Page 3 of Inheriting Miss Fortune

“What kind of options?” I asked, though I already suspected.

“Offer him whatever it takes,” the pastor insisted. “We’re getting custody of our grandchild, even if we have to pay for it.”

While Pastor Scott turned to speak with Grace about the details, Orris turned to me with piercing eyes and spoke too softly for the Scotts to hear. “How much is it going to take?”

I knew what he was asking. If the Scotts wanted to bribe Dev to sign away custody of Lellie, they’d have to offer more than he’d gain by keeping her and her inheritance.

“Over ten million,” I said in a low voice.

His eyes widened in shock. “Kathryn’s trust fund was only worth two.”

“She made good money here, and she was good at investing,” I said, not willing to be specific. “Plus, she came into some money a couple of years ago from another source.”

“What source?”

“She didn’t tell me. I only know about it because she placed it in trust for Lellie, so she needed me to draw up the papers.”

“That’s what you meant when you said she was independently wealthy,” he said. “I thought you were referring to the savings account the Scotts had set up for her when she was born.”

“No.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his previously immaculate hair. “Mr. McKay isn’t going to turn down custody of this child when he learns she comes with a fortune. Even if he doesn’t want her.”

I didn’t want to believe that, but I had to admit the truth. “No, sir. Not many people would.”

Katie hadn’t talked much about Dev. I knew they’d been close in high school but had drifted apart after college, at least in part because Dev hadn’t moved back to Texas… or stayedanywherefor very long. When I’d confessed to Katie what had happened between us the night of her party, she’d laughed, but I’d seen concern flicker in her eyes, too… until I’d quickly explained that it had been a onetime encounter with no expectations on eitherside. “Good,” she’d said with a soft smile. “Because Dev’s one of the best men I know, Tully, truly. But I don’t get the feeling he’s interested in commitments right now. Toanything.”

I hadn’t understood what she meant by that cryptic comment, but I hadn’t felt like I could press for clarification without letting her know how often I’d replayed the events of that night, even when I’d tried to forget it.

When Lellie was born and Dev hadn’t initiated any contact—something I knew Katie didn’t expect from him but would’ve been open to—or even called to congratulate Katie, I’d figured I had my answer. Dev was a drifter. A wanderer. A kind man, sure. A beautiful man, without a doubt. But not necessarily a dedicated or responsible one.

As much as I hated to think of sweet Lellie being brought up by the influential Scotts in their hateful megachurch, I also wasn’t sure if a drifter—no matter how kind or beautiful he may be—was the ideal parent for her. And if he was an underpaid ranch hand, might he be tempted to keep custody of her simply to have the kind of financial security he’d never known before?

It was definitely possible.

I wanted to see Katie’s final wishes carried out—of course I did. It was the last tangible thing I could do for my friend. But as I thought over Orris’s words, a little bit of doubt crept in over the best way to achieve that.

Like most young, healthy parents, Katie had written up her will to protect her daughter against a theoretical worst-case scenario. In her case, though—my throat burned with unshed tears—it had become reality far more quickly and suddenly than Katie could ever have predicted. She’d probably chosen Dev as Lellie’s guardian because she’d wanted to assume the best of him and had thought he’d mature or settle down at some point, becoming the kind of person she’d actually want raising her daughter.

Maybe hehadbecome that person. But maybe he hadn’t.

I loved Katie and Lellie enough to make sure that whoever became Lellie’s guardian would do right by her. Lellie deserved to have the kind of safe, stable, comfortable childhood I’d never had. One unburdened by worries about whether there would be food in the fridge tomorrow, or if the mortgage had been paid this month, or if, after celebrating the windfall of a rare cattle sale at the local bar, her father would come home in a roaring temper… or not come home at all. She deserved to have adults in her life who made her needs a priority and to be loved as much as Katie had loved her.

And, though I hated to admit it, that kind of stability was something the Scotts could give her… even if it wasn’t the situation Katie had wanted.

“You’ll bring the child to Wyoming, Tully,” Orris pronounced. “Along with the custody documents Grace will prepare.”

I started. “Me? Surely we should send someone else,” I tried, suddenly panicking at the idea of confronting Dev with a child he’d never met.

“The nanny can’t make the trip,” he reminded me, “and you’re the only person in the firm who knows the child personally. Would you prefer I assigned a junior associate to handle the matter?”

The thought of Lellie traveling so far with a stranger when she still called out for her mother in the night made me sick. “No. Definitely not.”

He nodded as though he’d expected no less. “Didn’t think so. You care about the child, and I trust you to do what’s best for her.” His eyes bored into me once again. “Do whatever it takes to prove Devon McKay is unfit, Tully. Beg, bribe, or bully him until he gives up custody. Do you understand?”

I could tell from his expression that there were words he’d left unsaid. I felt the weight of them regardless.

Your job depends on it.

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