Kya is twenty-two when she receives a copy of her book, The Sea Shells of the Eastern Seaboard. The publisher to whom Tate showed her samples had signed her to a contract and included an advance payment of $5,000. The book sells well, and Kya begins to receive royalty checks for thousands of dollars.

Kya eventually writes a thank you letter to Tate and invites him over to pick up a signed copy. Tate is now a researcher working at a research station at nearby Sea Oaks. Kya also hires someone to make improvements to the shack. When Kya learns from Jumpin’ that developers are planning to drain the swamp and build hotels, she has enough money to clear back taxes on her family’s land and buy it outright.

She finds a measure of peace with Tate when he stops by to pick up an autographed copy of her book. When he asks if they could go out birding sometime, she realizes that she can have a relationship with Tate as a colleague. Kya also gives a copy of her book to Jumpin’. Racial boundaries prevent them from hugging, but he feels a sense of fatherly pride in her.