Hotel Ladd (16 page)

Troy looked up at him, shock skirting
through his gaze. “Sir?”

“
Annie is joining my family
for Thanksgiving next week. I’d like it if you and Casey would
come, too.”

Troy pushed his hat back and replied,
“Well, my folks are expecting me home, but I can look into
it.”

Cal nodded. “Please do. I understand if
you can’t, but if you decide otherwise, you’re welcome here.
Festivities begin at one. We’ll set two extra places for you, just
in case.”

Pleasure eased past the surprise in his
dark eyes. “Yes sir, thank you. That would be great.”

Chapter Twelve

Casey set glass and straw on the lunch
counter before an old man, then retreated through a kitchen service
door. The main lunch crowd was gone by now, giving her breathing
room. The air in the kitchen was dense with oil which clung to her
skin, permeating her pores. Nearby, two cooks talked idly as they
watched four meat patties sizzling on a metal grill slab. Neither
bothered to make eye contact with her, knowing she wasn’t
interested in chit-chat. Casey only cared to talk to Jimmy Sweeney
and he was off today. Or Troy. A rise of desire flushed through her
breast. But he was working for the Fosters now—because of her
mother’s boyfriend. Since the ranch was located a half-hour away,
Troy didn’t have time to come visit during her lunch break. She’d
have to wait until after five to see him, speak with him. The time
away was killing her, but when Fran had forgiven her, offer to take
her back on staff, Casey had no choice. She didn’t want to come
back, but she needed a job, money. If not the diner, where else
would she go, what could she do? Wash hair at the salon where her
mother worked? Sweep the floors?

No, thanks. All the jobs stunk. All of
them. She only wanted to be with Troy.

Then out of the blue her mother
suggested college. While the idea of more school was not appealing,
when her mom said she’d pay for her living expenses, Casey had
almost said yes. If only to get out of this town and on her own,
she’d go to college. Though Casey still couldn’t believe she was
going to get that much money from logging the property. Money she
wasn’t allowed to touch until she was thirty. Resentment poured
into her.

Grabbing a plate of French fries, Casey
pushed, backside first, against the door and delivered the food,
serving up the perfunctory smile required by Fran. Whatever.
College might be cool except then she’d have to leave Troy and that
wasn’t gonna happen. She loved Troy. He was the only one who cared
about her, believed in her. Without Troy she was
nothing.

Delaney Wilkins entered the diner and
Casey tensed. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail,
her jeans and cropped denim jacket faded and worn. Now that she had
money, why didn’t she buy new clothes? Casey would. She’d buy a
whole new wardrobe! Spotting her, Delaney headed over and Casey
braced for impact.

Delaney strolled up to the counter.
“Casey.”

“
Miss Delaney,” she
acknowledged, but didn’t want to appear welcoming. She doubted
Delaney approved of her relationship with Troy. Probably wished
both boys were still chasing after Felicity. With a shoulder to
Delaney, Casey checked on a couple seated at the end of the
counter. When she asked if they needed anything, they barely
acknowledged her. She glared down at them. Rude. People were
rude.

“
Glad to see you back on the
job,” Delaney said when she headed back her way.

“
Can’t say the
same.”

Delaney smiled. “Not your dream job, I
understand. But sometimes we have to pay the bills first, seek our
pleasure second.”

“
I guess.” Casey sought a
wet rag and wiped at the counter.

“
Is Troy back, too?” Casey
nodded. “That’s great.” Delaney lowered to a seat. “I hear he’s
working over at the Foster ranch.”

Remaining intent on her busy work,
Casey kept her response to a minimum. “He is.”

“
I’ve heard great things
about him.”

Emotion stormed to the surface. “Troy
knows his horses.”

“
That’s what I
understand.”

If Delaney was going to ask why he got
fired from the other ranch, Casey wasn’t going to tell her. It was
none of her business and she’d only think less of him. And the
firing wasn’t even his fault. It was hers. Stuffing the damp cloth
beneath the counter, Casey could feel Delaney staring, feel the
questions and judgments swirling in her brain.

“
Troy’s a good guy,” Delaney
said, hooking Casey’s gaze securely to her own. “He’s smart, too.
He’ll find his way. You will, too,” Delaney added.

Casey stilled. Did Delaney
know
everything
about their lives?

“
If you ever need anything,
I want you to know you can call me.”

“
Why?”

“
I care about you. We’re
family.”

Casey ground her teeth. Family. Because
of that man, Jeremiah Ladd.

“
I’m not going to pretend
it’s the best situation, Casey. I won’t lie to you. Your mother and
I have our issues. But our problems shouldn’t interfere with your
well-being. You’re a Ladd and I’m a Ladd. We need to start acting
like it.”

“
How come you put my mom in
charge of the property then?”

“
Because you’re still
young.”

“
So is Felicity,” Casey
asserted. “But you didn’t put yourself in charge of her
half.”

“
I am. I’m in charge until
she’s old enough to take control on her own.”

“
That’s not what my mom
says.”

“
It’s not written that way,
like it is in yours. Ernie signed the estate over to her
specifically, but it works the same way. I’m in control and she
understands why.”

Casey glanced away.

For a moment neither said a word,
content to allow the din of conversation to fill the void. A cook
called up an order, customers talked quietly amongst themselves.
Casey wished she were anywhere but here. The diner felt like a
prison. A red and white smiley-faced prison. Five days a week she
worked here. Five days of mind-numbing boredom, complete with nosy
neighbors and well-meaning family.

“
What are your plans, Casey?
Do you have any?”

“
Plans?”

Delaney nodded. “Do you plan to go to
college? I understand your mother is making arrangements to have a
section of the property logged. With the money you’ll receive, you
could go to college.”

“
She mentioned it.” Delaney
looked relieved to hear it. “But I said no.”

“
No?”

“
No. For now. Maybe later.
Depends.”

“
On Troy?” she asked
knowingly.

She nodded and Delaney remained silent.
Did she not approve of her choices? Was she judging her right
now?

Casey didn’t care. It was her life. She
was an adult. She could do as she pleased, whether Delaney or her
mother approved or not. “I haven’t decided what I’m doing
yet.”

“
I see.”

“
Can I ask you something?”
The question burst from Casey’s lips before she had a mind to think
better of it.

Delaney folded her hands atop the
counter. “Sure, anything.”

“
Did your boyfriend have
anything to do with beating up Jeremiah?”

Delaney’s expression reflected the hit
but she didn’t move a muscle. “No. Why would you ask?”

“
My mom thinks they might
have followed Jeremiah, had him beat up to get him to leave
town.”

Delaney straightened on the stool.
“She’s wrong. They didn’t need to beat him up to get him to leave
town. They had information on him that they knew would ultimately
land him in jail.”

“
He’s in jail?”

“
Didn’t you
know?”

Casey felt a rise of warmth around her
neck and cheeks. “No.”

“
I’m sorry. I thought your
mother told you.” Delaney shook her head as though it were one more
thing her mother did wrong. “He was arrested for money he owed to a
casino out in Vegas.”

Casey rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
“What a loser,” she said, embarrassed yet again by the fact that he
was her father. What else weren’t they telling her?

“
Casey, Jeremiah’s choices
are no reflection on you. No one thinks less of you because of him.
You’re eighteen and your own woman.” Delaney searched her gaze, an
awkward intimacy sneaking into their conversation. “Who you are
from here on out depends on
you
. No one else.”

Tears pressed behind Casey’s eyes. “Not
in this town.” She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “I
might be a Ladd but I’m Jeremiah’s Ladd and people
talk.”

“
They’re not saying anything
important.”

“
Hello, Delaney.”

Delaney’s smile evaporated and Casey
was shocked to see a brown-skinned Spanish-looking woman standing
there. She hadn’t noticed her walk up. “So nice to see you again,”
the stranger said, sliding a huge pair of sunglasses onto her
head.

Delaney rose from her stool, squaring
her shoulders with the stranger. “What are you doing here?” she
responded curtly, and Casey sensed a cat fight coming
on.

“
It’s a pleasure seeing you,
too, Ms. Wilkins,” the woman returned smoothly, mesmerizing Casey
with her heavy accent and overdone makeup. Her golden brown eyes
were lined thickly in black, her lashes brushed heavily with
mascara, her cheeks bronzed a shimmery peach. Dressed in a black
fur coat and fitted black dress, she was thin as a
stick.

“
You have no business here,”
Delaney told her. “Your property is an hour north.”

“
Ah, but that’s where you’re
wrong. We’re going to be neighbors.” She flicked a haughty gaze to
Casey. “I’m purchasing a beautiful tract of land that will suit my
needs perfectly, allowing Nick and I to remain close,” she
emphasized, as though the words had double meaning.

“
Neighbor? Who’s
selling?”

The dark woman smiled, wicked pleasure
licking at her eyes. “You know I cannot reveal any details that
might jeopardize my deal. Trust me that it is very near to you and
we will be seeing quite a lot more of one another.”

Delaney scowled. Troy breezed into the
diner and Casey’s heart skipped a beat. “Troy’s here,” she said for
no reason, unsettled by the tension between the women. Delaney and
the foreign woman both turned. Troy picked up on the showdown from
across the diner and hurried his step. Where Casey was relieved,
Delaney seemed unhappy to see him.

Handsome in his black T-shirt and jean
jacket, his longish bangs combed to the side, Troy sized up the
situation in two seconds. “Everything okay here?”

“
It’s fine,
Troy.”

Jealousy flared in Casey’s chest as the
woman ogled Troy. He looked at her and Casey’s pulse bolted. “Hey,
Troy,” she said, shaken by the hammering of her heart.

“
Hi, Casey.” He smiled in
that sweet way of his, drawing the attention of the
stranger.

Lightly touching a gold pendant at her
neck, Delaney said to the woman, “I think you should be
going.”

Ignoring the statement, Jillian took
note of Delaney’s hand gesture. “Is it real?”

“
About as real as your
face,” Troy snapped.

Delaney placed a quick hand
to his arm. “Troy,
don’t
.”

Troy reeled in confusion. “What? I
can’t stand by and let her talk to you like that—it ain’t
right.”

Seemingly amused by the exchange, the
woman smirked. “What do you know? A real live country
bumpkin.”

Like a hawk on a snake, Casey’s great
aunt appeared out of nowhere. Fran stared down the brown-skinned
woman. “Is there something I can help you with, ma’am?”

“
No, thank you. I believe
I’ve everything I need.” She tapped Troy with a lustful glance then
said to Delaney, “I’ll be seeing you again.”

The four of them watched as the woman
left the diner without another word.

“
Sugar, you wanna tell me
who that was?”

“
A developer interested in
ruining Nick,” Delaney replied in what Casey found to be a
shell-shocked tone.

“
A developer?” Fran rolled
her eyes. “If you ask me, she looks more like a harlot than a
developer.”

Casey’s thoughts exactly.

“
It’s a long story,” Delaney
replied dully, then turned to Troy. “I appreciate what you did, but
that woman is not worth the trouble.”

“
Dad gum, Miss Delaney, it
wouldn’t a been no trouble at all tossing that woman out of here
after the way she was talkin’.”

“
Trust me. She’s better left
alone.” Delaney glanced between them and walked away.

Casey thought Delaney looked like she
was dumbstruck or something. She paused by the front door as if she
didn’t know where she was going. Was that woman after her
boyfriend, Nick Harris? If so, Casey could see why she would have
been unhappy to see her.