Page 96 of Inheriting Miss Fortune

I wandered through the empty apartment, aching for the silence to be broken by a sudden squawk of discontent that the green beans that were so good yesterday were completely unacceptable today. Or the low hum of Lellie’s white noise machine. Or the periodic whickers and whinnies of horses outside the window.

Tomas’s suggestion had been bold. Stupid, too. He wanted me to initiate a conversation with my boss in which I confessed to seeing the witness switching the samples. “Tell Orris you were secretly relieved that the DNA results took it out of your hands.”

In other words, blatantly lie to my boss… and risk losing my job in a way that would virtually guarantee no other respectable firm would hire me.

It was ludicrous. Something I would never consider doing.

Under normal circumstances.

But the more I thought about it, the more my gut churned with unease when I considered the possibility that my boss, myvery own firm, could be complicit in something so unfair and fraudulent.

And the very fact I was suspecting them told me a lot about how much trust I’d lost with the firm since seeing their reaction to Katie’s will.

I walked over to peer down at the view I had of a small city park. The heat had tapered off temporarily, so the park was full of people enjoying a Sunday afternoon.

Families with kids on scooters, in strollers, and racing ahead of their parents on the sidewalk. Couples hand in hand, holding dog leashes with their other hand. A woman in a backward ball cap, covering her mouth while she giggled at her phone.

I’d loved living here in the city. I’d imagined a full life here in Dallas with interesting friends, sexy men, and a fulfilling career.

But now, my closest friend was gone. The sexiest man I knew lived a thousand miles away. And my career felt like a promissory note written on counterfeit paper.

I’d wondered what I’d do if it came down to a choice between acting in Katie’s best interest or in my own. Now, my priorities had realigned themselves—or maybe just aligned themselves properly—and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I felt the rightness of it in my bones.

My phone buzzed with a call from Dev, and my chest tightened as I answered.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, beautiful.”

His voice was low and slow, lazy in a way that reminded me Wyoming ran on a completely different kind of time than we had here in the metroplex.

My heart thundered in response to his voice. “Hey,” I said again. This time, my voice was soft, and even I could hear the affection in it.

“Did you sleep last night?”

My jaw ached with his kindness. Instead of asking about the case, about the lab results, he asked how I was.

“No. You?”

“Mmhm. But only because the guys got me shitfaced.”

“You’re kidding?” Dev was the least likely of anyone I knew to turn to alcohol in times of crisis. I was surprised he’d let them push drinks on him.

“No. It started with Landry suggesting a whiskey would take the edge off, make me less likely to spout off my anger around Lellie. But then Jo put her to bed in the big house again, and I was still pissed. Silas told me to finish my drink if I was going to be an asshole. I found out later it was a fresh pour. Then, after that, they kept sneaking refills in and convincing me I hadn’t had as much as I’d thought.”

I let out a laugh. “You must have been really upset. You’re not easy to fool.”

“I was. Obviously. I was distracted and angry. Hurt. I still can’t fucking believe the Scotts did whatever the fuck they did to screw with the results of the test.”

“You believe it was malicious now? That she’s really your daughter?”

He let out a beleaguered sigh. “Yeah. The guys talked me down and reminded me of the things I’d told them about Katie. There’s no way she’d have used a different donor without telling me, and the chances of the clinic making a mistake are infinitesimal.”

“Good. I want you to take Lellie to the nearest court-approved lab. Susanna’s sending you the information. We’ll get another test underway as soon as possible.”

“Yeah. I already talked to her. She called a little while ago.” He sucked in a shaky breath. “Said you were upset.”

“Jesus, Dev, of course I am.” I was annoyed he’d doubt it.

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