Page 177 of Valor

“Hope you don’t mind me asking.” Oliver glanced at her. “What exactly do you have to deal with while you are here?”

Meghan hesitated.

“Sorry, you don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s not that. I’m here to sort out my inheritance, and frankly, I don’t know where to start.”

“Your inheritance?”

“My grandfather left me some property in the village, and I would like to see what it is before I decide what to do with it.”

“May I ask what property?”

“Some old mill.”

“What was your grandfather’s name?” Oliver suddenly sounded much more interested.

“Fred. Fred Nowak.”

“Grumpy Fred was your grandfather?” He chuckled.

“Did you know him?”

“Everyone around here knew him.”

“They did?”

“Yeah, he was a bit of a curiosity in the village.”

“Curiosity?” Her eyebrows knitted together. Mom had not talked about Grandpa much, but from what she mentioned, her grandfather was not an easy man to be around. That was the reason they visited only once. Meghan’s chest tightened at the memory. He screamed at them for being late to dinner, which they never planned. Mom called him that afternoon and told him she would take Meghan to a small zoo about an hour away. Meghan was already tucked in bed when he showed up at their hotel room and banged his fists on the door. He was drunk, seething with anger. When she let him in, Grandpa’s face was red, and a torrent of angry words spilled out of his mouth. Meghan was so scared that she pulled the blanket over her head and curled it up into a ball, covering her ears.

Mom used her sternest voice to speak to him in Czech. The only thing Meghan understood was her name. She peeked out from under the blanket after the door slammed shut. Mom’s lip quivered. Their suitcase was in the middle of the room, and Mom was tossing in their clothes. They left before the sunrise and had spent the rest of their holiday in Prague. Meghan had not seen Grandpa again.

“We are almost there.” Oliver’s voice brought her back to the present.

“I’m sorry.”

“No worries, you don’t have to talk about it.”

“Oliver, I have met my grandfather once. I was ten. The man scared me so much that I have never visited him again.”

“I could see that.”

“You can?”

“Fred had a mean streak, but he was also liked by many.”

“He had friends?”

“Well, the drinking sort.”

“Hmm. I remember that, too.”

“His friends?”

“The drinking.”

Silence settled over the car.

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