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)
“You told me yourself that he financed the club back in high school and then continued to do so.”
“Yes, until they got into the illegal stuff.”
“Are you sure about that? Are you sure your father wasn’t still involved?”
Dad drops his head. “Ava, I’m not sure of anything anymore.” Then he raises his head and looks up at me. “Except that I love you and your sister and your mother more than anything in this world. And after that, I love the rest of my family. As long as this woman is alive, the rest of my family is in danger.” He nods to the recliner next to his. “Take a load off.”
I take a seat. “Dad…one of the documents that Brendan found…”
“The deed. Yes, I know.”
“What do you make of it?”
“I think it’s obvious. This woman forced my father to sign it. She wanted everything to go to me—her son. She didn’t want anything to go to Daphne’s children.”
“But it was never recorded.”
“No, it wasn’t, thank God. Knowing Wendy, there was some kind of contingency plan. But who knows what could’ve happened? All the property had already been transferred to the four of us the year Marjorie turned eighteen—after the first time my father faked his death.”
“What if… What if all of it truly belongs to you, Dad?”
“It doesn’t matter. I would never cut my brothers and sister out.”
“That’s what I figured.”
“Would you want me to?”
“Of course not! Not ever. They don’t deserve that. They’re Brad Steel’s children too.”
He nods. “Exactly. In fact, they’re Brad Steel’s legitimate children.”
I say nothing. He’s right, of course. “Except in the eyes of the law…”
“Yes. In the eyes of the law, we’re all legitimate. Daphne’s name is on my birth certificate. But we all know it’s a crock. I had my DNA tested years ago. It shattered my world, Ava. But you already know that story.”
“I do.” I won’t make my father repeat it, but still, I have so many questions.
“I don’t know why she reached out to you,” Dad says. “Or had someone else do it. Either way, she’s behind it.”
“So you understand my curiosity.”
“Of course I do. For some reason, you, the Murphys, Pat Lamone…”
“Yes. Obviously you were her pride and joy, Dad. I wonder why she didn’t go to you?”
“She knows what I think of her. She was ready to kill me twenty-five years ago. It’s only because of your mother that I’m alive.”
“Do you think Mom is safe?”
“I do. In her twisted way, my mother loves me. She knows how much it would hurt me if anything happened to your mother.”
“But still…” Fear pulses through me. “Gina and I, we’re your daughters. Your flesh and blood. But Mom…”
“Yes, it’s crossed my mind.”
“But still, you feel she’s safe?”
“I do.”
“Are you sure about that, Ryan?”
I drop my jaw.
The words…
They came from my grandmother’s lips.
Chapter Nine
Brendan
I’m surprised to see my father at the bar when I return.
“Hey, Dad.”
He’s wiping off some glasses. “Laney gave me a call. She had an emergency, so I came in.”
“That’s kind of you. Thank you. Is everything okay with Laney?”
“Yeah. Lulu spiked a fever and wanted her mom.” Dad sets down the glass. “Where’s Ava? I thought you had a big date.”
“She’s spending the night at her parents’ house.”
“Oh?” Dad furrows his brow.
“Everything’s okay. Between Ava and me, I mean. But the Steels…”
“Always drama,” Dad says.
“So it would seem,” I say. “At least the last couple months, anyway. Ruby gave me the name of a different lab to go to tomorrow for the blood work, but I’m thinking we should go to both.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I mean it doesn’t hurt to get two opinions, right?”
“Opinions have nothing to do with this. Our DNA is fact, Brendan.”
“Right. In a perfect world. But who knows who might tamper with it?”
“Why in the world would anyone care about our DNA?” Dad asks.
“I don’t know, Dad. But if this is our connection to the Steels…” I shake my head. “I love Ava. That’s not going to change. Her family…”
“Maybe they aren’t who they seem to be,” Dad says.
“I never believed it. I never wanted to believe it. I mean, the Steels do so much for the town. They’re good people.”
“I believe they think they are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I have no reason to think badly about the Steel brothers or Marjorie. It’s their father I have a beef with.”
“Yes… The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…”
“It’s not a saying I ever believed,” Dad says.
“You said it. Remember that first camping trip we took, when we found that apple tree?”
“Yeah.” Dad chuckles. “I’m surprised you remember that.”
“How can I not? That tree fed us every time we went camping after that. But the point is, you made that statement, and you’ve said many times over the years that the Steels own this town.”