The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst

Author:Sarah Beth Durst
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Reyva’s eyes went wide.

Quickly, Claire added, “I could be wrong. He said he was talking to himself, and I didn’t see anyone. So maybe he was.” She couldn’t tell if Reyva believed her or didn’t. Honestly, she wasn’t sure which she wanted—for Reyva to agree or to talk her out of it.

She didn’t want Jack to be lying to them.

Did she?

Was she so consumed by seeing danger everywhere that she let it poison everything? She waited for Reyva to reply, so tense that she felt as coiled as the wire.

Reyva gripped Claire’s arm hard. “Fish!”

Startled, Claire turned, following Reyva’s gaze, and peered into the water. Sure enough, several feet from dock, a silvery fish about as long as Claire’s arm was writhing in the tennis net. She spun back to face Reyva. “Fish!”

Waving at Mariana and Jack, Reyva called, “Fish! There’s a fish!”

Punching the air, Mariana leapt up. “Yes!” She tugged Jack with her, and they ran onto the dock. Skidding to a stop next to Reyva and Claire, she asked, “Are you serious? A real fish?”

“No,” Reyva said. “A plastic fish. Of course a real fish!”

“Not possible,” Jack said. “We just put the gill net in. No one catches fish that fast.” He peered into the water. “Whoa. Lake trout! Serious beginner’s luck.”

Mariana hugged both Reyva and Claire. “Do you know what this means?”

Hugging them back, Claire felt tears prick her eyes. “Food. Actual food.”

“And it means that Reyva is capable of expressing emotion.” Mariana hugged them again. “I heard actual excitement. Joy, even. I’m so proud! You’re lowering your walls.”

With a laugh, Reyva swatted her. “You are absurd.”

Kneeling, Jack reached toward the net. Claire immediately went for the rocks that held the pole. The others held the sapling steady. As she moved the rocks, they lifted the tree, bringing the net slowly toward Jack.

“Steady,” he said. “Keep it steady.”

The tree shook as the fish flailed.

Claire held her breath. If it wiggled free . . .

Jack pulled the net toward him. When the fish was over the dock, he said, “Set it down.” Reyva and Mariana lowered it. The fish flopped, twisting and writhing.

Mariana did a little dance. “Yes! Glorious food!”

Swiftly, Jack grabbed one of the rocks that had been holding the net in position and brought it down hard on the fish’s head.

Mariana abruptly quit dancing. “Wish I hadn’t seen that.”

“What did you expect?” Reyva said. “It would just go peacefully to sleep?”

“Honestly would have preferred that,” Mariana said. “I was one of those kids who thought that it was odd that ‘chicken’ the animal and ‘chicken’ the food were called the same name. My aunt Ana had to sit me down and break the truth to me. Rough day. Almost turned vegetarian, but, you know, bacon.”

Jack drew his knife out.

“Oh, whoa, you’re going to just right here—” Mariana began.

He flipped the fish onto its back, inserted his knife by the tail, and sliced neatly all the way up to its gills.

Mariana turned away. “Yep, he is.”

Claire didn’t want to watch either, but she felt like she should learn.

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