Page 56 of See How They Hide

At the time, William believed what he said. But now, he didn’t love Calliope. He feared who she had become.

Athena didn’t see it, but he didn’t blame her. Thalia...she saw. But she would never leave her mother. William couldn’t participate anymore.

He was getting old—he was ten years older than Athena—and the winters were hard on him. Arthritis ran through his joints, brutal and painful. He would miss Athena terribly, but this was the best decision for him.

He wished she would come with him.

He’d been planning his departure for more than a year. He’d already taken care of the paperwork for Athena—he would never take Havenwood away from her. But he also would never allow Calliope to have the land. When Athena passed, it would go to Thalia. If anything happened to Thalia, or if she didn’t want it, it would go to Riley. And the paperwork was clear: if Riley wasn’t around or if she didn’t want it, she couldn’t sign it over to anyone. He feared Calliope would manipulate her daughter into giving it to her. Instead, the land would go to a group that ran summer camps for children.

And if there was no group to run it, maintain it, pay the taxes? It would go to the government to be absorbed into the National Forest.

Calliope and her people would never own Havenwood. William couldn’t allow it.

“Dad, what are you doing up there?”

Thalia was looking at him from the base of the rock.

“Come on up.”

She frowned, but scrambled up the back of the boulder where there were footholds that had been made over time. She sat next to him. “You shouldn’t be climbing rocks.”

“It’s the last time.”

“I don’t want you to go.” Her voice cracked and she leaned into him.

“I would ask you to come with me, but I know you won’t leave your mother.”

“Maybe we all should go.”

“Do you want to?”

She didn’t say anything for a long minute. “Sometimes.”

“And your mom?”

“She will never leave. Even when she’s sad, she’s happier here than anywhere else. Last time we went to a fair, she said there were too many people, too much traffic, and you remember when someone stole one of our quilts? She was so upset.”

“The world isn’t perfect.”

“I’m going to miss you so much. But I’ll visit.”

He took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m not getting any younger. You have a father who is old enough to be your grandfather.”

“I don’t care.”

“Tucson is dry and will be much better for my arthritis. I’ll meet you at the Tucson Craft Fair next summer.”

“That’s nearly a year from now.”

“And if you want to leave,” he said, “I’ll take you home with me. You can apply to the university there. And you can always come back.”

“People who leave never come back,” Thalia said. “The world corrupts them.”

“There’s a lot of bad in the world, that is true. But there is also good. You’re part of the good, sweetheart. Your mother and you have given me a family when I never thought I would have anyone.”

They sat there in silence for an hour, then Thalia helped him climb down from the rock. They walked slowly back to the village.

Calliope waited at the gate for William.

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