Hotel Ladd (7 page)

“
Oh, gosh...” She exhaled
heavily, releasing him. “It’s been forever since I’ve been on a
horse.”

“
Would you like to go riding
sometime? My Daddy has a stable full of horses that would love the
pleasure of your company.”

Annie grinned at his obvious ploy, yet
she found she liked the idea. It had been years since she’d been
riding. She loved being on horseback, and a trail ride with Cal
held an added appeal. It would be romantic riding around with him,
the two of them alone in the woods. Annie trimmed her thoughts,
thrusting her gaze out the window as a rush of desire flipped her
belly. It would be lovely. Absolutely lovely. “Yes, I think that
would be a good idea.”

Cal reached over and patted her hand.
“I’ll set it up.”

Nodding, and very aware Cal left his
hand over hers, she stared out through the windshield. Hopefully
Casey would be back home, allowing her to relax enough to enjoy the
ride.

Cal parked outside the paddocks and
opened the door for her. “You’ll be doing all the talking. If you
want me to step in, just give me a nod, and I’ll do what I can to
help.”

“
Thank you, Cal. For
everything.”

“
You know it’s my pleasure,
Annie.” He pecked her cheek with a kiss, then steered her toward
the building. Together, they sought the main entrance, a door
labeled, “Office.”

Angst exploded in her chest and her
heart fluttered, but Annie was determined to get her daughter and
see her home. Since it was close to noon, she hoped the staff
wasn’t out to lunch. Biding her time in a strange ranch would only
ramp up her nerves. Cal opened the metal door and she entered,
finding the interior larger than she expected. Quite spacious and
clean, it was infused with the familiar scent of leather, hay and
horses. Tack adorned the walls along with a miscellany of
memorabilia and ribbons, a few photos. Cal had told her the ranch
specialized in breeding, but it appeared they also did quite well
showing their horses, too.

A stout man sat behind a wooden desk,
his head balding, his plaid shirt groaning at the seams. He smiled
as they walked in, the folds of his friendly eyes crinkling beneath
his glasses. “Can I help you?”

“
We’re looking for Troy
Parker.”

He nodded. “Is he expecting
you?”

“
No,” she stumbled over the
reply and silently cursed her ineptness. She needed to be calm and
firm. Normal. Her only chance to see that Casey listened to
reason.

“
No problem.” He rolled back
in his chair. “I’ll go fetch him for you.”

But that wouldn’t be necessary. In
through the rear exit door walked the young man himself. Wearing a
black cowboy hat, with his brown hair poking out a bit in front,
Troy slowed when he saw who she was. His dark brown eyes turned
black, suspicion mingling with concern. He flashed to his boss who
grinned. “Well speak of the devil. These folks are here to see you,
Troy.”

“
Yes sir,” he replied
perfunctorily. As he took note of Cal, curiosity seemed to
underscore his concern. Removing his hat, he said, “Hello, Ms.
Owens.”

“
Troy.”

Cal walked over and extended a hand.
“Cal Foster. I’m a family friend.” Warily, Troy shook
it.

“
Can we speak to you in
private?” Annie asked.

Troy checked with the man, who
apparently was a boss of some sort. The older man nodded. “Take all
the time you need.” Then to Annie and Cal, he added, “Troy is one
of our best hands. We’re real proud of him around here.”

Annie smiled. She wasn’t interested in
his accolades. She was here for her daughter.

Troy slipped on his hat and walked out
the front door. Strolling to a spot several yards away, he stopped,
shooting a glance around the property. “What can I do for
you?”

“
We’re here to retrieve
Casey.”

“
I ain’t her keeper,” Troy
replied, his annoyance mildly concealed.

“
Is she with
you?”

Troy glanced askance. “No.”

“
Is she here?”

“
Not
here
, no ma’am.”

Growing aggravated with his evasive
replies, Annie straightened, intending to make herself perfectly
clear. “Is she here in Murfreesboro? I need to know, Troy. She’s
run away and I need to know that at least she’s safe.”

Troy looked away. “She’s
safe.”

Annie heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank
you.”

For a moment no one said a word. Cal
hovered by her side, Troy peered at her from the shadows of his
hat, probably wondering what she was going to do about her grown
child who had left her, run off because she wanted to be with him.
She could feel the adversarial tone in his stance, the edge to his
attitude.

Troy was on Casey’s side. He wanted her
here.

The crisp air seared a chill into her
cheeks. A few puffy white clouds floated overhead. A single cowboy
led a horse from behind a nearby paddock. Slow, easy, their pace
was unhurried. Annie’s patience hung from a thread. “I want her to
come home, Troy.”

“
She’s an adult. You may
want to check with her.”

“
But you have influence with
her.”

He glared at her, as though
to underscore the fact that Annie did not. Losing the steam of her
conviction, Annie turned to Cal. He looked at her with the question
in his eyes.
Do you want me to step
in
?

She shook her head. This was her
battle. Returning to face Troy, she asked, “Will you have her call
me? I need to speak with her.”

“
Casey has a mind of her
own,” he replied, as if Annie didn’t know her own child. “If she
wants to talk to you, she’ll call.”

Rattled by his stubborn
refusal, she glanced around the ranch, grappling for alternatives.
The compact blue car barreling toward them, spitting a wake of
dust, stopped her heart.
Casey
.

She whipped back to Troy. “Why didn’t
you tell me she was coming here?”

In a horribly inadequate
manner, he merely shrugged.
He knew she was
on her way
? Annie turned her back on him
and waited as Casey parked. Circling the vehicle, the girl froze.
Even from this distance Annie could see the influx of shock and
anger. A dry wedge lodged in Annie’s throat. Had she expected Casey
to be happy to see her?

Casey stormed over. After a cursory
glance toward Troy, she demanded, “What are you doing
here?”

“
I’ve come to take you
home.”

“
I’m not going
home.”

“
Casey—”

“
This is my home now,” she
said, but that didn’t prevent her from checking with Troy. He
nodded. “So you can turn around and go back where you came
from.”

Annie marveled at how Casey marched
over and took up residence by Troy’s side. He wrapped an arm around
her shoulders, an arm she was clearly comfortable with having. The
two stood in solidarity.

When did this happen? How long had they
been together?

“
Casey...” Annie paused,
reason warring with instinct. “I think we can discuss this like two
rational adults.”

“
There’s nothing to discuss.
If I had wanted you to know where I was, I would have left a note.
I would have answered one of your zillion calls. I didn’t.” Disgust
wrinkled her features. “Can’t you take a hint?”

She didn’t want to take a hint—she
wanted her daughter home! Annie desperately tried to sidestep the
quicksand burying her feet. “I don’t understand you. I’ve been
fighting for your rights, paying money to keep Ladd Springs so your
future is set and this is how you repay me?”

“
You’re not doing any of
that because of me. You’re doing it for you.”

“
How can you say
that?”

“
Your name is on the deed,
too.”

“
As trustee!” she cried,
realizing at once her daughter had no idea what that meant, how it
played into her life.
Shoot
! Annie had only learned when
Delaney made the designation and explained it to her.

“
It’s crap and you know it,”
Casey spat.

“
Casey Melody!”

She flicked a glance toward Cal and
said, “I’m not going, so why don’t you two get back in your truck
and go home.”

Annie felt Cal’s hand circle around her
arm, the sweater no barrier against the heat of his palm. He gently
tightened his hold, but Annie refused to budge. “I don’t
understand, Casey. What brought this on? Why are you behaving this
way? You ran out on your Aunt Fran, you worried me to
death...”

Casey swung her weight to one booted
heel, the one closest to Troy, and countered, “I doubt it. Nothing
is about me. It’s never been about me.” The accusation cut deep. “I
don’t give a crap about Ladd Springs or the man you slept with me
to create me.” Casey twisted her face. “How could you ever have
been with someone like him?”

Chapter Six

It was a question Annie had
asked herself many times.
How could she
have been with a man like Jeremiah Ladd
?
What had possessed her?

Was it his looks? Was that it? Had she
been so shallow as a teenager that all she wanted were looks in a
man and she’d give herself willingly to him? It made Annie sick.
Same as the look in her daughter’s eyes, it made Annie sick to
think she had wanted a man like Jeremiah, then chased him for two
decades to prove he was the father of her child. What she should
have done was leave well enough alone. Tell Casey she was adopted
and make up a “father” story. Anything but the truth.

Rising from her car, Annie
reached for her coat but abandoned the effort. It was a thirty
second walk into the diner from here. She could make it in her
sweater dress and leggings. She tossed the door closed and headed
toward the retro-styled building. Fran hadn’t changed a thing since
her husband Deacon had passed, including the bleached out exterior
blue paint. The red neon lights spelling out
Fran’s Diner
were straight out of the
fifties, a tired exterior that Annie thought her aunt should
update. Surely she had the money to refurbish it. At least,
re-paint the darn place. It made it look old, rundown. But
renovating a restaurant wasn’t her problem, Annie mused, swinging
open its glass entrance door. Casey was. Time to tell Fran her
employee wasn’t coming back.

Lingering in the diner entryway, Annie
felt a pinch of yearning. She was supposed to be meeting Cal for
lunch today but in no mood to discuss logging matters or rehash the
scene with Casey and Troy, she’d cancelled. She’d been in no mood
yesterday, either, wanting nothing more than to get home, curl up
into a ball and die. She’d settled for crawling into bed, but it
hadn’t done any good. Standing alone now, engulfed by the scent of
fried chicken and oven-baked buttermilk biscuits, a hint of Fran’s
Sunday Roast Beef floating into the mix, Annie regretted the need
to cancel on Cal. It sent the wrong signals. He’d only been trying
to help.

But there was no help for Annie. Casey
and Troy pervaded her dreams, the two of them taunting her,
laughing, saying horrible things behind her back. How could Casey
be with that boy after he paraded around town with her father’s
girlfriend? Did she have no sense of decency, no shame? The whole
town knew about Troy and Loretta Flynn, Lacy’s friend, the stripper
from Atlanta. Annie knew it was true. Lacy said so
herself.

How was it
possible
?

The world felt like it was upside down.
Sitting in church this morning had helped a little, but it didn’t
erase her problems. Her daughter hated her. She couldn’t afford the
property taxes. Her life was a mess.

“
Ms. Owens.”

The serpent-smooth voice curled around
Annie like a steel rope. She looked behind her, startled to see
Jillian Devane three feet away. Dressed entirely in black, the
woman iced her with an accusatory gaze. “You said you were going to
call me.”

Annie had completely forgotten. “Yes,
well,” she replied, no energy to lie or play coy, “I had more
important things on my mind.”

Jillian smiled through the insult. “Do
you have time now?”

Annie looked at her blankly. Now? Here?
She ran a quick inventory of the witnesses privy to this
interaction. No Nick, no Delaney, no Lacy, no Cal. No one in her
inner circle—though any number of people could spread the word that
would eventually make it to their ears. Good thing she wasn’t
meeting Cal for lunch. Annie honed in on Jillian. She’d have a heck
of a time explaining this one, yet ventured nonetheless, “I have a
second.”

“
Thank you. Care to join
me?” Jillian gave her a wry smile and strolled over to a booth by
the front window. Annie spotted a glass of water and half-eaten
plate of sliced red tomatoes and realized Jillian was in the middle
of lunch.