic they had in Niagara Falls, otherwise this trip will be a complete bust. Willa closes the laptop and goes out into the cockpit.

“I’m really sorry I abandoned you at the party,” she says. “It was a selfish, shitty thing to do and it won’t happen again.”

“Apology accepted,” Taylor says, but she doesn’t quite commit herself to a smile.

“I figured out the next clue. It’s Sleepy Hollow.”

“Cool.”

“Actually, peak cool would be at Halloween, when they have midnight graveyard tours and haunted hayrides,” Willa says. “But in June? I mean, there are a lot of historical sites we could visit, but nothing to lose your head over.”

Taylor’s brow furrows as the joke sails right past her. “Are you saying we should skip it?”

“Are you having fun?”

“I mean, this is better than working the farm stand all summer and we’re traveling, but . . . I guess I thought it would be more exciting.”

“Me too,” Willa agrees. “Which is why I think we should skip Sleepy Hollow and focus on the next clue, which is obviously New York City. I mean, ‘Take a bite out of life’? Finley really isn’t bringing it with these clues.”

Taylor snorts a laugh. “Okay.”

“Really?” Willa had steeled herself for resistance, but this conversation has been unexpectedly smooth. “Okay, then.”

Following a tip from Captain Norm, their next stop is Little Falls, where the free marina has a clubhouse equipped with showers and laundry. They spend the evening cleaning all the crumbly and sticky bits from the cabin and washing a mountain of dirty clothes. It’s not the excitement they’ve been craving, but it’s necessary and a clean boat feels like a fresh start.

“I’ve never been so happy to shave my legs.” Willa sighs as she twists her damp hair into little buns on each side of her head.

Taylor laughs. “I was starting to worry someone would mistake me for Bigfoot.”

Willa rummages through the storage box for something to eat, but her stomach revolts at the thought of rice, ramen, or soup. She sighs. “I would give my future firstborn child for a taco right now.”