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)
Legally, Lellie was Dev’s. Once he fully understood that, he would realize he didn’t need to allow me access to her, much less a place to stay.
He tilted his head toward the bedroom. “In there, if you can find room.”
I pulled the bags into the bedroom and flicked on the light. The space smelled like a mix of clean laundry, sandalwood cologne, and the faintest remnant of horse and hay from downstairs. A faded quilt lay neatly spread on a queen-sized bed. Strangely, the rest of the fittings and furnishings looked incredibly high-end, like the ranch owner had brought in a professional decorator to fix it up, not as a place for a drifter cowboy with shallow pockets to hang his hat but for a gentleman rancher who enjoyed equestrian sport and could afford to pursue it in luxury.
Dev had lucked into a good situation here, and it made me even more curious about what his income was like. I couldn’t help but wonder about the Fletcher family, too, if they could afford this type of stuff but still chose to pay Dev under the table for his work on the ranch.
I wheeled the cases to an empty corner and laid them down before returning to fetch the rest of our things. As I passed back through the main room, I realized it was decorated in the same high-end way. Stainless steel appliances in the small kitchen area and high-quality furnishings throughout.
“It’s a nice place,” I said, finding him ensconced in an oversized leather chair next to the sofa with Lellie still sacked out on his chest. “Thanks for letting us… me… stay.”
He glanced at me as if to assess whether I was speaking the truth or not, and then he reluctantly nodded an acknowledgment. I rolled my eyes once I was safely in the stairwell on my way to get the rest of our things.
It was going to be a long night.
Three hours later, Dev was still sitting in the leather chair, but now his eyes were closed, his head was resting on Lellie’s, and a steady, light snore was coming from his direction. I’d stashed the rest of the luggage away in a corner, kicked off my shoes, helped myself to a glass of water, and taken a spot on the sofa to catch up on work emails on my laptop. Thankfully, Dev’s Wi-Fi password had been scribbled on a piece of scratch paper on the side of the fridge.
If I glanced at Dev from time to time, it was only to check on Lellie. Not to drink in the sight of the man, assess his face for clues as to what he’d been doing the past two years, or admire the way his work-callused hands remained gentle as they periodically smoothed down his daughter’s back or brushed sweat-damp curls from her neck or forehead.
It was after midnight, and I knew if Lellie woke up, we’d all be up for hours, trying to get her resettled. I’d considered encouraging Dev to wake her when we’d arrived—she needed to eat and get changed into pajamas at the very least—but I hadn’t had the heart. The break from her screaming, coupled with the heart-clenching image of a father holding his child for the first time, had combined to make the decision fairly easy.
But now, all I could do was wait for the inevitable moment when all hell broke loose.
It happened at almost one in the morning. I caught her opening one eye and glancing around without moving her head. A telltale crinkle formed on her forehead a split second before she let out a whimper. I leaned forward to try and get her attention before she screamed and woke up Dev, but it didn’t work.
He jumped at the sound of her cry. The panic on his face before he realized what was happening was startling.
“Baby, baby,” he said quickly in a sleep-roughened voice. “It’s okay, sweetheart. D-Dev’s here.”
I wondered at his avoidance of the other D-word. Was he going to claim her, to be her father? His shocked terror at first seeing her suggested no, but his insistence on her staying at his place and the way he’d held her tenderly since we’d arrived said yes. I wished I could peer into his brain and know what he was thinking.
Frankly, I wasn’t sure which outcome I was hoping for. I definitely didn’t want her to be raised in her grandfather’s church against all of Katie’s hopes and wishes unless it was absolutely necessary. I wanted Dev to be the kind of man who’d do right by Lellie. But I wasn’t convinced he was.
Lellie struggled to get out from his hold and finally slithered down off his lap, leaving only one tiny hand on his knee. “Mama,” she said clearly.
Dev’s face fell. “Mama’s not here, baby.” He glanced up at me. “But Tully’s here. You know Tully, right?”