Page 75 of Riding the Waves

Once she was dressed, she gave Marty and Billy a pile of sheets and blankets from the cupboard on the landing so they could expand the den they’d been building on the bottom bunk. It would keep them occupied while she spoke to Damian.

The front door opened just as she was walking down the stairs and Damian smiled sheepishly up at her. They went out to the patio, not stopping to get drinks even though Amy was craving caffeine. Mostly, she wanted the conversation over and done with.

“Tell me,” she said as soon as they sat. “I’ve been imagining worst-case scenarios for what it is you want to say, so I need you to tell me quick so I can stop concocting things in my head.”

He chewed the inside of his cheek. “I don’t have any money,” he said after a pause.

Amy blinked a few times, confused.

“That’s not quite true,” he said. “I have some money, but the business probably isn’t as thriving as it appears.”

“I thought it was doing well.”

He shrugged. “For a surf shack I think it does all right, but it’s not the most lucrative business setup.”

“You have three employees,” Amy pointed out, certain he was being humble.

“Yeah. But the income generated from them doesn’t do much more than cover their wages. If the business did well consistently throughout the year things would be different, but the winter months are dead.” His eyes were full of regret when he continued. “I make enough to pay my mortgage and my bills, but there’s not a lot left after that.”

Now she knew he was being humble because he’d forgotten some significant costs. “You also make enough to send money for the boys every month. That’s quite a chunk of money.”

Sadly, he shook his head. “That doesn’t come from the business.”

“I don’t understand,” she said when he didn’t expand.

“The house is in a desirable location, right by the beach. I rent it out to holidaymakers. Just short-term lets here and there throughout the year. That’s the only reason I have the money for you. For the boys,” he corrected.

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to make of that, except to feel a little miffed that he’d never mentioned it. It was actually a good idea. Except—

“Where do you sleep? With Hugh or Leo?” She knew by his face that wasn’t the answer, and her heart sank as she connected the dots. “You sleep in the van?”

“I don’t like to put Hugh or Leo out, not when the van is perfectly comfortable.”

Amy closed her eyes, trying to digest the information. A bolt of anger hit her and she snapped them open again. “I didn’t even need the money,” she said. “I told you it was too much. How many times did I tell you I didn’t need all that? I didn’t need any of it.”

“They’re my kids. There was no way I wasn’t going to support them financially.”

“If I’d have known you were living in a van with no electricity or running water there’s no way I’d have accepted it.”

“It wasn’t your choice to accept it or not. The money was for the boys.”

A fresh bolt of anger hit her. “I didn’t even use it. I never touched a penny of it, and all that time you were living in a van!”

“What?” His quiet tone unnerved her and a trickle of dread sneaked up her spine. “What do you mean, you didn’t use it?”

“It’s in a savings account,” she said blithely. “I didn’t need it. I told you that so many times.”

His cold, hard stare made her heart beat faster.

“You should have told me you were living in the van,” she shot at him, hating the silence.

“You just kept the money?” he asked levelly.

“I kept it for the boys. It’s not like I was taking it for myself.”

“That’s not the point.” Damian slammed his hands into the arms of the chair and stood up. “I always thought I was at least helping financially.”

“You knew we didn’t need the money,” she argued.

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