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Matthew stood on the point above, not far fro at her to come up

She cli a beer in each hand “You ever had a beer before?” he asked

She shook her head

“Me, either Come on” He took off into the thicket of trees to his left They followed a twisting trail that led doard, past rock outcroppings

He led her to a s in the black spruce trees, they could see the party The beach was only fifteen feet away but ht have been a different universe Out there, the adults were laughing and talking and h pebbles for unbroken shells Axle was off by hi

Matthew sat down, stretching his legs out, leaning back against a log Leni sat down beside hi him

He snapped open a beer—hiss—and handed it to her Wrinkling her nose, she took a sip It fizzed in her throat and tasted bad

“Gross,” Matthew said, and she laughed Another three sips and she leaned back into the log A cool breeze ca with it the s meat The whir and movement of the party was just beyond the trees

They sat in a companionable silence, which amazed Leni Usually she was a nervous wreck around kids she wanted to befriend

Out on the beach, the party was in full swing now Through a break in the trees, they could see it all Apassed fro, hair-tossing way She was like a woodland fairy, lit fro for the burly, sodden tree folk

The beer ht-headed, as if she were full of bubbles

“What uys move up here?” Matthew asked Before she could answer, he s it

Leni couldn’t help laughing Only a boy would do that “My dad’s kind of … an adventurer,” she settled on as her answer (Never tell the truth, never that Dad had trouble keeping a job and staying in one place, and never that he drank too uess What about you guys? When did you move here?”

“My grandpa, Eckhart Walker, ca the Great Depression He said he didn’t want to stand in line for watery soup So he packed up his stuff and hitchhiked to Seattle He worked his way north from there Supposedly he walked Alaska from shore to shore and even climbed Mount Alyeska with a ladder strapped to his back so he could cross glacial crevasses He met ot married and decided to homestead”

“So your grandparents and your dad and you all grew up in that house?”