Page 14 of Inheriting Miss Fortune

I felt Dev’s eyes on me, but I ignored them. “I didn’t bring the travel crib thing. I figured we’d be staying at a hotel and they’d have one. We’ll have to make her some kind of bed tonight, and then tomorrow?—”

“She can sleep with me for tonight,” he said. “I have extra pillows. I’ll make a little barricade or something to keep her from falling out.”

“You can definitely try that,” I said dubiously. “I’m afraid it’s going to be hard to get her back down after this.”

He gazed at her, as if studying her features for more clues to her heritage. I wondered if he noticed she had Katie’s dimple or her turned-up nose. I wondered if he cared.

“She’ll do fine,” he said firmly.

Famous last words.

SIX

DEV

“Careful,” Tully warned before I tripped over the curb and nearly face-planted on the sidewalk. “Curb,” he added belatedly.

“Fuck,” I muttered, glancing at Lellie in the stroller to make sure I hadn’t accidentally tipped her out.

“Language,” he said for the millionth time in the last twelve hours.

“Fuck off,” I hissed, hoping it was too low for Lellie to hear. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Didn’t notice,” he lied. “I slept soundly once I put the earplugs in. Thanks, by the way, for insisting that you handle everything yourself.”

I knew he was lying because I’d caught him peering at me from under dark lashes several times throughout the night as I paced back and forth with a fussy baby in my arms. Tully had stripped down to a pair of athletic shorts and an undershirt before grabbing my spare pillow and blanket and making a nest for himself on the sofa.

Thankfully, the blanket had slipped off after the first half hour, and I’d been able to distract myself from Lellie’s fussing by studying every available inch of Tully’s exposed body.

He hadn’t changed from the man in my memories. If anything, he was more tempting, more off-limits than before. Which made me feel like I was going to jump out of my skin.

“Is the Mercantile the only place around here to get kids’ stuff?” he asked as he held the door open for me. “There’s no Target or Walmart?”

I shook my head. “Nearest one’s several hours from here. I’m hoping to avoid that. Might have to order online, though.”

As soon as I entered, Natana Whiteplume appeared. “Hey, Dev,” she began with a smile before noticing the stroller. Her forehead creased in confusion. “Who’s this?”

I should have expected to get the third degree once we set foot in town, but my sleep-deprived brain wasn’t exactly running on all cylinders at the moment. “Uh…”

“Hi!” Tully said from slightly behind me. “I’m Tully Bowman. Do you work here? I’m desperate to find a travel crib.” He smiled big and nodded toward Lellie, who was busy looking around at all the various items on display.

Natana’s confusion cleared as she seemed to reassign Lellie to someone else—an outsider—in her mind. “Oh, ah, no. I don’t work here. But I know the kid stuff is back in the left-hand corner. And Connie—the lady over there with the flower on her shirt—she can help you if you can’t find anything.”

Tully thanked her and nudged me out of the way, grabbing the stroller and taking off toward the back of the store. I blinked after him.

“Everything all set for roundup?” Natana asked.

I turned back to blink at her. “Roundup.”

She grinned. “I know it’s been a full year, Dev. But roundup is when we get all the horses ready to?—”

My brain flicked back online. “Roundup! Of course. Yeah. Uh… yeah. I guess? Way said he hired a new hand to help us out because I guess Taza went back to Jenks’ dairy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Finally. Took Jenks long enough. I’m happy for Taza. He deserves to take over the operations there. But I know you lost a good hand.”

“The best. I’m happy for him, but to leave before roundup…” I sighed. “Anyway, please tell me you’re still up for helping out? After what happened to Way last year, Silas is going to be a total pain in the ass.”

Her eyes danced as she laughed. “He definitely is. Way will be lucky to sit a horse. Yes, I’m still planning on helping, but I’m glad you guys hired someone. You’ve got your hands full since I know you probably have several mares close to foaling, too.”

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