Jason fought to keep his expression bland. Had he just been purposefully insulted? Seemed so. This girl was holding a serious grudge against someone. Lillian, probably. What could have happened between them to cause such a rift? And why was she determined to take it out on him?
Kelli turned her head toward him, her eyes softer than a moment before. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I just—” She looked down at the hands she clasped in her lap. “I’ve had almost no contact with animals since I was a little girl. I prefer to keep it that way.”
“Why?” The question shot out before he could stop it. “What happened to make you hate animals?”
Her head tilted sideways, curiosity etched on her face. “Didn’t my mother tell you anything about me?”
“Not a word. In fact—” He faced forward, not able to look her in the face as he admitted, “I didn’t even know you existed until two days before Lil died. None of us at the zoo did.”
“Two days before? Why didn’t you call me, so I could have seen her before the end?” Her question held a note of accusation.
His final argument with Lil was still fresh in his mind. He’d wanted to do just that, but she’d remained adamant. “She made me promise not to. I didn’t even know your name or where you lived.” He paused and then went on in a quieter voice. “I could have contacted Daniel Lewis and had him get in touch with you. But I thought I could convince her. I thought she had more time.”
The silence returned as he covered the last few miles to the hospital. When Jason had parked the car in the main parking lot and turned off the engine, Kelli spoke again.
“It’s not your fault.” A sad smile twitched at the edges of her mouth. “She didn’t want to see me. No surprise there.”
Her shoulders drooped, and a wave of compassion took Jason by surprise. Memories of Dad rushed back to him. How awful to have missed those last few days with him. And yet, those had been the most difficult days of his long illness. At least Lil’s decline had been blessedly shorter, although certainly no less painful.
He cleared his throat. “Maybe she didn’t want you to see her. She didn’t exactly look herself right there at the end.” He didn’t elaborate. No sense describing the shocking change that occurred in the last two weeks of Lil’s life as she succumbed to the disease. Jason wished he could erase the sight from his memory.
“Maybe.” She turned sideways in the seat to watch him through narrowed eyes. “You didn’t know the conditions of her trust?”
“I knew some of them.” He held his gaze steady under her scrutiny, his hands still clutching the steering wheel. “I knew she was planning to offer the zoo an incentive to accept me as her replacement, and about the land and the expansion project. And I knew she’d made some provisions for someone else. I just didn’t know who, until two days before the end.”
“My existence must have been an unpleasant shock, then.”
His spine stiffened with a jerk. What was she accusing him of? “I didn’t assume she’d left me anything personally, if that’s what you’re implying.”
She studied him for a long moment, then gave a brief nod. “Sorry. There’s just so much I don’t understand.” A brittle laugh escaped her lips as she leaned forward to pick up the purse at her feet. “Not that it matters. In a few days I’ll be back in Denver, where I’ll fade into anonymity again.”
“So you’re not going to stay? Not even for six months?”
Her smile became brittle. “Not even for six days. My mother underestimated me.” Her chin rose. “I will not be bought.”
She opened the door and exited the car. Jason stayed in his seat for a long moment to let her decision sink in. The zoo would receive Lil’s entire estate. Once Kelli’s half of the assets were liquidated, Cougar Bay would have enough money in the fund to begin construction on the African Lion Habitat. Samson would have a new home. It was really going to happen.
Then why was he so disappointed?
The moment the elevator doors glided open, a strong antiseptic smell stung Kelli’s nostrils. She stepped onto a sparkling white floor and paused to read the sign on the wall in front of her. Jason didn’t hesitate, but took off down the wide corridor to the right, obviously familiar with the place.
He probably visited Lillian several times in her weeks here.
A bitter taste invaded Kelli’s mouth at the thought. He’d visited, while Kelli herself had been left out at her mother’s request.
He stopped and turned when he noticed she wasn’t beside him. “It’s just down here.”
She nodded and hurried after him, her eyes fixed politely ahead to avoid looking into the rooms she passed. The sound of voices drifted toward her through the open doorways. Halfway down the corridor, they approached a nurse’s station on the right, where a woman in pink scrubs sat in a rolling chair, tapping on a computer keyboard. She looked up. Recognition flashed onto her face when she caught sight of Jason, and she greeted him with a nod. Her gaze slid to Kelli and a smile lit her features. She stood and extended her hand.
“Hello. I’m Terri Wainright. And you’re Ms. Mitchell’s daughter.”
The hand felt warm. “That’s right. Kelli Jackson.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I was your mother’s nurse on the day shift.” The woman’s expression sobered. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Kelli felt like an impostor accepting the sympathy of this woman who’d cared for Lillian during her final days. Surely, that was a daughter’s responsibility. She looked down at the floor.
“I have her things right in here.” Terri crossed to a doorway behind the nurse’s station. In a moment she returned carrying a white plastic bag with handles. “She didn’t have much with her when she arrived.”
Kelli took the bag. She could feel the contents through the sturdy plastic. Clothes and a hard, flat object in the bottom. She set the bag on the counter and opened the handles to peer inside. A green cotton T-shirt and a pair of jeans lay on top. She pushed them aside and pulled out an inexpensive leather wallet.
“She didn’t have a purse?”
Nurse Terri shrugged. “That’s all she brought with her.”
Beside Kelli, Jason leaned an arm on the high counter. “I never saw Lil carry a purse, only that wallet.”
Kelli opened it and inspected the contents. Three credit cards, as she’d expected. A few dollars in cash. An insurance card. And…
She swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. A driver’s license. She slid the card out and studied the small image of her mother. Same straight gray hair. Same eyes. Same lean face. No, not exactly the same. There were more lines in evidence, and her cheeks had thinned to the point of gauntness. She’d lost weight since Kelli saw her last. How many years ago was that? Four. Lillian had flown to Denver for Kelli’s college graduation.
Oh, Lillian. Unexpected tears stung Kelli’s eyes. If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have let so much time pass.
The nurse and Jason were both watching her. Blinking to clear her eyes, Kelli shoved the license back into the wallet and snapped it shut. When she put it back in the bag, her fingers touched a sharp edge buried beneath the clothing.
“What’s this?”
She grasped the object and pulled it out. It was a picture frame, the inexpensive drugstore kind with a cardboard stand on the back to prop it upright. When Kelli turned it over, her heart twisted in her chest. The face that laughed up at her was achingly familiar. A larger version of this same photograph hung