Saving His City Girl

Katherine Mason's hand flew to her mouth in surprise. This was the last thing she ever expected to hear. Never in a million lifetimes would she have dreamed of this. To say she was shocked when her grandfather's attorney called was an understatement. She never expected her paternal grandfather to know of her existence. She had never met anyone from her father’s side although she knew he had a wife and children. She had accepted that they did not bother with wanting to know her. Her mother had not said much when asked and Kat had wondered why she had even given Kat her father’s last name. All Kat had found out was that her father George Mason had an affair with her mother Nancy Stewart. Nancy had been led to believe that he had been separated and was in the process of getting divorced. Only when she got pregnant did George reveal that he was still married and with kids on the way. He had just been having fun with Nancy and there was no way he was having another child with her. Nancy had kicked him to the curb and focused on being the best single mother she could be. She had been an orphan and saw her baby girl like her only family. Nancy never remarried or even dated again, Kat thought maybe she still held a torch for George hence why she still gave her baby her father's surname. Kat had wanted to change her last name when she found out but her mother had refused. Nancy had her reasons , Kat never knew but accepted wanting to keep her mother happy. Apart from all that she had a fairly normal childhood regardless of only having a mother. She stopped asking about her father when she saw how much her mother struggled to talk about him. Nancy had worked hard to get Kat through school and college and Kat focused on her life instead of chasing after what could have been. She had made peace with a life without her father. Kat met up with her grandfather's attorney Mr. Everret on Monday morning where he dropped the bomb that Christopher Mason had left her his farmhouse, a quarter of a million dollars, and thirty percent shares in his company Mason and Sons publishing. Kat was rendered speechless at her grandfather's gift. " Miss Mason, "Mr. Everret called out to her for the fourth time when she remained quiet with her eyes wide and jaw on the floor. She took in a deep breath and turned her concentration back to the attorney who was now frantic because of her silence. " I'm sorry Mr. Everret, I'm just shocked that I was even mentioned in his will, let alone left such a substantial amount of money. I thought he hated me and had no interest in me at all. None of them ever reached out to me," Kat told him. She never looked or tried to connect with anyone. She assumed the whole family probably wanted nothing to do with her. "Miss Mason I have been your grandfather’s attorney and friend for years. I know for a fact that your grandfather only recently found out about your existence. He was already too sick to do much so the inheritance is him reaching out to you,” Mr. Everest informed her with a barely there smile. He spoke as sincerely as he could and Kat believed him. As much as all this news was shocking and she probably would never understand the actions or her mother , father or grandfather she still was excited about the inheritance. Having grown up on a farm the love for the countryside and small towns was always with her. She moved to the city for college and after her mother passed away she stayed permanently for work. She felt she did not have a reason to go back. Adapting to the city way of life had been challenging but she made it although she would always be a country girl at heart. Her college friends had found her way of talking amusing and interesting but her meek attitude made her wary of people which is why she had no friends at the age of twenty-three. She was now used to being alone but she felt like a small fish in the Atlantic in the city. So that got her deciding to follow her dream. She packed up her belongings quit her job as personal assistant to Gregory Michaels the senior editor at Plush magazine. Her job was well paying but it was not her passion therefore it was tiresome. She had worked there hoping to save enough money to one day move out of the city and possibly start a small diner or café somewhere quiet. Now thanks to her grandfather she could move anytime she wanted. She had enough money and even a house of her own, she saw no reason to delay. With everything done and dusted in the city she made her journey to the country. No sad goodbyes because not only was she a loner but she didn't have any relatives that cared about her. By that Friday just after working her last day, she was on the road to a new start in her life