Zadie was about to protest again when she imagined a tiny flicker in her abdomen. She couldn’t risk getting hypothermia with the little Star inside her.

She and Joel settled themselves on the bed of needles and leaned their backs against the trunk of the fir. Joel’s beard was dewy and wet strands of hair clung to his forehead. “Aren’t you not supposed to sit under a tree in a thunderstorm?” he said.

“There’s nowhere that isn’t under a tree.”

“I guess so.” Joel gave Zadie a sidelong glance. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking that I’m cold, and if I’m cold, Finn’s probably freezing right now.”

“Maybe she brought a jacket.”

“Maybe.”

They watched a curtain of water cascade off the outermost boughs, creating their own little Cone of Silence.

“You know you can trust me, right?” Joel said, finally. Zadie didn’t say yes, afraid of what would come next.

“If something’s going on with Finn, I want to help.”

“She’s lost, and you are helping.” She could feel Joel’s scrupulous gaze on her like a magnifying glass.

“Then why for the last two days has she looked like she’s just seen a ghost?”

The word “ghost” made Zadie shiver. She supposed Finn was haunted in a way, hearing and seeing things that weren’t really there. Since they’d arrived at the Van Houtens’, it had seemed like her sister was dragging all of those memories behind her like a sled. “I think she’s overwhelmed,” Zadie said. “That house has a lot of memories in it.”

Joel nodded, indulging her half-truth. “Must be tough having all those thoughts in your head at once.”

“Yeah…” There was more she could have said, more she wanted to say about her sister, her mom, herself; but Zadie had spent most of her life biting the heads off her fears before they had a chance to speak. She thought of it as self-sufficiency when it was really silent suffering. She had cried in front of Joel many times, but once her tears were dry, she would pretend as if nothing had happened. She was like a stray cat who cries at the back door for food, then once it has had its fill, slinks off as if it never asked for it in the first place. Joel had left his door wide open, and even now she couldn’t bring herself to walk inside. “I hope the rain lets up soon.”

“Me too” was all Joel said in response, his door clicking shut.

Myron appeared a moment later, flush-faced and breathing heavily. “Did you find anything?” Zadie asked him, grateful to have someone to break the awkward silence.