Brooke smirked. ‘Rowing is all about teamwork, Ivy. And besides, this was your idea.’
A few minutes later, with both of them pulling on the oars, the little boat was speeding – or rather, lurching – out to sea. The sea was peaceful, but Brooke’s rowing technique was decidedly aggressive, while Ivy was struggling with the heavy oars.
‘Can you put a bit more effort in, Ivy?’ said Brooke. ‘Come on. Focus. Work smarter, not harder.’
‘How do westeerthis thing?’ Ivy hissed, water splashing up her arm and soaking her jacket. ‘How are we going to aim for a hidden island that only appears at certain times of the day if we can’t co-ordinate?’
‘If you would just slow down and concentrate,’ Brooke said, maddeningly, ‘then we’ll find this place just fine.’
But doubts were flooding in thick and fast now. What if Trip wants to be alone?Ivy thought anxiously.What if he doesn’t want us to find him? What if he’s angry with me?
When Seal Island finally came into view, quiet and green, they stopped rowing, catching their breath.
‘I swear,’ Brooke muttered, scanning the shore, ‘if he’s over there chatting to the seals, perfectly fine, I’m going to make him swim back.’
But Ivy caught the note of worry in her voice again.
‘According to Bill, Mystery Island is just round there,’ Ivy said, brushing thick waves of hair out of her eyes. ‘Ready for the final push?’
Brooke nodded. ‘Come on. And let’s synchronise this time, for God’s sake.’
Brooke and Ivy walked across the sands of Mystery Island in the pale gold light of the afternoon sun. The tide slapped lazily against the rocks and curlews wheeled above in long, slow arcs.
They had managed, with much bickering, to ease the boat into the shallow,almosthidden, bay. Sure enough, the island seemed to have risen from the water as if by magic.So not all of Old Bill’s tales wereentirelymade up, Ivy thought. And there, seated on a rock, near Old Bill’s little boat, was Trip.
His back was to them and his legs dangled over the side. As they drew closer, Ivy saw that he wasn’t humming or smiling. For once, he was still, looking out over the water.
Ivy and Brooke exchanged a glance. ‘Come on,’ said Ivy.
They picked their way carefully over the rocks. ‘Hey,’ called Trip, glancing over his shoulder. He looked surprised. ‘You came all the way out here?’
‘Yes, because you wentmissing,’ said Ivy severely.
‘I wasn’t missing,’ he said, looking confused. ‘I just needed to get away for a bit. I didn’t mean to worry you.’
‘Well, you did,’ Brooke said, her usually steady voice faltering. ‘You can’t just take off like that, okay?’
‘I’m sorry,’ he said quietly, looking at his lap.
There was silence. Ivy nudged Brooke. ‘You go,’ she whispered. ‘Talk to him.’ She hung back, pretending to examine the shells that had washed up on the shore, but she was unable to resist listening in.
Brooke approached and climbed up on to the rock beside Trip, sitting close to him. ‘I’m sorry. I was just worried about you, buddy,’ she said quietly. ‘You’re my little brother. What’s up?’
‘I was thinking … I wish Grandma had seen this place,’ Trip said, eyes on the horizon. ‘She’d have loved it. The quiet. The ridiculous seals. Magical.’
There was a long silence.
‘I’m sorry,’ Brooke said at last. ‘About Grandma’s house. About this past year. I rushed through the funeral and clearing her house and the sale like a checklist of things I had to do. And then I hurried you off to Europe. I didn’t let you have time. I thought I was doing the right thing but I was so busy trying to organise everything I didn’t let either of usfeelanything.’
Trip turned to look at her. ‘You were just doing your best,’ he said. ‘It’s not your—’
‘Can you let me finish?’ Brooke said, exasperated. ‘Don’t do the thing where you jump in and make everything okay. I’m trying to apologise here.’
‘Fine,’ said Trip, grinning. ‘In that case, continue.’
‘I thought if I could only … keep moving, do the next practicalthing, we could skip the worst of the pain. But that wasn’t fair. You lost her too. And I should’ve let you grieve.’ She rubbed her forehead. ‘This whole year, I tried to think about what Grandma would have wanted for you. I set up adventure after adventure, because that was your thing, wasn’t it? You and her, having adventures. And then I thought you’d be done with adventures and you could go to college and get back on track.’ She gave a shaky laugh. ‘I was trying to be sological. So, I’m sorry.’
Trip nodded. ‘Fine, apology accepted. But now I get to make one too, okay?’ He reached out and squeezed his sister’s hand. ‘I’m sorry for not helping more. For letting you do everything.’
