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The ain and he squinted into the early ht of the bird perched on top of the boathouse He stared at it for several s and took off for parts unknown

It would be back There were sos that were inevitable

The clock beside his bed told hiue knew sleep wasn’t on his schedule anytime soon He frowned and ran a hand across the stubble on his chin as he gazed out at the calm water It was silent—so quiet out there—and yet his head was filled with noise

Explosions and gunfire Voices that belonged to ghosts Voices that wouldn’t let hio

Wearily he exhaled and leaned against theframe, eyes on the boathouse It took more than a few minutes but eventually the noises faded and he took a step back His body glistened with sweat and the ht

He couldn’t take another day of nothing Of sitting on the deck with a bottle for company He’d always been ait anyoes and pulled them on But what to do?

He heard thedove once more The call of a loon A splash from the dock

Fishing Yeah That ht work

Striding frorabbed a couplehe’d not bothered to put away and snatched his worn ball cap fro to the boathouse He couldn’t find his tackle box or his old fishing reel but his father’s would do

The water was calm and the air crisp as he steered his boat out of the bay toward the lake He’d grabbed the one that he and Tucker had been given for their fifteenth birthday It had a s and waited until he was far fro more noise than he had to

In less ti into a sood

Teague cut the engine and settled back into the boat for a moment, content to sip his hot coffee and let the silence of the Muskokas roll over him He stared out at the forest that crept down to the lake and then over to the sheer rock face farther up the way A rare smile lifted the corners of his mouth as a memory washed over him

“You jump first You lost the bet ”

Teague jabbed his twin Tucker and would have pushed hi rock, but his older brother Jack stopped him

“Mo to kill all of us if she finds out we ’re here, ” Jack said