Initiative. Even better than a reprieve. Alex made a bring it on gesture with his hands. “Okay. Great. Hit me.”
Brody didn’t look like the owner of a great idea. He looked…nervous. Jittered on the balls of his beat-up Converse. Kept shaking out his fingers, too.
“Mr. James was talking up your project to some of the kids. Describing the kind of work it’d be. He mentioned that anyone who was specifically good at woodworking would be helpful, because your spindles, no, balusters,” he said after James shook his head at the first word, “would probably need replacing.”
“True. The ones inside are mostly fine, aside from a few that are loose. But the porch—those didn’t hold up so well to the weather. I’ve heard stories about that hurricane you all went through a few years back. Anyway, between the wind gusts and whatever the wind shot into them, a ton will need replacing.”
Brody looked at James again. Waited. Shifted from one leg to the other.
“Don’t fizzle out on me now,” James prompted. “Keep going. You won’t get in trouble.”
Hmmm.
That didn’t sound promising. Or like a promise that James could legitimately give on Alex’s behalf.
Bracing for whatever came next, Alex crossed his arms. And tucked his hands in his pits to keep them warm.
“Nobody’s lived here for a long time. There were rumors it was haunted. That brought a lot of kids out to sleep overnight. Just on the grounds,” Brody finished in a rush.
No big deal. The chief had warned them about that. And Alex had been Brody’s age. Done silly stuff like that with his friends. James was right. He wouldn’t bust Brody for it.
With a reassuring clap on Brody’s parka, he said, “To test your bravery. Sure, I get it. Did you see a ghost? Because between you and me, we could use one. It’d make for terrific marketing.”
“No ghosts. But a racoon came out of that top turret thing—” He looked to James again for the right word.
“The cupola.”
“Yeah. It ran out of that, lost its footing and slid down the roof. Scared the pants off of us.”
Alex hadn’t surveyed the cupola yet. It’d been locked. Also, it wasn’t big enough to be anything more than a novelty. That put it down the priority list until at least April. Unless a window was cracked, making it open to both the elements and animals.
Damn it.
Now he’d have to deal with it. And whatever else Brody was about to throw his way. Alex had learned that when it came to knowing what needed to be fixed at Three Oaks? Ignorance was definitely bliss.
He forced good humor into his voice. “No ghost, but a scare? I’d call that a fifty-percent win.”
Brody’s lightning-fast smile dropped five years off the grown-up façade he was projecting. “It was epic. Anyway, as we got older, we gave up on the sleepovers. Your stables and barn? Those are perfect for parties.”
“I like how you state that as a fact, without actually letting slip if you’ve been to a party here. Almost like you were coached on what not to say…” Alex turned to James. But it was hard to stare down a guy with only one working eye. Especially when it was squinting against the sun’s glare.
Brody’s Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably a couple of times. “I want to be level with you, Mr. Alex. I did go to some of those parties. Only when nobody lived here, though. We made sure to stop all of that once you guys moved in.”
“Okay. I appreciate the honesty. And shutting down the parties. Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
“Huh-uh. There’s lots of cool stuff in those outbuildings. We’d poke through it. Um, I’m sure I saw a box full of spare spindles. Balusters.”
That good news balanced the news about the cupola. If true, it’d save a ton of man hours. “Wow. That would be so much easier than carving new ones. Do you remember where you saw it?”
“Sort of.” His freckle-covered nose and brown eyes crinkled. “I think so? That’s why I asked Mr. James to bring me out today. Is it okay if I go look for it?”
“Brody, it is more than okay. You’d be my hero.”
“Great!” The boy raced off in a burst of energy that Alex envied.
“You’re not upset about the sleepovers and parties?” James asked.
“Nah. Who could blame ’em with this huge property sitting empty for so long?” Alex eased down into one of the