Page 78 of Inheriting Miss Fortune

“Of course,” I said, swallowing past yet another lump in my throat. “Did you meet Kenji?”

He smiled and nodded. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Katie through emails, at least. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. I know Katie appreciated your friendship.”

I was touched by Kenji’s kindness in focusing on their friendship rather than Renata’s employment. It was true what they said about being able to judge a person based on their friends. Good people surround themselves with other good people.

Renata thanked Kenji for his kind words before turning back to me. “Where’s Lellie?”

“Napping.”

Her eyebrows winged up. “Are you serious? You’ve got to get her up, or she won’t go to bed at a decent hour.” She rubbed her hands together. “Let me at her. As soon as she sees me, she’ll drop the grumblies.”

“As soon as you wake her up, she’ll become Frankenstein’s monster,” I corrected.

“Cut up an apple while I go get her. She’ll be putty in my hands, and you’ll thank me later whenyouget to go to bed at a decent hour, too.”

She didn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, she skipped up the stairs to Lellie’s room. When she came back down a little while later, Lellie was a strange mix of cranky and happy. Not even the apples made a dent in her mood.

“What about PB&J?” I asked, remembering how quickly she’d devoured one on the plane.

She stopped whining and blinked. “Peej.”

By the time Dev came down half an hour later, Lellie was happily babbling in her toddler chair while eating a second peanut butter sandwich and repeating her new word over and over while a small stack of steamed broccoli I’d added out of guilt at the last minute sat neglected on her plate.

Renata was catching me up on how her semester had finished and what classes she was registered for next semester. It was obvious she was avoiding asking me any details about Dev or Lellie’s future, which surprised me.

Only until Dev showed up.

As soon as I introduced them, she began interrogating him.

“Are you keeping her?”

He blinked at her. One half of his hair was smushed flat, while the other side had two or three wayward waves sticking out in the wrong direction from his nap. “I’m, um… what?”

“Yes,” I said, shoving my chair back so I could get him some caffeine. He usually drank a soda in the late afternoon, so I was pretty sure a Coke would be a good idea right about now.

“In Wyoming?” she added.

Dev glanced at Kenji with an adorably befuddled expression before looking back at Renata. “That’s where I live, so… yeah?”

I set the glass of icy Coke in front of him before returning to the kitchen to bring out the huge grilled chicken salad Renata’sparents had sent. There was a basket of rolls with butter and honey to go along with it. Kenji stood up to help me pass out bowls and utensils.

Dev leaned over and kissed the side of Lellie’s head. “Mmm, broccoli is my favorite. Remember the wolf in the forest likes broccoli, too, doesn’t he? Because broccoli helps him stay healthy and run fast with his friends.”

I saw Renata’s intense stare soften before her eyes flicked up to me. I gave her a “told you so” look before sitting down and serving a giant pile of salad into a bowl for Dev before serving one for myself.

Renata helped herself, and then Kenji did the same. Renata didn’t stop her interrogation, but she tempered it. “Will you bring her back here for visits? I’m going to miss her like crazy.”

Dev considered her question while he finished chewing and swallowed. “I’m happy to fly you out to see us on the ranch. You can meet my friends and get to know where she lives. The people in her life.”

It wasn’t an answer to her question, but it was kind and generous.

He added, “I’d love for you to remain close to her if you’d like. You’re one of the few people who’s been in her life since the very beginning, and I think that’s important. Katie would have wanted that.”

It was the first time I’d heard him making any claim on knowing Katie well. Up to now, he’d acted like he hadn’t even deserved to know her well, though I knew how much they’d meant to each other. I was happy to see him changing and owning that relationship again.Thatwas what Katie would have wanted.

“I’d like that,” Renata said with a soft smile. “I’ve always wanted to go to Yellowstone.”

Dev returned her smile. “We live at the eastern gates to the park near Three Daughters. It’s gorgeous.”

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