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)
Susanna walked over to speak to the law enforcement officers. Brock and Orris promptly joined them.
Mrs. Scott had somehow pulled herself together and was saying in a loud voice that it was a misunderstanding and that all she wanted was to get Lellie out of the heat for a few minutes.
Dev met my eyes over Lellie’s head. “Do you think they planned this?”
I shrugged. “Hard to say. If so, they should have backed into the parking spot. If they had, I wouldn’t have reached them in time.”
“Thank you,” he said in a rough voice. “Thank you so much, Tully.”
My jaw ached with suppressed emotions. I was trying my hardest to keep it together, but I was rattled. Were my actions today going to cost me my job? Did I overreact?
Did I care?
“They had a car seat,” I said, glancing back at the van. “They obviously planned something. Maybe they were just optimistic about getting a visit with her. Maybe it was an act of desperation when you didn’t agree.”
“That’s the thing, though…” Dev said. It was clear he was having the same problem keeping his emotions under control. “I did agree.”
TWENTY
DEV
I could tell Tully was shocked by my words. “You did?”
My throat was sore from swallowing down the tears I was desperate to shed. Watching that woman take my daughter had taken years off my life.
“I told the Scotts and my parents that I would be open to fostering better relations with all of them for Lellie’s sake. That it might take time, and neither Lellie nor I was ready for them to take her today, but that I understood they were her grandparents and loved her.”
“That’s… awfully generous of you,” he muttered. I could tell he meant too generous. And maybe he was right, but right now, I was actually glad I’d made the gesture. I felt like it somehow proved I was the better person. I’d been willing to work with them rather than refusing them access to Lellie.
And this was how they’d repaid me. They hadn’t shown me or Lellie any respect.
They’d scared my daughter to death.
I cupped her face and tipped it up. Her hazel eyes were still wet, but she was no longer actively crying. “Why don’t we find Trigger, okay? I think he might like to come out and get a little fresh air.”
Kenji was on top of it as usual, stepping forward and proffering the stuffed horse without taking the phone from his ear. I was happy to see Lellie’s lips turn up.
“Foss.”
“Yes, baby. Here’s your horse. You’re going to pass out on the way home, aren’t you?”
I glanced at Tully. His shoulders were up around his ears, and his lips were tightly pressed together. He was watching the group of people speaking to the officers. When I remembered one of them was his boss, I realized what a precarious position he was in.
“Hey,” I said softly. “You can go be with your boss and do what you need to do. You don’t need to feel pulled in two directions.”
He glanced back at me in surprise, and his eyes softened. “Thank you. For thinking of that. For caring. But no, I…” Movement from the other group caught our attention as an officer stepped away and approached us.
The man was older, maybe in his mid-fifties, and looked as appropriately intimidating as many Texas law enforcement officers did. “Which one of you is Devon McKay?”
I raised my hand. “I am. And this is Tully Bowman. An attorney involved in the custody situation,” I added, gesturing to Tully. “And this is my daughter, Eleanor Scott. Lellie.”
Lellie’s head popped up from my shoulder at the sound of her name. She held her stuffed horse out so the officer could see it. Surprisingly, his stoic face shifted immediately into a warm smile.
“Nice to meet you, darlin’,” he said. “What a mighty fine horse you got there.”
He glanced back to me. “I’d like to hear what happened from your perspective, if you don’t mind. Your attorney gave us the gist of things, the recent custody change after the mother’s passing. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
I thanked him and explained my version of events, gesturing to Tully when explaining how we stopped Mrs. Scott from succeeding in her attempt to take Lellie.
“Alright, then I’ll need to get a statement from you as well,” he said to Tully before glancing back at me. “Do you intend to press charges today? And before you answer that, understand that it is not always up to you, especially considering this involves a minor. It may be that the courts decide to proceed with or without your consent.”
“I understand. At this time, I do want to press charges. Against Mrs. Scott for taking her, the driver for whatever part he had in it, Franklin Scott if he was involved in planning it at all or had knowledge of it, and anyone else over there who might have known this was going to happen.” As the words poured out of me, I realized just how angry I was. It was no longer fear but jaw-cracking rage.