Page 6 of Places We've Never Been

I wheeled my suitcase to my dad and he lifted it into the side storage compartment along with the other luggage and ice chests and toilet paper and all the other things Mom had stocked up on. “Jeez, kid, what did you pack?”

“Three weeks, Dad.”

“Fair enough.” He pulled me into a hug. My dad was short, so our cheeks met in the embrace. “I’m going to miss you.”

“You too.”

“Hi, Willow,” Dad said around me.

“Hi, Mr. Simons. I know you’ll miss me, too, but I have faith in your survival.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence.” Dad turned to close the storage hatch. “Anything else for down here?”

“No, I want my backpack with me.”

Something over my shoulder drew Dad’s attention. He lifted his hand in a wave. “Good to see you, Skyler.”

My heart sped up and it felt like I was moving in slow motion as I turned.

“You never kissedthat?” Willow mumbled beside me.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Dad said before he joined Mom.

Willow covered her mouth, muffling her laugh.

Skyler waved to my dad and then our eyes locked for a brief moment before he looked away.

He was the same, yet very different. He was much taller and broader than before. But he had the same relaxed expression, the same thick blond hair, the same light brown eyes. And because of all the sameness, a memory flooded my mind of the last time he’d come home after a long trip. He’d spent a month at his grandma’s one summer, and that month had felt like an eternity to me.

The day Skyler was coming home, I had sat on his porch, too excited to wait for him at my house. The sun was setting and the sky was bright orange. His mom’s car pulled into the driveway and he’d flung open the passenger door before the engine was even off.

“Norah!” We’d collided in a hug.

“You were gone forever. Ezra refused to work on myMinecraftworld with me, so I hope you didn’t play too much in Oregon or you’re going to be so bored this week.”

“Can a person ever play too muchMinecraft?” He took off his backpack and sat on the grass. “I have something for you.”

“Good to see you, Norah,” Olivia had said, patting my shoulder as she walked by. Skyler looked nothing like his mom. She was tall and lean, with dark hair, like her other kids. Much to his annoyance, Skyler looked more like his dad, even though their personalities were completely opposite.

“You too.” I plopped down next to Skyler.

“You have something for me?” I asked.

He dug into the front pocket of his backpack and pulled out a beaded bracelet. “It was my grandma’s.”

“You stole it?”

“What? No! You think I would steal from my grandma?”

“Youarekind of shady.”

He grinned a gap-toothed smile. “Shady like a fox.”

“Isn’t itcrazylike a fox?”

“Is it? Are foxes crazy?”

“Are they shady?” I asked.