Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Uncle Ryan fields that one. “Most likely. She knew everything and didn’t bother to tell us. Plus, she died before we were able to get all the information out of her. She probably knew what happened to your parents, Pat. Why they changed their names.”
Pat looks to the floor. “When my parents had their own child, the one that was their own flesh and blood, I kind of became an afterthought.”
Lauren pats his arm.
“It’s no excuse for how I lived my life, though,” Pat says. “No excuse for pulling the stunts I did back in high school, and no excuse for helping Brittany Sheraton pull the stunts she pulled. I honestly didn’t know she was so mentally and emotionally compromised.”
“None of us did,” Uncle Ryan says. “But we do now. She’s getting the help she needs. As far as we know anyway. As far as her father goes, I believe at heart he’s a good man. He was angry at us for not bringing him in full-time on the Steel payroll as one of our veterinarians. But I honestly don’t think he would’ve been helping Wendy if he’d known what he was actually doing. For all he knew, he was working for the Fleming Corporation.”
Ava shakes her head. “The whole thing makes my skin crawl. All those liens, and I was the beneficiary. I don’t want her dirty money. Gina, Jack, Pat—divide it among yourselves.”
“No, Ava,” Uncle Ryan says. “You take your share. Your grandmother put you through hell, and you deserve something for the trauma you suffered.”
“But I don’t want it, Daddy.”
“Then give it away, sweetheart. Choose a charity.”
Gina speaks up then. “I don’t want mine either.”
“Neither do I,” Jack says.
Even Pat agrees. “If I’m going to turn over a new leaf, I can’t take her dirty money either. Ava, since she left it to you, why don’t you choose a charity?”
“I think that’s a great idea, sweetheart,” Uncle Ryan says.
Ava finally nods. “All right. I’ll do that, but I’ll make the donation in all four of our names, not just mine.”
Uncle Ryan nods. “Good for you, sweetheart, and you too, Gina, Jack, Pat. You’ll be well taken care of for the next several lifetimes without any help from my mother.” He shakes his head. “My damned mother. I suppose, Lauren, we should at least be happy that she’s now acknowledged you as her child. The quitclaim deed we found underneath Brendan’s floorboard listed me as the sole beneficiary of all the Steel properties.”
“She was something else,” Lauren says dryly.
“I wish Dad had gotten to know you,” Ryan says. “I honestly don’t think he knew he had another child.”
“No, he didn’t,” Lauren agrees. “I was always told that my father was Brad Steel’s half brother.”
“And I was the only one who knew about the half brother,” Uncle Joe chimes in. “And now we come to find out he probably never existed in the first place.”
“Was there anything that my mother couldn’t pull off?” Lauren shakes her head. “How did one person become so powerful?”
“Through intelligence—genius-level intelligence—and shrewdness, money, and investigative knowledge,” Uncle Ryan says.
“That’s right,” Uncle Talon says. “It’s so easy to forget, given everything else, but she was a damned good investigative reporter in her day.”
“True,” Uncle Joe agrees. “She was the one, Tal, who covered your heroics when you came back from your military tour.”
Uncle Talon nods. “She’s the one Jade and I went to for answers before we knew who she truly was. Sometimes I wish we could go back to those days, but then I realize we needed to know everything.” He frowns. “Though it irks me that some of the secrets still died with her.”
Through all of this, I’m listening with one ear.
They continue speaking, but I stop listening. We know all we’re going to know, because Wendy Madigan is dead. Now what we need to do is get the Steel holdings back into their proper hands. The deed that was recorded covers only real property, and the Steels own much more than that. I should know, as I’ve been Dad’s right-hand man since I got out of college.
And it hits me then.
What I’ve been looking for.
I don’t want to work with Dad anymore. I’m tired of the grind. I majored in business to please him, but working outside with Bree for a day made me realize I want to be working on the ranch. Helping that side of the business.
How will I tell him, though? He’s about to lose his best friend and brother-in-law. I can’t put any more on his plate.
I erase that thought only to think of Maddie and how much I’m going to miss her.
I wish she weren’t leaving, but I understand why she has to. She needs to find herself.
I won’t tell Dad today that I want to change my focus. He’ll need me as we work with our attorneys getting all the property in order. But afterward…