Chapter 1

Celia: Sucked into the Black Hole

This couldn’t be happening.

Celia stared at her parents. Are they serious? They generally weren’t known for their senses of humor, but still she held out a thin sliver of hope that their shocking announcement was some sort of weird experiment. A let’s-freak-out-the-kids-then-break-it-to-them-that-it’s-a-joke sort of prank. But they showed no sign of moving past the life-altering pronouncement. Okay, maybe not life-altering, more like summer-destroying. Either way, she had to admit it, this beyond-awful plan would make the perfect, cruddy ending to her disastrous school year.

The moment Dad had suggested the five of them talk in the formal living room, her internal bad-news radar started pinging. Nothing good ever came from a family meeting. Her gaze shifted to her brothers to determine their take on the whole situation.

Luke’s forearms flexed as he clasped his hands. Celia’s older brother always got his way. Surely, he could use his smooth-talking skills to persuade Mom and Dad out of this horrendous idea. He may be a royal pain and too cool to give her the time of day lately, but she’d learned over the years that it was best to let him schmooze the folks with his calm nonsense before she went into full freak out mode. This insight had come from years of being sent to her room for shrill outbursts, only to find out—after her punishment—that Luke, with his steady voice of reason, had miraculously gotten them to arrive at her desired outcome. The guy really should go into politics. He already had the clean-cut, all-American look going for him. When it came to reading people, understanding what made them tick, and using it to get his way, her older sibling was a pro.

Luke’s favorite-child status was beyond annoying, but hey, if he used it to her advantage, then have at it, big bro. Take the lead.

He must’ve felt her desperate gaze given the annoyed look he shot her way before turning his attention to the folks. Celia wasn’t sure if his grumpiness was aimed at her for staring, or at their folks for the bombshell announcement. Hopefully, the latter.

Luke’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Umm. So, you’re thinking we should spend our summer vacation driving around the country in an RV with Grandma?”

Celia’s skin crawled when Luke gave voice to the stupid idea. Road tripping in some lame camper with her parents, brothers, and grandmother?

Um . . . don’t think so. Come on, Luke, help a girl out. Time for his persuasive superpowers.

Dad clenched his jaw. “Yep. That is the plan.”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “Wow. That does sound fun. Are you talking like a weekend trip or something?”

Mom shook her head, her dyed-blonde bob swayed with the movement. “No. It would be a bit longer than that.” She nudged Dad with her knee.

The slight movement set Celia further on edge. This can’t be good.

Dad ran a hand through his brown hair. A few gray strands flecked the boring shade that he’d passed on to his children. “We would be gone for a month. Or so.”

“A month! No way! Not happening! Ever! I have plans for the summer.” Celia couldn’t stop the screech—it just flew right out of her mouth.

“Celia! That’s enough.”

You’d think she were five, the way Mom scolded her. Celia threw her head back against the couch cushion.

Luke pierced her with another scorching glance. This time she knew without a doubt who was the intended target. She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent any further outbursts.

Turning back to their parents, her older brother leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “I’m sure we could see a lot of cool things in a month. Can you get away from work for that long?”

Oh, good point! Why hadn’t she thought of that?

Dad clasped his hands together. “Well, I have a lot of vacation time built up, so I arranged to work part-time on my laptop. You all sleep later than me, anyway. I can get a couple hours in each morning.”

What? Come on, Luke, you gotta do better than that!

A flash of surprise flickered across her brother’s face. “Oh, that’s cool! Hey, sorry to be the one to put the kibosh on this plan, but I’m not sure I can get away for that long. Football pre-season starts up in mid-June, and you know how Coach is about missing practices—especially the seniors. I don’t want to mess up my chance of being named one of the captains this season. Besides, I was planning on working a lot this summer.”

He deftly ignored the other reason he wouldn’t want to be gone for so long. Jenna. His clingy girlfriend could never survive without him for a month. Celia’s quick glance at Austin to gauge his reaction only raised her frustration level. Her younger brother was slouched behind a pillow, eyes aimed at his lap—no doubt playing a game on his phone. The twerp couldn’t even pay attention long enough to stay focused during one family meeting. Typical.

One swift kick to his foot made him jump, shaggy brown hair flopping over his eyes.

“Huh?” He brushed the messy mop out of his way.

She shot him a withering glare, which produced the desired result of him abandoning his phone, at least for a moment.

Luke motioned toward Austin. “Traveling that long would also cheat Austin out of summer camp. He’s going into eighth grade. This is his last chance to attend. And Celia would miss . . .” His gaze flicked her way. “Whatever it is that Celia does.”

Seriously? He couldn’t come up with anything better than that? Unbelievable. He could take all the time in the world to understand everyone else, but his own sister? Forget it. Now that he was about to be a senior, his ego had ticked up a notch, from obnoxious to unbearable. She resisted the tempting urge of telling him off. Right now, though, it was more important that he be the voice of reason to Mom and Dad.

Dad ran his hand along his jawline. Sunshine streamed through the kitchen window and gleamed off his wedding band. The weather outside in direct contrast to the dreariness that had suddenly infiltrated their home. “Look. I know this is not how any of you wanted to spend your summer. Honestly, it wouldn’t be my first choice, either. But we’re doing this for Grandma.”

Mom turned on the spousal support and rubbed Dad’s back. “That’s right. As you may have noticed, Grandma hasn’t really been herself since her trip to visit her brother.”

Grandma had always been close to her only brother, Harry. Over the years, she’d shared numerous stories about him, causing Celia to think how lucky her grandmother was to have only one male sibling to deal with. He was a monk in some tiny town in Kansas, so they didn’t see each other too often.

Now that Celia thought about it—Mom was right. Grandma hadn’t been her upbeat self since she’d gotten back from that trip. Last weekend, when she’d been over for a barbeque, she’d been totally distracted. Grandma usually made family dinners much less stressful with her knack of including everyone in the conversation and relaying funny stories about the folks at her senior living complex. Celia hadn’t really thought anything of it until now, since she’d had more pressing matters on her mind.

“Is everything all right with her?” Luke’s forehead scrunched with concern.

Dad’s shoulder raised in a half-shrug. “Honestly, I don’t know. She says everything’s fine, but she’s certainly not herself. I’m worried that maybe . . .” He shook his head then glanced toward Mom.

Mom cleared her throat, rescuing him from whatever he was about to say. “Apparently, Grandma wants to relive a vacation she and her brother took as kids with their parents. They spent several weeks driving through the Southwest visiting national parks.” Her face hardened with determination as she took in her children’s matching are-you-kidding-me expressions.

This was ridiculous. How would making the rest of them completely miserable help Grandma feel better?

Dad leaned forward. “We don’t know why she’s so insistent on doing this. In fact, we also pushed back on the idea, but she wouldn’t drop it.” He reached over and grabbed Mom’s hand. “After much discussion, we decided that maybe this is a needed wake-up call. Grandma won’t be with us forever.” His voice caught with emotion. Mom’s hand tightened around his, giving him strength to continue. “Each year we have her is a blessing.”

Austin’s eyes widened. “Wait. Is something wrong with her?”

The gaze between Mom and Dad lingered for a moment before he shook his head no. “She claims that she and Harry were going through some items from their childhood and began reminiscing about their special trip out west. She insists that she’s fine but, because she’s getting older, thinks this could be the last big trip she can take, and she wants all of us to go with her.”

Celia exchanged glances with her brothers, then swallowed her frustration. They’d all seen the extended look between their parents. Even Luke’s smooth talk wouldn’t get them out of this one. Something was going on, and none of them could possibly say no to Grandma’s request. But a month in an enclosed space with the family? Pure torture.

 

 

Chapter 2

Luke: Roll with the Punches

Jenna encircled Luke with her thin arms. He tried not to flinch or pull away, but the PDA in front of his family made him uncomfortable.

“I’m going to miss you terribly.” The emotional strain in his girlfriend’s voice filled him with guilt. Don’t be a jerk. She’s going to miss you. Man up.

So, instead of squirming out of her embrace, Luke pulled her close, breathing in the scent of her floral shampoo. “I know. I wish I didn’t have to go.” Since they’d started dating in the fall, they’d seen each other almost every day. Being apart for a whole month would be tough. “At least we can text and send photos.”

Celia brushed past them on her way to the motorhome Dad had rented for their insanely long trip. Luke ignored the shake of his sister’s head. Celia never even tried to hide the fact that she was no fan of Jenna. Granted, she didn’t seem to be a fan of anything anymore. No, that wasn’t true. There were a few things she enjoyed, such as sulking around, listening to music through her earbuds, and doodling in a stupid sketchbook.

He’d pretty much given up trying to figure out what was up with his sister. In the fall, things had seemed fine. Her freshman year began with her hanging out with all her middle school friends, but then something changed. She went from zero to weird in a millisecond and began infiltrating the fringe crowd. Luckily, no one at school made a big deal of his sister’s aversion-to-color grunge phase.

“Thanks for coming by to see us off, Jenna.” Dad’s diplomatic words were clearly meant to end this goodbye scene. For once, Luke welcomed the disruption since he had no clue how to extricate himself from Jenna on his own without setting off the minefield of her emotions.

She pulled away and wiped her tears. “Of course. I couldn’t let Luke leave without a proper send-off.”

“Come on, gang. Let’s hit the road,” Dad hollered. He then leaned close to Jenna like he was about to reveal a big secret. “The beauty of traveling in a motorhome is that we don’t need a million bathroom breaks.”

“Siena, come!” Austin squatted down, and their goldendoodle cautiously shimmied up to him, heavy panting a sure indicator of her nerves.

“Oh . . .” Jenna reached down to pat Siena’s soft head. “She doesn’t want to leave, either.”

Austin shook his head. “She loves car rides. Once we get moving, she’ll be fine. She just gets worried when we start packing. I guess she thinks we’ll drop her off at the kennel.” He stroked Siena’s back. “Don’t worry, girl. This time you get to come along.” The dog answered with a lick across his cheek.

Mom locked the front door of the house, then joined them in front of their home-on-wheels for the next month. “Okay. I turned off the water and set the alarm. I think we’re all set.”

“Good.” Dad motioned toward the RV. “Pile in, everyone. Let’s be on our way.”

“Wait!” Grandma’s head popped out of the motorhome window. Her wavy gray hair framed her smiling face.

Now what?

“We need a photo to commemorate the start of our journey.” Grandma pointed at Jenna. “Will you take a photo of us, dear?”

“Sure.”

Luke handed Jenna his phone, then waited patiently with the rest of the family while Celia slowly plodded out of the camper, her annoyance on full display. Hopefully, she wouldn’t ruin the picture with her usual scowl.

After posing for a few shots, Luke pulled his girlfriend in for one last hug as the monstrous vehicle roared to life. His cue to leave. He smiled for a few more insisted-upon selfies, then climbed into the motorhome with the rest of the family.

He scanned the space. While he’d been being a good boyfriend, everyone else had staked out their spots. Dad manned the driver’s seat, with Mom next to him assuming the role of co-pilot, a tail-wagging Siena perched between them, her front paws draped over the console. Celia and Austin had commandeered the two bolted-in-place swivel lounge chairs. Both hovered over their phones, Celia listening to something through earbuds, tapping her foot to some unknown song, and Austin already lost to his game du jour.

That left only one open seat—next to Grandma on the L-shaped bench at the table. Since the matriarch of the family had already chosen the short end, the seat with a direct line of sight to the front window, he plopped next to her on the bench that ran under the long window.

Outside, Jenna waved frantically to get his attention, then blew a series of kisses. He smiled and waved, touched by her emotional, although slightly over-the-top, farewell. Even though a casual observer might assume he were being deployed, not heading off for a family vacation—he found it sweet.

The mammoth camper lurched away from the curb, convulsing down the street as Dad grew accustomed to the touchy pedals.

“We’re off on our adventure!” Dad honked the horn to emphasize the moment.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut. This is going to be the longest month ever.

The RV had barely made it out of their Colorado Springs neighborhood when his first text from Jenna came through.

I miss you already.

Luke grinned at the message. It’d only been six minutes since her tearful farewell. Grateful for the distraction from Dad’s choice of road-trip music (who would want to relive the ’80s?), he typed a quick reply to Jenna.

Setting his phone down, he glanced at Celia, her head swaying to the beat of her music. She had the right idea. If only he knew where he’d stashed his earbuds.

“Did Jenna send you a message already?”

He looked toward Grandma’s smile. “Uh, yeah. She’s going to have a tough time while I’m on this trip. We’ve only ever gone a few days without seeing each other.” The phone buzzed with Jenna’s reply.

Grandma pushed away the leather notebook in front of her. “Have you ever heard the saying ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’?”

Luke shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

She nodded toward his phone. “A little time and distance can be wonderful for a relationship.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jenna’s newest message informed him that she’d already posted one of their goodbye selfies. He typed a quick reply.

“Did you know that your grandpa was in the military while we were dating? He was deployed, and we didn’t see each other for a whole year.”

“Really?” His phone buzzed again, but he forced himself to keep his focus on his grandmother. “A whole year? That must’ve been rough.” Grandma was pretty tough, most likely she’d showed a lot less emotion than Jenna, even when her guy went off to war and not a simple road trip.

The skin around Grandma’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “It was. And we didn’t have texting or computers back then to help us keep in touch.”

Hard to even imagine. “Were you able to call each other?”

She shook her head. “Believe it or not, it was too expensive. We wrote letters.”

“Oh, wow. That must’ve taken a while to hear from each other.” No instantaneous messages a hundred times a day. What did they do with all their free time?

A faraway look turned her eyes hazy. “I cherished his letters.” She focused on her oldest grandson. “I bet Jenna would love to receive a letter from you.”

“A letter? What would I write?” He pictured Jenna’s confused face at getting a letter in the mail.

“Well, what do you type to her now?”

“I don’t know. Nothing important.”

“You could tell her about all that we see on our trip. And you could open up your heart and share your feelings.” Her smile turned into a mischievous grin. “Girls like that sort of thing.”

He shifted in his seat, glancing away. Open up my heart? Like in some dumb romantic comedy? Don’t think so. “I’m not sure. I don’t think I’d have enough to say to write a whole letter.”

“Maybe a postcard then. You could send her one from each of our stops. That’s what I’m planning to do; send postcards to update Harry on the trip.” She grinned. “In fact, I bought I Pike’s Peak postcard the other day so I can let him know we started our excursion.”

Hmm. Postcards? Not a bad idea. That he could handle. “She might actually like that.” If there was one thing he knew about Jenna, it was her weakness for rom-coms.

He glanced at Jenna’s newest query—wondering how far from home they’d driven. He peered out the window. Not far. And at their current speed, they might never reach the first destination. When semis zoom past, you know you’re in for a long journey. He quickly answered the text, then stuffed the phone in his pocket. Enough for now.

He returned his attention to Grandma. “So, Dad said this trip is kind of recreating one you took as a kid?”

“Yes. Want to hear the story?” Her face beamed, obviously anxious for a trip down memory lane.

“Yeah, sure.” Maybe she’d reveal what was really going on.

Before she could begin, Luke snatched two pillows from the bench and flung them at his siblings.

Austin glanced around for whatever he’d missed. Celia pulled out one earbud with an all-too-familiar scowl.

“Hey, enough with the phones. Grandma wants to tell us about the trip to the Southwest she took as a kid.”

His siblings dutifully put their devices away, and all three turned their attention to their beloved grandmother.

“Well.” The elderly woman rested her hands on the table. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but my father was a professor of archeology.”

“Cool! Like Indiana Jones?” Austin blurted out. “I loved that ride at Disneyland.”

Grandma’s gaze flicked off to the left as her face warmed with a smile. “Well, we did have some interesting adventures.”

Huh. How have we never heard this before?

Grandma peered out the window before continuing. “He didn’t teach summer classes, so every year, when school ended, we took a family trip. One year, we explored the Great Lakes. Another year, we ventured to Alaska. But my favorite trip was when we visited the national parks in the Southwest.”

“Really?” Austin’s face scrunched up. “Better than Alaska?”

Celia punched his arm. “Let her speak.”

Grandma smiled at Austin, deftly ignoring Celia like they all longed to do. “Well, Alaska was special, too. But I think I enjoyed our trip to Arizona and Utah so much because Harry and I were old enough to explore a little without supervision, but we weren’t too old to pretend and create our own adventures.”

“How old were you?” Celia actually looked interested in something besides her sketchpad.

Weird.

“I think I was probably about ten, so Harry would have been twelve.”

“You were two years apart like we all are.” Austin brushed a strand of unruly hair away from his eyes.

Grandma nodded. “Yep.”

“Did your mother go along too?”

Luke shook his head. When not immersed in a video game, his little brother couldn’t stop talking. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be breaking out the annoying puns anytime soon.

“Yes. She was an artist and would spend hours at each location sketching or painting, trying to capture the beauty of the landscape.”

Celia sat a little straighter. “Are all those paintings at your apartment hers?”

Grandma’s eyebrows arched like she was surprised Celia had noticed the artwork. “They sure are. I always thought she was very talented. She sold a few, but I think she had more fun creating than selling them. But as you can imagine, with my father doing fieldwork and my mother painting, it left Harry and me with a lot of free time.”

“That sounds like a great childhood.” Although, they’d miss out on all the organized sports camps and stuff.

“It was.” That faraway look flooded her eyes again.

“Did your visit with Harry bring back all those memories?” Luke probed, still hoping to discover more about the reason for the trip.

Grandma focused her gaze on him. “Yes. In fact, we’d both forgotten so much from those years.” She took a moment to look each of her grandchildren in the eye. “I’m not sure if you’re all aware, but Harry and I lost our parents when we were in our twenties. They died in an accident—during one of their summer excursions.”

Celia let out a little gasp. “How sad.”

Grandma nodded. “Yes, it was very tragic. I suppose it was difficult to think about those trips after they’d passed away.”

Luke’s curiosity piqued. “So, why the sudden interest in recreating one then?”

Her mouth curved up into a small smile. “I’m glad you asked. When they died, I was a new bride. Charlie and I lived in a small house. Harry was discerning religious life. Neither of us had the room to store any of our parents’ belongings, so our uncle kept several boxes for us.” She folded her hands in front of her. “I’m not sure why, maybe it was just too painful, but neither of us ever retrieved those items. A few months ago, a cousin contacted us to let us know their family home is being sold, and he wondered if we wanted the boxes or if he should just throw them away. Harry and I decided we should finally face the past and go through them.”

“That’s what you did during your recent visit?” Austin pushed a wayward strand of hair out of his face.

Grandma’s smile turned wistful. “Yes. And it was wonderful. We had such a good time reliving so many fond memories. There were notebooks with our mother’s sketches, old photographs, our father’s journals, and even the diary my mother had given me for our Southwest trip.” She patted the notebook next to her.

Celia’s mouth dropped open. “That’s from when you were ten?”

Grandma ran her hand along the smooth leather. “Yes. It’s been so fun to read through the entries.” She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. “It made me so sad that we’d forgotten how special our family trips were—like we’d dishonored our parents’ memories. Those summers are truly some of my most cherished moments of my life, and I really want to share at least one of them with you.”

Speechless, Luke glanced at his siblings. Celia seemed to be holding back tears as she bit her lip, while Austin squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. Obviously, they were both at a loss for words as well.

“Umm . . . so, what’s our first stop on this trip?” Austin, of course, was the first to break the heavy silence.

“Check your phone.” Luke knew his tone was harsher than the occasion called for, but seriously . . . could the kid be any more incompetent? “Dad texted us all an agenda.”

“You told me to put my phone away.” There was no missing the “so there” look he aimed at Luke.

“He’s got a point.” Celia smirked, then reached out her hand to high-five Austin.

“We aren’t traveling too far today.” Grandma’s response prevented Luke from launching a comeback.

The chances of surviving a month in this motorized prison with his siblings was practically zero. But he’d have to try—for Grandma’s sake.

“We’re camping near the Great Sand Dunes tonight,” Grandma patiently shared. “Tomorrow, we’ll see how far you can hike on them.”

Austin’s eyes bulged. “Sand dunes? In Colorado? No way!”

“You haven’t been there before?” Grandma’s forehead creased.

“We were there when I was, like, in third grade,” Luke explained. “Austin probably doesn’t remember it.”

“Figures,” Austin pouted. “They did all the fun stuff when I was too little to remember.” He reached for his phone.

Grandma patted the table before the kid could disappear into his cyberworld. “Do you all want to play cards?”

Luke grinned. “Absolutely.” Not only was she offering a distraction from the ’80s rock anthems and the RV’s painfully slow pace, but Grandma had revealed the reason for the trip and was now back to her game-playing self. All was right in the world.

 

 

Grandma

Dear Harry,

I’m so thankful I was able to convince them to take this trip. We are now on our way, and the stage is set. Please pray we can accomplish our goal. I will keep you posted.

Your loving sister,

Grace

 

Chapter 3

Austin: Interface

“Do you think Grandma is dying?” Austin hadn’t planned to blurt it out, but the thought wouldn’t stop ricocheting around his brain.

Celia glanced over her shoulder. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

Unable to continue his forward momentum up the mountain of sand the three siblings were climbing, Austin stopped to catch his breath. He shifted the rope of the sled he was pulling to the opposite hand. Who would have guessed it’s so hard to walk through sand? Camels make it look easy. “I dunno. I’m not sure I buy her explanation about the trip. She could have just shared pictures and told us about her childhood adventures. But instead, she suddenly wants to spend all this extra time with us? Something just seems off. And besides, she’s always reading her Bible.” Thankfully, his siblings stopped the uphill trek as well.

Luke wiped the sweat from his forehead. “She’s always read her Bible a lot. But you have a point. I wonder why she was so adamant about the trip. It’s not like when she suggested it Dad thought it sounded like a great idea. She really had to push for it—which isn’t like her.” He uncapped his water and took a long swig.

Celia lifted the hair off the back of her neck. “Yeah, you’re right. She’s the most chill person I know.”

Austin shivered as a wave of fear rippled through him. “So, you think it’s true? She’s dying?” They weren’t supposed to agree with him.

Luke shook his head. “No. Don’t you think Mom and Dad would tell us that?”

“Maybe if we spend time with her and get her talking, we’ll figure out her real motive.” Celia started trekking up the hill once again. “Come on, losers.”

Geez, where’d she get her energy? Celia was the perfect-grades sibling, not the athletic one. Big brother had that covered. “What’s your hurry? Someplace you need to be?”

“Yeah, anywhere away from you.”

Just the set-up Austin needed. “You know, Celia, sometimes you can be nice, but right now you’re being a total sand witch. Get it? Sandwich?” He grinned at his pun.

Celia’s forward momentum didn’t even slow. “Hilarious.”

“I think you mean hill-arious.” Austin stared past her to the top of the mountain of sand they were traversing, then back to where they started. Ugh. Only halfway to the top of this first dune.

“Come on.” Luke nudged him. “We can’t let her beat us.”

“Why is there so much sand in the middle of a mountain range?” With a sigh, Austin adjusted the sled again and plowed forward. Sliding down the huge dune better be as fun as it sounded. “I don’t get it. Where’d it come from?”

“How should I know?” Luke asked. “Guess you should read the brochure the park ranger gave us.”

Austin continued his slow, stalwart march. With each step, his foot sank into the sand, then had to be pulled out. He could build an entire castle and surrounding village with the amount of grit in his shoes. Maybe Grandma had the right idea, waiting at the bottom with Siena. He and his siblings had declined the offer to join their parents on a smaller dune, thinking they knew better. He hated to admit that the boring adult choices now sounded much more appealing. Austin’s aching legs screamed in protest, but somewhere deep inside, determination kicked in. If Luke and Celia could make it, he could too.

As they slowly neared the summit, Luke passed by with a few long strides. Show off. By the time Austin and Celia caught up, Luke stood enjoying the view.

Austin bent over, hands on his knees, sucking in gulps of air.

“Whew!” Celia leaned on his back to steady herself.

Luke chuckled. “You two really need to get in shape.”

Here it comes—Luke’s usual rant about what slugs we are and that we should join some sport. Mr. Football’s mind was so full of himself, it never occurred to him that some people might not like sports.

Celia huffed out a breath. Good, no need to say a thing. Austin grinned, ready to enjoy the fireworks while she told Luke off for the both of them.

“Maybe you’re right.”

What? Austin tilted his head to look at the girl who seemed to have mistaken him for a leaning post. Surely, it was some imposter. A possible shapeshifter in their midst. Because clearly, it was not Celia. When the doppelganger removed her elbow from his back, he straightened.

“Whoa.” The view before them made him forget everything. Massive sand dunes stretched for miles, ending at towering mountains.

The siblings stood in silence for a few moments before Celia shivered. “Wouldn’t it be horrible to be lost out there?”

“Couldn’t happen.” Luke snapped a photo with his phone. “Your footprints would be easy to follow.”

Rookie mistake. Austin shook his head. “One quick windstorm would make footprints obsolete. But don’t worry, a drone could easily find you. You’d just better hope it’d be a search-and-rescue drone and not a bomb-dropping one.”

Celia laughed. “Why are you so weird?”

Austin grinned, unable to look away from his sister. He hadn’t seen her happy in forever. He’d even pondered if she was still capable of smiling, like maybe her facial muscles were no longer upwardly mobile. She turned and caught him watching her. He flinched, anticipating the punch or slew of insults that were sure to come his way. But oddly, her smile widened. Bizarre. Maybe he was onto something with the whole imposter thing.

Luke held up his phone. “Selfie time.”

Austin’s head snapped toward his older brother. What was with these two? Oxygen deprivation? “You hate selfies.”

“Not when we’re somewhere like this. Come on. We need to capture the moment.”

They leaned together, and Luke lifted the phone, making sure the sea of sand behind them was visible. Why couldn’t it always be this way when they hung out? Of course, there really hadn’t been any hanging out lately. Austin had become quite used to the old glare-and-brush-off routine from his siblings. Could this trip possibly change that? Doubtful.

Luke stuffed his phone in his pocket. “Okay, let’s do this thing.”

Celia set down her sled. “Ready.”

Austin’s sled landed next to hers. “Fine and sandy.”

Luke groaned at the joke, then plopped down his sled before taking a few steps back. “On the count of three.” He rotated his baseball hat backward. “Three.”

“Two.” Austin took a deep breath.

Celia leaned forward. “One!”

Together, they ran forward then leapt onto their sleds and plummeted down the steep dune of sand.

The wind whipped through Austin’s hair, the breeze a welcome relief from the blistering heat. “Woohoo!” This sand sledding actually works!

Celia shrieked as she flew past him. Luke joined with a hoot.

Not to be outdone by the kids’ screams, Siena’s excited barks echoed through the valley. Grandma joined in by cheering and waving her sun visor as they soared toward her. She looked like Grandma always looked—not sick at all. Maybe she really did just want to recreate her favorite trip. Hopefully.

Too soon, the sleds slowed to a stop. Siena sprinted toward them.

“That looked amazing!” Grandma set her purple visor back on top of her wavy hair, which appeared silver in the bright sunlight.

“It was!” Austin glanced at Celia and Luke. He bit his lip. Should he ask? He hated to ruin the moment with his knack for annoying them. Ah, what the heck. They were bound to get annoyed sooner or later anyway. “Want to go again?”

“Oh yeah!” Luke called.

Celia scrambled off her sled. “Race you to the top!”

Pure awesomeness.