“‘Lo?”

“Are you seriously still asleep?”

Willa groaned and rolled over, tempted to silence her phone and throw it across the room for good measure. But Nate would never do that to her, so she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and tried to concentrate. “Clearly not. What’s up?”

“You tell me. You never sleep this late. You’re always out for a run or whipping up a batch of homemade granola bars or some shit. Are you…? You’re not hungover, are you?”

Willa groaned again and pulled a pillow over her face. It was too freaking early for Nate’s mockingly incredulous tone. “Not unless you count eating a whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s as getting wasted.”

Nate shouldn’t have been able to understand her muffled mutter, but her older brother always seemed to understand her.

“I don’t, but you do. You’re usually such a health freak with your quinoa and your kale and your—”

With a huff, Willa pushed the pillow off her face. “Is there a point to this or did you just call to mock me? Because I’ve got to tell you, it’s not the best timing.”

“Well, you know how you’ve been depressed since the cave collapse?”

“Yeah, I’m familiar.” Hence the Ben and Jerry’s binge last night and the sleeping in.

Willa wasn’t supposed to be at her crappy graduate student apartment in Stanford; she was supposed to be doing summer fieldwork for her geology program at a newly discovered cavern in Kentucky. Unfortunately, after they’d started work, there’d been a small earthquake and the entrance to the cave had collapsed. It had been at night, so no one had been trapped or hurt, but all their equipment was now stuck inside and there was no telling when they’d be able to get back in, if ever.

It’s not as if there weren’t other places to do research, but she’d had her heart set on Hendecasyll. Plus, it was halfway through the summer, so finding another place to do research was a no-go. She could read some texts and journals, get more of her references set, but dammit, she’d been looking forward to being out in the world instead of stuck in the library.

“I just so happen to have found you something to do for the rest of the summer.”

At that, Willa sat up. “Oh, yeah?”

She’d given up on doing anything terribly productive for the next six weeks or so—there was only so much time a person could spend in the library on a beautiful summer day—and had thought she’d be content to enjoy herself. Wouldn’t most people be? She’d only ever been in Stanford as a student, so even though she’d been there for five years so far, she’d never gotten to enjoy all the area had to offer. But instead of doing touristy things on her forced staycation, she’d ended up mostly lying on her couch, binge-watching TV she didn’t even like, eating crap food she could buy from the convenience store down the street even though there was a perfectly good grocery store a ten-minute bike away, and generally feeling sorry for herself.

It was like a really bad, unexpected breakup. Fucking cave. But Nate knew what she liked, and if he said he had something for her to do, chances were it would not include the phrase “Would you like fries with that?”

“Yeah. How would you feel about being a tennis instructor at a camp for grown-ups in the Berkshires?”

Odd. “Isn’t that, uh, exactly what you’re doing for the summer? Did another camp near you open?”

“No. It’s possible Camp Firefly Falls is going to need a replacement instructor.”

“Nate. What did you do? Did you sleep with a camper? Get caught doing something inappropriate with a woodland creature? Piss off the owners with paintball graffiti?”

Willa was kind of joking, but kind of not. It would be totally like Nate to take a prank too far and get in deep shit for it. He never quite knew when to quit, which had served him well in school and on the tennis court, but less so other places.

Nate’s sniff of insult was clear. “I did nothing of the sort. I’m hurt you would even suggest such a thing. However, it seems likely that I broke my leg.”

“What?” Willa tried to reach the lamp on her bedside table and landed on the floor in a heap of blankets instead. She muttered a curse and then turned her attention back to what was actually important. “What do you mean you broke your leg? How? When? Where are you?”

“Slow your roll, Wills. Some of the staff went up to New Hampshire between sessions to do some waterskiing, and—”

“Dammit, Nate.”

She and Nate were pretty evenly matched on the tennis court between his strength and her finesse, but she’d always been the one more comfortable in the water. He’d struggled with swimming lessons, but she’d been on the swim team through high school. Plus, grace was not his strong suit. Of course he’d manage to break his leg waterskiing. At least he hadn’t drowned.

“So, yeah, I’m calling you from the ER of some Podunk town waiting for an X-ray. I think they’re using the machine on a cow or alpaca or something first? Anyway, there’s no way I’m going to be able to finish out the summer and I can’t stand the idea of sending Heather and Michael scrambling for a replacement. They’ve got enough on their plates.”

Willa was already pulling her suitcase out from under her bed. There wasn’t a question involved here. For however much of a dingbat he could be, if Nate said he would do something, he did it. The idea of leaving Heather and Michael in the lurch probably hurt more than his leg did, and she could understand that. Their parents had drilled responsibility into them from an early age, and it had stuck. “We Show Up” was practically the Carter family motto.

Nate needed her. Even though he was an enormous doofus and this was clearly his own damn fault and she was angry at him for burying the lede, he was still her big brother, and he’d drop anything and everything to do her a solid if their positions were reversed.

Plus, she could still do most of her reading at camp—almost all the journals she needed were online—and not moping around feeling sorry for herself would make her more productive. She liked being busy, and this way she could run the court during the day and read at night, a perfect combination of her two loves.

“Next time you break a limb, maybe start with that and then make me a job offer? But, yes, I’ll book a flight. Did you already call Mom and Dad? What’s the closest airport?”

Once they’d worked out the details, Nate plied her with more gratitude. “You’re the best, Wills. I’m totally going to make this up to you.”

Willa had popped over to her laptop to look at flights online when she remembered a tiny, insignificant detail. “Where’s Van? Wasn’t this supposed to be three months of you guys making friendship bracelets and building campfires?”

Nate worked for one of those uber-cool robotics start-ups that had sick employee benefits like unlimited vacation time. He was taking advantage of that particular perk to be at camp this summer with his bestie—though knowing what a workaholic he was, he was probably spending as much time on his laptop and with his soldering kit as he was teaching lessons.

“Van didn’t come water skiing. If you recall, she has better sense than I do.” Willa bit back the Yeah, who doesn’t? she wanted to say. Nate had a broken leg, and his pride probably hurt worse than his injury. She should take it easy on him. “Also, she only sort of took the summer off because that’s all she could manage. She’s still at camp, catching up on some stuff with her job. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Nope, no reason at all. Aside from the fact Willa had had a crush on Van since sometime in the third grade. Maybe it was when Van had fixed the elevator in her Barbie Dream House or when she’d rescued Willa’s favorite My Little Pony from being used as BB gun target practice. Yeah, she’d basically always had a thing for her brother’s best friend.

“Van will be excited to see you. It’s been—what, ten years?”

Eight, since Van and Nate had graduated from college, but who was counting? Oh, wait, Willa was. Van and Nate had gone to different grad schools, and while Van and Nate had stayed almost freakishly close, Van had ceased to be a fixture at the Carter home, much to Willa’s dismay.

“She always thought you were freaking adorable.”

And therein lay the problem. Willa didn’t want to be adorable. She wanted Van to think she was smart, cool, and dammit if she were being totally honest, sexy. Because that’s how Willa had always thought of Van, and she couldn’t imagine much had changed in the intervening years. With the snippets she’d caught of Van from Nate’s social media, Van enthralled her as much as she always had.

Van had a certain sense of style—half mad-scientist, half-Diane Keaton circa Annie Hall. She should’ve looked ridiculous—and god knew Willa would if she tried to pull that look off—but on Van, it was…well, it was lip-bite-inducing.

Add in her crazy-brilliant brain that worked in ways Willa would never understand and her quirky sense of humor, and Willa was a goner. Total and utter puddle of girl-crush goo. For someone who was totally out of her league. Which was why she’d never bothered to connect with Van on any social media. It would be beyond humiliating to have her request rejected. Even if Van accepted, she’d feel like it was a pity friending and that might be worse, so she’d settled for cyber-stalking through Nate.

Maybe if Van could see her now, she’d see Willa wasn’t the same blonde moppet who used to trail after them. She was a strong, intelligent, and pretty freaking attractive woman who had her own life and ambitions. Really, if Van had any sense, she’d be the one chasing after Willa by the end of the summer…

Nate’s voice interrupted her daydreams. “At least you won’t have to bunk with a stranger. You can have mine in the cabin I was sharing with Van.”

“Great,” she said weakly. And by great, she meant fan-freaking-tastic. Nothing like spending the rest of the summer with a smoking hot woman who would pat her on the head like a puppy. Nate was damn lucky she adored him.

* * *

“Nathaniel Leichtensteinium Carter—”

“Van, that’s not my name, and you know it.”

She’d like to throttle Nate, but even she hadn’t figured out how to defy the laws of physics in order to do that through a cell connection. Apparently she’d be settling for giving him a serious amount of shit.

“You don’t have a middle name, which is flat-out vexing. You could’ve had a perfectly reasonable multisyllabic first name, but noooo. Nate. Did your mother not realize how exasperating you were going to be and how satisfying it would be to grind out your full name between her teeth? Nate Carter is far too short for such purposes.”

Van slammed her laptop shut and started pacing her small office at the main lodge. Being the camp’s web presence manager and all around IT minion wasn’t the most glamorous position, and the closet they’d essentially assigned her wasn’t luxe by any means, but at least it was hers. Which was decent for a temporary, part-time gig. Plus, it gave her a place where she could pace like a crazy person and not have anyone look at her like she was losing her mind.

“Not like Evangeline Anastasia Thompson?”

“Exactly. Now that’s a name you can sink your teeth into. With plenty of opportunities to raise your voice with emphasis. Now shut up. I can’t believe you’re ditching out on me. We were supposed to have all summer, and now you’re leaving? That blows, man.”

Van had committed to this camp job last year. Nate had signed on to be the tennis instructor, and when Heather mentioned to him she was looking for a dedicated IT person because handling it all herself was overwhelming, he’d told her he knew just the person for the job.

Van had agreed, thinking it would be fun to spend a summer with Nate, but after the shit-tacular year she’d had as her first year as a professor, it had become a lifeboat she couldn’t wait to sail away on. And now her first mate was jumping ship. Or her captain, really, because this whole thing had been Nate’s idea in the first place.

Van hated when people backed out of things they had committed to. In all fairness, Nate had a pretty valid excuse and he’d built up a lifetime of goodwill of being where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there, but his abandonment still poked a sore spot.

“I know, and I’m sorry you have such a moron for a best friend. If it makes you feel any better, my leg really hurts.”

Van grunted and picked up her trusty Rubik’s cube. Some of the colors were rubbing off. She’d have to take the Sharpies to it again. “That only makes me feel a little better. Seriously, though, why’d you get Willa to come? The only thing worse than not having you here is having to babysit your kid sister for the rest of the summer. I don’t do well with children.”

Or with jocks. The only thing Willa had seemed to take seriously when they were growing up was her tennis game. Yeah, she’d worked hard at it and Van had a grudging respect for her dedication, but Willa had never seemed to have much use for intellectual pursuits, so they’d never found much to talk about. Van couldn’t imagine things had changed much.

She wouldn’t know for a fact. She loved Nate, but she only had so much room in her head for social niceties. Birthdays, babies, moving, new jobs—they pretty much went in one ear and out the other. Unless you were one of Van’s people, she didn’t even attempt to keep track of those details, and that did not extend to family.

“For starters, Willa’s not much younger than us. She’s twenty-three, not exactly in need of a babysitter. Why does none of this stick with you? Besides, if you don’t want to keep an eye on her, I’m sure one of the other single staffers would be happy to. I don’t want to sound gross because she’s my sister, but I have it on good authority Willa’s pretty hot.”

“Ew, dude. That is gross.”

“Whatever. I’m just saying, she’s not going to be tagging along after you for the next six weeks, I promise.”

Van stopped her pacing long enough to put down her Rubik’s cube and pick up a wad of slime from her desk. She threw the green…stuff against the wall, and it made a satisfying splat and then proceeded to slip down the wood. That probably wouldn’t leave a mark, but she should take it off just in case.

“Fine. But you better tell her I don’t want to deal with socks on the cabin door or waking up next to some snoring dudebro, okay? They can keep that shit in the woods where it belongs.”

“I’ll tell her, although lately she’s been dating more women than men.”

She peeled off the goo and swore. “I changed my mind. Babysitting some pig-tailed little girl would surely be better than having some baby dyke hanging on me. Nate, I’m going to kill you.”

“Well, on my crutches, you might actually be able to catch me.”

Van ran a hand through the hair that had flopped in front of her face during her manic pacing and looked for something to punch that wouldn’t break her hand. Nothing being convenient, she threw the slime against the wall again. “You suck, Carter.”

“It’s not my fault you value academic pursuits over the physical. If you hit the gym once in a while instead of locking yourself in your lab, you’d have a better shot.”

No, what she’d have would be a tighter ass and no tenure-track position, maybe not even a completed postdoc or a PhD. No thank you. Although at this point, she was starting to question the wisdom of that decision. But that was because she was coming up on the start of her real, actual career. Not just all the boxes she’d had to check off on the way there—straight-A student in high school with a shit ton of science, math, and engineering extracurriculars; an undergrad with a four point nine GPA; a couple of lab assistant-ships at the most prestigious technical university in the world; a PhD from the same school; and letters of recommendation from literal Nobel prizewinners in her field—but the end game.

No one worked harder or deserved a tenure-track position at a top university like Van did. And dammit, she was going to claim it and not let the equivalent of wedding day jitters scare her off. Besides, sticking with things was a point of pride for her. She wouldn’t abandon something just because the going got a little rough.

“Yeah, well, I can still build a robot that can hunt you down, steal your crutches, and beat you with them.” Yes, her PhD was in physics, but she’d taken some electrical engineering classes for fun during college and had gotten into robotics because she wanted to be able to talk to Nate about his life’s work. Besides, everyone needed a hobby.

“Of that I have no doubt, but surely you’ve got better things to do?”

Picking up her Rubik’s cube again, Van dropped into the squeaky office chair and spun around, stopping herself by resting her crossed ankles on her desk.

“Like pack up your shit and make room for my new bunkmate?”

“You better be nice to Willa. No hazing allowed, okay? No short-sheeting her bed, no bleach in her shampoo bottle. She does not appreciate pranks, and you’d hurt her feelings if you pulled that shit. I know you and your family aren’t close, but I love Willa and her happiness means a lot to me.”

“Fine.”

“I don’t believe you, Van.”

Ugh, Nate’s tone was a verbal wagging finger. But she had to admit there was a good reason for that. Van was still tempted to drive little Willa Carter out of the cabin with some plastic spiders under her pillow. Maybe the mess of Van’s clothes spilling out of the closet would be enough?

“I’ll be good, okay?”

“Swear on Holtzmann.”

Van stopped fidgeting with her Rubik’s cube, even though she was only a few moves away from getting all the squares where they belonged.

“Which one?” Van’s gaze combed over the multitude of Ghostbusters stickers and pins decorating the bulletin board, the figurines lining the back of her desk, the goggles dangling from the bookshelf. But she knew which one Nate meant. Jerkface.

“You know which one I’m talking about. Your mint-condition action figure with the box signed by Kate McKinnon. You paid a small fortune for that thing. Even more than that old-school, limited-edition Wonder Woman LEGO set.”

Some people had pictures of their children; she had action figures and didn’t Nate know exactly how much she loved them. In fact, preferred them to most people because they never did anything unexpected. Their behavior was predictable, consistent, and reliable. Just how she liked things and just how she’d arranged her life for as long as she’d been the one doing the arranging.

“You play dirty, Nathanderson Quigglesville Carter.”

“You only say that because I know what’s actually important to you. We should be back to camp around six, and we can have one last night before I go home, okay? Surely beer will only have amazing effects on my pain meds.”

“I’ll pull the good stuff out and get it in the fridge,” she grumbled and then hung up, because she and Nate had never been much for goodbyes. It was a given: they’d talk later. The longest they’d gone without communicating in some fashion was when Nate had gone to tennis camp during the summers when they were kids. That month had always been the longest of Van’s childhood years.

But unlike those Julys, when she’d stare at her poster-covered walls and make list upon list of all the things they could do together when he got back, he wouldn’t be coming back to camp. She’d have to make do with the lesser Carter for the rest of the summer. Before he abandoned her, he’d return in a few hours, so she’d better get back to the cabin and box up the stuff he wouldn’t need tonight. Dammit, Nate.