“Of course.”
There was something about her face, Joe thought. Something familiar about her. He knew he didn’t know her personally and hadn’t met her before. But he’d seen her face. Or a photo of her. He wished his head were more clear.
“Have we ever met?” he asked.
“I sincerely doubt it.”
“Are you from around here originally?”
“No.”
“So how long have you lived here?”
She was obviously annoyed by his questions. “I told you—long enough.”
“How do you know the brothers?”
Her eyes finally settled on him. He felt it was a small victory.
“They come by. They bring me firewood and meat. They look out for me. All they ask from me is my silence and my loyalty. You’re making me betray them.”
Joe said nothing. How much further should he push? he wondered.
“Did they bring you elk meat recently? Like a week ago?”
“I don’t recall,” she said icily.
He said, “If you’ll give me my gun, I’ll leave.”
“They’re not all bad,” she said, once again looking away. “They provide me protection. They understand why I’m here and they’re quite sympathetic.”
“Why
“They don’t ask for much,” she continued, cutting him off. “They could demand so much more, but they don’t. They respect my need for privacy.”
“Tell me your name,” Joe said.
She hesitated, started to speak, then clamped her mouth shut.
“I told you mine,” he said.
“Terri,” she said finally. “My name is Terri Wade. But you don’t know me, and it doesn’t matter.”
The name was unfamiliar to Joe. “Look,” he said. “I know this cabin shouldn’t be here. This is national forest, and there shouldn’t be any private dwellings. The private land is all in the valleys. Aren’t you worried forest rangers will find you and make you leave?”
She stared at a spot near Joe’s head, as close as she would get to eye contact.
Terri said, “I told you—the brothers protect me. They wouldn’t let that happen. This is
Said Joe, “So why are you here?”
“I’m here to wait out the storm. I’ll go back when it finally passes. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”
“What storm?”
“That’s all I’m going to say.”
“About this storm . . .”
“You keep asking me questions. Look, I’m here to try to reassemble my life,” she said. “I don’t put my nose into anyone’s business, and I expect the same from others. Including you,” she said, again jabbing her finger into her palm. “
“I understand,” Joe said.
Wade suddenly sat up straight and lifted her chin to the ceiling. “Hear that?” she whispered.
Joe shook his head.
“There’s someone on the roof,” she said softly.
HE LOOKED UP WHEN HE HEARD THE SOUND. THE CEILING was constructed of adjacent rough-cut pine planks. The wood looked green and soft and showed evidence of recent repair work on the structure. As he stared, one of the planks bowed slightly inward, then another did the same about a foot away. Fine dust from between the planks floated down and sparked in the light of the lantern. There was someone heavy up there. A board creaked loudly enough that whoever was on the roof froze for a moment. More dust filtered down through the light.
Joe rocked forward, his leg screamed silently, and he reached out and touched her hand. He mouthed, “Where’s my gun?”
Her eyes glistened with tears, and she shook her head as if she didn’t want to be involved.
“My gun,” he whispered.
Again, she bit her lip and shook her head, but when she did so she inadvertently revealed a tell with an
