Naomi nodded.
He looked toward the pond.
"Turns out I didn't know half of it."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Naomi handed him another staple.
"Well, now we know it's worth finding out."
Otis smiled.
He took the staple.
And returned to work.
The children noticed the changes.
The cattle were no longer grazing behind the farmhouse.
Orange warning tape marked part of the lower pasture.
And strangers occasionally arrived carrying equipment and notebooks.
One evening, Malik approached Naomi while she was making dinner.
"Mom, is the pond broken?"
She paused.
Then smiled gently.
"Something underneath it isn't working the way it should."
He considered that.
"Can you fix it?"
Naomi looked toward him.
For a moment, she wished the answer were simple.
"I hope so."
Malik nodded.
Then asked whether they would have to move.
Her heart tightened.
"Why would you think that?"
He looked toward the table.
"I heard you talking about the company that wants to buy the farm."
Naomi took a slow breath.
She didn't want to pretend the possibility didn't exist.
But she also didn't want her son to believe they were about to lose their home.
"We aren't selling right now."
Malik looked relieved.
Then he asked, "What if the pond keeps getting bigger?"
Naomi knelt beside him.
"Then we'll work with people who understand what's happening and decide what keeps everyone safe."
He nodded.
For several seconds, he was quiet.
Then whispered, "Grandma Ruthie would've known what to do."
Naomi felt tears rise.
She smiled sadly.
"She might have known where to start."
Malik looked toward the old notebooks on the table.
"Maybe she left you instructions."
Naomi laughed softly.
"Maybe she did."
And that night, after the children went to bed, she searched the farmhouse again.
This time, she wasn't looking for ordinary property records.
She was looking for whatever Ruthie had left behind when she realized the old waterworks could become dangerous again.
The hidden compartment was beneath the old kitchen bench.
Naomi had sat on that bench hundreds of times as a child.
It stood beneath the east-facing window, built from dark oak with a hinged seat and a narrow storage space inside.
Ruthie used it for table linens, old dish towels, and holiday decorations.