he says. “She jerked it from my hand and told me to get out. But I’d already gotten a good look at it.” Pausing, Ty adds, “Remember I told you it was Kyle’s goal to climb all the fourteeners? I recognized the two peaks as some we’d seen in books. They’re pretty distinctive.”
Amazed, I say, “You tracked Dad to Silver Lake just by seeing the peaks?”
“Well, it was his van that cinched it. In the picture you can see his logo on the door. I did a search on the internet for Winston Carpentry in Colorado and his website came up with the same logo and your address. When I saw the name Adam, I knew I was right.” Ty’s brows lift. “I took a chance and came.”
I shake my head and give a short laugh. “Wow. That was some good detective work.”
“I hoped it would pay off for Kyle,” he says quietly.
I feel Ty’s sadness like it’s my own. “I wish Dad could’ve helped you,” I say.
We grow quiet. The music on Ty’s iPod surrounds us. The dashboard lights emit a muted glow that illuminates the angles of his profile. Ty grips the steering wheel, still tense.
I think of Ian Beckett again, and fight down a surge of fear. “I know you have your own theory about why Mom and Dad left Massachusetts. Why won’t you tell me?” I ask.
“Let’s talk to Jake before we jump to any conclusions,” Ty says.
“It would take something pretty dramatic to make my parents change their names and break contact with everyone they cared about.”
My mind races with all I’ve found out in the past few days. I know Ty’s right and I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but I keep circling back to the same shocking possibility—an untested procedure . . . and what that procedure might’ve been.
“I’ve been thinking about Dad’s work with the animals at the lab,” I say slowly, apprehension fluttering in my chest. “He and his team were trying to replicate endangered species, right? In order to save them.”
Ty glances at me. “Yeah, in a nutshell.”
“When you think about it, Iris was sort of like that after she got leukemia. Endangered, I mean.” I hold very still, letting the implication sink into him.
It doesn’t take long. Ty’s head jerks toward me. “Don’t go there, Lily,” he says sharply.
“Why not? You’ve been wondering the same thing, haven’t you? Maybe it’s time we got it all out in the open. If I’m right, do you know what that means?” I press my palm against my stomach and cringe. “Oh my god, I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Stop, okay?” Ty sits straighter. “What good is it going to do you to get upset over something that’s probably not even true? Like I said, let’s hear what Jake has to say.”
I give a quick nod, then crack the window to let in some fresh air, hoping it will clear the outrageous thoughts from my mind. Ahead of us, a truck’s red taillights stare back at me. Iris is so withdrawn that I don’t even sense her presence. I wonder if she’s worried about seeing Jake, or lost in memories of him.
Returning my thoughts to Mom and Dad, I tell myself that they were just grieving. That’s the only reason they wanted to leave the past behind. It held too many memories of Iris. But then, the article that Dad wrote about his work scrolls again through my mind. . . .
Experimenting with specialized DNA technology . . . trying to produce multiple exact genetic duplicates of endangered species of animals . . .
And suddenly I hear Mom’s voice saying, “It’s important that you blend in with the other students like an ordinary girl.”
A trembling sensation starts deep in my core as my uncertainties about Iris’s intentions join all the other fears in my ever-growing collection. All my life, Iris has told me that she can’t leave because she’s waiting for someone, and I’m sure now that the person is Jake. She said she had to watch over me, and I think I might have figured out why. I’ll find out soon enough if I’m right. We’re getting closer to the truth—and Jake—with each passing mile.
Iris . . . ? I wait, but she remains silent. In a way, I’m relieved. I’m too afraid to ask her what’s on my mind.
“Hey,” Ty says. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “When I was a little girl I thought Iris was my shadow,” I say