Virginia Smith - A Daughter's Legacy

The happy images blurred as tears filled her eyes. Was it true? Did the mother she’d always thought indifferent really love her?

A tear slid down her cheek, followed quickly by another. Kelli couldn’t bear to put the pictures down long enough to wipe them away, so she let them go.

Oh, Mom! Why didn’t we fix this before it was too late?

Or was it too late? Would this crazy condition of Lillian’s trust help her to finally understand what had gone wrong between them?

Jason put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. She found his silent embrace oddly comforting, and leaned into his warmth.

Still clutching the photographs, she lifted her face to look up at Jason. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m staying.”

A lifelong lover of books, Virginia Smith has always enjoyed immersing herself in fiction. In her mid-twenties she wrote her first story and discovered that writing well is harder than it looks; it took many years to produce a book worthy of publication. During the daylight hours she steadily climbed the corporate ladder and stole time late at night after the kids were in bed to write. With the publication of her first novel, she left her twenty-year corporate profession to devote her energy to her passion—writing stories that honor God and bring a smile to the faces of her readers. When she isn’t writing, Ginny and her husband, Ted, enjoy exploring the extremes of nature—skiing in the mountains of Utah, motorcycle riding on the curvy roads of central Kentucky and scuba diving in the warm waters of the Caribbean. Visit her online at www.VirginiaSmith.org.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.

—1 John 4:18

This book would not exist without the assistance and encouragement of the following people:

The employees of Utah’s Hogle Zoo, especially Celeste, Stephanie and Holly. Your passion for animals is inspiring—and contagious.

The members of the Utah Christian Writers Fellowship, who provided encouragement and support for every idea I came up with.

My agent, Wendy Lawton, for partnering with me in this crazy industry.

My editor Tina James and everyone at Steeple Hill for their tireless efforts to make this (and every) book the best it can be.

My daughter, Christy Delliskave, who loves zoos and zoo animals as much as I do.

My husband, Ted, for believing in me.

And of course, the Lord Jesus, who never ceases to whisper to me, “Fear not!”

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Of all the ways she could have chosen to spend a Thursday morning, attending a stranger’s memorial service wasn’t at the top of Kelli Jackson’s list.

Especially when that stranger was her own mother.

Kelli faced the front of the open-air amphitheater clasping a completely dry tissue in her lap and trying to ignore the curious glances being cast her way. Apparently, everybody wanted to get a glimpse of the outsider who claimed to be Lillian Mitchell’s daughter. As people filed toward their seats among the rows of semicircular wooden benches in the moments before the service began, more than one puzzled whisper reached her ears.

“I never knew Lillian had any family. Did you?”

“Can’t say as I did. Looks like her, though. Wonder why Lil never talked about her.”

Kelli kept her face schooled in the detached, professional mask she wore when preparing a tax return for a new client. Wouldn’t do to show dismay at the humiliating affirmation that her mother hadn’t even cared enough to mention to those she worked with that she’d given birth to a daughter twenty-six years before. As person after person stepped up to the podium on the center of the stage to recall incidents from Lillian’s life, Kelli’s gaze kept stealing to the table where the polished wooden box holding her mother’s ashes rested, a single vase of flowers beside it.

The deep roar of a lion exploded in the distance, and a wave of gooseflesh rose along Kelli’s bare arms as the primeval cry reverberated in the air around her. The sound echoed across the years from childhood nightmares she’d thought safely forgotten long ago.

What am I doing here, Lord? This is no place for me.

The man standing behind the podium paused in his tribute and raised his head to listen until the roar died away. His smile swept the crowded amphitheater.

“Apparently Samson would like to speak a few words on Lillian’s behalf. He always was an attention hog.”

The crowd’s chuckle held an indulgent tone. Obviously Samson was a favorite among the mourners. Kelli shifted on the rough wooden bench.

“Actually, it’s fitting that Samson be included in this service to honor Lillian. She dedicated her life to making sure that he and the rest of the animals here at Cougar Bay Zoological Park receive nothing but excellent care and the highest quality of life.”

Of course she did. Kelli’s lips tightened, despite her efforts to keep her expression impassive. She cared more for those zoo animals than she did her own child.

Which was one reason she wanted to get this ordeal over with as quickly as possible and get out of here. Back home in Denver, life could return to normal. She could go to work and lose herself in the comfort of her clients’ finances. All the questions she encountered there were easy ones, with concrete answers, like, “Can I deduct the clown I hired for my daughter’s birthday since I invited my boss to the party?” (“Uh, no, Mr. Farmer, I’m sorry but that’s not a legitimate deduction.”)

“The first time I laid eyes on Lil, she was cleaning out the chimp house.” The man eulogizing Lillian—Kelli couldn’t think of her as Mom—smiled, and from her vantage point on the first row Kelli recognized genuine affection in his face. Tall and fit, with sun-kissed brown hair curling around the collar of the tan shirt with the zoo’s logo over the breast pocket. Nice looking, probably only a few years older than Kelli. What was he to Lillian? An employee, no doubt, since Lillian ran everything here at the zoo.

“I shouted through the bars that I was there to interview for the keeper position. She let me in, handed me a hose, and told me to show her my stuff.” An appealing grin twisted his lips. “I must have looked hesitant, because she barked, ‘You’re not afraid of a little poop, are you?’”

Everyone around Kelli laughed. She couldn’t hold back a smile herself. Judging from the voice she’d heard over the phone during their stilted, twice-yearly conversations, the guy had Lillian’s gravelly, no-nonsense bark down pat. He must have known her pretty well, then. Kelli cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the sparsely filled benches. No doubt these people knew Lillian better than her own daughter did. How sad was that?

“I didn’t bother to point out that she was wearing rubber boots, while I was in a suit and had just polished my shoes. Knowing Lil as I do now, she wouldn’t have cared. It’s a good thing I took the hose and got to work.” His head dropped forward, and when he continued, his voice sounded choked. “Landing this job six years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me. It gave me the chance to work with someone whose devotion to animals went far beyond anyone I’d ever met, or likely will again. Lil changed my outlook on my job, and on my life. I’ll never forget her.”