The child continued.
"She said she shouldn't have listened to Grandpa."
My stomach tightened.
William's first wife's father.
The man who brought the coffins.
The man who told William his family drowned.
The man connected to the mine.
I looked toward the map.
Suddenly I wondered whether Annie's mother had spent seven years as a willing participant in the deception.
Or whether she had eventually become another person trapped by it.
The distinction mattered.
But the answer would have to wait.
Near dawn, a shout came from outside.
Then another.
Boots pounded across the porch.
The cabin door opened.
A deputy stepped inside.
"They've found them!"
I stood so quickly my chair scraped against the floor.
"William?"
The deputy nodded.
"Alive."
My eyes filled.
"And the others?"
"Most are walking. One man has a broken leg."
I covered my mouth.
Annie jumped up.
"Papa?"
The deputy smiled.
"Your father's coming home."
She began crying.
Then laughing.
Then crying again.
I wrapped my arms around her.
For the first time that night, I allowed myself to believe we might survive this.
The search team emerged from the north passage shortly after sunrise.
William came with them.
His clothes were covered in gray dust.
A cut marked his forehead.
His left arm was wrapped in a temporary sling.
But he was walking.
I ran toward him as fast as I comfortably could.
He saw me.
His face changed.
"Rose."
I reached him.
Wrapped my arms around his waist.
And began crying.
He held me with his uninjured arm.
"I'm here."
I shook my head.
"You frightened me."
"I know."
"You promised to come home."
His voice broke.
"I did."
I looked up.
He kissed my forehead.
Then whispered, "I'm sorry."
I held him tighter.
For a moment, nothing else mattered.
Then Annie shouted.
"Papa!"
William turned.
She ran toward him.
He knelt carefully and opened his good arm.
She threw herself against his chest.
He held her.
"My little bird."
She cried.
"I thought the mountain took you."
He kissed her hair.
"No, sweetheart."
He looked toward me.
"Not this time."
I wiped my eyes.
Then noticed the sheriff approaching.
His expression was serious.
Behind him, two deputies were carrying a stretcher.
A woman lay beneath thick blankets.
Her face was pale.
Her hair tangled.
One arm wrapped in bandages.
She looked exhausted.
Older than the woman in William's photograph.
But unmistakably the same person.
His first wife.
Alive.
I stopped breathing.
William slowly stood.
Annie turned.
Her eyes widened.
"Mama!"
The woman opened her eyes.
She looked toward the child.