Despite going to bed before the others, Thomas was the last to wake the next morning. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of the tent.

“Good morning.” Logan was sitting beside the fire pit. He put his book down and went to the camping stove to boil water.

Thomas looked around but, as usual, neither Briar nor his father were there.

“Briar wanted to go fishing.” Logan told him as he scooped instant coffee into two mugs. Then he added a scoop of hot chocolate mix to one of them. “She said she’d catch us breakfast, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

Thomas grunted before yawning again. He stretched and sunk into a chair. He hadn’t slept well, probably because he had gone to bed angry with himself. He was grateful when Logan came back with his coffee.

Logan picked up his book and opened it to continue reading. Thomas noticed that he was almost at the end. “You’re going to finish that before the trip’s done.” He observed, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I brought another one.” Logan was smiling. “The sequel, actually.”

“Knew you were going to want to keep reading before finishing the first one?”

“Yeah.” Logan looked up at him with an embarrassed smile. “I’ve actually already read them both. And the third one too.”

“Must be a good series.” Thomas couldn’t image going back to read something he had already finished. Even if he had enjoyed it, he already knew how it was going to end. The fun of the twist would be gone, because he would know it was coming.

Logan had closed the book again, keeping one hand on it in his lap while he sipped his coffee. “I think I’m actually getting more out of it the second time. There’s a lot of subtle things that I didn’t pick up on when I first read it.”

“Oh.” Thomas had heard people say that about movies; how they had missed things in the background. He hadn’t thought it was possible with books, where you had to read every word.

That made him think of something else. “Are the sequels as good as the first one?”

Logan grinned as if he had been waiting for that question. “These ones are. I think it’s because the author always intended to write three books, and she planned them together. When authors try to cash in on a hit, that’s where you’ll see trash sequels.”

“Ah.” Thomas nodded. “Just like with movies.”

Logan nodded. “Exactly.” He looked down at the book in his lap. “If you’re interested, I can loan it to you when I’m done.”

Thomas was surprised by the offer, but he nodded. “Thanks. I can’t guarantee I’ll finish it, but…” He trailed off before firmly nodding again. “Thanks.”

They settled into silence that was broken a few minutes later by footsteps. They both turned to see Briar triumphantly walking up the path.

She held a large fish above her head and grinned at them. “I come bearing breakfast!” She bellowed.