Indiana went to bed early. A plan was forming in his head, but he would make no decisions without a full night’s sleep.

The next morning he awoke early and feeling more like himself. He showered and headed out to the lawn to find Nikki.

It was his day off and he knew it was hers too, though she had one private lesson booked today.

The day was already shaping up to be nearly perfect - breezy, and a bit overcast to tame the summer heat. The morning sun reflected in the surface of the lake, clouds and all as Indiana gazed across that watery mirror to the island.

Honey had once told them a story about the island being haunted. Naturally, he had memorized each detail without meaning to.

Back in Stargazer, Dr. Bhimani had explained to the men from Aerie that ghosts were not real. Which was a shame - the formless, floating spirits seemed much closer to the life he was used to on Aerie. It had turned out that many of the wonderful things they had seen in the movies were not real.

Humans loved to tell stories, even ones that weren’t true.

Staring into the darkness between the trees, he could almost understand the creepy appeal. It was fascinating to think of the ghost of the woman, whose new husband and younger sister had plotted her death, pacing the planks of the abandoned cottage. Indiana could practically hear the scream of the sister when the woman came out of the cottage with her gun. The sharp sound of the gunshot as the woman killed the husband. And the terrible splash of her throwing herself off the cliffside to drown in the cold water at the other end of the island.

Indiana noticed a flash of movement from between the trees on the island.

“Hey,” Nikki’s voice came from right behind him. It was all he could do not to jump out of his shoes.

He managed to turn smoothly. Or at least, he thought he had.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” Nikki teased. “Were you listening for the gunshot?”

Indiana laughed. “I guess I was.”

“Did you hear it?” she asked.

“No,” he shook his head and winked. “I guess I’ll have to go over there for further investigation. Want to join me?”

“No thanks,” Nikki shook her head. “Hey, thank you.”

“What for?”

“For not ratting me out,” she said. “It has to be hard to keep a secret from your brothers. I know those guys are all you have.”

He nodded.

She put it so well, just the way he thought of it. Without his brothers, he had no ties to what he once had been, no one to understand his daily confusion, or to share in newfound knowledge.

“I’m sorry I put you in that position,” she said.

Her expression was so serious, so contrite. She reminded him of Remington for a moment.

“It’s fine, Nikki,” he said. “I’m glad you trust me with your secret. And I’ve been thinking that maybe I could help you.”

“Oh,” she said, looking surprised. “You are helping, just by keeping the secret.”

“Nikki,” he said, “I could play poker with him.”

“But you don’t know how to play poker,” she said.

“I’m a fast learner,” he said, in probably the understatement of the century.

“You don’t know anything about the stock market,” she said.

“I’ve got a great memory,” he told her. “I’ll remember everything he says and come back and tell it to you.”

“No one has that great a memory,” she laughed.

“I won’t forget what he says,” Indy told her.

She stopped laughing and looked up at him. Her blue eyes seared through him and he tried to remind himself that she wasn’t so innocent. She had been tricking him, tricking them all.

“Why do you want to help me?” she asked.

Because I care about you even though you aren’t who you said you were.

Because even if it kills me to keep secrets from my brothers, I hope that sharing this secret will cement our bond.

“Because I’m your friend,” he told her.

She nodded, a serious expression on her face.

“Thank you, Indiana,” she told him. “I hope one day I can return the favor.”

He tried hard not to picture the kind of favor he would like from her, the feel of those chestnut curls in his hands, the taste of her lips, the soft warmth of her body pressed to his again…

“Do you have anywhere else you need to be today?” she asked.

“No,” he said.

“Let’s go to town, then,” she said. “We’ll grab a deck of cards and I’ll teach you how to play poker.”

“I like this plan,” he said. “Maybe I can buy you lunch?”

“Maybe,” she smiled back.

For a moment her eyes sparkled in the morning sun, and he could have done a back flip with joy at the way her smile stretched her face.

Then she shut down again, as usual.

“I should buy you, lunch,” she said in a business-like tone. “After all, you’re going to help me.”

“You’re just a poor college student,” he teased. “I’m an alien, poised on the edge of fame and fortune.”

She laughed in spite of herself, and they headed off to the staff parking lot.

The ride into town was unremarkable, but Indiana luxuriated in the time spent alone with Nikki. He tried to memorize the way the sunlight flashed through the trees to illuminate her cheeks, the way her sunglasses rested on her nose, the unconscious way she massaged the steering wheel, rolling her thumbs in small circles as if to calm the car.

It was only when they pulled up in the small town parking lot that he realized they hadn’t spoken at all during the ride.

“Let’s go to the Hobby Shop first,” Nikki suggested.

“Sounds good,” he agreed.

He followed her onto the sidewalk and into the door under the awning of one of the stores.

Lovely music greeted his ears. Inside the store, children were either playing with a train set or sitting on the floor, reading books as big as they were while the mothers chatted.

“Oh, hello,” said an elderly woman from a seat behind the counter. “How can I help you?”

“Please don’t get up,” Nikki said, heading over to the lady. “We wanted to buy cards.”

“Greeting cards, collectible cards or playing cards?” the lady wanted to know.

“Playing cards, please,” Nikki said.

“For games or for magic tricks?”

“Games,” Nikki said.

“Plain or novelty?”

Indiana had not known there could be so many kinds of cards. The woman was clearly in a very confusing business.

“Plain, thanks,” Nikki said.

The lady reached beneath the counter and pulled out a deck of cards wrapped in plastic. “That will be six dollars and thirty-six cents.”

Indy slipped his money out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.

The woman gasped.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I definitely have at least six dollars and thirty-six cents.”

He plucked six one-dollar bills proudly from the stack and handed them to the lady. Then he counted out thirty-six cents and handed them over as well.

He picked up the rest of the money and shoved it back into his pocket.

“Thank you,” the lady said.

“Thank you,” he told her politely. “You have a lovely store. I will be sure to visit again if I ever need greeting cards, collectible cards, magic cards or novelty cards.”

“Er, thanks,” said the woman.

“Are the magic cards actually magical?” He asked with a sly wink. He knew the answer, but couldn’t resist. Magical cards might be useful for him to help Nikki.

“Oh,” the woman said in a surprised way. Then she laughed hard. “He’s a caution,” she told Nikki, shaking her head.

“Tell me about it,” Nikki said with a roll of her eyes.

Indiana would have asked what was happening if Nikki hadn’t dragged him by the arm to the door.