Page 73 of Inheriting Miss Fortune

TWENTY

DEV

I could tell Tully was shocked by my words. “You did?”

My throat was sore from swallowing down the tears I was desperate to shed. Watching that woman take my daughter had taken years off my life.

“I told the Scotts and my parents that I would be open to fostering better relations with all of them for Lellie’s sake. That it might take time, and neither Lellie nor I was ready for them to take her today, but that I understood they were her grandparents and loved her.”

“That’s… awfully generous of you,” he muttered. I could tell he meanttoogenerous. And maybe he was right, but right now, I was actually glad I’d made the gesture. I felt like it somehow proved I was the better person. I’d been willing to work with them rather than refusing them access to Lellie.

And this was how they’d repaid me. They hadn’t shown me or Lellie any respect.

They’d scared my daughter to death.

I cupped her face and tipped it up. Her hazel eyes were still wet, but she was no longer actively crying. “Why don’t we find Trigger, okay? I think he might like to come out and get a little fresh air.”

Kenji was on top of it as usual, stepping forward and proffering the stuffed horse without taking the phone from his ear. I was happy to see Lellie’s lips turn up.

“Foss.”

“Yes, baby. Here’s your horse. You’re going to pass out on the way home, aren’t you?”

I glanced at Tully. His shoulders were up around his ears, and his lips were tightly pressed together. He was watching the group of people speaking to the officers. When I remembered one of them was his boss, I realized what a precarious position he was in.

“Hey,” I said softly. “You can go be with your boss and do what you need to do. You don’t need to feel pulled in two directions.”

He glanced back at me in surprise, and his eyes softened. “Thank you. For thinking of that. For caring. But no, I…” Movement from the other group caught our attention as an officer stepped away and approached us.

The man was older, maybe in his mid-fifties, and looked as appropriately intimidating as many Texas law enforcement officers did. “Which one of you is Devon McKay?”

I raised my hand. “I am. And this is Tully Bowman. An attorney involved in the custody situation,” I added, gesturing to Tully. “And this is my daughter, Eleanor Scott. Lellie.”

Lellie’s head popped up from my shoulder at the sound of her name. She held her stuffed horse out so the officer could see it. Surprisingly, his stoic face shifted immediately into a warm smile.

“Nice to meet you, darlin’,” he said. “What a mighty fine horse you got there.”

He glanced back to me. “I’d like to hear what happened from your perspective, if you don’t mind. Your attorney gave usthe gist of things, the recent custody change after the mother’s passing. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

I thanked him and explained my version of events, gesturing to Tully when explaining how we stopped Mrs. Scott from succeeding in her attempt to take Lellie.

“Alright, then I’ll need to get a statement from you as well,” he said to Tully before glancing back at me. “Do you intend to press charges today? And before you answer that, understand that it is not always up to you, especially considering this involves a minor. It may be that the courts decide to proceed with or without your consent.”

“I understand. At this time, I do want to press charges. Against Mrs. Scott for taking her, the driver for whatever part he had in it, Franklin Scott if he was involved in planning it at all or had knowledge of it, and anyone else over there who might have known this was going to happen.” As the words poured out of me, I realized just how angry I was. It was no longer fear but jaw-cracking rage.

As the officer finalized his notes and shifted his focus to Tully, I took the opportunity to confer with Susanna, who’d followed the officer over and had remained a few feet away where she could listen but not interfere unless warranted.

“Did they admit to planning this?” I asked in a low voice.

“Unfortunately not. And I’ll be honest, Mr. Scott looked upset and surprised. He claimed that his wife was simply overcome and wanted to take a moment alone with Lellie to calm down. Unless he’s a good actor, and I can tell you he’s not, he had no knowledge she was going to do this. Maybe they came here with the car seat fully expecting you’d agree to an overnight visit, and when you didn’t, she panicked.”

Lellie struggled to get out of my arms, so I set her down in the grass nearby. She toddled toward a tiny fallen tree branch and set her horse on top of it. As soon as Tully was finished giving hisstatement, I wanted to get the hell out of here. Circle the wagons and go. If it hadn’t been for having a toddler with us, I’d want to fly all the way back to Wyoming.

“Devon?”

My mother’s voice was hesitant. I glanced up at her warily but didn’t speak.

“I want you to know we had no idea she was going to try anything like that. We would have never condoned taking her without your permission.”

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