Finn smiled, amused by her sister’s surliness. “I made you coffee.” She poured coffee from the thermos into a speckled enamel mug and extended it to Zadie. Zadie threaded her fingers around the cup and inhaled the fragrant steam. She had promised herself she wouldn’t drink any more coffee while she was pregnant, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t smell it. “Thanks.”

“I tried some before you got up.”

“And?”

“I hated it.”

“To each his own.” Zadie inhaled deeply while pretending to sip her coffee. Wisps of steam swirled over her cheekbones. “You were really out last night.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Finn held up the book. “I took a break to acquaint myself with the enigmatic Captain Neptune, and I must have passed out. I had a really weird dream about fish, though.”

“I hate to break it to you, but the book isn’t really about fishing.”

“Yes, I gathered that from the first sentence.” Finn flipped the book to the first page and read aloud, “‘Captain Neptune was not a god, yet he commanded the sea.’”

“That’s not the only thing he commands,” Zadie said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Finn snorted and closed the novel around a receipt she was using as a bookmark. “I’m glad you’re up,” she said, smiling coyly. “I have something to share.”

“Okay … What is it?”

“It’s better if I just show you.”

Uh-oh. “Can you at least give me a hint?”

Her sister shook her head as the kettle over the fire began to whistle. She pulled it from the heat and poured some of the boiling water into a bowl filled with instant oats. “Eat up,” she said, handing the oatmeal to her sister. Zadie stared down at the gloopy substance the color of uncooked dough and weighed her hunger against her sudden aversion to all things mealy. She usually liked oatmeal, but apparently, the Ladybug was not a fan.

Zadie dutifully took a bite. Her sister smiled and said, “Today’s gonna be a good day.” Then she took a large gulp from the coffee thermos in her hand. Her face scrunched up in disgust. “Nope. Still bad.”

“Mom went this way.” As they left the Aries campsite, Finn broke into a jog, leaving Zadie literally biting her dust as her sister’s steps threw sand in her direction.

Zadie’s platform sneakers weren’t designed for speed, but she attempted to run anyway. “Whoa. Slow down!”

Finn waited for her sister to catch up. “Sorry. I got excited. Anyway … so, she headed this way…” She continued at a walk over a decorative footbridge flanked by mesquite trees. “She heard music, so she followed it.”

“Music?” Zadie thought back to the piano tune she’d followed herself the night before. Had her mother heard the same?