Ladd Haven (33 page)

Victoria Foster never cared for the
Ladds. Jack knew it was due to Daddy’s old relationship with
Delaney’s mom, but they were feelings never publicly aired. His
mother had consented to Jack’s marriage, offered to host the
ceremony and reception at their home. Old Ernie Ladd didn’t offer
the first dime. His beloved sister’s daughter was getting married,
yet he refused to spit out a cent. He didn’t attend, never sent a
card. Nothing.

It wasn’t until years later that Jack
learned the depth of animosity between Ernie and his father. Before
then he and his brothers were too busy prowling the town to concern
themselves with others. But a few years of marriage to Delaney had
opened his eyes. The rumors were true. Gerald Foster and Susannah
Ladd had been romantically involved. Lovers, many said while others
refuted the fact. Only friends, platonic, they claimed. But all
agreed the two had been in love—a fact that royally incensed Ernie
Ladd.

Jack’s gaze settled on his mother,
gathering her close. When had she learned the truth? It couldn’t
have been before she met Daddy because he courted her from afar,
while she still lived in Chattanooga. Jack smiled inwardly. Smart
man. The only women around these parts interested in tangling with
the Ladd-Foster feud were after his money. The stately and elegant
Victoria Guthrie had money of her own and no knowledge of the
events prior, making her the perfect wife for Gerald Foster. Now
she was staking her marriage to a fence post for all to see. She
was taking sides.

Against her husband.

Jack smiled indulgently. “No one is
going to mistake me for a scalawag, Momma. Your reputation will
remain intact.” Disapproval glinted in her eyes, forcing Jack to
walk the statement back. No sense in alienating his only ally.
“Forgive me, it was a joke. Your reputation reigns far and above
anything I could be involved in disputing.”

“
I don’t like what they’re
trying to do to you. Cal is letting a job come between him and his
family and it’s not right.”

“
Fine way to repay you after
everything you did to help him return home from Arizona, tail
between his legs and his butt on his shoulders.”

“
Jack.”

“
Sorry, Momma, but you know
it’s true. He didn’t have a pot to sit on as far as friends, and
here you opened you doors to him. Ungrateful bastard.”

She unwound her arms and entered the
guest room. “Enough about Cal. I don’t want you to go. What are you
going to do? Where are you going to live?”

Jack throttled his temper. His mother
didn’t deserve his wrath. She was one of the good guys. “I’ll get a
place at a local hotel—a decent one,” he underscored, “and nowhere
near the Ladds.”

“
How long will you
stay?”

Jack shrugged. “Until I decide my next
step.” He’d been in town since Thanksgiving, doing nothing but
drifting save for a brief stint with the gorgeous developer lady,
Jillian Devane. Jack felt a surge of arousal at the mere thought of
the woman. Unlike any woman he’d ever known, her looks were sleek
and exotic, her touch silky smooth but beneath her beautiful
exterior was a woman of stone. Cold, calculating. Jack had the
sense she viewed him as a conquest rather than an enjoyable
diversion but he could care less. It was all the same to him. Too
bad Delaney’s new boyfriend ran her out of town.

“
But Mr. Dakota said the
trial wouldn’t happen for weeks. What will you do in the
meantime?’

Yanking the suitcase from
the bed, he set it to the floor. Lately Daddy had been pushing him
toward a job with Beau on the ranch, but sweating outdoors wasn’t
Jack’s thing. Back in Nashville he’d been selling cars, dating a
few country singer wannabes. He had no ambition for any more. But
when he was arrested for a fist fight with a manager from one of
the bigger music labels, his boss fired him. Charges were dropped
on the condition he leave town.
Don’t let
the door hit you on the way out
. “I’ll
figure something out,” Jack said. Right after he nailed Delaney’s
little friend to the wall. Troy Parker had messed with the wrong
man, and Jack was damn well going to see that he didn’t forget it.
“Besides, like you said, we’ve got to make them pay.”

A tentative smile eased onto her lips.
“Let me get my purse. I’ll give you some money.”

Malcolm emerged from the office behind
the front desk. He looked as drained as Annie felt, and for good
reason. He’d accompanied Cal and Nick for both their trip to the
jail and to Cal’s family’s home and Annie was certain this small
town feud was more than he ever bargained for. Malcolm was a city
boy from Los Angeles. He seemed happily married to Lacy, overjoyed
by the birth of their baby Emma Jane, but now he’d been drawn into
Troy’s mess and its potential repercussions for the hotel. Settling
hands to his hips, he said, “Why don’t you two go on. It’s been a
long day.”

Cal and Annie looked to him. “It’s only
five o’clock,” Cal replied.

Glancing back toward the recessed
office door, he nodded. “True, but I have a few more hours of work
left to do. No sense we’re both here.”

“
Where’s Lacy?” Annie
asked.

“
With Fran. The two are
having dinner at the diner with Emma Jane. They’re not expecting
me. Fran is trying to give Jimmy more responsibility so she’s
sitting the night out, watching while he works as a pseudo manager.
Lacy says it’s about time.”

“
I agree,” Annie said. “Fran
might be Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, but the woman needs a break
now and again.”

“
More like she’s looking for
a chance to play with the baby,” Cal corrected.

Malcolm grinned. “Agreed. Something you
two are going to have yourself in a couple of months.”

Thoughts of Casey’s baby pulled mixed
feelings from her. “Yes. Soon.” Looking up at Cal, Annie sighed. “I
need to call her.” She wanted to know how Casey was dealing with
Troy’s situation, the future. Annie was concerned she wasn’t going
to take the news well. Ashley reassured her that Casey seemed fine,
but was she? Would she want to talk?

“
Do one better and go home
to her,” Malcolm said. “She’ll need her family to get through this
situation with Troy.”

Malcolm didn’t mention Jack. Annie
wondered if it was purposefully not to offend Cal.

Cal seemed hesitant, but at Malcolm’s
insistence, acquiesced. “Okay. Thanks, Malcolm.” He clapped him on
the shoulder. “I’ll be back first thing.”

“
You mean
pre-dawn.”

The comment drew a small smile from her
husband. “Mother Nature’s never prettier than when she’s wakin’ up
in the morning.” Cal slid an arm around Annie and drew her close.
“Same goes for a woman.”

Malcolm laughed. “You won’t hear any
disagreement from me!”

Grateful for the break in
tension, Annie leaned into Cal’s embrace. Warm, solid, she needed
his strength but understood he needed hers, too. Together, they’d
get through this mess.
Together
. The word gave her a
tingle.

Cal took Annie by the hand and walked
her to the front door. “You hungry?” he asked. “Maybe we can
convince Casey to join us for a bite to eat and have a visit with
Lacy and the baby?”

“
Good idea.” Annie punched
in her home number. No answer. Then Casey’s cell. After she waited
through the rings, the call went to voicemail. “Casey, it’s Mom.
Cal and I are going to Fran’s for dinner and wanted to know if
you’d like to join us. Lacy and the baby will be there. Let me
know...” Annie wanted to know where Casey was, she wanted to tell
her to call the minute she received the message.

Ending the connection, Annie slipped
the phone back into her purse, forcing herself to let the worry go.
Casey was an adult. She was going through her own troubles and was
probably with Troy this very minute.

Casey yanked branches from her path as
she stomped through the underbrush. This used to be a shortcut to
Ladd Springs. She remembered it from years ago when she and her
friends used to come out here and spy on Felicity and Travis and
Troy. Back then it had been an established trail. Now it was
nothing but leaves and weeds and vines of some sort. “Ouch!”
Glaring at her thorn-punctured thumb, she sucked the red tip.
Whipping her glance around, she looked for easier passage. Sunlight
slanted through the trees, coating leaves in a gold-white haze.
Heat was lifting from the mountain, but it didn’t ease her body
temperature. She was hot, sweating, her cotton dress sticking to
her back. The hike had been more than she bargained for, but once
committed there was no going back. Besides, she had to be getting
close.

Continuing several more
steps, she detected an open space around the bend ahead. Was that
the trail? Hurrying, she was rewarded with the sight of a clearing.
More a break in the brush, but it might be a section of trail that
would prove an easier trek. Propelled by renewed energy, she worked
through trees and bushes, boots crunching over fallen branches
until she made it to the open space. Relief flooded her as she
glanced over the ground of moss-covered rocks and clay. Yes.
This was the trail
.
Glancing in the direction of Ladd Springs, Casey knew she was
getting close now. Close to Troy.

Felicity tamped down a swell of nerves
as she turned onto the drive for the Foster’s ranch. There was
nothing to be nervous about. It wasn’t like Mrs. Foster was some
kind of monster lying in wait to eat her. She was a beautiful,
elegant, compassionate woman. She’d raised four boys, had good
standing in the community. Everyone in town knew her family,
respected her personally, not only for her medical charity work but
because she had taken it upon herself years ago to form a committee
and raise money to build a new library. Built of brick and pillars,
the downtown facility was not only beautiful but housed a
children’s reading room and the latest in computer technology
including nearly a dozen computers, not to mention any book you
ever wanted to read. Most amazing, the small town library rivaled
any Felicity had seen at the University of Tennessee.

Yes, Felicity assured herself, Mrs.
Foster was decent, noble. Surely she would do the right thing, and
who knew? Maybe the two could have a relationship going forward.
After all, the Fosters were her only living grandparents. Shouldn’t
they be close?

It was a question soon to be answered.
She drove through rolling fields, four-board fencing lining her
way, gorgeous horses grazing idly on either side of her as the
afternoon sun sank into the western horizon. The heat of the day
had gone, leaving a blaze of green mountain landscape in its
aftermath. As Felicity pulled around the circular drive in front of
the two-story estate, she was hit by a wave of doubt. Should she
have called? What if Mrs. Foster wasn’t here? She glanced at the
dashboard clock. Five-thirty on a Monday night should find her at
home, shouldn’t it?

Too late now. She was here. Felicity
parked and hurried to the front door before she could change her
mind. She at least had to try. Ascending the front steps, she
crossed the wide veranda and knocked on the door briskly, polished
wood bruising against her knuckles. Taking a deep breath, she
waited. The door opened and an elderly woman smiled. Mrs. Foster’s
housekeeper, Thelma. Felicity remembered her from the other
night.

Like in the movies, she wore a starched
white uniform, her aging skin creasing as she smiled genially.
“Good evening, Miss Felicity.”

“
Good evening,” she replied.
“I’m here to see Mrs. Foster.”

The round, elderly woman knit her brow
in concern. “Do you have an appointment?”

Felicity shook her head. “No, I’m
sorry. I was in the neighborhood and wanted to drop in and say hi.
Is she here?”

“
She is,” the housekeeper
replied as she opened the door wide without question. “I’ll run
upstairs and fetch her.”

“
Thank you.” Felicity
entered, hit by a cool shaft of air-conditioning, the house as she
remembered it. Not a stem out of place in the floral display,
floors gleamed, pillows and frames sat perfectly situated. The warm
ambiance of wood and leather beckoned her indoors.

“
Why don’t you go on into
the living room and have a seat.” The woman paused. “Can I get you
something to drink?”

“
No, thank you. I’m
fine.”

“
You sure you wouldn’t like
a spot of water? It sure is hot out there today.”

Felicity smiled, working to loosen the
knot in her chest. “I’m fine, thank you.”

The woman shook he head as though
Felicity were crazy not to accept, then padded up an elegant spiral
staircase, disappearing somewhere above. Felicity’s breathing grew
shallow as she looked around the empty house. Was Mr. Foster here?
Was her father?

Her pulse jumped. She hadn’t considered
the possibility of running into him. But Cal said he’d left, didn’t
he? Moved out? Sliding a hand down her ponytail braid, Felicity
pulled it forward as she walked into the living room, searching
adjacent rooms for sight of movement. No one. She didn’t hear
anyone in the kitchen, didn’t smell any food cooking. It was as
though the house had been vacated. Didn’t they have to eat? She
ventured farther inside. Had they gone out to dinner?