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wrong by certain people. The question is whether what we do is right for everyone else.”
    Hailey shook her head. “Because that isn’t a sketchy answer.”
    “I can let your uncle fill you in. Some stories are better told by the person who experienced them.”
    “Is Mom going to be okay with us meeting him?” Hailey adjusted the strap of her tank-top.
    “Yes.” Dad nodded. “You’re both adults now, and I think Jim may be able to help you. Or at least he’ll know who can.”
    Hailey looked at me. “What do you think? Do we try our secret uncle before Mayanne?”
    I appreciated Hailey throwing the decision over to me first. “Mayanne has held information back from us before, which makes her riskier.”
    “True. But she’s a little closer.” She made a reasonable point.
    “You’re Pterons. Distance shouldn’t be such an issue.” Dad laughed.
    “That’s true.” Hailey nodded. “Ok, let’s meet this uncle. I want to know why he’s been kept from us.”
    “You really think he can help?” I desperately hoped this wasn’t a worthless detour, and I wanted to trust my dad. He’d never let me down before.
    Dad nodded. “I do. Or as I said, he’ll know someone who can.”
    “So when do we go?” Hailey shifted her weight from foot to foot.
    “Let me talk to Mom, and then I say we head over. There aren’t too many hours of darkness left.” Dad rose to his feet.
    “Good point.” And I’d wasted enough time already.
    “I’ll be right back.” Dad headed out into the hallway.
    “Wait, Dad?” I called after him.
    He turned back. “Yes?”
    “What were you going to tell me? About why you were up?” I hadn’t forgotten his sleeplessness. Pterons don’t sleep much, but we do some.
    “It can wait. This is more time sensitive.”
    “You sure?” I wanted to make sure there wasn’t something major going on I needed to know about.
    “Positive. Get ready to go.”
    He disappeared through the doorway, leaving Hailey and me alone in the dark den.
    “We have an uncle we’ve never met.” Hailey said it out loud, but I sensed she was saying it more to herself.
    “That we do.”
    “How many other secrets do you think they’ve been hiding from us?”
    “How many have we been hiding from them?” Daisy wasn’t the only secret I’d kept over the years. I wasn’t sure when I’d stopped confiding in my parents, but it had been years. I either dealt with things on my own or went to my friends for help. That was probably a really normal part of growing up, but there was something almost sad about it.
    Hailey got a serious look. “Promise you won’t do that to me anymore.”
    “Do what?”
    “Keep secrets. You’re my only brother. I need you to always level with me.”
    “Same to you. I know you hide things from me.”
    “Only the important things.” She grinned.
    “Don’t ever change.”
    “I don’t plan on it.”
    “Good.” I smiled. My little sister could be annoying, but she could also be awesome. And she was definitely closer to the awesome side at the moment. “Thanks for helping me with this.”
    “Like I said, you’re my only brother. If I had more I might have to divide my time.”
    “Glad Mom stopped with you then.”
    She laughed. “Although I did always want a sister.”
    “I wanted a brother, but it all works out in the end.”
    “It does.” She stretched. “And you’ll pay me back after this is all over.”
    “Will I?”
    “Yes. You always find ways to help me out.”
    “I thought my sage advice was enough,” I teased.
    “It is. Sometimes. Although I’ve been the one dishing out the sage advice lately.”
    “Isn’t that a bit frightening?” I laughed.
    “Yes. It is. It means I’m getting older.”
    “You can’t freak out about your age when you’re in your early twenties.”
    “I’m not freaking out. I’m facing reality.”
    “Ok, well let’s face this reality in Baton Rouge.” I headed out into the hallway ready to find Daisy.

5
    Daisy
    “ Y