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)
Now there was actual concern on Indigo’s face. “Whoa. But, like, can’t I just clip a lead to each of their harnesses and walk them out?”
“Not when you need to divvy up a hundred horses in a day. But if you’re comfortable in the saddle… do you ride western?”
“Yeah. Been riding since I was little. Only started polo in high school cause of this hot dude…” His cheeks turned pink, and I wondered if he knew he’d tripped and fallen into the gayest ranch in rural Wyoming. Lucky bastard.
“Uh-huh. Well, I suggest asking Dev or Way to take you out before roundup and show you how cutting works. Be honest with them about your abilities and tell them you’re willing to do what it takes to be ready in time.”
Indigo eyed me. “You seem to know a lot about this. You going to help, too?”
I shook my head. “I need to stay here and look after Lellie. The little girl you met earlier.”
His face softened, and his smile returned. “Now, see, I’m much better at wrangling kids than horses. You should switch places with me and let me do the baby thing while you do the cowboy thing.”
I wish, I thought and then immediately dismissed it.
I didn’t actually want to be a ranch hand. Not ever again. Dev could side-eye my nice clothes and haircut, but those were the trappings of a life I’d built on my own terms and the way I told the world that Tully Bowman was worth something. I wouldn’t trade that for all the muck boots and saddle leather in the world.
“One of us was hired for the cowboy thing,” I reminded him with a grin. “And it wasn’t me. But you’ll do fine as long as you can get some practice in before the big day.”
He inhaled through his nostrils. “Thanks, Tully. ’Preciate it.”
A squawk from my pocket reminded me about the baby monitor. I pulled it out and saw Lellie waking up. After throwing a “Later!” over my shoulder, I bolted back up to the apartment to grab her before she tried climbing out of the crib herself.
She woke up cranky, whimpering, and wriggly. I did a quick diaper change and spared a moment to wonder at the vast turn my life had taken in the past week.
My clients at Dunlevy, Pace, and Trumble were wealthy power players with high expectations and limitless influence. I was invited to fundraisers and galas, high-stakes wealth-management discussions, and meetings about tax shelters for people who didn’t think twice about purchasing a second yacht.
And here I was, trying not to get poop on me while crouched on a bed over a barn in nowhere Wyoming with a toddler who wasn’t even mine and was every bit as moody as her father.
I felt the uncomfortable pinch in my chest as I remembered Orris’s earlier words.
If it comes down to having to choose sides here, Tully, I expect you to choose the right one.
One of my law school professors had spent an entire lecture on various ethical dilemmas, all relating to the concept of conflict of interest. That professor loved to quote Camus. A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.
It was clear that I was being pressured into a conflict of interest here, and my boss was unwilling to recognize it as such. That was wrong. Obviously, it was.
But it was one thing to defend Dev’s right as Lellie’s biological father to retain custody of her and another to defend his right to give her away to a stranger instead of allowing her to stay in her own family. Was that worth derailing my entire career?
I hadn’t heard a single compelling reason why Dev was so hell-bent on refusing custody of Lellie himself. He was affectionate and sweet with her. He had a support system and a family-centered place to live. With Lellie’s money, he’d be able to afford a proper house and plenty of childcare. So if he didn’t care enough to try to keep her, should I really risk my job to help him keep her away from the Scotts?
I gathered Lellie up and nestled her against my chest, inhaling her sweet, clean scent as she babbled against my shoulder.
The answer should be simple, but like everything else in the past two days, it felt anything but.
Why didn’t Dev want to keep his daughter?
And why did his rejection of her cut me so deeply?
TEN
DEV
After leaving Tully and Lellie, I made my way downstairs to saddle Trigger. The stoner was singing at full volume while mucking out stalls. A pair of large, expensive headphones covered his ears. Thankfully, the kid’s distraction meant I could avoid an awkward conversation.
Once we got away from the barn and paddocks, I gave Trigger his head and let him tear across the open pastureland toward my home site. Even though it seemed weeks in the past, I’d been to the site as recently as yesterday morning, and I certainly didn’t need to check on it now, but I craved being on my own land. There was something about it that centered me and made me feel more… myself.