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If Walt knew someone who was related to Annie, then he had to be from here. Or near to here.

Annie’s family had been in this valley for as long as Hollis’s had. Her grandparents had lived in the area of abandoned properties and died when Annie and Hollis were in middle school. They hadn’t been super old either, so it wasn’t silly to think that her great-grandparents were the ones who settled in Michigan.

It would be quicker if he could just ask Annie about this, but he couldn’t.

He wasn’t even able to look up information about it himself yet.

It did make a few things about Walt clearer though. Like how he knew where the thermal springs were, why he seemed very comfortable getting around in general. Maybe even his skittishness about local cops.

He was making bread now, in a way Hollis never would. Quick and sloppy with just flour, yeast, and water.

That’s going to be tough, Hollis said.

Walt didn’t respond. Instead he sent a frisson of irritation Hollis’s way and continued kneading.

Hollis didn’t know what to do when Walt was sad. He shouldn’t care, but he did because Walt was using his body to feel things, and it was making him upset by default.

Had Walt been sad this whole time? It didn’t seem like it at first, but Walt had a lot of reasons to be unhappy. Hollis had more, considering the circumstances, but still.

Hollis watched him put the loaves in the oven and then tidy up the kitchen.