Page 14 of Uproot

"Class is starting," she states. "Will your nanny be picking up Eddie after school, or will he be riding the bus?" she asks, walking me over to the door.

I chuckle at the thought of Dragana behind the wheel of a car. "No, Dragana spent most of her adult life in NYC and never really had use for a driver's license. My father and I always had drivers on retainer, so if she needed to go anywhere she used them, or just walked mostly," I explain, turning to look down at her. "I'll be here to get him. I'll see you later, Selah."

She smiles shyly, "I'll see you then. Have a good day Mr... um, Beckett," she corrects, quickly.

I smile and look over at Edison one more time before heading down the hallway, feeling oddly jealous that he gets to spend the day with her.

The rest of my day is full of meetings and going over budgets with Bobby. We get into a discussion again about Global Games, a huge Gaming company that we have been eager to partner with on some new projects.

I'm half eating a sandwich that Dragana set down next to me an hour ago as I finish sketching out some new ideas for an update to one of our racing games.

I keep checking the time to make sure I won't be late to get Edison from school. I don't want him to be the last one there waiting in class to be picked up. I remember how much I hated that when I was younger.

One nanny would get their schedule mixed up with another when I was in preschool, and I'd be stuck there with my teacher waiting for someone to take me home.

That went on for most of my first year of school until my dad fired all of my nannies and put Dragana in charge. She was always at school early to get me and walk me home, and I was never the last one to be picked up from school again.

I finally grab the keys to my rental car, and go to the kitchen to find Dragana washing dishes. "Can I have a latte please before I head out, Gana?" I mutter absentmindedly as I respond to a message on my phone.

She laughs and I look up to see her motioning to the empty counter, "We aren't in the penthouse, Beckett. The best I can do here is one of those twenty energy drinks that Helen put in the fridge," she says, turning back to the sink.

I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I know it's first-world problems, but fuck if I don't miss my thousand-dollar Williams and Sonoma espresso machine, and there being a Starbuck's five minutes away. It's surprisingly the only thing I have found I'm missing since we came here. I need something strong to keep me going with all that's on my plate right now.

"Right. Helen brought me a coffee earlier from some Café in town. I'll just stop by there on the way to school and pray they sell something stronger," I say, grabbing my keys.

"Oh! Pick me up some bagels if they have them. The ones with raisins," Dragana calls out as I head towards the front door.

"You got it," I call back.

I find Coco's Diner on Main Street and get a sufficient latte, and a bag of bagels for Dragana. I look in their dessert case and notice a pink cupcake with white frosting on top of it, and something tugs at my brain to buy it for Selah. I get all of my purchases and take them back out to my SUV.

My phone rings as I get inside and set down everything on the passenger seat so I can see who it is. I hurry to answer it and feel a jolt of anticipation when I see the name of my Private Detective on the screen.

"Antonio, give me some good news man," I answer, shutting the car door. I know that he wouldn't be calling me yet unless he has found Maria.

"Mr. Kade, I'm afraid that good news won't be coming today," Antonio responds.

I grind my jaw, wondering why he's calling me then. "Listen Tony, I paid you a lot of money to find this woman. I'm on a tight timeline here, and I still have to get everything set up for her here to actually parent properly and provide for my nephew once she's back. What's the fucking problem locating her? She's not a damn secret agent."

Antonio stays silent and I hear the noise in the background on his end disappearing like he's going into a quieter space. He comes back on and his voice sounds uneasy, something I'm not used to from him.

"Mr. Kade, the problem wasn't locating Maria. The problem is, she doesn't live anywhere anymore. Maria Alton died last month."

8

Beckett

Isit across from Charlie's lawyer, Daniel, in his small office by the courthouse.

He runs a hand over his face, staring down at the papers in front of him. He looks as exhausted as I feel, and I know this isn't the news either one of us wanted to hear.

I'm not sure why I never suspected that Maria overdosing could be a conclusion as to why Charlie hadn't been able to contact her, or figure out her whereabouts. It isn't that crazy to imagine a woman who had been addicted to an arrayment of drugs for years could have her life cut short by an overdose.

There were many times I would see a call coming in from an unknown number and wonder if it was someone calling from a morgue to tell me that Charlie's battle with drugs had come to an end.

But I guess a part of me wouldn't let my mind wander to such a grim conclusion. I truly intended to do what I needed to do for Edison to have a mother who could finally support him emotionally and physically.

But now it seems, all he has left is me.

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