Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
And I’m about to burst out of my jeans.
I take a bite of ice cream myself. Maybe it’ll help me cool off.
Not likely.
“Brendan?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you be honest with me about something?”
There’s a loaded question. Will she ask how I feel about her? What I’m looking for? How much experience I’ve had?
I brace myself for anything.
“I’ll try,” I say.
She takes another spoonful of ice cream and swallows. “Something’s going on with my family. I know it has something to do with what happened to your place.”
“Oh?”
I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to tell her. Dale and Donny asked me to keep everything to myself while they worked it out.
But Ava…
She’s asking me straight out, and the stuff was found at my place, so why can’t I talk about it?
“Have you talked to your cousins? Dale and Donny?”
“No, not really. They’re so much older than I am and—” She stops abruptly, her spoon halfway to her mouth.
“Right. They’re my age.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that…I’m not as close to them as I am to Brock and Dave.”
“I believe Brock has an idea of what’s going on. Dale and Donny brought him in.”
Why is this such a big secret? Especially from Ava? Her father was specifically mentioned in the documents—in a quitclaim deed transferring all the property specifically to Ryan Steel, signed by his father, Bradford Steel.
Of course, it was never recorded.
“I guess I could ask Brock,” Ava says.
“No, Ava. You can ask me. I honestly don’t know what all of it means, but I do know a few things. Apparently your family has a lien on my property. The bar.”
“We do?” Her eyes open wide.
“Yeah. I didn’t know, because technically it’s not my property. It’s still in my father’s name, even though I run it now. And I live there. It will be mine eventually.”
“I don’t know a whole lot about liens. I guess we could call Donny or Aunt Jade.”
“It’s no big deal,” I say. “It hasn’t hampered our ownership or stopped us from getting anything done on the property. But I would like it removed.”
“I understand. How did you find out?”
“I found some documents under the floorboards of my place.”
“You did?” Another spoonful of ice cream stops midway to her mouth.
“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure that’s why my place was trashed. Someone was looking for more documents.”
“And did they find anything?”
I look down at my ice cream. A pool of vanilla has melted around it. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue. They trashed the place so badly that if there was anything to find, they probably either found it and took it, or it got ruined.”
“What else did you find?” Ava asks.
“A birth certificate.”
“For whom?”
“Someone named William Elijah Steel.”
She wrinkles her forehead in that adorable way. “I’ve never heard of him.”
“Neither had your cousins,” I say. “Another weird thing is that there was a father listed on the birth certificate, but no mother.”
“How can that even be?” she asks. “Everyone knows who the mother is. Someone had to watch the baby come out of her.”
“Exactly. So the birth certificate has probably been doctored.”
“And this was all found underneath your floorboards?”
“Yep.”
“Why would they be at your place?”
“You got me. All I know is that my father bought the place from some dude named Jeremy Madigan.”
“Madigan? I don’t know the name.”
“Your cousins seemed to. Maybe it’s best if you talk to them.”
She fidgets with her lip ring. With her tongue. And damn, she looks sexy.
“I wonder if it has something to do with that message I received. Because you and your dad received the same message.”
“True. It is definitely a puzzle.”
“You know? I love a puzzle.” She smiles.
“Ava, so do I.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AVA
I’m intrigued by what Brendan told me, but in all honesty, I’m only listening with one ear.
The rest of me is imagining his full lips on mine again.
I like this guy. If I go jumping into the sack with him—which is a totally un-Ava-like thing to do—where will that leave us?
Is he a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy?
I don’t think so. I don’t know Brendan well, but I don’t think he’s had a serious relationship in a while.
But then again…I haven’t paid that much attention to him.
My bad.
Brendan Murphy is definitely worth paying attention to.
I just never let myself think of him that way. He’s Dale’s age.
I can’t help but chuckle. Dale’s wife, Ashley? She’s only a year older than I am.
What is age anyway, except a number? After all, I gave Brendan the example of Aunt Marj and Uncle Bryce. Thirteen years apart.
“You got quiet,” Brendan says.
“Just thinking. Wondering how it can all be related.”
“I suppose it’s possible that it’s not.”
“I suppose,” I agree. “But why would you and I have received the same message? Whatever Darth Morgen refers to, it seems you and I are both involved.”