Page 26 of Wind Valley

Lachlan pulled out the note and showed it to Elias. “Do you recognize this handwriting?”

From the slight shift of Elias’ expression, Maura guessed that he did. But he didn’t want to rat out someone he’d grown up with. He shrugged and looked away.

“Elias,” she said gently. “No one’s going to get into trouble. We just want to know what this is about.”

He glanced over at Hailey, who was watching the exchange closely from her perch on the floor. “Don’t pressure him,” she warned them. “He does things when he’s ready, not before. Really, that’s how everyone should be, but most people are always pushing and hurrying and rushing. Elias isn’t like that.”

Maura made another mental note—don’t mess with Elias if Hailey was around. She looked like she might come off the floor and pounce like a leopard if Elias needed backup.

Lachlan held up his hands. “I get it. I’m the same way. It drives my grant donors nuts because I have a hard time sticking to their timelines.”

That got Elias’ interest. “What’s a grant donor?”

“Someone who pays me to study something of interest. In my case, the jökulhlaup.”

The word was new to Maura, something that had entered her vocabulary after coming to Firelight Ridge. But it made Elias light up. “I love the jökulhlaup. Will we have one this year?”

“There’s a good chance. All the conditions are ripe for it. But it’s always a little unpredictable. I thought we’d have one last summer, and as you know, we really didn’t. Some minor flooding was the extent of it.”

“Does that mean this year’s will be even bigger?” Elias abandoned all reserve as he leaned toward Lachlan.

“Not necessarily, no. But maybe,” he added, seeing Elias’ disappointment. “You know, I might need an intern this spring. Would you be interested in the position? You can help me take readings. Can you operate a video camera? That would be helpful too.”

“I can’t read very well.” Elias’ face fell. “I’m still learning.”

“But he knows how to do lots of other things.” Hailey shoved aside her book and sat up. “He knows everything about animals, for instance.”

“Then you’re hired.” Lachlan touched him on the arm, and Elias barely flinched away at all.

“Jared wrote that note,” he blurted. “That’s how he writes, with spiky letters like a porcupine.”

“Okay. Do you know why he doesn’t want us to come back? And what the strange man has to do with it?”

“You know Elias doesn’t even hang out with the Chilkoots much anymore,” said Hailey. “He lives with his real mom now.”

Elias shook his ginger head at her. “It’s okay. I think everyone out there is having a fight about something. I was playing with the little ones and I heard Ruth crying and accusing the others of keeping secrets. She said everything would be ruined if anyone got into trouble. But Jared said it’s already ruined anyway, and for her to mind the kids and stay out of it.”

“Any idea what they were talking about?”

“Maybe money.” Elias looked sad. “A lot of people fight about money.”

Yet one more thing Maura could try to pry out of Ruth. It seemed like a tall order, considering their conversations up to now had been entirely focused on school.

“Okay.” Lachlan got to his feet, aiming a warm smile at Elias. “Do you need to get your mother’s permission to be my intern?”

He looked so blank that Maura nearly laughed. Clearly, Elias was used to doing his own thing.

Hailey took it upon herself to explain. “Elias basically grew up in the wilderness. Trying to make him be a normal boring person would be a disaster, and his mother would never try. She’s pretty cool. They’re still getting to know each other.”

“You two seem to know each other well,” Maura murmured.

“That’s because we were kidnapped together and faced a life-or-death crisis situation. Now we’re bonded for life. Those are the rules, according to every romcom ever made. Some thrillers too,” she added thoughtfully.

As Maura and Lachlan put their coats back on, she thought about the situations that the two of them had already faced together. None of them rose to the level of life or death, although they’d nearly run over a grenade and that bald eagle had come awfully close to the truck…

“Elias,” she said, hand already on the doorknob. “One more thing. Other than the wolf attack, have you noticed any peculiar behavior in the wildlife population?”

“Peculiar?” He looked at Hailey for help. Apparently his vocabulary still had some holes.

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