My Irish Roots by Emily Walton (book recommendations for teens txt) 📖

“Willow! You look good.” Dane commented as he stands. I smile just slightly. Out of my Uncle Donalds kids, I love him the most. Maybe because at Christmas get togethers and family gatherings he would be the one to talk to me. I give him an air kiss, glad I’d chosen this outfit. My unruly red curls where fastened into a tight bun at the base of my neck, my green eyes rimmed in black. I was short, but my heels made up for it. black heeled boots that reached my knees and a black skirt that made it to mid thigh, a white v neck tee shirt and a black leather jacket.

“Thank you Dane. As always, so do you.” he laughs and squeezes my hand, ushering me to my seat. I represented my parents, though dead, in this group. Dane for Uncle Donald, Judith for Aunt Cathrine, Gregory for Uncle Scott, Theodore for Uncle Terrance, and Jamie for Uncle Thomas. No direct children where allowed at the Will reading.

 Yes, we where here to discuss my grandmothers will. I was nervous, because I knew the company would go to me. I also knew that a lot of the older, more responsible cousins or aunts or uncles would fight for it. grandma had been dead for less than a week and already they had tried blackmailing and threatening me. I didn’t take it to heart. Who wouldn’t want a multi-trillion dollar hotel chain?

 I sat in the seat Dane had pointed to, Glad it was next to him. I glanced nervously at my phone as I sat. I had a class in an hour. It took me fifteen minutes to get to campus from here. Less if I could get on a back road with my lovely mustang. Would this take less then fourty-five minutes? Hopefully. If not I was screwed. Which wasn’t a good thing with my dean already on my ass because my English literature class was a D.

 “is this everyone then?” an older man asks as he waltz’s into the room from a door to the left. We all murmur a yes, shifting as he gains all of our attention. He glances around the room until his eyes land on me. his eyes soften.

“You must be Willow. I’m Mr. Kendrick. Your grandmother spoke of you fondly. She raised you and your older brother, correct? Since you was two?” I nod stiffly. He sits behind a wooden desk, the one all of our seats are centered around. He scans over us a moment, seeming to look sad. I knew better. Lawyers where often good actors. I’d known plenty. Between my parents inheritance, my brother’s disownment when he turned 18, and a law suit against me after a particularly nasty boyfriend, I knew how most of them worked. His eyes settled on me again a moment before he sighed and pulled an envelope from his desk. He holds it up.

  “we all know why you guys are here. Correct? The elderly Member of the Rose family has died, leaving the RoseThorn hotels up for grabs for this family. This is Stephine Rose’s will. I will read the main portion, and a few of you will have to stay around for the private part. Good?” we all murmured a yes and he nods. He slowly opens the envelope, dramatically. I sigh, resigned to sit back and deal with the dramatics.

The beginning was dull. “this is the will of Stephine Marie Thorn-Rose, wife of Josiah Fredricks Rose, Daughter of…” I tuned it out. it was like this for about ten minutes before he cleared his throat and made eye contact with all of us. his eyes rested on me for a particularly long time and I grimaced under his gaze.

“I leave the hotel to my Granddaughter, Willow Jane Rose.”

The room went into an uproar. I grimaced as people threw accusations at me. I was too young, too uncivilized. I was too immature. I didn’t have enough schooling. No one would want me as CEO. Only dane was quiet, shooting me an apologetic look. The lawyer let it go for a few minutes before he held a hand up.

“Let me finish reading before we have anymore outbursts, shall we?” he said sharply. Everyone quieted down and after a minute he continued.

“The land we own in Ireland is left to my son, Donald. The horse farm we support will become co-owned with my daughter, Cathrine. Dane is to become The owner of our land in England and Russia.” Dane looks startled at this, but pleased. I grinned, happy for him.

“The house and land we own in America is to be given to my grandson, Trevor Ford Rose.” I gasped as all eyes flew to me, horror in their gaze. My grandmother gave land to my brother? The bastard child? No way. that was also the most land they’d owned in one country. I gaped like a fish as he continued reading.

“the mansion, if still standing, is to be left as is. That obviously doesn’t pertain to anyone here. All of my children will be receiving $30,000, my grandchildren exactly half. “ he cleared his throat and looked around.

“That is all. Dane, Willow, fallow me to my office so that I may discuss further arrangements that need to be made. Everyone else, see yourself out.” I stood, numb, as I followed Mr. Kendrick, Dane right behind me. I heard enraged whispers as our family filed out, some already on the phone with their parents. I sighed, closing the door behind Dane as he entered the room. I heard his intake of breath but it didn’t register until I turned and saw Trevor, leaning against a bookshelf. I growled as he grinned at me.

“Hey sis.”

“Trevor. I assume you heard about the land?”

“Of course. Doesn’t surprise me, seeing as I’ve been living there since the old man kicked me out.”  I shook my head. Of course grandma would take care of him behind grandpa’s back. We never visited America anymore. So it was easy. What was it called? House sitting. That’s it. I sit in a chair next to Dane as Mr. Kendrick sits behind a much smaller desk then the one before. He pulls out a smaller envelope and holds it up.

“This is your grandmothers private will. Private because no one else in your family is to know what it says. Understand? I am allowed to sue you if you so much as utter a word to anyone else in the family about what is read hear today.” We all nod. Dane shoots my brother a look. I knew they where friends when Trevor was with us. they where both the same age. Both 28 now.

“I’m going to summeraize the letter, seeing as how the legal part of it is kind of long and dreary. Basically, it says that if she dies before Willow is 22, the Hotel chain goes to Dane.”

“What!?” we both exclaimed. The lawyer held up his hand.

“Wait, please, let me continue.  Since you are barely 20, this means Dane is the face of the hotel chain. But you make the decisions. As long as you are staying with your brother in America and are in school. The minute you drop out or move out of Trevors home, the hotel becomes Dane’s fully. Until your 22 birthday. After that, as long as you stay in school while you work, the hotel is yours.” I rub my hands down my face. Probably smearing make-up everywhere. Who cares? It’s not like I was going to care at this point. No, my grandmother had just thrown a big blimp in my plans.

“So, does she have a certain school I have to go to?”

“same school, online classes. You also have an allowance, of $20,000 dollars a month. To each of you. so you don’t need a job necessarily, but if you’d like to get one to help pay bills and tuition that’s fine.” I waved a hand in the air absently.

“I have a free ride. My grades got me in.” Trevor looks surprised.

“I didn’t know that.”

“ you haven’t seen me since I was ten. I doubt you know much about me at all.” I snap. He flinches at my town and I turn back to Mr. Kendrick.

“how long until I have to move in?”

“it gives you a grace period of two weeks. That’s to get your passport ready and to make all the arrangments in school. And to get all of your things, car and motorcycle included, shipped to America.” Trevor threw his hands up.

“Wait a minute, you own a bike?”

“yes? Why does this surprise you?”

“The old man allowed this?”

“Hell yes. He paid for it. it was my 16th birthday present.” He looked green. Sick. Like it was wrong of me to be like this.

News flash, big brother, I’m not an innocent little girl anymore.

~Trevor’s P.O.V~

When did she become so arrogant? So self assured?

So much like you? a voice said in my head. I grimaced and she shot me a dirty look. The lawyer dude was talking but I wasn’t listening. He’d thrown me for a loop when he told me my sister was going to have to live with me. I’d have to make my friends leave.

Actually, who cares? They know I left to hopefully get the deed to the American land my grandparents had been lending me. they knew there was a chance I would come back empty handed. I was leaving tonight to go back, that’d give them a two week notice that I had a sister and she was coming to live with me. besides, two of them went to college and used the house as a crash pad and the other two worked. One as a bouncer and one with me, going from place to place, remodeling and decorating. Yes, I was an architect. He did the furniture and colors and what not. I just did the modeling. Speaking of modeling…

“Do you still model?” I ask, cutting off whatever my sister was going to say. I mean, she was responding to Dane. I needed to talk to him before we left. He’d visited a time or two since I was disowned, but that’s not the point. She looked startled and I grimaced again at her wide eyes. The only thing I’d inherited from dad was green eyes like hers.

“Yes. No. kind of. Depends on who you ask. I model for a small company called torents. It’s a lovely little lingerie shop. Grandmother didn’t approve but I don’t work often. “ lingerie. Perfect. What next?

“How did you know I modeled at all?”

“Grandmother told me.”  she bit back something that was obviously on the tip of her tongue and turned back to Dane, who shot me an apologetic look. What lies had granddad been feeding her to make her feel this way towards me?

~six days~

Ok. So they didn’t get a week to adjust. Six days. They where all pissed I hadn’t told them, but that would have made them aware I was a bastard child. I realize that in America that type of thing is ok, but in Ireland it is still a discgrace. Leave it to my dad to piss the family off. Then he got married, had my sister with his wife and before I could really adjust to the fact that they where my new family, dad and his new wife died in a car accident and suddenly we where the charges of my grandparents. Grandma adored me. I knew this. But I also knew grandpa would get rid of me ASAP. They knew all of that now. they where also all excited to meet her. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about this. Three of the four of them had a criminal record and the one who didn’t