“That’s really cool,” I said sincerely. Enjoying things while you could sounded like a hell of a philosophy. Maybe one I shouldadopt.
“Yeah, well.” Si winced. “Not so muchanymore.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he pulled to a stop outside an actual, honest-to-God log cabin set in the small, grassy clearing. The house was small but clearly well-tended, its wide front porch set with a pair of white rocking chairs and at least a dozen pots of orange chrysanthemums that were too bright to be anything but plastic. The shutters on the windows had cut-outs shaped like maple leaves, and there was a giant purple-and-orange welcome sign hung on the frontdoor.
“It looks like something out of a fairytale,” I whispered. Si lost a little of his melancholy andgrinned.
An older man, bald but for a border of white curls around three sides of his head, appeared immediately at the front door, like he’d been stationed there waiting for ourarrival.
“That’s Frank,” Si said. He waved at the man, then climbed out of the truck and Ifollowed.
Frank rattled down the porch stairs and over the path to greet us. “Silas!” he said, clapping Si on the bicep. “Heard you boys were doing an organized search today.” He looked at me while he spoke, though, like my presence was way more excitingnews.
“You heard right,” Si said. “And this is Everett Maior,Hen—“
“Henry Lattimer’s boy! Of course!” Frank shook my hand. “Haven’t seen you since you were waist-high, but I heard you and Si were at the bakery together the other week! Myrna will be real excited too…Myrna!” he called. “Myrna? Get out here, honey! Si’s broughtEverettwithhim!”
Si looked down at his hiking boots and scratched the back of his head. He looked so bewildered by Frank’s excitement, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing, and I couldn’t help but admire the way his arms flexed as he movedthem.
The door slammed and a tall, thin woman with gray-blonde hair came striding out of the house, her slippered feetslap, slap, slappingdown the porch stairs and her bright-pink blouse floating behind her. She even looked like aMyrna.
“Good morning, Si!” she said. But she, too, looked at me as she said it. “Everett Maior! You sure havegrown!”
From waist-high? “Yes, ma’am.” I held out my hand. “Nice to seeyou.”
Myrna ignored my hand and gathered me up in a two-armed hug. “Nonsense! I knew your mother back when we were girls! You’re like a nephew orsomething.”
She held on tight, rocking me from side to side, because no one in this town had any sense of personalspace.
I hugged her backanyway.
“You boys are here for the search, eh?” She nodded to herself without waiting for a reply. “You’re the first ones to come in this way, but I guess the rest’ll be coming soon. You’re welcome to take a peek at the poor man’s campsite, if you’d like, but I don’t think there’s much tofind.”
“Thanks, Myrna,” Si said. “I know Mitch already came out here, but it mighthelp.”
She nodded. “Mitch and Dare, both,” she said. “New eyes are always good though, I guess. He was staying at site ten, the one closest to theriver.”
“Told John Carpenter he might as well stay there now, since it wouldn’t be a campsite at all next year,” Frank saidgloomily.
I frowned and looked at Si, who scratched his cheek with one long finger before answering. “The State of New York is taking a small part of Frank’sland.”
“Small? Big enough!” Myrnacorrected.
“Right,” Si agreed, he shot me a tiny smile, lightning-fast, that managed to convey amusement and sympathy all at once. “I just meant, they’re not taking the part with the house or the majority of the campsites, but a part up back there. They want to build a new, expanded visitor center and parkingarea.”
“Eminent domain,” Frank spat, shaking his head angrily. “Bastards.”
“They’re paving our paradise,” Myrna sighed, resting her head on Frank’sshoulder.
“Did you fight it?” Looking around the clearing, I was strangely moved. This place was beautiful. I understood the desire to want to keep all of it close, to protectit.
“Oh, sure. Our daughter Regan is a criminal attorney down in the city and she got a friend of hers to look into it,” Myrna said. “Nodice.”
“But we’re not gonna let it go quietly! We’ll keep fighting until the trucks move in.” Frank wrapped his arm around Myrna’swaist.
“You two make sure you staysafe,” Si cautioned. “Don’t go looking for reasons why Dare will have to arrestyou.”
“Darius Turner,” Frank sneered. “Mighta thought he was on our side, given how long he spent here as akid.”
