Bryce pushed her hands away, nearly hitting her with the stick he held. He was drawing a line in the dirt road as he walked, with an apparent system in mind about how he did it.

“Creepier when one of them’s my cousin. I’m pretty sure she’s my actual cousin, too. It’s hard to keep track.”

“Allie?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s not so bad. She played the guitar at one of the campfires a bit ago, she was good, and she’s nice, she was nice to Bryce when she was helping out the teachers during a nature hike, even though she hates me.”

“She’s my cousin, Erin.”

“I’m just saying, if you’re going to have cross-eyed underbite babies, you could do worse.”

“Ugh.”

“It’s better to stick to the ones you aren’t related to,” Erin said.

“I don’t want to stick to anyone,” Rain said. “I’m not interested.”

“They can apply a lot of pressure. You might end up having to choose one of them.”

“I don’t even know the names of the other two girls.”

“Sounds like another point in Allie’s favor, then.”

“Stop. Please. Have mercy.”

Erin stretched, fingers knit together, hands turned outward and up over her head. The black band of her bra jumped into Rain’s attention and shook him the same way a wildcat leaping in his direction might. What kept his attention was her profile: the way the sun outlined her face, throat, chest. He looked away, his heart now thudding.

She was so beautiful he couldn’t believe they were talking together. Her and him? What the hell had he been saying before about spending a summer sitting in a hole? What was wrong with him?

She sighed heavily as she stopped stretching.

“My family’s been making those noises,” she said.

Rain glanced at her. For someone who had been joking a moment ago, Erin looked so sad.

“How bad?” he asked. He swallowed hard.

“These days? Bad. It’s all they think about. Every conversation, if it runs for more than a minute or two, turns to how pretty I am, and if I have any suitors.”

“You’re talking about the marriage thing?” Bryce asked.

“Yeah,” Rain said.

“Our parents talk about it a lot,” Bryce said. “With Erin, I mean. I’m too young to get married.”

“So are Rain and I,” Erin said.

“Rain?”

“Rain’s getting bugged too,” Erin said.

“I’m getting hints. Girls showing up with chaperones, when they really don’t want to be there, but it’s subtle. Nobody really talks about it,” Rain said.

“Lucky you,” Erin said.

“Are you managing okay?”

“I’ve been going over to the junkyard to shoot at bottles. That helps,” Erin said. She had a serious look on her face. “Might be good to have the practice if you ever need help.”

“I don’t want to get you involved.”