Chapter 28

“You’ve added, what? Another five feet?” Ben said, when he came at lunchtime to check on her. “Good job!”

She stood up, wiped her face with her forearm, and took a step back to admire what she had done. “Feels like it should be a mile, as hard as it has been.”

“But you’re enjoying it.”

“I am.”

“Katherine will be very pleased.”

“She should be.” Moriah stretched her back. “Every bone in my body aches. I think I’m going to have as much muscle as you by the time I get this wall finished.”

“That’s okay,” Ben said. “I’ll still love you.”

Moriah’s stomach flipped over. Had he actually meant to say that he loved her? Or was it just a phrase he had used, something he’d tossed out without thinking?

Ben seemed not to realize the impact his words had on her. He was already talking about something else. She missed everything, except the last two words.

“…more stones.” He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her reply.

“Excuse me?” she said.

“I said you’ve almost run out of stones. Your pile is nearly gone.” He pointed down to the lake, where a tumble-down stone boat house squatted at the edge. “I was asking if you thought it would be a good idea to bring those rocks up here and incorporate them into the wall. The boat house isn’t really usable anymore.”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll get right on it.”

“No need,” he said. “You keep working here. I’ll take the truck down and select the best ones. It won’t take long. I’ll get Jack to help me.”

“Sounds great, thanks.”

Moriah was so intent on what she was doing that she didn’t pay any attention to what was going on at the old boat house. In fact, she had rarely ever paid any attention to it. At one time, it had been used to house a small life boat in case the keeper needed to go rescue people from a ship wreck. After the lighthouse was decommissioned, the life boat got stolen, and vines took over the small stone structure. Taking it apart would remove an eyesore.

She felt a touch on her shoulder and turned around. It was Jack, and he had a strange look on his face.

“Moriah, I think you need to come with me.” His voice was gentle.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ben…”

“Ben!” She whirled around to look at the old boat house. “Has he been hurt?”

“No. He’s fine. He just said you need to come down there.”

“Why?”

“He’s found something in the boat house we think you need to see.”

Moriah ran down the hill to where Ben was. It looked like he and Jack had already moved the old boards that had once been part of a low roof. Quite a lot of stone from it had been moved to the truck. She saw that Ben was kneeling on the ground inside the boat house looking at something on the ground.

“What’s wrong?” she said, when she reached him.

He stood up, and she noticed that he had a dry paint brush in his hand. She could think of no reason he would need a paint brush down here.

“I’m sorry, but I think you need to see this, Moriah.”

She looked at the place where he had been kneeling. Suddenly, she saw why he was holding the brush. She gasped and threw her hand over her mouth.

He bent over and flicked a bit more dirt away from a human skeleton.

“What on earth!” she said. “Who?”

“I have no idea,” Ben said. “But I’m pretty sure they’ve been here a very long time.”