Page 14 of Proof

“You could say that.” Luna winked at Cullen. “She’s from Nigeria. Makes beautiful jewelry.” Luna got up from her chair, followed by Cullen, then Duke.

“E káàrò!” Chi-Chi nodded to everyone. Cullen got up and pulled a chair over to the table.

Cullen introduced her. “This is Lebici Stone. Chi-Chi, this is Duke, a longtime friend of the family.”

She reached across the table to shake his hand.

“You are some kind of beautiful woman,” Duke said as he shook her hand. He couldn’t stop staring at her.

“Thank you,” Chi-Chi replied with dignity, her head held high.

“Luna tells me you’re from Nigeria?” Duke still hadn’t blinked.

“Yes. My family came to the States when I was young. We still have some relatives there, and my brother visits several times a year.”

Duke was enthralled. “And you make jewelry?” He was staring at her amethyst bracelet.

“I do. This is one of my pieces.” She smiled.

“Well, alls I can say is your work is as beautiful as you are.”

Cullen glanced over at Luna and grinned. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Duke this enamored with anyone. It was a nice surprise.

Chi-Chi gave Duke a humble nod. “Thank you. You are very kind.”

Duke slapped his leg again. “How about you take me for a tour of this place?” He stood and crooked his arm. Chi-Chi looked alarmed, but Cullen gave her a reassuring nod and whispered, “He’s harmless.”

The four of them paraded out the door into the sunlit atrium with Wylie in tow. Duke stopped short and let out a low whistle. “I heard lots of things about this here place, but just couldn’t picture it in my mind. Imagine a huge tree like that on the inside?” It was obvious Duke was not a worldly man. Maybe that’s why the Bodman family was so fond of him. He was the opposite of pretentious and looked at most things with wonder. He wasn’t a stupid man. Just far from sophisticated.

Chi-Chi immediately took to his kind nature and began to explain all the different shops and artists as they strolled around the inside perimeter. As they walked to the automatic door that led to the patio, two German shepherds came bounding toward them. Duke let out a shriek. “What in the Sam Hill is going on?”

Chi-Chi squeezed Duke’s arm. “Meet Ziggy and Marley,” she said. The dogs stopped abruptly and sat at attention. Cullen reached down to pet them, and Wylie gave them both a headbutt. “They belong to Ellie, the genius behind this endeavor.”

“Scared the bejeezus out of me.” Duke was clutching his chest.

“Sorry. We’re so used to them, we forget they can be scary for people who don’t know them,” Luna explained. She reached down and gave both dogs a “good boy” scratch behind the ears.

Ellie wasn’t far behind the two dogs. “Hi, everyone!” She waved.

“And that is Ellie Stillwell,” Chi-Chi explained further.

“Hello,” Ellie said immediately.

“Howdy, Miss Ellie.” Duke chuckled, remembering the TV show Dallas from the 1980s. “So tell me, who shot J.R.?” He couldn’t help voicing the compelling question that 83 million TV viewers once asked.

Ellie laughed. She had lost count of how many times people had asked her that question. “It was Kristin. And he deserved it.”

Everyone laughed. Even though the show had first aired almost a decade before Cullen and Luna were born, it was a well-known pop-culture classic.

Cullen introduced Duke to Ellie, explaining his association with the Bodman family and their business.

“Nice to meet you. I see you’ve already met Ziggy and Marley,” Ellie said.

“Sure have. Gave me a good scare, they did.” He smiled as they shook hands.

“Sorry about that. They’re really sweet unless someone tries to hurt anyone.”

“I’m sure of that, ma’am.” Duke flashed his gold teeth again.