Read Online The True Father by Steven Anderson Law - Free Book Online Page A

door and checked for cattle manure. I sat in front of the steering wheel, found a square-ended Ford key, put it in the ignition and started the engine, which roared and sputtered. I pressed the gas pedal and smoothed it out, and when I let off, the exhaust pipes rapped and popped.
    Â Â  I laughed to myself, thinking that this was Jettie's only transportation and the guy could have afforded anything he wanted. I shut it off and climbed out. Bella still stood at the opening of the garage.
    Â Â  “Neat old truck, huh?” she said.
    Â Â  “Yeah, very neat,” I said sarcastically.
    Â Â  “That was another one of Jettie's pride and joys.”
    Â Â  “This old truck?”
    Â Â  “His father bought it new when Jettie was in high school, and he later gave it to him. It's part of the family.”
    Â Â  “I see.”
    Â Â  I shut the garage doors and we walked to the front step of the house, where we sat next to each other and stared out into the yard.
    Â Â  “So what do we do now?” I asked.
    Â Â  “Larry said he'd handle the details for us. Now, I guess we have to try and get back to our normal routines.”
    Â Â  “Yeah, you're right.”
    Â Â  “So what are you going to do?”
    Â Â  “Go back to Kansas City. Start my job.”
    Â Â  “Do you think you'll like being an accountant?”
    Â Â  “I hope so. It's all I know.”
    Â Â  “You could do like my mother did.”
    Â Â  “What's that?”
    Â Â  “She's a beautician, and once she developed a clientele, she opened up her own beauty parlor.”
    Â Â  “Are you saying I should open up my own accounting office?”
    Â Â  “Why not? You got the money now to do it.”
    Â Â  “Yeah, I guess I do.”
    Â Â  The thought of having over a half-million dollars in net worth still hadn't quite soaked in. And to make it seem right, I had to keep telling myself the same thing I told Bella, that it was what Jettie wanted. Suddenly I wondered how I would explain my sudden riches to Mom. How ironic, I thought, that she would leave her husband in search of a life of vanity and wealth, and for him to one day become a millionaire. Telling her would not be easy, and the more I thought about it, probably not a very good idea at all.

Ten

    Â Â 
   Before going back to Kansas City I had one last bit of detail to go over with Jeremiah, which involved Jettie's interest in the ranch. It was a small interest, about ten percent, but with an approximate net value of $60,000, which I had to split with Bella, of course. This included a percentage of the land, livestock, farm equipment, several stock trailers and other vehicles, the house and buildings, and even Jeremiah's GMC. He said he'd be willing to buy me out or I could keep the interest, whichever I preferred. I had no idea what to do at the time so I decided to think about it.
    Â Â  The drive back to Kansas City took better than six hours. Along the way, we stopped in Bentonville, Arkansas, the official headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores, Incorporated, and toured the Wal-Mart Visitor's Center. Grandpa wondered why I had a sudden interest in Wal-Mart and I told him about studying the company in college, and that I was very impressed with their financial success. Well, I wasn't lying.
    Â Â  Like I told Jeremiah and Bella, I didn't want anyone knowing about the inheritance—especially Mom. And this included Grandpa, because he'd tell Grandma, and then Grandma would tell Mom. It was an ingrained system, guaranteed to work every time. So Jeremiah agreed that it was our little secret.
    Â 
    *     *     *
    Â 
    Â Â  My first day on the job was not near as exciting as I once had expected. I wore my favorite suit as planned, and my cubicle was complete with all the hardware I had dreamed of. A state of the art desktop computer