Page 86 of Silent Heart

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Kazimir leading Lilac, while his wife and baby daughter rode around the yard. If Luka knew he would spend four hours leading his two-year-old niece around on the dappled pony, it was doubtful that would have stopped him. The uncle was in his element! He never complained.

It was the easiest two grand I’d ever made, and part of me felt guilty for the money sitting in my tote bag on the front seat of the Passat. But I knew what I was worth, and the family didn’t seem to be stretched thin to offer the amount.

Cami Joe trotted over on the painted gelding. Her sister launched out of the folding chair and hurried to take her turn. I watched Brittany climb on the back of the horse and ride off to do a lap around the property.

“This was the most amazing weekend ever,” Cami gushed, grabbing the water bottle Vivian offered. “I can’t thank you two enough!”

“I’m glad to hear it, roomie,” I smiled.

At the same time, Vivian chirped, “You’re welcome!”

I for one appreciated that the Kolya talk had been kept to a minimum. The whole family seemed to have an unspoken understanding that I was here as Cami’s friend and not as Kolya’s summer fling. They’d welcomed me with open arms. Having the horses as a distraction really helped.

“I don’t want to pack up and go home,” I sighed. “Today has been lovely.”

“That’s because tomorrow you have to drive back to campus,” Cami laughed. “How about we open another bottle of red, and enjoy a glass as the sun sets?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell the nineteen-year-old that she wasn’t old enough. But from what I’d gathered, the family wasn’t all born here. The grandmother was from Italy. The step-grandfather was from Russia of all places. They hadn’t come to the lake, but the way everyone talked about their later-in-life romance was full of awe and respect. It seemed that they governed the household as matriarch and patriarch, keeping their Old World traditions alive. This meant wine was served instead of water at meals, even at lunch when we ate hotdogs roasted on sticks. Plus…this was Wisconsin. Underage kids drank in bars all the time so long as consenting adults were present.

The reason it felt so strange to me was that Cami didn’t drink on campus. Her current roommates went out every weekend and many weeknights. But my little scholar friend did not.

“One glass,” I agreed.

Cami disappeared into the house.

“You’re good for her, you know that?” Vivian observed, watching Cami disappear. “She hasn’t had it easy, growing up, I mean. I know I speak for the others when I say that we’re grateful you’ve taken her under your wing at school.”

“The weirdest part,” I confided. “She’s young enough to be my daughter. Lots of girls around here get knocked up in high school.”

Vivian hummed in agreement. “Maybe that’s part of it, but I think you two have more of a friend dynamic than maternal.”

I let out a long breath. “Yeah.”

At that moment, the lumberjack pushed out of the house, his fiery wife close on his heels. Blood spiked in my veins. I should be used to Dimitri at this point, having spent the day around him. But just like when he first greeted me, my heart beat double time. This cousin was the spitting image of Kolya with a few minor exceptions. Dimitri didn’t have the silver scarslittering his body, and the way he moved wasn’t…otherworldly. While my peripheral vision tricked me time and time again that it was Kolya, once I took a good hard look at the cousin, I knew. He wasn’t living stone like the gargoyle I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Dimitri and Laurel nodded as they went to the fire ring on the stone patio, falling into a pair of patio chairs and speaking in a foreign language. The lumberjack picked up his wife’s feet after a moment, slipped off the ankle booties, and began to give her a foot massage.

I looked away, the intimacy making my heart ache.

Cami Joe returned with a bottle under each arm, cups in one hand, and her phone in the other. “Becky, the girl I share a room with, called. I think it’s about switching the living situation around.”

“Is that happening so soon?” I choked.

“We are good at making things happen fast,” Vivian said, speaking very slowly, very calculated.

Cami had basically said the same thing. I chewed the inside of my cheek. What was with this family?

“Uh-huh.” I popped the cork on the wine and poured.

Vivian accepted hers with thanks, while Cami spoke rapidly into the phone. The moment her tone changed, both Vivian and I snapped our attention to her.

“Oh, shit,” the young girl breathed. “Okay, well thanks for letting me know.”

Her hands shook as she ended the call. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder without a moment’s hesitation. “Cami? What is it?”

A shuddered exhale left her lungs. “Ava disappeared.”

“The girl from the other suite?” I frowned.

---