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)
“Her reasons,” Dad says, “were probably for my protection. As far as the world knows, I’m a legitimate son of Brad and Daphne Steel. She didn’t want anything to taint my inheritance.”
“All this time,” Lauren says. “All this time she knew. She knew you and I were brother and sister. She never told either of us. Why?”
“Don’t try to make sense of it, Lauren. You won’t be able to.”
I sit next to my father in a wingback chair, and Jack and Brendan join us in chairs across from the couch.
“Would you two like some time to talk?” I ask.
“No, please stay,” Lauren says. “Seems we’re all related, one way or another.” She turns to Brendan. “I guess now that she’s dead, we’ll never know exactly what my mother hoped to gain by impregnating me with your great-uncle’s sperm.”
“No,” Brendan says. “We will never know. But at least we know a little. We know she’s the one who orchestrated the deaths of Sean Murphy and Patty Watson. She took the best friend of Brad and the best friend of Daphne away.”
“According to Brock,” I say, “the one she hurt most by taking Patty Watson was her boyfriend, Ennis Ainsley.”
Dad nods. “He was the first winemaker at Steel Vineyards. An Englishman.”
Jack widens his eyes. “An Englishman who knew about wine?”
“Yes,” Dad says. “He was the best in the business. He breathed life into Steel Vineyards, and once I took over, we went to the next level.”
“Still so many unanswered questions,” I say.
“Yes,” Lauren says. “I want you all to know that you’re welcome to look through any of my stuff. Brendan, I know you, your dad, and Ruby found that decoy refrigerator down there. Did you ever have those specimens analyzed?”
“No,” Brendan says. “There was no reason to. If they are indeed sperm samples, they would not be viable at this point. But we did find the actual samples. We decided the most ethical thing to do was to leave them there. They’re over fifty years old and probably not viable.”
Lauren nods. “I agree.”
Dad rises. “We don’t want to overwhelm you anymore today, Lauren. But we would like you to meet the family. Could you come to dinner at our house this weekend? Gina will be home from school, and Rory Pike, who’s engaged to my nephew Brock, is putting on a holiday concert at the cinema in Snow Creek. You and Jack should come.”
Lauren smiles. “I believe I would like that. But it’s a huge undertaking. You have a large family.”
“We can start with just my family. You already know Ava, Brendan, Ruby, and me. So you’d just be meeting my daughter Gina this weekend for dinner.”
“All right. I would like that a lot.”
“Mom,” Jack says. “We may as well go all in. These people are our family.”
“I don’t know, Jack.”
“It’s up to you, Lauren,” Dad says. “But if you choose to meet all of us, then Brendan, you should invite your parents as well. One big family.”
Lauren smiles, and I see Wendy Madigan in her. But it’s the good part of Wendy Madigan. The part that made my father and Lauren. The part that helped make Gina, Jack, and me.
“Please come,” I say. “Our family can be overwhelming, but we’re also full of love. Full of light. We want you to be a part of that.”
Lauren meets my gaze, and that connection I felt to my grandmother surges through me, but this time it’s all positivity. All light. My aunt and I will be close. Close like Grandma Didi and I were.
“All right,” Lauren concedes. “I’d like that.”
“Wonderful,” Dad says. “An early dinner at Ruby’s and my place with the extended Steels, and then the holiday concert.”
Brendan takes my hand and squeezes it, and then he slips something on my finger.
I look down and smile.
A diamond sparkles.
And in my mind’s eye, the rubble from the falling tower is being swept away by a soft breeze.
Morning has come.
Epilogue
Sixty years ago…
“It’s priceless,” my mother says. “But I’m giving it to you. I don’t have any daughters, and one day you’ll find a woman you’ll want to marry.”
“Not anytime soon, Mum.” I shake my head.
Not that it’s something a guy talks to his mother about, but I’ve got a lot of wild oats to sow before I even think of settling down.
“I never liked the color,” Mum continues, “but it comes from somewhere in Australia. Your grandmother came from there.”
She hands me the burgundy velvet box that houses her treasure. The ring she never wears. The ring that—if it’s indeed priceless—should probably be locked in a safe somewhere.
Which is exactly where it’s going now.
I won’t be using it for at least ten years.