Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
The raw grief in his voice drove the truth home, and I felt my tears come. I wanted to run. I wanted to race back to the barn and lock myself away so I could mourn the loss of my friend. Of another part of my past.
But I stayed where I was, tethered in place by the small being in the back seat.
“What’s her name?” I breathed, nodding in the little girl’s direction.
Tully’s face softened. He turned to unbuckle her and pulled her out of the seat to rest on his hip. With his fingertip, he gently lifted her chin. “Eleanor Kathryn Scott, meet Devon McKay,” he said in a gentle tone. His eyes met mine. “We call her Lellie.”
She had Katie’s button nose and the same little divot of concentration between her tiny eyebrows.
“Hi, Lellie,” I said softly. “I’m…” I swallowed around a lump. “I’m Dev. Can I…” Emotion swamped me. I took a breath and tried again. “Can I hold you, sweetheart?”
I reached out my hands to her. Tully and I both held our breath as she considered it for a beat. But then she turned and buried her face in Tully’s neck.
I closed my eyes and ducked my head. Her reaction wasn’t surprising—weren’t babies, like horses, supposed to sense which people were the right ones to care for them?—but it was disappointing.
Suddenly, a warm hand grasped mine and pulled it up to rest on Lellie’s back. I opened my eyes to see Tully’s apologetic expression.
“Don’t take it personally. It’s a phase,” he said. “And she’s exhausted from a very long day.”
“And she probably misses…” Her mom, I mouthed.
He bit his lip and nodded. “She’s had a rough week.”
I got the sense that was an understatement, for both of them.
I rubbed Lellie’s little back through the soft cotton of her yellow T-shirt. She sucked in a shaking breath and let it out. I couldn’t imagine what the past few days had been like for her. My heart broke all over again as the reality of her loss hit me.
“Oh god.” I met Tully’s eyes. “Who’s going to…?”
But I was pretty sure I had an idea, and he confirmed it a moment later.
“That’s why I’m here,” he said carefully. I could tell by his expression it was a complicated issue, but he wouldn’t have traveled all this way with her if I wasn’t at least partially responsible for the girl—Lellie—moving forward.
Anxiety spiked through me, making my heart beat faster, but I kept my voice calm. “We have a lot to talk about, I imagine,” I said.
Tully nodded. The motion revealed Lellie was falling asleep on his chest.
“You’d better come to the ranch.” I nodded toward the car seat and waited for him to buckle her in before asking. “Do you want me to drive or navigate?”
He turned to me in surprise. “Didn’t you drive here yourself?”
I shook my head. “I rode with friends.”
He hesitated before handing me the keys. “If you don’t mind.”
I got into the driver’s seat and buckled up without letting on how relieved I was at Tully’s decision to allow me to drive. I didn’t usually do well with other people driving me, but it was something I was actively working on.
As we pulled out of town, I glanced at him. His hands were fisted on his lap and his gaze fixed out the window. With his hair mussed, his shoulders slumped, and his expensive button-down wrinkled to hell and covered in any number of unidentifiable stains, it was clear he was out of his element… and that he’d been through the wringer today.
“How did you get picked to bring Lellie?” I finally asked.
He exhaled as if he’d been waiting for the question. “I’m Katie’s attorney,” he said tightly. “I wrote her will.”
I knew Katie was… had been… an attorney and that she and Tully had been coworkers, but it was clear from his earlier tears and the way he knew Lellie that they’d been friends, too. “I’m sorry for your loss. I know she thought highly of you.”
He nodded but remained silent, discouraging any further discussion on the topic.
Because I understood that feeling all too well, I didn’t press.
The sun was setting behind the peaks of Three Daughters, sending golden light across the summer pastures. This was my favorite time of day. I rolled down the windows, and the scent of wildflowers and green grasses, pine and sage billowed in on the breeze.
Tully closed his eyes and inhaled. “It’s beautiful here.”
“Prettiest place I’ve ever been,” I agreed.
“That what brought you?” he asked suddenly. “Looking for a pretty place to stay awhile?”
“No.” I frowned. “A friend needed help. So I came.”
He was quiet for a minute. Then, “The sheriff, you mean.”
I glanced over at him. “No, the other guy.” My lips twitched. “The one who looked like a feral hellcat ready to strike.”