“We’ll stay on the path,” she told him. “It’s not far. I’d like to point out where everything is.”
Grant whistled for Gus, then they set off on the tour.
“This is the outdoor pool,” she told him as they took a set of short stairs off of the terrace to a perfectly landscaped garden with a sparkling pool nestled in the center. The garden was lush with flowers and trimmed bushes. The light marble in the planters, the path, the pool deck, the railings, and the statues tied the whole space together.
“Your aunt Nancy planned this garden layout,” she said.
“My father has a sister?” he asked.
“By marriage,” Kate replied. “She’s the wife of Walter Holbrook’s older brother, Jack. You’ll be meeting the both of them in the next few days.” They continued on the tour.
“It’s a bit cold for outdoor swimming, but there is an indoor pool in that building there. Also…” She pointed to another smaller building. “This is the pool house.” Grant had never seen a pool house. It was about the size of a large studio apartment and even had a small kitchen.
“The grill is outside of it. Your father has parties out here for charity in the summer when it’s a bit warmer,” Kate said, gesturing to the grill.
It was more than just a grill, though. It was a whole outdoor chef’s kitchen. Grant was amazed at the shiny stainless-steel equipment. He wished he knew how to cook just so he could use it.
“It’s a great space for entertaining, “she told him, motioning him onward.
Grant followed Kate down another path as Gus raced out in front of them.
“This building here,” she said, “houses the stables. The estate has several miles of bridle paths and more difficult cross-country trials. If you would like to ride, you—”
“I don’t ride horses,” Grant interrupted her. “I grew up dirt poor. We didn’t have money for things like that.”
“Oh.” Kate said. She looked startled. “Of course. Well, I’ll show you, anyways.”
The groom introduced himself to Grant and showed him around. Grant breathed in the unmistakable smell of horse. Gus barked at the large snorting animals, and Grant snatched him up. He didn’t want someone to step on the dog.
Kate showed him the tennis courts, the driving ranges, and the organic garden with the rows of honey-bee huts. Then she walked him through the house. Being confronted by all the wealth of his biological father when Grant had grown up with nothing was fraying his nerves. The house had a state-of-the-art gym, millions of dollars’ worth of art on the walls, and most over-the-top in Grant’s mind, a grand ballroom.
“When this house was built originally,” Kate said, “it was all the fashion to have a ballroom. Walter bought this house in the early aughts and restored it to perfection. It is a stunning restoration, and the house is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Isn’t this ballroom marvelous? Sometimes Holbrook employees even have weddings here.”
Grant turned around, trying to take everything in. The murals on the ceiling, the high glass windows—it was suddenly too much.
“I’m done,” Grant said abruptly.
“But we haven’t even seen the conservatory or the library or the music room!” Kate cried.
“I don’t care,” Grant snarled. “I can’t believe my father was wallowing in all this wealth when I was suffering.I hate people like him.I can’t believe I was trudging around the Middle East, watching my friends die, while he was here, having parties.” He cut himself off. He didn’t want to go down that dark path. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his heart rate.
Kate looked up at him, concerned. She looked as if she was about to ask him if he was okay. He cut her off before she could speak.
“Didn’t your itinerary say that we were going into the town?” he asked, changing the subject. “Maybe we could run by a PetSmart or something, and I could buy some things for Gus.”
Kate giggled. “A PetSmart! No one here shops there. Or at least if they do, they don’t admit it.”
Grant felt his face screw up into a scowl, but he smoothed out his features when Kate looked at him in slight alarm.
“Whatever you have is fine,” he said curtly.
They took a car into town. The chauffeur dropped them off on a cute main street with brick sidewalks. Unlike the small towns in the Midwest, in this one, there were people with subtle signifiers of wealth walking the streets, looking at storefronts that had expensive boutique after expensive boutique. Grant walked with Kate past several shops selling high-end clothing brands, only a few of which Grant recognized.
She waved to several people, saying, “Can’t stop to talk! I’ll call!” as the people they passed slowed to a crawl, pretending they weren’t staring at Grant.
“Here we are,” Kate said as they stopped in front of a store that had a black-and-white sign that read Scottie Dog Groomer and Pet Boutique.
“It’s a boutique pet shop. No chain stores here!”
