Chapter 27

TWENTY-SEVEN

TULLY

My hands shook as I knocked on Orris’s office doorframe. “Good morning. Dawn said I could grab a few minutes of your time today…”

He looked up from some documents and peered at me over his reading glasses. “Sure, Tully. Come on in.” He leaned back and pulled the reading glasses off. “Did you hear the latest on the Scott custody case?”

I nodded, closing the door behind me and moving to the seat in front of his desk. “Yes, sir. And I have to be honest.” I exhaled and let my shoulders drop. “I’m relieved in a way.”

I was relieved to finally have something solid to pin on the Scotts… if I could just get a confession of some kind.

“You’re not the only one. Now it’s just a matter of getting the judge to make the ruling, and we’ll be able to get the local LEOs to help us retrieve her and bring her back where she belongs.”

“I will definitely feel better when she’s safely with the people who love her best and it’s no longer up in the air,” I said, speaking from the heart. “I think Katie would want it to be settled quickly.”

He gave a solemn nod, as if honoring Katie was his top priority.

I shifted nervously in my seat before glancing back at the closed door and lowering my voice. “I just needed to ask your advice on how to handle something related to the case.” I twisted my hands in my lap and hoped I wasn’t overplaying my nerves.

His forehead crinkled. “Sure, son. What is it?”

“Orris… the witness from Brock’s office switched the samples right after they were taken. There was a distraction in the room, and he… he switched them out. I wasn’t sure at first, but when the results came in… I mean, anyone can see that girl is related to Devon McKay. So how do we…” I let the question fade off in hopes he would jump in.

I wasn’t disappointed.

“Tully… I think maybe you didn’t see what you thought you did.”

I shook my head. “No, I did. I’m very sure of what I saw.” It wasn’t a lie. I was sure I saw nothing more than Lellie wandering off and a room full of adults trying to make her stop.

“But you said you were happy about the results…”

I lowered my voice even more, as if I was part of the conspiracy and didn’t want anyone else to overhear. “It’s just… I need to know how trustworthy that guy is. I’m uncomfortable with Brock putting the Scotts’ integrity on the line unless the witness is rock solid, you know? What if he winds up telling someone…? I know these young lawyers. Hell, we all do. They go out drinking and brag about their accomplishments. Who’s to say this guy doesn’t end up doing that? It could put the Scotts’ custody in jeopardy.”

Orris sighed and rubbed at the glasses marks on his nose. “We have to trust Brock. He’s done this before. Remember the Howard case a few years ago? The one with the actor and the hotel maid who tried to sue him for paternity?”

My stomach turned, but I managed to look surprised and pleased. “He switched the samples on that one? But the housekeeper won custody, didn’t she?”

He shrugged. “She ended up getting custody, but it was due to an unrelated assault case the actor pled out on. The DNA results weren’t to blame. Brock came through on those.”

I tried to school my outrage. “Isn’t he afraid of getting caught?”

Orris tilted his chin down and peered at me over his desk like I was a first-year law student. “Tully. Even if he was caught, what exactly do you think would happen to him? He’s worked with the judges in this town for dozens of years.”

I sat up straight and blew out a breath. “So Brock arranged to switch out the samples, but he did it in a way we can trust.”

Orris nodded. “You don’t need to worry. Just keep your head down and let him handle it. He has a call in to the judge now to see if he can get the decision moved up. If so, the Scotts may even be able to travel to Wyoming before midweek. Now… something you can do is to keep tabs on Mr. McKay. I’m sure his legal team will try to have the tests redone before he gets nervous enough to run. But he won’t be able to run far since he’ll lose access to the money.”

Orris obviously didn’t know Dev had plenty of his own money.

“What’s the situation with the kidnapping charges against the Scotts? Could that affect their ability to get custody?”

He shook his head. “It’s easy to prove Franklin was unaware of his wife’s plans, so there’s no reason to withhold custody from him regardless of what happens with Paula. And I’m sure the charges against her will be dropped. The prosecutors know how impossible it would be to convince a jury that a soft-spoken, demure woman like her is a criminal mastermind. She runs vacation bible school at the Church of Heavenly Victory, for god’s sake. She just wanted to make sure her granddaughter was safe.”

He was right. Ladies like Paula Scott didn’t go down for kidnapping. Instead, they were seen as dedicated mothers only out to save poor, innocent children from evil men.

Orris leaned back and studied me. “Tell me how it’s going with Miles Dumas. I know he signed the letter of engagement, but have you been able to get a scope of the work?”

I nodded and proceeded to discuss Miles’s needs in the broadest and vaguest terms possible.

After surreptitiously turning off the video that had been recording in my shirt pocket the entire time.

It took me another few hours to meet with Tomas to determine how best to proceed without putting Susanna in a precarious position as Dev’s attorney.

Thankfully, Tomas had friends in high places and managed to get me an informal sit-down with one of his favorite law professors, who immediately sketched out the appropriate plan of action.

The following twenty-four hours were a whirlwind. I hadn’t known it was possible to deliberately implode your entire life in such a short period of time, but I’d done it.

I’d hired legal representation at the law professor’s recommendation, and they’d taken charge of everything. They’d tendered my resignation at Dunlevy, Pace, and Trumble before accompanying me to a meeting with the Texas State Bar’s Chief Disciplinary Council’s office. Once my attorneys got approval from them, they would determine what I could tell Susanna and when. I was under certain confidentiality agreements with Dunlevy, which meant I had my own legal situation to manage as well as Lellie’s.

If the approval didn’t come through soon, I would burst. It was killing me not to be able to tell Dev what had happened in Orris’s office, but I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the case or risk my legal license. I would try to be patient and get proper permission before telling anyone else involved, even the man I loved.

In the meantime, I was anxious to get back to Wyoming… and back into Dev’s arms. My assistant had hooked me up by having a stack of moving boxes delivered to my apartment, so at least I could keep busy while I waited for word from the attorneys.

While I packed, I imagined Dev’s reaction to my news. I was nervous that my moving to Majestic would be too much too soon for him. He already had enough upheaval in his life with Lellie’s arrival, and I didn’t want him to feel responsibility for my happiness, too.

But at the same time, I didn’t want to wait to be together. My plan was to move to Majestic and open a law practice. To tell Dev that I’d rent a little place of my own while I started my firm slowly. I’d have to apply for admission to the Wyoming Bar and take out a business loan to get started, which was a bit scary, but after careful consideration of my finances, I knew I could make it work. I’d been socking away money for years, and while it didn’t come close to making me a millionaire, I had enough saved to pay the balance for Nolan’s final year of tuition after his scholarships and to keep me afloat while I got my practice off the ground.

In the meantime, maybe it wouldn’t hurt if I got a part-time job in town to help meet people and establish trust with the locals. I couldn’t imagine folks in Majestic would trust an outside attorney easily, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe the fact I had big-city experience would work in my favor. And I did have a few ranchers as clients who would most likely be willing to give me business recommendations. I was pretty confident Way, Silas, and Dev would give me personal recommendations, too.

And I could help out with Lellie. It wouldn’t be easy for her to trust new people, so Dev would appreciate having another babysitter on hand he could trust.

I could almost hear her now, happily calling my name.

“ Tuh-wee! ”

I grinned as I yanked the packing tape across the folded ends of a box.

“Tuh-wee?”

It almost sounded like she was here in the apartment with me…

I whipped around and saw Dev standing in the open doorway of my apartment with Lellie on his hip. Susanna stood behind him, grinning.

Dev quickly set Lellie down before she launched herself out of his arms. She came trundling toward me on drunken baby legs with her arms outstretched and her dark curls flopping in tangled wisps.

“Babygirl!” I cried, swooping in to grab her and hold her close. She smelled like warm graham crackers and lemon-scented hand wipes. Her chunky little body felt like perfection in my arms, the best feeling in the world.

The best… with one very notable exception.

I glanced at Dev. Hope thundered like rabid mustangs in my chest. “What are you doing here?”

His grin was easy, as if he wasn’t on the verge of losing everything and breaking his heart for good. “This is where my heart is.”

For a split second, I thought he meant his heart was in Texas. It was where he was from, after all, and his parents were still here. But then I realized he hadn’t meant Texas.

He’d meant me.

“Dev,” I whispered.

Lellie struggled to get down, so I leaned over and set her on the ground next to two big empty boxes. She immediately began sliding them around on the hardwood floor. Automatic toddler bait.

“We came to get you, Tully Bowman,” Dev said, moving closer as if he had all the time in the world. I glanced behind him to see Susanna hanging back but grinning from ear to ear.

“You didn’t have to come all this way,” I told him, stepping forward and running my hands up his chest to his shoulders. “I have tickets to Majestic booked first thing tomorrow.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah? You were coming to visit us?”

I tilted my head toward the half-packed living room and the empty boxes. “Little more than a visit, cowboy.”

Dev leaned in and kissed me slowly. I vaguely noticed Susanna talking to Lellie as she led her to the kitchen to give us some privacy.

“I love you,” I said shyly. I was unsure if he was ready for that, but he needed to know I was all in on building a life together. I already knew he was it for me. I wanted it all. Him. Lellie. Majestic.

Dev’s hands came up to cup my face until he forced me to meet his eyes. “I fell for you the night we met, Tully. But I wasn’t ready for you yet. I am now. I’m ready to tell you how much I love you. How much I need you. And how much I want to share my life with you. Come home with me and help me build a family for Lellie. A family we can be proud of.”

My eyes filled and overflowed as I nodded frantically. I swallowed around a lump in my throat. “She’s your baby, Dev. Biologically. I have proof?—”

Dev kissed me to shut me up and then pulled back and grinned. “I know she’s mine, and I don’t need proof. But your lawyers called Susanna an hour ago and told her everything that happened with Orris. They’ve started an investigation into the witness at the clinic. And meanwhile… well, meanwhile, Susanna now has DNA tests from six clinics all over the country that prove Eleanor Kathryn Scott is my daughter.” He paused. “I hope one day very soon, she’ll be yours, too.”

“You want to share your daughter with me?” I whispered, overcome.

“I want to share everything with you, baby,” Dev said. “Jesus Christ, you were willing to give up your dream career for me and Lellie—” He shook his head.

There were a lot of realizations I’d come to that I wanted to share with Dev eventually: that I’d focused on career success because I’d wanted to never feel powerless again, and I’d almost lost myself in the process; that the sense of rightness and peace I felt about my choice made it no sacrifice; that I didn’t feel like I’d given up a dream, I felt like I’d gained one.

But instead, I focused on another truth. “I made the best choice for all of us because that’s what family does.” I grinned up at him. “That’s what our family will do anyway.”

“Yeah, we will,” he agreed. He kissed me, a brief brush of lips that left me wanting more. “Besides, Lellie is already your daughter. She might have her Daddy’s eyes and stubbornness, but she has her Papa’s argumentative streak. You should have heard her babbling at Jo the other night, trying to convince the woman to take her to see the horses even though it was bedtime. Fortunately, only her fathers actually understand her.”

I laughed. We were in for a world of trouble once she actually learned to speak.

And I was so here for it.

“Now, do I have to get Lellie in here to convince you to come home with us?” Dev demanded. “You still haven’t answered me.”

Like there’d ever really been a question.

I threw myself into his arms and held him as tightly as I could. “Yes. Please. I want that. I want that so much. I… Dev, fuck.” My words were strangled and raw. It was impossible to get across just how strongly I felt about him. About us .

His arms were tight around me, his large hands moving confidently up and down my back. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” he murmured. “We’re going to have an amazing life together. We’re going to give Lellie all the love we didn’t get.”

We kissed and cried and laughed until Lellie let out a frustrated shriek from the kitchen.

Susanna popped her head around the doorframe and shot us a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Time’s up on your love fest. She clearly wants something , but I don’t speak toddler, and I don’t have parental ESP, so?—”

Dev and I exchanged a glance and a grin.

“ Peej ,” we said at the same time.