BooksBarbecue
Back The Wilderwomen
Chapters (37)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. BEFORE
  4. AFTER
  5. ONE THOUGHTS ON SUN HATS
  6. TWO TIME FOR CAKE
  7. THREE TWELVE MONTHS
  8. FOUR PSYCHIC KARAOKE
  9. FIVE A SECOND SLEEPING BAG
  10. SIX SIX MONTHS
  11. SEVEN THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE PANCAKE
  12. EIGHT SIX MONTHS
  13. NINE FOLLOW THE MUSIC
  14. TEN THE STARS ARE BRIGHTER IN THE DESERT
  15. ELEVEN SIX MONTHS
  16. TWELVE EVERY STAR HAS A SONG
  17. THIRTEEN PSYCHIC KARAOKE
  18. FOURTEEN ONE MONTH
  19. FIFTEEN A WELL-TRAVELED HAT
  20. SIXTEEN JOEL VS. THE VOLCANO
  21. SEVENTEEN TWO WEEKS
  22. EIGHTEEN HOUSE OF MEMORIES
  23. NINETEEN IF TREES COULD TALK
  24. TWENTY THREE DAYS
  25. TWENTY-ONE SEARCH PARTY
  26. TWENTY-TWO NOT THE SAME ZADIE
  27. TWENTY-THREE WAVES OF SMOKE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR THE DAY OF
  29. TWENTY-FIVE THE SKY IS FULL OF BIRDS
  30. TWENTY-SIX NEST
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. EPILOGUE
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT A SONG ABOUT A BIRD
  34. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  35. Also by Ruth Emmie Lang
  36. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  37. Newsletter Sign-up

“Yes, really!” Her mom’s enthusiasm bordered on frantic. Maybe, Zadie had been right. There was a strangeness to her mother in that moment, an undercurrent of panic beneath her toothy smile.

By the expression on Zadie’s face, she’d noticed it, too. “Are you okay, Mom?”

“Of course I’m okay.” Nora laughed mirthlessly. “Don’t you think this place looks like fun?” She shoved the brochure at her elder daughter as if that would somehow convince her.

“Can’t we just go home?”

“No.” The word was cold and sharp, as if it had been chipped from ice. Just as quickly, Nora grinned again. “I guess you don’t want any marshmallows, then.”

There was an uncomfortable pause, after which Zadie said, “But marshmallows are literally the only thing I like about camping.”

“Tell you what…” Nora straightened her shoulders in an attempt to appear composed. “You can have all the marshmallows you want if you at least try to have fun this weekend. And I mean really try. Got it?”

Zadie hesitated. “Okay. I’ll try.”

“Even if it rains?”

“Sure.”

“Even if there are bugs?”

“Uhh … yeah, I guess.”

“Even if the woods turn out to be haunted?”

“Mom!” Zadie clapped her hands over her ears.

Nora laughed. “I’m kidding!” she said. “The woods aren’t haunted.”

Zadie let her arms fall to her sides, watching Nora warily.

“The tent is.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Zadie plugged her ears again and ran out of the convenience store.

“Why is she so afraid of ghosts?” The idea of ghosts didn’t scare Finn like most children her age, probably because she was so used to sensing things that were no longer there.

“Because people are scared of things they don’t understand.”

Finn noticed the new freckles on her mother’s nose before she noticed that her eyes were wider than usual, like she was watching a scary movie. Her hands were trembling a little, too. When Nora saw Finn looking at them, she shoved them in her pockets. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go camping.”

Camping. Finn loved camping. Then why did she feel anxious?

SEVEN THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE PANCAKE