After the boy in the marsh led Kya home, she longs for a friend and considers bargaining with Pa for boat access. Avoiding nosy Mrs. Singletary at the store, Kya decides instead to win Pa over by cleaning the shack thoroughly, buying a little fuel, and scrubbing the boat.

Four days later Pa returns. Kya sets a careful supper, and his calm, sober manner meets her efforts. Wanting connection more than favors, she asks to fish with him. The next morning, Pa wordlessly invites her aboard and teaches her to bait, cast, and reel. Kya catches a bream, and Pa’s delighted reaction briefly closes the distance between them.

They go out again; Kya collects owl feathers and a hummingbird nest. That evening Pa unexpectedly gives her his old knapsack for her specimens—his first gift to her—deepening the fragile reconciliation. Through the warm days of winter into spring, they fish regularly. They encounter Tate on the water; Kya quietly acknowledges him while Pa warns her about people in the marsh.

As they range across creeks and lagoons, Pa shares marsh knowledge and, once relaxed, reveals a past of family land near Asheville lost during the Depression. He even promises to show Kya the place someday. Back home they fry fish; Kya organizes her collections and hears Pa call her “hon,” sealing a tentative, hopeful shift in their relationship.