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Proof that we weren’t facing this alone.

Shortly after five, Ben’s breathing changed.

He hadn’t been asleep.

Neither had I.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“That you should’ve taken the bed.”

“So should you.”

“I’ve slept in worse places.”

“That isn’t a recommendation.”

He turned his head toward me.

“What are you thinking?”

“That Grandpa came to Hawaii five weeks before he died and never told us.”

Ben waited.

He knew there was more.

“I keep trying to remember those weeks,” I continued. “Whether he seemed different when he returned.”

“Did he?”

“I don’t know. Grandpa was always disappearing into the boatyard or taking Nathan’s trawler out for days. None of us questioned it.”

“You had no reason to.”

“I notice things.”

“You can’t notice what someone deliberately hides.”

“That sounds like something people say when they don’t want me to blame myself.”

“It’s also true.”

I rested my head against his shoulder.

“If Jonathan contacted Grandpa because people were being trafficked through Blackwater, Grandpa would’ve done anything to stop it.”

“Yes.”

“Even trust the brother who betrayed him.”

“Yes.”

“He gave Jonathan his ring.”

“That’s what Thomas believes.”

“The ring was proof Jonathan spoke for him. Whoever Jonathan was supposed to meet would recognize it.”