The drive to the ranch took four hours.

At first, Leon kept the convertible roof down and drove slower than Lucien knew the car was capable of going, probably so Lucien could keep looking at everything without getting his face removed by highway wind.

Lucien appreciated that.

For about twenty minutes.

He made enthusiastic noises at the palm trees, the long open road, the changing sky, the ridiculous clean brightness of rural America. Then the breakfast sandwich, the blueberries, the warm sun, and the soft leather seat all started working together against him.

By the time they left the highway, Lucien had already yawned four times and tried to hide all of them badly.

"You can sleep," Leon said.

"I'm not sleepy."

"You're lying."

"I'm admiring the scenery."

Leon glanced at him. "With your eyes closed?"

Lucien opened his eyes. "Meditatively."

Leon's mouth curved, but he didn't argue.

Ten minutes later, Lucien fell asleep with his head tipped awkwardly against the window.

Leon lowered the music.

If he hadn't been driving, he would have moved Lucien's head onto his shoulder. The thought arrived easily, too easily, and stayed there while the road unspooled ahead of them.

Lucien slept through most of the countryside.

He woke only when the car slowed near a wide wooden gate, blinking himself back into the world with a line pressed into one cheek and his hair crushed on one side.

For a moment, he looked completely lost.

Then he saw the fields.

"Oh," he whispered.

The ranch opened in front of them in layers of green. Fences ran along rolling pastureland, and beyond them sat a row of clean wooden cabins, a large farmhouse with a wraparound porch, and distant red barns under the blue sky.

Lucien straightened, then remembered he had slept for almost the entire trip.

His guilt appeared instantly.

"You drove the whole way," he said, turning toward Leon with a soft, apologetic smile. "Sorry. That was a long drive."

Leon looked at the sleep mark on his cheek and the wreckage of his hair.

"I'm not tired."

The way he said it made Lucien suspicious.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm not tired."

Before Lucien could decide whether to argue, Leon reached over and fixed a few strands of hair near his temple. His thumb brushed too close to Lucien's eyebrow, and Lucien blinked twice because the longer pieces of his bangs had fallen into his lashes.

Leon's hand paused there a second longer than necessary.

A sharp knock hit the window.

Lucien startled so hard his shoulder bumped the seat.

Joey's face was suddenly pressed against the glass outside.

"Morning, princess," Joey called through the window.

Lucien opened the door and escaped the car, mostly because sitting beside Leon while Leon touched his hair was becoming bad for his health.

Behind him, Leon's hand dropped back onto the steering wheel.

He looked at Joey through the windshield.

Joey took one look at his face and stepped away from the car.

"Great weather," Joey said quickly. "Beautiful day. Love being alive."

Lucien didn't notice. He was staring at the ranch.

"You guys got here earlier?"

Joey glanced past him toward Leon, who was getting out of the car with the expression of a man reconsidering several friendships.

"Just now," Joey said. "Basically same time."

A middle-aged man in a straw hat stood near the entrance to the farmhouse, waving warmly as they approached.

"Afternoon," he called. "Lunch is ready whenever you are."

Joey brightened. "That's Boer. He manages the place for Leon. His roast chicken is criminal."

Boer laughed. "Chicken's already done, don't worry."

Lucien shifted the strap of his bag awkwardly. "Thank you for having us."

Boer waved him off at once. "Don't thank me. I like having people here."

Leon had already come around the car. He took Lucien's backpack before Lucien could protest and rested one hand briefly against the back of his head.

"Relax," he said quietly. "You're here to rest."

Lucien looked up at him and nodded.

The front fence was decorated with dried bundles of herbs and long pale roots tied with twine. Lucien looked at them curiously as they walked past.

"Bug repellent," Boer explained. "Old trick. I put some in the cabins too."

Lucien smiled. "That's thoughtful."

Boer shrugged. "Leon called ahead."

Lucien turned toward Leon.

Before he could say anything, Joey made a wounded noise.

"Excuse me. Where was this service last time? I woke up with a spider the size of my hand next to my pillow."

Lucien's smile stiffened.

"A spider?"

Joey held up his hand with dramatic sincerity. "Huge. Emotionally violent. I saw my childhood flash before my eyes."

Leon looked at him coldly.

"If you want to pass out, do it somewhere useful."

Joey closed his mouth.

Boer tried not to laugh and led them toward the cabins.

They stood in a neat row near the lake, each with a little front yard, a pair of wooden chairs, and flower boxes under the windows. The whole place looked clean and quiet in a way Lucien had only ever seen in movies, like someone had designed it specifically for people to heal from emotional damage while wearing linen.

He was still staring when Leon leaned down close to his ear.

"Choose the second one on the left."

Lucien went very still.

Leon's voice had landed directly against his ear, low enough that nobody else could hear it. Warm breath brushed his skin.

"There's a surprise," Leon added.

Then he straightened like nothing had happened.

Lucien stood there holding his key with his ear tingling.

A surprise.

What kind of surprise?

Also, why did Leon have to say it like that?

When everyone began choosing cabins, Lucien walked straight to the second one on the left with suspicious speed.

By pure coincidence, Leon's cabin was next door.

Lucien looked down at his key and suddenly felt like he'd cheated on an exam.

Everyone decided to take half an hour to wash up and change before lunch. Lucien stood outside his door for several seconds, staring at the key.

What if Leon's surprise was weird?

What if this was some extremely American ranch prank?

What if he opened the door and found a cockroach wearing a tiny cowboy hat?

"Don't trust me?"

The voice came from behind him.

Lucien jumped and turned.

Leon stood there with one hand in his pocket, watching him with faint amusement.

"You scared me."

"You've been standing outside the door for two minutes."

"I was mentally preparing."

"For a cabin?"

"For America."

Leon's mouth twitched.

"Open it."