We’d reached the gravel driveway, which was still wet in all the shaded places.
Myra ran her fingers back through her hair, tucking it behind one ear. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking since her eyes were hidden behind her aviators.
“We’ll tell you. We only kept you in the dark about the locks because we knew you’d hate it. But it’s not the wrong decision.”
“I’ll give you that. But would have rather known you were doing it. I can argue. You can out-vote me.”
Jean scoffed. “You’ll veto.”
I shrugged. “Get Ryder on your side. Or Roy, or Bertie. You know how to force me to see things your way.”
“We’re not letting you out of our sight,” Myra said. “We all agreed on that.”
“That’s going to make showering and using the toilet unnecessarily weird.”
“You know what I mean,” Myra said.
“Just as long as you both understand I am still your boss.”
The breeze picked up and ruffled across the tops of the twisted trees, buffering us with scented puffs of warmed pine and green.
“Like you’d ever let us forget.” Myra started toward her cruiser and Jean did too.
“Carpool,” Jean said.
“Shotgun,” I called.
Jean paused with her hand on the passenger side door, then laughed. “You suck.”
“Backseat, little sister.”
“Stunningly gorgeous little sister, thank you.”
Myra and I both snorted.“ If you kick my chair, I will hide your new Saruman action figure.”
She made an offended sound then more noise as she threw a few elbows and knees at the back of it my seat.
“Hey!”
“Knees don’t count!”
Myra ignored the whole thing as she settled in, started the engine and turned down the talk show about jazz on the radio.
“Which of you arranged this meeting and where are we going?” I asked.
“We left it up to Ryder.” Myra headed down the gravel road.
Jean laughed. “You’ll never guess where he chose.”
“Is it a weird place?” I gave a moment’s thought. “Too many weird places to choose from. Tell me it’s not out in the middle of the Devil’s Punchbowl or something.”
A very small smile tucked up the corner of Myra’s mouth. “It’s indoors. I think he was going for neutral ground, out of the way, and private. He is such a rule follower now.”
“Don’t tell me he rented a boat.”
“Better.” Myra’s smile had teeth. “The lighthouse.”
“Really?”
