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)
Then, without waiting for me to reply, he turns and leaves.
My alarm goes off at six thirty the next morning.
The numbnuts that I am, I signed up for an eight o’clock class. I have only one more general requirement that I need to get my degree, and this was the only time that I could get my science requirement and still fit in all the other classes I wanted.
So I’m off to biology, something I’m not even remotely interested in, at eight o’clock in the freaking morning.
After biology, I have poetry and then Spanish.
That’s all for today.
Tomorrow, I have another English course—creative writing—and then watercolor.
I already have my fine arts requirements on my transcript, but I’ve always wanted to try watercolor.
I don’t expect to be any good at it, but who cares? It’s time to try new things and figure out what I was put on this earth to do.
I am only twenty-two, so if I don’t know what to do with my life, it’s not the worst thing in the world. Just because my siblings all knew doesn’t mean I have to know. Rory didn’t even get it right the first time.
Biology class is finally done, but then I have to go to a lab before poetry class to make up what I missed the first few weeks of classes.
I walk in, and the only other student in the lab is a tall man with brown hair and light-green eyes. He looks up at me and smiles. “You must be Madeline Pike.”
“Guilty,” I say. “Call me Maddie. And you are?”
“I’m Dr. Carmen’s lab assistant, Grayson George.” He holds out his hand. “I’m here to get you up to speed.”
“That’s kind of you, but you don’t have to. I’m perfectly capable of doing the work on my own.”
“Dr. Carmen asked me to do it”—he eyes me up and down—“I’m pretty glad she did.”
My cheeks warm. And I find myself…
Feeling…good. I’m pretty sure I love Dave, but it’s nice to have some male attention. Grayson must be a senior like I am, but I’ve never seen him before. Of course, I don’t hang around with the science geeks much.
“Am I the only one who saved her science requirement for the last semester?” I ask.
He chuckles. “You’d be amazed how often it happens. Some people seem to be afraid of the sciences, but they’re nothing to fear. I find them incredibly interesting.”
“You’d get along well with my friend,” I say. “She’s going to med school.”
“Who’s your friend?”
“Angie Simpson.”
“Oh yeah, I know Angie. She’s Sage’s sister. One of the”—air quotes—“Steels.”
I have to laugh. “Yeah, I live on the ranch adjacent to them. Of course, it’s tiny compared to theirs.”
“Since they own almost the entire state of Colorado, I would imagine yours is tiny.” He laughs. “Let me show you what we need to do.”
We go through the labs quickly, and his hands brush against mine more often than they should.
When we’re finally done, I’ve missed my poetry class.
I double-check the time on my phone. “Oh my God, I didn’t even realize the time.”
“See? Science is fun.”
“I missed my poetry class, and I’ve already missed a couple of weeks.”
He smiles timidly, a small patch of pink on his cheeks. “Must be the company.”
I return his smile. “I will say that you made biology not so bad.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Just not so bad?”
“That’s about all I can muster up,” I say. “Since I missed poetry, I’m going to head to lunch.”
“Would you like some company?”
“I was just going to the cafeteria. I have a meal plan with my scholarship.”
“So do I. I take all three meals there. It’s not gourmet, but it’s paid for.” He winks at me. “Come.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dave
I’m sitting with my father the next morning. Uncle Ryan and Aunt Lauren are also here, as their signatures are needed on the transferring documents. The attorneys have drawn everything up for the real property to be split equally among all of Bradford Steel’s grandchildren with life estates for the older Steels, but there’s other property to take into consideration as well. We have investments in everything—from precious metals to foreign currency to Fortune 500 companies to real estate all over the world.
Steel Acres Ranch is but one portion of our portfolio. The ranch and the vineyards are subsidiaries of Steel Enterprises, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Steel Holdings, all of which falls under our umbrella corporation of Steel Companies, Inc.
My cousin Donny, when he first learned of our family’s past, asked me how our family became billionaires by raising beef, apples, and peaches.
My answer was, of course, that we didn’t.
The ranch is our life. It’s what we all enjoy doing, but it’s only a minute portion of our portfolio.
Still, when he asked me, my own curiosity was piqued. Just where did all this money come from? So I delved into some research. It was our grandfather, Bradford Steel, who took his father’s already very successful ranch and made it into what it is today. He made enough money that he could increase his holdings by diversifying his investments.