In that moment she loved him as much as she ever had. “Liam There are some things I have to tell you, she wanted to say. There are things that have to be said.

“Hold it. His hand touched her arm, and when she raised her head he was looking up. She heard the sound of the engine then. “Prince, he said, and started for the airstrip.

She opened her mouth to call after him, closed it again without saying anything, and followed him up the path.

Old Man Creek, September 2

“Youre here because your mothers in Newenham, Moses said bluntly. Moses never said anything any other way. “She wants to see you, spend time with you. I dont think thats a good idea, so I brought you here to keep you out of her way.

Tim paled beneath his summer tan, suddenly looking much younger and more vulnerable.

“She cant last long without a drink. She never does. Well stay here three, four days, be home in time for the first day of classes. Your math teacherll still be there when you get back, dont worry.

Bill waited for Tim to wander disconsolately down to the mouth of the creek before she said, “Lower the boom, why dont you.

Moses shrugged. “No point in taking it easy on him. Life wont.

He was right, of course. Bill said no more, refilling her mug from the pot that sat warming itself on the Earth stove at the back of the cabin. She went outside to enjoy the contrast of hot, strong coffee and crisp, cool air. A porch fronted the little cabin, built of deck boards Moses had conned somebody out of a couple of years back. There was a creaky rocking chair, a bottomed-out armchair with square cushions covered in some nubby brown fabric, and a couple of metal folding chairs with no cushions at all. Bill opted for the armchair, propping her feet on the porch railing.

Moses Alakuyaks fish camp sat on the confluence of Old Man Creek and the Nushagak River, about thirty miles upriver from Newenham, around Black Point and about halfway between there and Portage Creek, where Moses kept his skiff when he wasnt at fish camp, and where there was a landing strip. And wouldnt Wy be royally pissed when she discovered that Finn Grant had flown the four of them in.

The camp itself was a modest affair, a cabin with bunks for eight, a propane stove for cooking, a woodstove for heating, and two counters, one inside for cooking and one outside on sawhorses for cleaning fish. There were racks for drying salmon, a smokehouse made out of an old refrigerator for smoking them, a banya for sweats, a tiny dock made of wooden planks fastened to Styrofoam floats anchored to the bank. There was a well and a pump, although the water was brackish and had to be filtered. A clothesline was strung between the house and one of the few trees, an overgrown alder really. There wasnt much between Scandinavian Slough and Bristol Bay that was over three hundred feet above sea level. It was one big swamp south of the Nushagak from here on, and the fish camp was on the leading edge of that swamp. It didnt encourage tree growth.