Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I’m still not sure why the Steels have a lien on everything we own. Dale and Donny did promise to get rid of the lien on the bar, and I trust they’ll get it done.
I regard the birth certificate for William Elijah Steel, with no mother listed. Only the father, George Steel, father of Bradford Steel. Unreal.
What no longer seems unreal, of course, is the deed transferring all the Steel property to Ryan Steel.
This was Wendy Madigan’s ace in the hole. A chance to get the Steel property given to her son only.
She can never know this deed still exists.
Not that Ryan would allow his siblings to go without anything. I can’t imagine he would ever do that.
I walk out of the bar, leaving Johnny and Laney to get ready for the day. I walk the few blocks to my parents’ house in the residential area. Dad is already outside waiting for me.
“What did you tell Mom?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Same thing I told her when we went for the blood tests. That I had some errands to run. She didn’t ask a lot of questions. I’m always running errands, fixing stuff up around the house now that I’m retired.”
“Good. Better not to invite a lot of questions.”
“So Ruby’s meeting us there?”
“Yeah.”
The drive into Barrel Oaks takes a mere fifteen minutes, and Ruby Steel is already there in her car, waiting outside Lauren Wingdam’s home.
She’s dressed in jeans and a leather blazer, her brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail.
“Brendan, Sean,” she says.
“Ruby.” Dad clears his throat.
“You all ready?” I ask.
Ruby nods. “Yeah, Brendan. Thanks for putting this together.”
“Does Ryan know you’re here?” Dad asks.
“No, but I don’t plan to keep this from him. He and Ava are busy with Wendy at the moment.”
Of course they are.
We walk to the door and ring the doorbell.
Jack answers. “Hello, Brendan, Sean.”
“Hi, Jack,” I say. “This is Ruby Steel, Ava’s mother. Ryan’s wife.”
“Nice to meet you, Ruby,” Jack says. “Come on in, all of you. Mom arranged for Margaret to serve some tea.”
“You didn’t have to go to any trouble,” Ruby says.
“It’s no trouble. Besides, Mom likes to take tea in the afternoon.” Jack leads us into the same living room where Dad and I met him and Lauren only days ago.
“How is your mom doing?” I ask.
“She’s as perplexed as the rest of us about the DNA results.”
“I can assure you,” Ruby says, “that Tucker Madden is the best in the business. He and I have worked together for over thirty years.”
“He sure was quick,” Dad says.
“He was,” Jack says. “The guy my physician referred me to will take a few more days.”
“I’m sure you’ll find that the results are the same,” Ruby says. “And if you don’t, then something’s wrong on the other end. I trust Tucker implicitly.”
“You guys go ahead and sit down,” Jack says. “I’ll get my mom.”
Margaret comes in and serves our tea while Jack returns with Lauren.
Dad and I stand.
“Lauren,” I say, “thank you for agreeing to see us. This is Ruby Steel. She’s Ryan’s wife.”
Lauren shakes Ruby’s hand. “It’s good to meet you. I guess you’re my sister-in-law.”
“So it would seem. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Ruby stares at Lauren. “You have your mother’s eyes, but I see the resemblance to Ryan.”
Lauren takes a seat, stirs a tiny bit of sugar into her tea, and takes a sip. “What can I do to help all of you?”
“I was wondering if I might be able to have a look around your house,” Ruby says.
Lauren holds back a gasp. “Whatever for?”
“Please don’t take the request the wrong way.” Ruby smiles. “I’m just looking for anything out of the ordinary. Anything that might clue us in to what’s going on here. What your mother has put into motion. And the relationship between Jack and the Murphys.”
“I understand your curiosity, Mrs. Steel.”
“Please, call me Ruby.” She widens her smile. “We’re sisters-in-law, after all.”
“Very well, Ruby, but I can assure you that you won’t find anything here in this house. My mother and I are currently…estranged.”
Ruby nods. “I understand, and believe me, I don’t blame you for being estranged from her. Right now, your mother is in my home, staying in one of our guest rooms.”
Lauren’s eyes widen. “What’s she doing there?”
“My husband and my daughter have a lot of questions for her, and Ryan felt he could keep a better eye on her at home.”
Lauren lifts her cup of tea but doesn’t take a sip. “I’m not sure I see his point.”
“To be honest, I’m not sure I do either, Lauren. But she is his mother. As well as yours.”
“I don’t want to see her.”
“I’m not here to pressure you into doing that.”
Lauren places her cup back on her saucer, forcefully enough that a few drops fly out. “But you are here to pressure me into letting you look around my house.”