“Stupid is right.” There was a pause. Finn could hear the sound of traffic in the background. Kathy must have been driving. “Was this Zadie’s idea?”

“No. It was mine.”

More silence. Somewhere in San Antonio, a car honked. “I’m just glad you’re safe,” Kathy said, the edge in her voice sanded off.

“I really am sorry.”

Her foster mom sighed. “It’s okay. Have fun. Bring me back a seashell.”

A lump formed in Finn’s throat. When she opened her mouth, the lump turned into a lie. “I will.” She hung up and took a moment to compose herself. She’d betrayed Kathy’s and Steve’s trust. It made her feel small and ungrateful, because in her heart she still felt like she owed them something for taking her in. Since they’d proposed to adopt her, that feeling had only intensified. After five years of providing for her, loving her, had they not earned the right to call her their daughter? Was it wrong of her to deny them that? Whether it was objectively selfish or not, she felt selfish in that moment, and that made it real.

“Kathy?” Zadie said as Finn returned to the car.

“Yeah.”

“Was she pissed?”

“Kinda.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

Finn felt heat rush to her cheeks. “She’s just worried. I don’t blame her.” She could hear the defensiveness in her voice.

Zadie must have heard it, too. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

An awkward silence followed. The sun was higher now, and the air rippled with heat. Finn shaded her eyes with her hand. “So what do we do now?” The question felt more daunting than it had earlier that day. She had exactly seven days to find their mom; actually, now it was more like six and three-quarters.

Zadie looked equally overwhelmed by the decision. “We could keep driving west, I guess, but at some point, we’ll end up in the Pacific Ocean.”

Finn had hoped an echo would come to her by the time they were done with breakfast, but she’d had no such luck. “I can try again once we start driving,” she said, uncertain.

“We don’t really have any other options, so I guess we’ll just keep heading toward Tucson.”

“Well,” Finn started, “there’s one other thing we can try.”

“Oh? What’s that?” Zadie narrowed her eyes at her sister.

“You know…” Finn put her fingers to her temples and scrunched up her face.

“What’s that supposed to be? A migraine?”

“No. A psychic.”

“On behalf of all psychics, I have to say that’s an offensive stereotype,” Zadie said dryly.

“Please?” Finn pleaded. “I’m getting nothing here. You can help.”

“I’m going to get in the car now and pretend you didn’t just suggest that.” Zadie ducked into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Finn followed her in through the passenger side.