Losing Ladd (11 page)

She whirled and cried out, “Oh!”
Rushing over, she grabbed the oversized cup he bought from a gas
station and began wiping ice into the palm of her hand. “Don’t
worry about it—it’s okay!”

“
I’m so
sorry
,” he said in the
most sincere voice he could muster. Rounding the counter, he
crouched down and began making a mess of trying to clean up the
dark brown cola currently spreading like a sheet of molasses over
the beige stone tile.

“
It’s okay. I can grab
some towels from the spa.” Bounding up, she ran out of the gift
shop and down a hall—in the opposite direction of the front
desk.

Chuckling to himself, he remained on
his haunches so as not to call attention to himself from the girls
at the front desk. Quicker than lightning, he swiped a hand through
the case grabbing hand fulls of pendants and chains and anything
else that stuck to his fingers. There were three levels of ‘em and
he stuffed every single one into his pockets—front, back, wherever
they would fit—until the case had been wiped clean. When he yanked
open a drawer beneath the shelves, his eyes lit up at the sight of
large boxes. He knew from previous experience there would be extra
jewelry stored below, and sure enough, here it was. Why she hadn’t
locked it was a surprise to him. Maybe the one key that opened the
case unlatched the lower drawer at the same time. He’d seen it work
that way in a store in Georgia.

But this wasn’t gonna fit in his
pockets. Hauling a box free, he looked around for a bag. Bingo. A
stack of them were housed neatly in a cubby beneath the register.
In two minutes flat he had cleaned out the case and the drawer. Oh,
wouldn’t Jeremiah be pleased!

Slowly he rose from his position on
the lookout for witnesses. Neither front desk girl was looking his
way. Breathing a sigh of relief, he stood fully. Straightening his
coat, he sidled out from behind the counter. Exiting the store with
gift shop bag in hand, he controlled his pace, careful not to draw
attention to himself. Despite the hammer of pulse, he knew no one
would give him a second glance if he strolled out of here at a
leisurely pace. No direct eye contact, he kept watch from the
corner of his eye. The helpful cashier girl would be back any
second. His job was to be gone.

“
We’ve been
robbed!”

Malcolm Ward bolted from his seat in
the manager’s office. While hidden from public view, it didn’t
prevent him from hearing what went on at the front desk. Rounding
the corner, he demanded, “What’s going on?”

The gift shop attendant stood shaking,
her doe eyes pricked by fear. “All the jewelry is gone.”

“
Gone?” Malcolm hated to
press the girl when she was obviously distraught, but he needed
answers. “What do you mean, gone?”

“
Gone,” she replied. Her
lower lip began to quiver. Tears swam into her lower lids. “It’s
been stolen.”

Anger split Malcolm straight down his
middle, but he held his temper. The front desk clerks stood like
statues by his side, neither daring to say a word.
“Stolen?”

She nodded.

“
Do you know who did
this?”

“
I think so.” Glancing
sideways, she said, “There was a man in the shop. He was looking at
a pendant. He spilled his drink and I ran to the spa to get towel
and when I came back—”

“
The pendants were gone,”
Malcolm finished for her.

She bit down on her lip and
nodded.

“
How many did he
get?”

“
All of them.”

Damn it
! Malcolm muttered under his breath, striding to the gift
shop to look for himself. Sure enough, the case was clean, a few
empty blue velvet boxes scattered about the floor, soaking up a
mess of spilled soda. The open drawers tangled insult and injury in
his gut. The girl couldn’t have been gone that long. Whoever did
this knew what they were doing. They understood they had to get in
and get out and knew how to do so without igniting
suspicion.

Walking back to the front desk,
Malcolm asked, “Did the guy give you a name?” The girl shook her
head. “Could you identify him if you saw him again?”

“
I think so,” she
murmured. Tears were streaming down her face, streaking her cheeks
with runny lines of black mascara.

Turning to the young women behind the
front desk, he asked, “Did either of you see anything?”

The older blonde replied, “I saw a
dark-haired man walk out. He seemed normal enough...”

The second clerk chimed in, “I saw
him, too. He was carrying a gift shop bag,” she added, visibly
fearful the words were a condemnation of her friend. “He had a
beard.”

“
Am I fired?” the girl
asked.

“
No, “Malcolm said
automatically, upset with himself for losing his cool. When the
boss lost it, the staff quickly followed. “You did nothing wrong.
But I will need you to make a statement to the police.” The police.
The minute he uttered the word he regretted the need to call them.
After what that officer put Delaney through, Malcolm had little
expectation for better treatment though he damn well was going to
push for it. Hotel Ladd had been robbed. It was a crime that would
not go unpunished.

Cal did his best to keep focus on the
road. The drive home was only an hour, but he couldn’t keep his
eyes off her. Emily was beautiful. The changes over the past year
and a half were incredible. No longer a young girl, she had the
look a teenager. Her blonde hair had lost its curl, straightened
with the telltale precision of flat irons Annie used so frequently
these days in her salon. Emily didn’t wear makeup, save a small
gloss on her lips, yet the pink shade made her mouth pop against
her fair skin. The sight tugged at his heart every time she smiled.
No longer sullen and angry, Emily seemed to skipping on clouds. She
was bright and eager and talkative, wielding an impressive
vocabulary for a twelve-year-old.

Twelve. Emily had turned
twelve last month, and while he wished he could have been there to
celebrate with her, he had the next best thing. It was a gift for
her. Cal had one of the wishing well pendants from the hotel store
engraved with her name and adorned with tiny diamonds. He wanted it
to sparkle and dazzle. He wanted his daughter to love it. It being
the first piece of jewelry she received from her father. Her daddy.
That’s what she had called him when she walked off the
plane.
Hello, Daddy
.

“
How much farther?” she
asked.

“
We’re almost there,” he
told her, excited for Emily to meet Annie. He’d texted her when
they left the airport so she’d know when to expect them. Cal had
wanted Casey and Troy and the baby to be there when they arrived
home, but Annie declined.
Slow and easy
wins the race, Cal
.

Cal smiled to himself. His wife was so
much like him.

Emily turned in her seat. “Do you
think we can go horse-back riding, sometime?”

“
We can go every day, if
you’d like.”

“
Really?” Her brown eyes
rounded. “I’d
love
to go every day!”

He laughed. “My Daddy is gonna love
you!”

“
Does he like horses,
too?”

“
Sure does. Owns a ranch
full of them!”

Funny how Cal hadn’t talked much about
his family while living in Arizona. Looking back, it seemed like
he’d been living in a cocoon. He had Caroline and Emily, a job that
he enjoyed. There had been no reason to talk about Tennessee other
than in terms of “one day.” One day we’ll spend a summer there. One
day we’ll visit the family. But that “one day” never materialized.
Other than a brief visit when Emily was a year old, Cal and
Caroline had been content to spend their time in Arizona. They took
long weekends in the mountains, picnics along the rivers. Her
parents lived nearby. It seemed enough at the time.

“
It’s so beautiful around
here,” Emily said with a sigh, gazing at the landscape like she was
star-struck. “There are so many trees.”

Glancing at Emily, he
soaked in her enthusiasm. He loved that she loved the landscape,
but it wasn’t enough anymore. Cal wanted Emily to
know
Tennessee. His
home. Her family. This was the land of her ancestors, these were
her roots. Pulling into the driveway for his and Annie’s home, he
thought, his family tree might have its share of gnarled roots but
they were his—hers. They were family. “Wait until you see the
house,” he said. “It’s smack dab in the middle of
forest!”

Winding through the woods, the drive
opened and Emily blew out her breath and pointed. “Oh my gosh! Is
that where you live?” He nodded. “It looks like a picture from a
magazine.”

Cal considered the observation,
relived the months of construction, the miscellany of decision
after decision. Annie had always wanted cathedral ceilings, the
higher the better, as she claimed living in her apartment had felt
like living in a box. It was a feature he was willing to oblige,
allowing him to incorporate the walls of windows to open their home
to nature. He had insisted on the stone façade out front because he
felt it gave the house a feel of strength, impregnable, like a
man’s castle should be. Azalea bushes lined the front porch, a wide
covered patio wrapped around the entire house. In the spring, when
all the blooms were blazing, that was the place they wanted to sit,
looking forward to watching Cassidy laugh and play. But it wasn’t
only Cassidy they were looking forward to watch grow up. They hoped
Emily would share her life with them, too. “We had it built special
for us, including a room especially for you.”

“
There is?” she asked, her
mouth agape.

Pleasure coursed through him. “Sure
is. Annie had it decorated with all your favorite things.” Gently
tapping the brake, he said, “And there she is.”

Annie walked out of the house and
stood waiting on the front porch. But rather than tossing out the
welcome mat with a warm and friendly smile, she look pained, rigid.
Rounding the circular drive, Cal detected angst in her smile. Was
something wrong?

“
Is that her?” Emily
asked, her voice soft but eager. “Is that your new
wife?”

“
Yes,” he murmured in
reply, fighting the ramp of nerves in his gut. “That’s
Annie.”

“
She’s so
pretty.”

“
Thanks,” he replied
absently. Throwing the gear into park, Cal pushed out his door and
rounded the hood. “Everything all right?” he asked Annie. She
nodded, her gaze tightly encircling his daughter, Emily.

Cal opened the passenger door and
helped Emily hop down from her seat. She straightened her cropped
jean jacket over her emerald green T-shirt, ran a hand down her
matching floral-patterned skirt, then swept the straight blonde
hair over her shoulders where it fell midway down her back. Annie
walked down the steps and straight to Emily. Thankfully, whatever
had been eating her seemed to be forgotten as she reached out a
hand. A smile formed on her lips. “Emily, so nice to finally meet
you.”

“
Hi.”

Cupping both hands around Emily’s one,
Annie drew her near. “I love your outfit,” she said, flashing a
glance to Cal.

“
Thanks.” Emily accepted
the compliment easily.

“
How was your first drive
through Tennessee?”

“
Great. It’s really pretty
here.”

“
It sure is,” Cal agreed,
and grabbed his daughter’s suitcase from the backseat. Heading
inside, Annie and Emily followed. “And you’re going to see a lot
more of it,” Cal said over Emily’s head, searching for signs from
Annie as to her earlier discomfort.

Responding with a
brief,
we need to talk
look, Annie asked Emily, “Do you like horses?”

“
I love them! My dad says
we can go riding. Can we?” she asked Annie, as if accustomed to
checking with the female head of household before all was said and
done.

“
We sure can. Do you ride
back home?”

Cal opened the door and set Emily’s
luggage by the staircase as she and Annie continued talking horses.
Reflexively, he glanced around the living room. Everything seemed
to be in order. He would have preferred conducting a full search,
on account of Jeremiah being in town, but that would be overkill.
No sense in worrying Annie about the possibility of trouble. Best
to wait until there was something to worry about.

“
Are you thirsty? Would
you care for something to drink?” Annie asked Emily.

“
No, thanks. I’m fine. I
ate dinner on the flight over.”

Annie sat, offering Emily a place
beside her on the sofa cushion. Cal thought she appeared okay, but
he could tell there was something working behind those blue eyes of
hers. Something she wanted to share but clearly could not. He
wanted to take her for a detour in the kitchen, probe Annie about
what was going on, but this was Emily’s first visit. A visit he
wanted to go well, smooth as a hay field swaying in a summer
breeze. So Cal took a seat on an adjacent sofa and stuffed his
concern in a back compartment, concentrating on his girls. There’d
be time enough later for a private interrogation.