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“I’m not that kind of a people. One never knows where treasures might be located.”

“I found freezers and shipping containers.”

“Were there treasuresinthem?”

“Smelly mushrooms.”

“Maybe you’ll find something better the next time you use my magnet.”

“I’ll cross my fingers.” The control device I hoped to steal came to mind.

My phone rang as we walked out to the parking lot, and I paused, my son’s name popping up.

“Hi, Austin.” I strove for a casual tone, but I’d been worried about him since we’d learned Radomir had factories—or mushroom farms—not far from where he and his buddies were staying for their trip. “Everything okay?”

“Why, did you hear something?”

“Uhm, no.”

“You didn’t check Oakley’s socials, did you?”

“I can’t even remember which one of your friends Oakley is.”

“Ms. Valens,” came a young male voice from the background. “I’m offended.”

An image of a freckled red-haired kid came to mind to match the voice. “Okay, I remember Oakley, but I don’t follow him on the social-media sites, no.” I kept from scoffing aloud at the idea.

“Okay,” Austin said. “Then my lesson wentamazingyesterday. I’m hardly bruised at all.”

That prompted laughter in the background from more than one mouth.

“As long as you didn’t break any bones,” I said.

“I didn’t.”

“Thetreebroke bones,” Oakley said. “Or branches. When Aussie hit it.”

Duncan had been walking at my side but stopped to wait, his eyebrows raised.

“I told you to avoid trees and cliffs,” I told Austin.

“There aren’t any cliffs on the Heather run. But there are trees everywhere. It’s a forested mountain, you know.”

“Are you okay?”

“Fine. I just called to say… Well, the guys said… I mean, it’s okay if you come up for Christmas morning if you want.”

Even if I doubted Austin and his gaggle of freshman friends wanted a mother there, the invitation touched me. I hadn’t meant to make him feel guilty enough to ask his buddies if I could join them, but the fact that he had, probably risking ridicule to do so… meant something.

“Thanks. I’ve got some work stuff keeping me busy, so I might not be able to make it, but we’ll do our own celebration when you get back, okay?”

“Oh, yeah, that would be great.” Austin sounded more relieved than disappointed.

I was glad I’d read him right.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come, Ms. Valens?” came a call from the background. “Aussie needs someone to rub Icy Hot on his bruised bits.”

“Shut up, Davenport. You almost hit that tree too.”