“Leave it to me.”
“It feels like I’m leaving a lot to you,” she said as he walked into the butler’s pantry. “And you’re being pretty damn patient. Is that a lawyer thing or just part of the package?”
“Could be both.”
“It’s snowing, and you probably want to go home. Maybe to your beautiful wife and two adorable children.”
“I need a time machine for that. The wife—and that would be gorgeous—and two adorable—and you forgot brilliant—children are in the future.”
“Maybe they’re hanging out with my handsome, sexy husband and three adorable, brilliant children and our lovable yet frisky dog.”
“Three, huh? What kind of dog?”
“To be determined. Then there’s the cuddly kitten. And we all live in this wonderful old rambling Victorian—which was never going to be as big as this—my handsome, sexy husband and I will be renovating for the rest of our lives. But we love it.”
“Sounds pretty good. But I’ve already got the dog.”
“You have a dog?”
“Mookie. Lab/retriever mix.”
“Mookie?”
“For Mookie Betts,” he said as he came back with two glasses and a bottle of wine. “Multiple Gold Glove winner. Played for the Red Sox. They traded him to the Dodgers in 2020, but you can’t hold that against him.”
“I won’t, and I’m from Boston, so I know Mookie Betts. Thanks,” she added when he handed her a glass of straw-colored wine. She downed half in one go.
“Wow. Kudos.”
“Okay.” She let out a breath. “Why didn’t you bring the dog?”
“I didn’t know how you felt about dogs. I’ll bring him next time.”
“Good. I like dogs. I was thinking about getting a dog before … all this, because I wasn’t spending all day in the office. He’s probably a nice dog, Mookie, since you seem to be. I’ll like him. I like you. I like your patience and how you don’t actually look like a lawyer. Less intimidating. And I think I have a thing for blue eyes. I almost married a guy—asshole—with blue eyes. They weren’t as good as yours.”
“That’s a story I’d like to hear.”
“Maybe next time. Keys.” She sat again. “Jesus, so many keys.”
He went over them with her, then closed the box, nudged it aside.
“I don’t see any reason you’d lock up most of the interior doors, but you’ve got keys for the ones that lock. Collin kept a couple of files in his office of instruction books, warranties for the appliances. For everything. But if you need help with any of that, just ask.”
“Okay.”
“Fireplace in the master and other bedrooms are gas, but most of the fireplaces are wood-burning. Have you ever handled wood-burning?”
“Yeah, I’m good there. My mother has one. I grew up there.”
“Good. There’s the rack just outside, and it’s full of wood. You’ve got half a cord stacked back by the little shed.”
“That sounds like a lot. Is it a lot?”
“Maine winters are long. If you need more, you tell me or John Dee. You’ve got a log splitter, but you’re going to do me a favor and not mess with it.”
She swiped a hand over her heart. “I can give you my solemn oath on that one.”
“Anything I didn’t cover you want to know? Anything I did you have questions about?”
“I’m hoping I don’t forget half the things you went over, but I think I’m good. Or good enough. But I do have one question. Your father didn’t tell me how Collin died.”
“He fell down the stairs. The same stairs Johanna fell down nearly thirty years ago. He’d taken a sleeping pill. Just one according to the coroner, but enough to make him woozy. And some over-the-counter cold meds. He’d caught a cold, and it lingered. For whatever reason, he got up in the night, and fell. My mother had made him some chicken soup, and I stopped by to bring it and check on him.”
“You found him.”
“I did.”
For a moment she thought she caught the scent, just a hint of the aftershave her father had worn. Then it faded.
“That was hard for you.”
“He was family. So the way it comes down, Sonya, makes you family.”
“I understand he was family to you, and you to him. I don’t understand why he left all this to me instead of to you and your family.”