My sister Kara poked her head into view. “Zekers!”

“Hey!” I smiled.

“Yeah, thanks for stopping by before you reported in,” Oliver said. “When can you come back?”

My foster siblings stood behind him, all with big grins on their faces.

“After the season’s over. Did Sam get to Maryland all right?” I asked.

“Yes,” Jenn said with a sad smile. “He’s all settled in and loves his new job. They’ve got a great apartment.”

Brad chuckled. “What we do for the women we love.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Dumb.”

From them on, my siblings took over the conversation as they always did—which was why Brad and Jenn snuck away for a few minutes to chat with me before they were found. They talked over each other to fill me on their summers, who was swimming, who was fighting, dating. Our family was big and crowded, loud and full of love. No one had ever made me feel the way Brad and Jenn and my brothers and sisters had. Sometimes it felt like they’d loved me before I’d even come into their home, but still, it wasn’t home. As many times as I’d tried to shove it down into the big black hole I’d created as a young child, the need to belong was still there.

“When are you going to bring a girl home, Zeke?” Kara asked.

My eyebrows shot up. “Me? Uh … that’s a good question. I dunno. Not exactly on my radar for the next eight or so months.”

“He’s still stuck on you-know-who,” Kara said, unimpressed.

My heart panged in my chest as I tried to laugh it off. “Becca? Definitely not.”

“Sure,” Kara teased.

“We were kids. That’s over,” I said.

“Okay, kids, leave Zeke alone or he won’t call home anymore,” Brad said. He leaned toward the camera. “Have you met anyone?”

“I…” I began. I winced before saying the words, closing one eye—as if that would make it easier. “I did meet a girl the other night.”

Brad and Jenn traded glances. I could tell Jenn was trying to keep her excitement inside.

“Is it the same girl from the hotel?”

“No, that’s Darby, and she’s a friend.”

“Where did you meet her?” Brad asked.

I chuckled. “The bar. But she’s … different.”

“He has that look,” Kara said.

“No look,” I said.

Oliver poked his head into view. “Definitely has the look.”

“Oliver!” Jenn laughed.

“Tell us about her,” Kara said.

“She’s talking to another guy here at the hotel.”

“Oh, snap!” Oliver said with a smile.

Jenn frowned. “Oliver, enough.” She looked at me, concerned.

“It’s fine, Jenn. It really is. He’s a good guy. They belong together. I should uh… I should go,” I said, scratching the back of my head.