Page 32 of In the Bones
He shrugged, not once but twice. “It was easy. I told the girls I was taking them all to dinner. They love this place. After that, Nic couldn’t back out even if she wanted to. Hey, thanks for putting this together.” Woody didn’t look up as he said it, his gaze riveted to his shoes. “Blair says you’re the best aunt ever.”
“I’m her only aunt.”
A chuckle. “God, I’m going to miss her.” He swiveled his head toward the resort. Through the windows, Mac could make out the rhythmic thump of the music. The shiny panes quivered.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
The lines between Woody’s brows deepened. It was the look she got from suspects when they sensed that Mac was onto them. A unique blend of paranoia, intransigence and fear.
“Are you guys OK?” she said. “Like, money-wise?”
Woody’s jaw clicked into place with a grating snap. Was it unkind to bring it up now, when he’d been drinking? Maybe, but Mac’s qualms were no match for her need to lay his secrets bare.
“Jesus Christ.” Woody scrubbed at his face. “Can’t you give it a rest for one night?”
It wasn’t the first time she’d asked about their financial situation, that much was true, but Mac only wanted to help. She’d already tried. Last fall, when Blair was consumed by college applications, Mac had gone to the Durhams and sprung the news she’d been sitting on for years: they wouldn’t need to do this alone. Since the girls were born, first Blair and then Alana, Mac had been saving. She’d made some good investments, and had a whole account dedicated to her nieces. She’d been looking forward to that day for a long time, imagining Nicole’s expression when Mac revealed that she could shoulder some of the cost. Announce that nothing would give her more pleasure than to help get the girls the college education they deserved.
She’d been expecting some pushback from Woody. He’d always been odd about money, paying the tab for a whole table of friends even when he couldn’t afford it. There was a pained wince when he saw the total, but he kept doing it anyway. He had this thing about being self-sufficient, refused to “take charity” even back before he started the business. When Nicole’s father died of an aneurism right before she turned twenty-three, and it came to light that—despite their estrangement—the man had left his only child a sizeable chunk of cash, Woody wouldn’t hear of using Nicole’s inheritance to build Island Adventure. It had taken two more years of working at the boatyard for him to save enough money. The man simply couldn’t be swayed. That cash was long gone now, spent on baby furniture and lacrosse cleats and all the other trappings of parenthood and, close to a year after Mac had tendered her proposition, the girls’ money remained in her account. Woody’s “thanks but no thanks” still stung like a sandbur punched into her skin.
Maybe now things would be different. He had let her pay for the party, hadn’t even attempted to put up a fight. In justa few months, they’d need to pony up thousands for tuition, meal plans, room and board. In the meantime, Mac’s visit to the mini putt had left her deeply unsettled. Island Adventure did OK. It was always packed in the summer. But how much money could a person really make from a business that was only open five months of the year? In the dead season, she knew, Woody resold consumer goods on the internet. Their garage looked like a storage facility, but given the intense competition online, Mac wasn’t convinced sales from that sideline were booming. Something was wrong, something that went beyond the problems in their marriage. If Mac hadn’t been certain of that before, she needed only to look at Woody’s sallow face.
“I’m only asking because of Blair,” she said. “Did you hear her up there? She’s so excited about college. If there’s something going on, if you need more help—”
“More help,” he repeated with a thick snort. Woody’s skin glowing like a Christmas bulb. “Aunt Maureen to the rescue, as always. You act like we’re a week away from fucking food stamps. We’re fine.”
Are you?“Sure, Woody,” she said. “Just checking in, that’s all. I want you guys to know I’m always here for you. For you, and for the girls.”
“Yeah, we’re well aware. For future reference, you don’t need to keep asking. You have no faith in me at all, do you? You’re just like your sister. No fucking idea what I can do.”
Woody had leaned back in his chair, but the sharp angle of the Adirondack shape caused him to slip forward, and he flailed for a moment as he tried to right himself. By the time he was settled again, his expression had darkened. The shift in his mood was visceral. Mac felt it lift the fine blonde hairs on her arms.
“What can you do, Woody?” she asked, keeping very still.
He wagged a finger in her face and said, “I’ve got a plan. No one gives me any credit for my plans. You think it’s easy starting up a business?Idid that. And that was only the beginning.”
Mac wasn’t following. Woody opened Island Adventure twodecades ago.Only the beginning?His conspiratorial tone, and the fact that this was the first Mac was hearing about some scheme to make money, coalesced into a lump of anxiety in her throat. She glanced around to make sure they were alone, but saw no one else in the darkness. Across the river, Boldt Castle looked unmoored, floating on water flat and black as oil.
“This plan,” said Mac. “It has something to do with Island Adventure?”
“It has something to do with ourfuture”—Woody’s jaw made a sound like a broken twig—“and it’s going to change our fucking lives. Remember how it used to be?” His eyes softened briefly, like he was lost in time. “In high school? Remember how much fun we used to have? It’s going to be amazing, Maureen. And we’re gonna fix it.”
Was he talking about his marriage? Their finances? What?
“I don’t know, Woody.” She said it slowly. It was a balancing act, coaxing information out of someone like Woody Durham. He was drunk, but deep down he knew he shouldn’t be talking to her. Woody had always been excitable, though, and that trait could be exploited. She needed to rile him, for Nicole’s sake. Her sister hadn’t said a word about a business. Whatever Woody was hiding, Nicole might have no idea. “You know what they say,” Mac said carefully. “You can’t ever go back.”
“That’s a load of crap. Iamgoing back.”
“I don’t think so, Woody.”
He looked at her for a long time. Then, “Aww, fuck it. We’re reopening the Rivermouth!”
Mac froze, trying to process what she’d just heard. The Rivermouth? Woody couldn’t be serious. The building, once a hub of activity for families and teens all over the county, had been shuttered twenty years ago. These days, it was scarcely standing. “How?” Mac stammered. “Why?”
“Why?” Woody parroted, incredulous. “It’s a good investment, that’s why. People are gonna come from all over, that’s why. We’re gonna give them something to do, all year round, and I know how. I’ll run it. There’s nobody better than me.”
Mac’s mind was reeling. “Does Nicole know about this?”
“Of course she fucking knows—but don’t tell the girls. It’s a secret. Asurprise.”
