Page 51 of Her Wild Coast Refuge

Thank you for understanding. We wish you the best in your fight.

Sincerely,

Rowan

Well,hell. I stare at the message, skimming it a second time to make sure I haven’t missed something. Is there a subtext I’m not seeing? A hidden promise that they’re not actually abandoning me?

Should I have offered my $50,000? Shit.

I force myself to refocus. It’s okay. I’m grateful for Rowan’s honesty. And I have other irons in the fire. But when I open the Nature Conservancy’s message, dread creeps into my gut.

Dear Ms. McCabe,

Thank you for alerting us regarding the Soren Lake watershed’s plight. We would be willing to pursue this matter with the help of an exterior funding source. Let us know when you have such funds secured, and we can talk more.

Our best,

Candace Bright

The Nature Conservancy

External funding source?Are they for real? If I had access to ten million dollars, I wouldn’t have bothered asking them for help.

I type out a quick reply, explaining that I’m willing to invest the modest sum I’ve raised on my own if it will have an impact. As I hit SEND, my hope falters.

Am I going about this all wrong? If I keep making mistakes, how am I going to preserve Soren Creek?

I slump against the edge of the desk and gaze out the window. The rain ended hours ago, but the patches of cloud and dusky sky are layered like a painting of heaven, with pink and orange and periwinkle blue, the outline of the mountains in grayscale.

Refocusing on the screen, I open the link from Ancestry.com with the results of their search.

Augustus Daly was born in Lodi, California in 1891. He arrived in Valdez in 1914 and left for the interior on the Copper River Trail. No reports until almost fifteen years later when he married a schoolteacher named Eleanor. They had four children. One died at birth, another died as an infant. Augustus died on December 12th, 1968. He would have been seventy-one.

I type in a search for Eleanor Daly, and one each for the surviving children. The results take time to compile, so I rub my tired eyes and consider returning in the morning.

Except there’s one more message, from someone at Fish2Forever.

Lexie,

We’ve been watching the Soren Lake mine project develop and things are moving faster than we anticipated. Your granddad made it clear that he would do anything to protect your family’s land. It’s time to mobilize.

Did you receive the book? We’re going to need your help to fight Bealer, and time is running out.

Kalle Jensen

Volunteer Coordinator, Fish2Forever

My heart thumpsinside my throat. I’ve only been to one meeting with Fish2Forever, and I don’t remember meeting Kalle. Yet, he knew Granddad.

…he made it clear he would do anything to protect your family’s land.

While that is true, it’s a little weird hearing it from a stranger. I make a note to check out the book they sent. Maybe it’ll outline their history and the kind of work they do.

…need your help to fight Bealer.

Bealer.

The name’s familiar, but where would I have heard it before?

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