“What are they doing? Mud pedicures?”
“Beats me,” Finn said. “Should we try to wake them up?”
“That seems like a bad idea.”
“We should probably dosomething.”
“Ugh. Okay. But be careful. I’ve gotten hit more than once trying to do the same to you.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. You get used to it.”
Finn extended one hand to Huck while holding her other arm in front of her face for protection. Just as she was about to tap the little girl on the shoulder, she came to, locked eyes with Finn, and let out a shriek. Finn staggered backward, letting out a scream ofher own. The outburst woke the two older girls, and in a matter of moments, they had placed their bodies between Finn and their sibling.
“What are you doing to our sister?!” the oldest yelled. She had a defined brow that gave her the intensity of a much older woman and a ponytail so long she could swat flies with it.
Finn backed up a few more steps, holding her hands up in submission. “Whoa. We’re not doing anything. We thought you guys needed help.”
“Well, we don’t!” the middle child snapped. She had softer features than her older sister, but her appearance clearly had no bearing on her temper.
Zadie stepped in front of Finn. “You’re right. Clearly you guys can take care of yourselves. We just thought you were lost or something. That’s all.”
The oldest girl searched Zadie’s face, her dark brows knitted together in a skeptical line. “Why are you here?”
“We’re on our way to visit someone.”
“There are no houses on this road,” the oldest said firmly.
“Are you sure? We’re looking for Myron Van Houten. Do you know—?”
“No,” she answered, too quickly.
“Okay. Well… I guess we’ll leave you alone, then.”
They began retreating to the car when the littlest called after them, “Why do you want to see our dad?” Her older sisters shushed her. Huck, recognizing her slip of the tongue, slapped her hand over her mouth.
The Wilders turned back around and Finn answered, “Because we’re looking for our mom, and we think he might know where she is.”
The oldest blinked. “Give us a second.” The girls huddled around one another and began whispering among themselves. Moments later, they broke and the oldest girl said, “Drive until the road dead-ends. Look for the fish.”
Finn wasn’t sure what she meant, but thanked her anyway. “I’m Finn, by the way. This is my sister, Zadie.”
“You don’t look like sisters,” the youngest said frankly.
The middle girl swatted her on the arm. “What? They don’t.”
“We’re half sisters,” Finn clarified. They were used to this kind of unsolicited remark, but it usually came from people who were old enough that they should have known better.
The oldest girl traded in her suspicious stare for a guarded smile. “I’m Rowan.” She pointed to the middle and youngest sister in turn. “And this is Hazel and Juniper.”
“Hi,” Juniper peeped.
“Who’s he?” Hazel pointed past Zadie and Finn to Joel, who was now outside the car and looking in their direction.
“That’s our friend Joel,” Finn answered. “Do you wanna play a trick on him?”
Juniper nodded enthusiastically.