Page 45 of Wayward

Oh dear God. “It’s—”

“He left in the summer of ninety-two, I believe.”

Shit. “So there’s been no one looking at the house for over thirty years?”

“Really? Thirty?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thirty. Don’t you think that’s amazing?”

“I do, ma’am.”

“Call me Ada, dear. Well…that might account for the front yard being a bit overgrown.”

A bit overgrown had to be the understatement of the century. The only thing keeping her front yard from spilling out onto the rest of the property was the five-foot wrought-iron fence that went around three sides.

“We should probably go to the bank now, dear, and get everything sorted out,” she said as we reached my Jeep, where she leaned into the back, rooted around in the bags, and found a little red parka for Misha. “Here we are.”

“What’re you doing?” I asked.

“Well, it’s cold for a small dog, so he needs a jacket, and then a harness, which is also here, wonderful,” she announced happily as she put him in his car seat and started putting on his coat. “And the harness is necessary because clearly, he’s too small for you to be yanking him around by his neck.”

“’Course.”

“And finally, he needs to be on a leash because you don’t want to lose him in the brush.”

“I—”

“You don’t want him falling off the side of the mountain, do you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Oh, darling, what did we say about that?”

“Yes. Sorry. Ada.”

“We have to be on a first-name basis. You’re my caretaker, after all.”

“I—”

“And what is Maks short for? Maximilian, Maksim, what?”

Interesting. “Maksim, actually.”

“Wonderful,” she said, and then in beautifully flowing, fluid Russian, asked me if I had gotten my gorgeous midnight-black eyes from my mother or my father.

“My mother,” I replied, fishing out my locket and showing her the picture. Why I felt compelled to do so, I had no idea.

“Oh, what a stunning woman she is,” she gasped.

“Was,” I said sadly.

“Is, darling,” she corrected me. “Your mother has just stepped around the corner, you understand? Just in another room, as is my dear Oscar. Out of sight, not out of mind.”

“That’s true.”

“There, you see?” Her smile was really beautiful. “And look, now Misha is ready for an adventure,” she announced. “But first, we must pee.”