Ladd Haven (28 page)

The door closed, leaving Annie alone on
the second-story balcony, awash in a bath of bright morning
sunshine. Turning, she cast a glance out over the parking lot.
Quiet, most spaces empty, the bulk of apartment residents were
already up and out the door for work. Work. She loved the new salon
but at the moment not a cell in her body wanted to be there. She
turned back to her front door. Every fiber of her being wanted to
be at home with Casey.

Nick, Malcolm and Cal drove to the
county jail. Seated in the backseat, Cal had a bad feeling as he
listened to Malcolm’s phone call. He was on the line with the
attorney for Harris Hotels, coordinating a plan to defend Troy on
the charges—charges Cal couldn’t believe had made it this far.
According to his father, his mother was digging her heels in on
this one and squeezing her contacts for favors. Momma was
protecting Jack, insisting Gavin Shore charge Troy to the fullest
extent of the law. Daddy said she wouldn’t listen to reason but
then again, Cal doubted he would push. Gerald understood this was
Victoria pitting Jack against Delaney in a silent play for revenge.
While the town would see the Fosters versus the Ladds in a court
dispute, very few would know that Foster versus Foster lay at the
heart of the battle.

“
Thanks, Lanny.” Malcolm
ended the call and reported, “Lanny suggests a guy out of
Chattanooga. Says he’s the best in the state when it comes to
criminal defense.”

“
Good,” Nick replied, one
hand firmly on the steering wheel. “Call him. See how fast he can
get on Troy’s case.”

“
It might take some time,”
Malcolm advised. “The police are claiming he’s a flight risk which
might pose a problem with bail.”

“
That’s ludicrous. Troy’s no
more flight risk than you or I. Pay the man extra. We need Troy out
and back on the job.”

Malcolm’s pale blue eyes changed to
near gray as he asked Nick, “Have you thought about the
repercussions down the road?”

“
What
repercussions?”

“
We can’t employ a convicted
felon.”

“
He’s not going to be
convicted.”

Malcolm’s voice was quiet, level. He
was giving Nick a reality check. “I agree. But in the unlikely
event that he is, the fact remains. It goes against stated
corporate policy.”

“
To hell with corporate
policy—we’ll change it!”

Malcolm remained calm, the steady
stream of river to Nick’s crash of waterfall. Cal had come to learn
it was a rhythm the men had established. Nick was the scorch of
flame, Malcolm the intensity of embers. Nick crashed and pushed,
Malcolm eddied and flowed.

Flashing a glance in the rearview
mirror, Nick asked him, “Do we know any judges around
here?”

Cal nodded. “A few.”

“
Can we talk to them? Will
they listen to reason?”

Malcolm turned reproachful. “You’re not
planning on bribing any judges, are you?”

“
I plan on doing whatever’s
necessary.” Nick looked into the mirror for a long moment.
“Including speaking with your brother.”

Cal understood. You didn’t attack a
man’s woman without hearing from him personally. Jack was family
but Cal wasn’t going to excuse his behavior. Unlike his mother.
“You might want to wait on that count.”

“
Wait?”

Cal looked to Nick, aware of his
displeasure. “My mother seems to be backing Jack on these charges.
If you add your feelings to the mix, she might corral you into the
same pen and press charges.”

“
On what
grounds?”

“
I assume you meant a
face-to-face confrontation with Jack.”

“
I did. But I know how to
stay out of legal trouble when I do so.”

Cal glanced out the window. Rural
landscape was transitioning to cityscape, homes and buildings
becoming more frequent. They were houses and structures he
recognized, businesses entrenched in the community of his
childhood. This particular stretch of road was one he’d traveled
many times, mostly due to his own stupidity, egged on by his
wild-haired brothers. Cal had sat where Troy was sitting now. As
had Jack, both Foster boys intimately familiar with the town jail
and local police force. “Maybe so, but Jack’s not above lying. With
my mother involved, he might be emboldened to make something
up.”

“
Cal might have a point,”
Malcolm agreed.

Nick’s expression tightened. “You leave
Jack to me.”

Malcolm paused, then shifted in his
seat. “On another note, I have some news.”

“
What news?” Nick was quick
to ask.

“
My pal in Vegas called to
inform me that Jeremiah has paid his marker.”

“
What?” He glanced sideways.
“How’d he manage that?”

Cal shared in Nick’s surprise. He knew
the story. Jeremiah Ladd had returned to Tennessee a year ago to
grab his share of Ladd Springs, only to find the welcome mat hadn’t
been set for him. He and Ernie got into it, not to mention he and
Delaney. Shoot, from what Cal heard, Jeremiah had been causing
trouble for the whole damn town, including enlisting the help of
jailbird Clem Sweeney to ferret out gold from land deep in the
forest. Cal wasn’t surprised. Folks turned crazy when they heard
the word gold and Clem had baited Jeremiah like a topnotch
fisherman.

Only he didn’t count on his ally
double-crossing him or winding up in jail on a bad gambling debt.
Malcolm Ward was responsible for that stroke of genius. Once
Lacy—currently married to Malcolm but ex-runaway cohort of
Jeremiah’s—revealed his gambling troubles, Malcolm wasted no time
calling the Vegas authorities to sweep Jeremiah off the streets and
into jail where he belonged. The fact that he was out couldn’t be
good. For any of them. Jeremiah was Annie’s ex-boyfriend and
Casey’s father. If he came back he was sure to cause trouble
somehow. From what Cal understood, Jeremiah had managed to do a
fine job of it the last time he’d been in town.

“
Don’t know, but according
to my guy, he’s paid up in full.”

“
I don’t like it.” Nick
shook his head. “I don’t like it at all.”

“
Didn’t think you
would.”

“
No, I mean I think
something’s up. Someone had to help him pay that money.”

“
Who?”

Nick fired a glance to his partner.
“I’ll give you one guess.”

Malcolm honed in on Nick. Cal could
feel the wheels turning, the blades sharpening. “You don’t think
Jillian had something to do with it, do you?”

“
Wouldn’t put it past
her.”

Malcolm twisted fully in his seat,
glancing askance. “Seriously?”

Nick nodded. “She’s a spiteful one,
with the memory of an elephant and the claws of a
tigress.”

“
What the heck did you do to
that woman?” Malcolm exclaimed, clearly upset by the possibility
that Jillian Devane—arch rival to Harris Hotels and vindictive
ex-lover of Nick Harris—could be back in the picture. “I thought we
were finished with her.”

“
So did I.” Nick looked away
and Cal detected disquiet in the reflection of his dark-eyed gaze.
It gave rise to one of his own.

“
Aw, hell.” Malcolm slammed
a hand to the passenger-side door jamb. It was a rare display of
emotion for him, one that signified he was worried.

“
How would Jillian know
anything about Jeremiah?” Cal asked. “She wasn’t around when he was
here, was she?”

“
Jillian is as resourceful
as they come,” Nick replied. “She arrived on the heels of
Jeremiah’s departure, but she spent enough time in this town to dig
up dirt on everyone in it.”

“
Yeah,” Malcolm put in
unhappily, “except there’s only one person’s grave she’s interested
in digging. Yours.”

Nick chuckled. “Well, she’s gonna have
some trouble with her shovel because I have no intention of going
in the ground anytime soon.”

Malcolm looked at him. “If she’s
teaming up with Jeremiah, you might go down
unwittingly.”

Nick circled his hand more tightly
around the wheel. “You’re not worried about him, are you? That guy
was child’s play.”

“
I’d call him a grown child
with a chip on his shoulder and a mountain of support in his back
pocket if he’s hooked up with Jillian. Jeremiah has nothing to
lose, which makes him a dangerous man.”

“
Except his
freedom.”

Cal didn’t like where this was going.
From what Annie said, Jeremiah had changed a whole lot since they
were kids. He was harder, meaner. Visions of him marching Annie and
Lacy through the woods, threatening them with a gun rose in his
mind.

Bile rose in his throat. If Jeremiah
thought he was going to lay a hand on Annie he had another thought
coming.

Nick turned sharply, bumping the three
men inside the truck as they pulled into the lot for the county
jail. The single-story building hadn’t changed in decades, save for
the peeling gray paint. It was drab, cold, as unappealing as it
always had been.

“
Let’s say we focus on
Troy’s freedom first, shall we?”

Agreed, Cal thought. There was plenty
enough time to deal with Jeremiah Ladd later.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“
Thank you, Mr. Harris.”
Troy eased from the backseat of Nick’s truck and closed the door.
Speaking through an open window, he said, “I owe you
one.”

“
You don’t owe me a thing,
Troy. I’m merely repaying my debt of gratitude to you for stepping
in on Delaney’s behalf.”

“
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
It wasn’t like he could have avoided it. Hearing Mr. Foster’s
brother talking to her the way he was, seeing the look in his eyes,
the gun... Troy had no choice.

“
Tell Delaney I’ll call her
later,” Nick said. “Right now, we have some business to attend
to.”

Troy wondered if any of that business
included a visit to the real criminal, Jack Foster. The scum. Troy
hoped it did and he hoped they made it hurt. Cal Foster was a
decent man but his brother deserved no mercy. Attacking a woman was
unacceptable, as low as a man could get. Man, hell. Jack Foster was
no man. He was a liar, the devil incarnate. “I’ll tell her,” Troy
replied.

With a tip of his hat he watched the
truck pull out of the hotel’s parking lot and onto the road. They
were kind enough to drop him at the hotel so he could get his
things. Travis had picked up his truck from Fran’s Diner yesterday
and driven it home. Was supposed to be driving it here to the hotel
for him, now. He’d said it’d be about an hour, which would give him
enough time to collect his stuff and say goodbye to the horses.
Goodbye. He didn’t want to think it could be permanent because of
that liar.

Troy took the turn for the
stables and headed up. Ejecting thoughts of Jack Foster from his
brain, Troy focused on his job ahead. The sun overhead was blazing
hot, but he couldn’t care less. Sitting in that cell had taught him
to appreciate the outdoors, hot or otherwise, his freedom to go
where he wanted, when he wanted. The fact that his parents left him
there rubbed raw. His father’s message had been clear.
Maybe this will give you time to think about your
future
.

Troy picked up his pace, a layer of
perspiration building beneath his T-shirt as he entered the shaded
section of trees. The air was noticeably cooler. Alongside him the
creek was a babble of noise, calming for a man who needed to think,
but Troy wasn’t that man. He didn’t have anything to think about
other than how to care for his baby, his new wife. He loved his
parents but they were wrong on this one. His future was about
horses and about marrying Casey, soon as he could. He’d realized it
while sittin’ in jail. No baby of his was gonna be born a bastard,
but where was he going to get the money to buy a ring? His parents
sure as heck weren’t going to loan it to him. Would Cal? Maybe
Delaney?

Stepping over a fallen branch, he hated
the need to ask, but the only money he’d saved up had to go to pay
rent—first, last and a security deposit. He and Casey couldn’t live
in her mother’s apartment. It was already crowded with Mr. Foster
moved in. They couldn’t live at his parents’ house. He planned to
move out of there himself this evening, seeing as how they couldn’t
support their son when he needed them. He surely wasn’t gonna need
them.

Emerging into open pasture, Troy
glanced up at the stables. The late afternoon sun warm on his face,
longing pricked at his heart. He wasn’t kidding himself. With no
job it was gonna be tough. Mr. Harris told him he had to take some
time off until things settled. They couldn’t keep him on the
payroll with the charges pending. Guests might get uncomfortable
knowing there was a criminal among them. Alleged or otherwise. Troy
ground his jaw.

Shoving the thought from his mind, he
hiked the fenced incline until he reached the stables. Catching his
breath, he rounded the building and saw Delaney walking Sadie into
a stall. His heart caught as he recalled the fear in her voice.
Normally strong and tough, she’d been struggling against Mr. Foster
as he attacked. Anger threaded through him. She didn’t deserve
that. No one did.