Page 64 of The Wild Beneath

She shakes her head. It’s not only being devastated about her parents and stressed about Ruth and worried about Evan. It’s all the puzzle pieces of Walker she’s holding loose in her hands because they don’t fit together. She goes to sit at the end of the couch and considers what to ask. Where to start. How to broach all the questions that push up inside her.

“You were under for too long out there,” she starts.

“It took a while to set her free.”

“How were you under for so long?”

“I have good stamina.”

“Stamina?” She stares at him.

“It’s easy for me the same way it is for you.”

“It’s not easy for me. It’s not the same for me.”

He cocks his head but doesn’t speak.

“Why did you come back up here?” she persists.

“Your sound changes when something’s wrong.”

“My... sound?” Her voice arcs.

“Yes. Your sound.”

Her mother’s voice floats up again in Annie’s memory:You can listen with your whole body.

“Every single thing has a sound.” Walker looks at her—­too calm, too impenetrable. “Sound creates time and shape.”

He’s still not making sense. She waits for him to make things clear until the silence becomes unbearable.

“You’re not actually explaining anything.” Annie exhales as long as possible before deciding to move on. “And I’m not okay. Evan told me he’s been pulling the booms with faulty steering.”

“Pardon?” Ruth’s hoarse voice is behind them. Her slippers slide over the wood flooring.

Annie turns. “I thought you were sleeping.”

“I’m up now.” She comes around to sit on the couch. “Tell me,” she demands.

Annie tucks her hands between her thighs. “The steering on the tug was faulty. But Evan went anyway.”

Another gust of wind shakes the cabin.

“My god.” Ruth laces her fingers together in her lap. Her hands are a small collection of skin and bones. “I wish Evan could see this isn’t the future for him. He needs to leave in October. Leave Isaac to his own work.” She unlaces her fingers and rubs her hands along her thighs. “That goes for you, too. What are you going to do if you stay here? Live on a boat? Catch halibut and rake clams for the rest of your life?”

The room feels airless. Annie is aware of each passing second, the space between her heartbeats. “But I love this beach,” Annie says. “Youlove this beach.”

“I never knew anything different. I was put here with these playing cards in front of me, Annie. You have different options. Better options.”

Walker is quiet but has his eyes locked on Annie.

“I need to know you’re going to be looked after.” Ruth puts her hand to her forehead. “I need to know you’ll be safe.”

The silence stretches between them again, Walker’s low pulse now filling Annie’s belly. The wind pounds against the walls, like it wants to blow the house down.

Chapter 23

The decision comes more quickly than Ruth anticipates. By the first week of September, she’s more fatigued and not leaving the cabin.