“But what if she’s in danger?” Rio retorted. “What if she’s injured? What if she’s been hit by a boat?”

“I want to help. I really do.” Marina said, pushing her hands through her hair, exasperated. “But you don’t know how dangerous the ocean is—not once you’re out there! It’ll be nothing like the boat trips we’ve taken so far.”

“We can’t just do nothing!” he cried. “It’s not all spreadsheets and filling in columns. This is real life!”

“What are you saying?”

“That sometimes real life doesn’t go the way you want it to,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean you just give up. It means you do what you can to fight even harder.”

Rio didn’t know where those words had come from. They surprised even him. He opened his mouth to take them back but then decided against it.

Marina narrowed her eyes. “What about my dad?”

“I’ve thought about this,” he said, gulping. “We won’t tell him either.”

“How can we save White Beak without my dad’s help?” She gasped. “You mean . . . you want us to steal his boat?”

“Not steal,” Rio said. “Borrow. You know how to pilot it, don’t you?”

“I’ve lived on that boat since I was four years old!” Marina replied indignantly. “Dad says I’m a better skipper than most people his age.”

“Well, there you go, then.”

“It’s too dangerous!”

“I’m the only one who can hear the gray whales,” he said, fixing his gaze on her. “Your dad said I’ve got the ocean’s ear. What if I’m the only one who can help White Beak? To hear if she’s in trouble?”

Marina pressed her lips together. It reminded Rio of his grandmother when she was deep in thought. “I know . . . I know she means something to you. She means something to me too. But looking for a lost whale could mean weeks of searching.”

She glanced at her watch. He could tell she was about to walk away and he’d be no closer to finding White Beak. There was no way Rio could let that happen.

“B-b-but she doesn’t mean something to just me,” he blurted out.

“What do you mean?”

“You said one time that . . . that I could tell you anything.” He swallowed nervously. “There is a reason why I need to find her. A very good reason.”

“Well, it would have to be the best reason ever.”

Rio took a deep breath for courage. Because if he wanted Marina’s help, then it was time to be completely honest with her.

“It’s for . . . it’s for my mum.”

She didn’t answer, but from her steady gaze upon him, he knew she was listening carefully. “Go on,” she said softly.

Rio paused. His heart was hammering and his palms were sticky. “She . . . she hasn’t been very well.”

Rio waited for the uncomfortable silence or the pitying stare. But instead, Marina fished into her pockets and pulled out a tissue, which she pressed into his hand. It was only then he realized he was crying. Not big, ugly tears. But the silent kind that fall secretly down your face.