“Why not? There’s probably a lot of people out there who would want to re-create the excitement of what those boys did. It sure has got everyone talking, hasn’t it? And with that big festival going on in town, it seems like perfect timing. Perhaps even the mayor is involved. I smell a conspiracy.”

Ryan drew back his head, confused. “Wait, the Lighthouse Festival? Has that come around already? I was sure that wasn’t for another couple of months.”

Amy laughed. “Well, either they decided to put it on early or you probably should update your calendars.”

He laughed along with her. “Wow, time really does fly.”

He fell silent and tossed her theory around in his head for a moment; if the festival really was on today, it would indeed provide a captive audience for any would-be tricksters.

“Anything’s possible,” he conceded, “but if it were true, and that’s a big if, you’re forgetting something—no lamp.”

“Right, I forgot.” Amy sat up and crossed her legs. “What if they improvised? I’m thinking aloud here, but couldn’t someone just rig up a spotlight? Wouldn’t that have the same effect as a beam from a lamp?”

“I suppose. But without a staircase, how would they get something like that all the way to the top? Sounds like an awful lot of effort to me.”

“Oops—no staircase. Forgot about that.”

Ryan plucked a blade of grass. “You know, we could always get your dad on the case. I’m sure he could solve it for us.”

She laughed. “Good thinking, I’ll get him on it.”

The conversation lulled into a comfortable silence. As Ryan glanced up at the sky, it occurred to him that they should be saddling up and heading back; the sun was making a quick descent toward the horizon and there was still an hour of riding ahead. That time had slipped by so quickly was a testament to how much he was enjoying himself, as well as the fact that he hadn’t spared one single thought to the problems waiting for him back home. And little did he realize that Amy felt the same; that she had managed to go an entire afternoon without the loss of her mother constantly clouding her thoughts made her feel incredibly grateful, more grateful than Ryan could possibly know.

“We ought to get moving,” he said, putting his hat on. “If we stay out any longer, it’ll be near dark by the time we get you back.”

Amy checked her phone, noting how rapidly the hours had advanced, but also noting the continued absence of any attempts at communication from her dad. Probably not surprising given the poor reception, though. In any case, if her dad was trying to make contact, best the excursion came to an end and she got back into cellphone coverage before he contemplated sounding any alarms.

“Yeah,” she said, “you’re probably right.”