Charlie clutched the phone. “You’re comin’ out this weekend?” he asked, sitting up straighter behind his desk at the Cultural Center.

“Yeah,” said Liz. “Unless they’ve canceled the powwow. Auntie would kill me if I didn’t help her and Mom prepare. We’ve got family coming in, you know.”

“Is it safe to drive?” he asked. The fire in Tacoma had been all over the news that morning. Every summer there were fires in parts of Washington he didn’t pay much attention to. Didn’t have to, state was so huge. Sure, he’d check in with folks in Nakalish, but they were always okay. Otherwise, up in Seattle he’d maybe see haze and smell a little smoke for a few days, but even that was pretty rare.

This summer, however, was a little different.

“Should be clear by tonight, or tomorrow morning at the latest.” She paused. “Did you hear? Some people are saying the trees are spreading it.”

Charlie shook his head. “Yeah, I heard that, but there’s no way they’d go and burn themselves up.” It didn’t make sense to him at all. One minute the trees were bending down, killing themselves for peace, and now they’re killing themselves for war?

“Well,” said Liz, “I guess we just have to see what happens.” She broke the silence with a change of subject. “So, is everyone out there ready for the powwow?”

“Oh, yeah, folks are lookin’ forward to it.”

“Auntie’s been complaining that people are trying to mess around too much with our traditions because of all this stuff with the trees,” she said. “You know, she’s traditional, wants to stick to the old way as much as possible. Then I talk to Mom and she says, ‘Things are changing all around us, and we’re just supposed to act like nothing is happening?’”

“Hmmm.” He’d been there when the trees had made their offering, and they thanked him by name. Didn’t that mean that he, of all people, should have answers? He hated that he didn’t.

“Well, I don’t know, but I’m curious,” said Liz. “Maybe I’ll sneak off and learn a new tree dance while Auntie’s not looking.”

“Well, if you want to do that, I know who you should talk to,” he offered.

“Minnie Littledeer?”

“How did you know?”

“Come on,” she said. “She’s been making quite a name for herself, the famous ‘Tree Whisperer’ of Nakalish.”

“She’s not doin’ it for that.”

“Maybe not. Auntie just felt she should have consulted the Council first before going out there to negotiate.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s what she set out to do. But I guess nobody’s really sure what to do about all this.” Eddie seemed to have a plan, though. He’d called that morning to set up lunch, and Charlie was curious to hear what he was cooking up.

“Well, anyway,” said Liz, “I just called to tell Ruth I’d be in town this weekend, in case she needs anything. And . . . to see if you’d be around.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’m around. It’d be great to see you. I just got a new phone.” He gave her the number to call when Auntie relieved her from duty.

He hung up, still smiling. It almost wasn’t right, to be this caught up in a girl with everything else going on. He wondered again if it would be safe for Liz to drive to Nakalish with fires smoldering across the state. But he didn’t have time to call her back right now. He had to hustle to meet Eddie.

A cup of coffee was already steaming in front of Eddie when Charlie walked up to his table at the diner. He recognized Eddie’s special smile as soon as he sat down. It was the look he gave you when he had an offer too good to refuse.

“Know what, Cuz?” Eddie asked, sliding the menu toward him. “I’m in the mood for a treat today. What do you say we get steaks, on me?”

“That’s okay, Cuz, I’m a workin’ man now. Thanks though.” Charlie studied the menu, wishing his cousin would wipe that stupid grin off his face. After everything Eddie’d done for him, he’d help him with whatever he needed. He just wanted Eddie to be straight with him, not sell to him like a stranger.

They placed their orders and Eddie leaned back in his chair. “You know,” he said thoughtfully. “This whole talking tree thing is big. Huge! It’s gonna change a lot of things.”

“Yeah,” said Charlie, watching him carefully. “I guess you got a lot of adjustments to make at work.”

Eddie nodded. “Oh yeah. I got guys who don’t want to come in anymore, and other guys askin’ for hazard pay. But in a way, it’s okay. Demand’s gone down a bit. Folks are kinda funny about buyin’ wood that’s killed people.”

“Shit, I didn’t think about that. How bad is it?”

“Oh, not too bad. Yet. We got existing contracts to fulfill, but it’s down the road I’m thinkin’ about.” He smiled at Charlie. “We got to position ourselves.”

Charlie cocked an eyebrow.

“Eco-wood,” said Eddie.

“Eco-wood?” echoed Charlie.

“Think about it. Everyone’s talkin’ sustainability these days. It’s practically all they ask about. Well, these trees are ready to give themselves up. What could be more sustainable than that? It’s like wool from a lamb, only better. It’s like the lamb up and shaved itself. People’ll love it.”

“So you’re gonna market Palalla wood as ‘Eco-wood’?” Charlie asked.

Eddie spread his hands out in anticipation of a standing ovation.

Charlie couldn’t help but smile at Eddie’s conviction. “Not a bad idea.”

“You kiddin’ me, it’s a frickin’ amazing idea. But we got to move fast before someone else takes it.”

“We?” he asked.

“Yeah, you didn’t think I’d leave you out of this, did you, Cuz? Besides, who else is gonna call in the trees?” His hand mimicked the motion of a tree falling down.

“Call in? You mean, you want me to ask ‘em?” As much as he wanted to help his people, he had a weird feeling about personally leading trees to slaughter.

“Come on, Charlie, think about it. Most of our guys ain’t exactly spiritual experts, you know?”

“But it was Minnie Littledeer who got ‘em to respond. What makes you think I can do it?”

“You got a history with ‘em. You always believed in ‘em.”

“Sounds like you’re a believer now too.”

Eddie shrugged. “I could be. I mean, yeah. But turns out they don’t respond to just anybody. If anyone can get it to work, though, it’s you.”

Charlie smirked. “Minnie shot you down, huh?”

“She ain’t much of a businesswoman,” chuckled Eddie.

Their orders came to the table. Eddie tucked in to his steak right away, but Charlie just stared at his burger.

“Eddie, I don’t know if I can.” Not too long ago he was protecting trees from poachers. The idea that he would now be culling them for profit didn’t sit right. “All kinds of people are prayin’ to the forest now, why don’t you get one of them?”

Eddie’s cheek bulged with a bite of sirloin. “I don’t understand. All this time you’ve been tryin’ to prove something is going on with the trees, and now that it’s out there you’re just—backin’ away. What’s wrong?”

Charlie picked up his burger and thought back to his conversation with Dr. Nystrom and the trees. “Eddie, how much do we need?”

“How much wood? We do about a hundred forty million board feet per year now. But think how much more we could do with Eco-wood!”

Charlie shook his head. “But how much do we need?”

Eddie looked impatient. “This is a business. We’re not in it just to break even.” He cut off another piece of meat. “We need to be more ambitious. Don’t you want to get ahead?”

Charlie watched oily, bloody juice spread out over Eddie’s plate. He took a bite of his own burger.

“When Palalla businesses do better, all our people do better,” said Eddie. “Win-win, right?”

Charlie chewed and nodded noncommittally. The trees did agree to giving up members of their community, after all. Maybe all his questions about the Greyfoxes were just making him overly suspicious of Eddie.

Eddie grinned. “That’s more like it! I was thinkin’ you could come out this weekend, see how it goes. Then if things work out you could come on part time, at least to start.”

“Uh-huh.” After all, he had just complained to his cousin about still working at the Cultural Center.

“We have to see how it goes,” said Eddie. “We could train you in production too, depending on how fast extraction is goin’.”

Charlie nodded and took another bite of his burger as the rich, fatty aroma of Eddie’s grilled steak wafted into his nose.

“So, I’ll pick you up at ten Sunday morning, okay? That’s not too early, I hope. I hear you might be tied up in the evenings this weekend.” Eddie winked at him and sliced off another forkful.

“Ten on Sunday,” said Charlie, looking down quickly. That was one damn efficient gossip mill. He was probably the last person in town to find out he’d be seeing Liz this weekend.

Eddie seemed to know everything, didn’t he? And he was doing all right for himself too. A nice house, nice family, juicy steak every now and then. Even said he was setting something aside for the kids’ college, to help them go anywhere they wanted.

But did Eddie’s job really pay enough to cover all that?

Charlie took another bite of his burger and tried to beat back his doubts, like he’d done a million times before. Maybe there was really nothing to know about Eddie and the Greyfoxes. That family wasn’t exactly known for their honesty, were they? Here his cousin was trying to help him, and he returned the favor by imagining him taking kickbacks from a family of poachers. What kind of cousin was he?

“Shoot, Cuz, you eat too slow,” said Eddie. “I’m ready for dessert!”

Eddie sure knew how to treat himself. And did that have to be a bad thing? He and his wife worked hard for their money. Maybe it was overly cynical to assume that the only route to a comfortable life was through corruption. Maybe he should trust his cousin more, and give himself a chance to find out what success actually felt like.

“Dessert, huh?” Charlie tilted his mouth into a sideways smile. “Pick one out for me too, would you? I feel like havin’ a little something sweet.”