He glanced up when she entered. Can't sleep? Not when I'm thinking. Dangerous habit. Yeah, well, I've got a lot of those.
She pulled out a chair and sat across from him. What are you looking at? Old survey maps. Trying to figure out if there's another water source we're missing. So far, nothing.
Evelyn leaned forward, studying the maps. They were hand-drawn, faded with age, showing the valley and the surrounding terrain in rough detail. Her eyes traced the lines of the creek beds, the elevation markers, the notations about springs and wells that had long since dried up. Then she saw it. What's this?
She pointed to a series of dotted lines running from the northern hills down through the valley. Old irrigation channels. Built maybe 20, 30 years ago. They're collapsed now. Useless.
What if they weren't? Holden looked at her. What? What if we could reopen them? Use them to redirect water from the northern runoff to the town well?
Evelyn, those channels have been buried for decades. It would take an army to dig them out, and we don't have We have six men and one very stubborn woman. That's not an army, but it's a start. Holden stared at her like she'd just suggested they fly to the moon. You're serious?
Dead serious. Look. She pulled the map closer, tracing the path with her finger. The channels run from here to here. If we can clear the blockages, just enough to get water flowing, we could redirect it to the main well.
It wouldn't be perfect, but it might be enough to keep people alive until the rains come. And if it doesn't work? Then we're no worse off than we are now. Holden rubbed his face with both hands, exhaustion etched into every line. It's insane.
I know. We could kill ourselves trying. I know that, too. He looked at her for a long moment, and Evelyn could see him weighing the options. The safe choice was to hunker down, protect their own water, let the town fend for itself.
The dangerous choice was to risk everything on a plan that might not even work. Why? He asked finally. Why do you care what happens to a town that's done nothing but judge you since you got here? Evelyn thought about the woman in the general store.