Logan nodded. The map didn’t matter, but the fact that he’d helped her make it was perfect. She was trying and he was trying. They had years ahead of them—they had time to heal.
“… sound like a plan?” Brandon asked.
Logan smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Cool.” Brandon rubbed the back of his neck. “Me and your dad are taking off tomorrow morning. I know it’ll be hard to check in with each other, but we’ll at least let you know when we’re back in LA.”
Logan nodded. She pulled Brandon into a hug.
Alejo rammed into them, joining the group hug with the ferocity of an excited golden retriever. “No goodbyes without me. It’s illegal.”
“I’m gonna miss you guys,” Logan said. “I mean it.”
“Can’t miss us if we FaceTime every night,” Alejo joked.
She hoped he was joking.
On the other side of the truck, Ashley wrapped her arms around her mother. The Bartons’ goodbye was quieter. It was more solemn. Ashley let go of Tammy and tightened her ponytail, looking out at the lake behind the house like she thought she might never see it again.
“I know things are … hard,” Tammy said. “But I love you. No matter what.”
“I love you too, Mom,” Ashley said.
Tammy gave her a terse kiss on the forehead and squeezed her shoulder. “If this doesn’t work out, the ranch will always be here for you. You can always come home.”
“And they’re always welcome to crash with us, wherever we are,” Alejo said. “You too, Tammy. We can have a big sleepover.”
Tammy rolled her eyes. “Hilarious.”
“I’m serious. We’ll be like a big family now.” Alejo ran a hand through his hair. “A big family that probably needs a lot of therapy.”
Ashley climbed into the driver’s side of the Ford, and Logan silently climbed into the passenger seat. They settled in, staring at the driveway that stretched out ahead of them like a doorway to another world. Ashley jammed her keys into the ignition and the truck roared to life. They pulled out of the driveway slowly, waving a final goodbye to their respective parents until they rounded the corner onto the highway. Logan pulled out Brandon’s map and gave it a cursory glance.
“Where are we going first?” Logan asked. She threw her feet up on the dash and swiped her round black sunglasses over her eyes.
“East, to the highway.”
“Then?”
Ashley smiled. The sun was golden over her freckled cheeks. “Another highway. Probably some mountains. A lot of nothing.”
Logan slipped a hand over Ashley’s thigh, fingertips tracing circles against her skin. “And then?”
“Somewhere, eventually. You ready for it?”
Ashley’s smile was brighter than the sun.
The truck rattled on, shaking clouds of dust loose into the haze. The soft, gold hills of Snakebite cradled the girls in their palms, pouring them out of the lake valley and into the world beyond. Snakebite had been a nightmare for Logan; for Ashley, it’d been home. Logan touched the knuckles of Ashley’s hand. Home didn’t have to be a place anymore. It didn’t need four walls or a rocky shore or stars over the hills. It was a feeling.
It felt like this.
“Home,” Logan said, tasting the word. “Weird concept.”
Ashley smiled. She leaned across the center panel and gave Logan a soft, short kiss on the lips.
The road stretched ahead of them, twisting into nowhere. Logan’s heart skipped a little faster with each mile. Even without the Dark, it would be a long road ahead. Ashley settled into the driver’s seat with sunlight caught in her hair and it was hard to believe she was real. There would be pain and there would be hope, and Logan wasn’t sure which scared her more. But she wasn’t alone anymore.