Page 41 of Buried in the Woods Below

“Charlotte ran into Russ Neuman today,” he says. The second the words come out of his mouth, he slow-blinks, realizing his mistake.

My fork clangs against the plate, and beads of sweat form on my upper lip. I fire daggers at him. Emma and Penelope perk up, sensing something tangy is in the offing.

Laelynn drops her knife and fork and grabs her napkin, delicately wiping her mouth. Turning to me with one eyebrow raised, she says, “Oh, did you?” She leans back in her chair and crosses one lotioned leg over the other like a talk-show host waiting for a juicy morsel of celebrity gossip.

“Yep,” I say and take a big bite of Eric’s grilled steak. I chew slowly and savor the salty, peppery flavor, hoping if I chew long enough, she’ll drop the inquisition.

“And what did he have to say?” she asks.

I swallow the meat. “Oh, nothing.” Laelynn and I just shared a moment, and I’m desperate not to break it.

She places her elbow on the table and leans in closer. Emma and Penelope giggle like hyenas. “C’mon now. I know he said something.”

I look at Eric, who nods imperceptibly. A prisoner headed to the gallows.

My words fly out of my lips like machine-gun fire. “Really, it was nothing. He was just trying to scare me. He essentially repeated what you had told me. His family has lived on the island for over a hundred years. There are ghosts on the island. I shouldn’t have come. Blah, blah, blah.”

I watch the vein that was bursting from Laelynn’s forehead this morning return with force. She throws her napkin on the table and pivots to Eric.

“I told you we should have gone to the police.”

I glance at the girls to see their reaction. They just stare wide-eyed, delighting in the conflict.

“Babe, let’s not jump to conclusions. For all we know, Heathcliff ate something from the forest he shouldn’t have eaten. Russ is just a lonely crank. He’s harmless.”

“Harmless? You think threatening a girl who’s walking alone in the woods is harmless?”

Olivia rolls her eyes and chimes in. “Mom, Dad, can we take it down a notch? This is getting embarrassing.” But they ignore her.

Eric’s voice stiffens. “What Russ said to Charlotte was completely inappropriate. But we don’t need to call the police. I will talk to him man-to-man tomorrow and tell him that if he talks to anyone in our family or our guests or comes on our property, then we are going to call the cops. Is that enough for you?”

She takes a deep breath, stands from the table, and grabs Emma’s and Penelope’s dishes and her own. She leans into the girls, and her voice softens. “Girls, it’s bedtime. Go upstairs, and Mom will read you a story in a minute.”

Both girls rise from their seats and groan. Penelope speaks up first. “Aww, this was just getting good.”

“Yeah, please, Mom, can we stay?” says Emma.

“Absolutely not. Now, go upstairs. Scoot.”

The girls run to their room. Olivia and I trade looks, wondering if we should follow them. Then we both remember we’re thirty years old.

Laelynn snatches the dishes and piles them in the sink.

“I’m sorry, Laelynn,” I say. “I wasn’t trying to cause any consternation.”

She wipes her hands off on a dish towel and tosses it over her shoulder. “I’m sure you weren’t.” A corner of her mouth rises in a challenging smile. Our bond from ten minutes ago has disintegrated.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. It just seems to me that everywhere you go, trouble seems to follow.”

“Babe, that’s not fair,” says Eric.

She tilts her head as if to say, “Isn’t it?” and heads toward the stairs. She speaks slowly, like a judge rendering a verdict. “I’m going upstairs to say good night to the girls. Tomorrow, I’m leaving for my retreat first thing in the morning. I’m tempted to cancel the whole thing, but I’ve got twenty people counting on me. But before I leave, I’m filing a police report. I want this on the record—God forbid something else happens. Charlotte, enjoy the rest of your vacation.”

She stomps up the staircase, each step banging like thunder. Eric and I take long sips of wine and stare into the middle distance.

Outside, the wind howls against the glass, rattling the windows, as though her anger has summoned the gods. A burst of thunder shakes the wood frame. Even the house is trembling.