Page 77 of The Banned Books Club

Cormac sighed as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. Maybe his mother was right, and Louisa wouldn’t believe him no matter what he said. Then what?

“Are we there yet?”

Matthew and Greydon were getting tired of riding in the car. Margot had bought them new toys, extra snacks and loaded plenty of movies and games on her iPad to help entertain them. She’d also stopped at various parks to let them stretch their legs. Still, three days in a car was a long time for any child. “Not quite,” she mumbled, leaning forward to see the sign overhead.

“Are we going to Disneyland?”

Margot figured they might as well. They were in southern Oregon heading to California, and it was something she’d always wanted to do. She’d asked Sheldon a number of times if they could go as a family—most recently for Matthew’s birthday—but he’d claimed it was a waste of money. He could spend on guns, racks, fishing rods, camping and hunting gear, even the gold and silver coins he liked to collect. But anything anyone else in the family wanted, he often deemed too frivolous.

Although she knew she should conserve the cash she had, the kids deserved a reward for suffering through three days in a car and doing it mostly without complaint, especially since she was uprooting them from their home and taking them from their father. They didn’t understand the full repercussions of what she was doing. How could they? “I don’t see why not,” she replied.

Greydon clapped his hands. “Really?Last time we asked, you said ‘maybe.’”

“Well, I’ve decided,” she told him. “The answer is yes.”

“Is Daddy going to meet us there?” he asked.

“No, stupid,” Matthew said. “Dad’s hunting, remember?”

“I’m not stupid,” Greydon said, and Margot heard asmackas he hit his brother.

“Stop it! Both of you!” She adjusted her rearview mirror so she could see what was going on. But that didn’t prevent Matthew from slugging him in return.

“Ouch!” Greydon yelped and started to cry. “He hit me!”

“He hit me first!” Matthew snapped, obviously feeling thoroughly justified.

“I guess we won’t be going to Disneyland, after all,” Margot told them. “I thought it would be a fitting reward for how well you’ve behaved but look at you now. You’rehittingeach other? You both know better than that!”

“I’m sorry,” Matthew said. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“Me, too.” Greydon’s words were muffled as he wiped his face. “But... I want to get out. When can we stop?”

“I’m thirsty,” Matthew said before she could respond.

She glanced into the back seat. “You have your water bottles.”

Matthew lifted his, then dropped it again. “Mine’s empty.”

She shook the one beside her. It felt as if it was at least half full, so she pulled over a safe distance from passing traffic and got out to give it to him and stretch her back at the same time.

As soon as she opened Matthew’s door, Greydon pressed his hands together in a heartfelt appeal. “Can we still go to Disneyland? Please?”

A semi whizzed past, creating a huge gust of wind that blew Margot’s clothes around and caused her hair to fly into her face. “If you’re both good until I can get to the next city and rent a motel room,” she said, using one hand to hold her hair back.

“Can you get one with a swimming pool this time?” Matthew asked.

The others had had pools. They’d just checked in too late to use them. But it was earlier today, only dinnertime according to the clock on the dash, and she didn’t see any point in soldiering on. The boys had obviously endured all they could take of being in the car. So had her lower back. “Yes. I’ll stop in the next town, and we’ll get a room with a pool.”

Matthew’s expression darkened with suspicion. “Wait... Can we still go to Disneyland if we swim tonight?”

“I think so.”

Greydon broke off drinking from his own bottle. “Tomorrow?”

“No, it’ll take another day of driving just to get there,” she told him.

Matthew groaned. “Moredriving?”

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