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)
“Well… I guess I wasn’t sure that you would know.”
He puts his newspaper down. “Madeline, your mother and I own the property. Of course we would know.”
“The truth is, Maddie,” Mom says, “we bought this property back when Jesse was just a kid. You weren’t even born yet. We actually bought it from the Steel family. It was property that another family had been using as a ranch, leasing it from the Steels.”
“And…”
Dad clears his throat. “There was no lien on it because it was owned by the Steels themselves.”
“So…”
“The Steels own all their property outright,” Dad says. “I wouldn’t have purchased any property subject to a lien anyway. That’s bad business. Frankly, I can’t believe so much property changed hands over the years with that lien in place.”
I have no idea how to respond to that, and Dad’s tone indicates that he’s not interested in discussing the matter any further, so I decide to change the subject.
“I’ll need one of you guys to drop me off tomorrow night,” I say.
“Of course, Madeline,” Mom says. “Your father and I will both go.”
“That’s not necessary. Maybe I can get a ride with Angie and Sage or Gina.”
“Aren’t they at school now?” Mom asks.
I shake my head. “All the Steels, even the youngest ones, were called home for that big meeting. I figured you knew.”
“The Steels don’t make it a priority to share their business with us,” Dad says.
“No, of course not. I just figured Callie had told you. She was there.”
Mom glances at Dad. “She hasn’t said anything to us.”
“Then you don’t know Joe is sick?”
Dad’s eyes widen. “Jonah is ill?”
“Callie knows, and Rory and Jesse no doubt know by now as well. I’m sure Brock and Bree called them.”
“Caroline Rose.” Mom sighs. “I guess I need to give her a call.”
“Anyway,” I continue, “it’s some kind of brain cancer. Dave told me what it was, but I can’t remember the name of it.”
“How bad is it?” Dad asks.
“It’s pretty bad. Basically only a one percent survival rate.”
For once, both my parents are speechless.
“Isn’t it strange, Maureen,” Dad says, “how we never imagined anything bad could happen to that family?”
Mom rises and hugs Dad, who’s still sitting in his chair. “I love you, Frank.”
“I love you, Reenie,” he says.
My parents do still love each other after all these years. They certainly don’t see eye to eye on everything. Mom, for example, never quite came to terms with Rory’s bisexuality, but Dad accepted it with no questions asked.
My father is an amazing man. He’s in excellent health despite a heart attack last fall. But he does have one Achilles’ heel. His pride.
He wouldn’t allow the Steels to help us when our vineyards burned down, and I understood then.
Now, three of his children are engaged to Steels, and he still won’t take their money.
I don’t know whether to be proud of him or to resent him.
“Anyway,” I say, “I don’t think the girls are going back to school anytime soon. At least not for another couple of days, so Daddy, if you could take me, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course, Maddie.”
Today is Saturday, and I’m supposed to have lunch with Dave. Or at least he said so. I haven’t heard from him since.
If he doesn’t text me, that’s okay. I need to get my stuff packed up and ready to go back to school anyway.
Since I’ll be in the dorms, I’m going to need bedding and everything else for my room. I really lucked out getting a single room.
I give Mom and Dad a kiss and go to my room to begin packing.
I get a lot done, start a few loads of laundry, give my room a good cleaning, and by then it’s lunchtime.
I look at my phone.
No text from Dave.
Well, that’s that.
I lie down on my bed, wanting to cry.
But I don’t.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dave
I take Gary and head over to Mom and Dad’s house in the morning. I want to check on everyone, and I meet them for breakfast.
Dad looks a little better this morning, though he’s still not himself by a longshot.
Angie and Sage are still sniffling, but Henry is good. Mom is good.
This is Mom’s big brother, and she’s taking it better than Dad is.
I can’t believe I never saw how strong my mother is, but as I look back, I see it was always there—that gentle strength, so different from Dad’s. Mom is the only daughter of Bradford and Daphne Steel, full sibling to Uncle Joe and Uncle Talon.
We know so little about our grandmother, Daphne Steel, but we do know she went through a lot in her life and spent most of her adult life in a world of her own making to escape the pain of her past.
But there’s no doubt in my mind that she loved her children, even Uncle Ryan, who biologically wasn’t hers. She never knew about Lauren, who grew up with her birth mother, Wendy Madigan.