Losing Ladd (3 page)

It didn’t. He’d heard the rumors.
People talked. They whispered. Didn’t change anything about who
Felicity was today. He was only surprised she hadn’t heard the talk
before. But she’d heard the women that night and totally went off
on her mother, reaming her a new one after he’d dropped Felicity
off at the cabin. Travis heard them arguing before he made it down
the porch steps and felt bad. It wasn’t Miss Delaney’s fault that
her husband was a jerk, but Felicity didn’t see it that way. She
was mad because her mother never told her, that she had to find it
out from strangers.

Strangers that were
family. Travis could understand why Miss Delaney didn’t say
anything. How do you tell a kid her daddy’s a monster? Then, as if
his past transgressions weren’t bad enough, the guy attacked her
mom in the stables one night, and that’s when Felicity woke up. She
turned on
him
,
forgiving her mother completely. Only Jack Foster decided to pin
the crime of assault on his brother, because Troy happened to be in
the stables and jumped and saved Miss Delaney.

“
Travis, if we don’t find
Blue I don’t know what I’ll do.”

He placed an arm around her narrow
shoulders and pulled her close. “Don’t worry. We’ll find
her.”

“
Do you think Jeremiah did
this?”

“
Don’t know. But what I do
know is that if it was him, we’ll figure it out.”

“
How?”

The way he did everything. Clues.
Research. Fit the pieces of the puzzle together. “We’ll gather
evidence. Whoever did it had to leave fingerprints behind. A hair
sample, something.”

Bodies bumping as they walked in close
contact, Felicity glanced up at him. “I don’t think my mom will
call the police.”

“
Why not?”

“
If she didn’t call it
after being attacked, I doubt she’ll call them now. Especially
after the way they treated her.”

Travis nodded. Felicity might have a
point there. Apparently Officer Gavin Shore didn’t give Felicity’s
mom a warm welcome when she went down to the police station to give
her statement. Of course, her ex-husband had already been there and
filled the man’s head with lies but still, that was his job. Gavin
Shore was officer of the law, sworn to uphold The Constitution.
Whether he believed her or not, whether he liked her or not,
Officer Shore should have treated her with respect and dutifully
taken her statement. The fact that he didn’t could work against him
in a court of law, a fact Travis had tried to explain to Felicity
at the time.

But she didn’t understand things like
he did. She was an artist, a flutist. She dealt in feelings and
rhythm. Not Travis. He dealt in facts and logic. He was going to be
a lawyer. He was going to be the man who defended the wrongly
accused. Even if it included the likes of his brother, who in this
case happened to be innocent. While he didn’t approve of Troy’s
choice not to attend college, or his actions that knocked up his
girlfriend, the two having a baby out of wedlock, Travis didn’t
want to see Troy convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.

Entering a wooded section of the
property, Travis and Felicity headed off the main trail. He
welcomed the shade, brushing the moisture from his upper lip. This
was a shortcut through the original Ladd homestead, leading to the
old stables Felicity and her mom used before Nick Harris built the
new ones. Mr. Harris was the man who owned and built the hotel,
transforming the natural beauty of Ladd Springs into a luxury
retreat for wealthy guests from around the world. Specializing in
“green” development, he made a business of carving properties into
the land, incorporating his hotels into the landscape so guests
could feel at one with the nature of their surroundings. While Mr.
Harris didn’t actually own Ladd Springs, leasing the right to use
the land for his hotel from Felicity, he married Delaney’s mom,
which made him family. Felicity had received title to the property
after her Uncle Ernie signed it over prior to his
passing.

But she didn’t own all of it. Her mom
had her sign over half the property to Troy’s wife, Casey.
Apparently Casey was Jeremiah’s daughter from a relationship he had
in high school. Her mother had finally been able to prove the point
when they hauled Jeremiah off to jail, making it real convenient to
court-order a DNA sample. And when the results came back positive,
the matter was settled. Casey deserved half because she was kin.
Family.

Travis didn’t care for Casey or her
mother. He thought it greedy of them to fight for the land in the
first place, but Miss Delaney saw it differently, and hers was the
opinion that counted with Felicity. Not like anyone would argue
with her. Miss Delaney was a kind woman, but she was a tough
one.

“
Blue!” Felicity called
out randomly. Moving a branch from her path, she yelled again,
“Blue!”

Travis followed close behind,
trampling over underbrush as he scanned the sea of leaves and tree
trunks. Blue wouldn’t be in this area. The foliage was too
dense.

Felicity cupped hands to her mouth and
called out for the horse again.

“
She’s probably hanging by
the stables,” Travis said, “eating old feed from the
ground.”

“
Blue wouldn’t eat stale
food,” Felicity huffed.

“
Animals don’t care if
it’s stale. If they can smell it, they’re gonna eat it.”

Felicity stomped on a dead branch on
the ground. The loud crack seemed to underscore her displeasure
with him. Travis raised his brow. Was there anything he could do
right these days?

Ahead, Travis detected the first sign
of the old stables, the outline of black-brown decayed wood and
sagging tin roof just beyond a group of tightly packed trees. He
could almost smell the rotting structure from here. Felicity walked
faster as they neared the stables, heedless to the boulders in her
way. “Blue?” she hollered, leaping over the side of a huge rock,
its gray surface covered with patches of white fungus. “Blue? Are
you here?”

Scrambling over a fallen tree,
Felicity hurried to the structure. A rusted-out wheel barrow was
parked to one side, a busted fence post stood feet from the
entrance. The place reeked of wet mold and mildew, mixed with the
dank scent of rotting leaves.

Felicity dashed into the stable, then
darted out just as quick. “She’s not here.”

Her crestfallen expression tore at
Travis. “Maybe she’s farther up, toward the cabin.”

Felicity turned, took a few steps in
that direction and murmured, “I don’t see her.”

“
She’s probably behind a
tree,” he suggested.

Trailing Felicity’s steps, Travis
tracked her all the way to the trail opening, the one that led to
Ernie’s old cabin and a small clearing that marked the trail up to
her mother’s place. No Blue. “Where else could she be?”

Travis came to a stop by Felicity’s
side, hating the heartbreak in her eyes. “A hundred places,” he
replied. “Maybe she’s down by the river. If I were her, that’s
where I’d go on a hot day like this.”

Where Travis intended the comment to
lighten the mood, his remark resulted in the opposite. “Not by
herself. She’s never ventured that far without me.”

Part of him agreed. Before the hotel
stables were built, Felicity and her mom would let the horses
loose, allowing them free grazing in the open pastures. Most of the
time, that’s where he and Felicity would find them when they went
looking to ride. Occasionally the animals would hang out in the
woods, preferring shade to the heat of the sun. Never once did they
find them by the river. Placing hands to her shoulders, Travis
looked her in the eye, willing her to believe him. “Blue is okay.
We’ll find her.”

“
How many horses have you
recovered?” Nick Harris asked as he strode into the stable office.
An air of quiet confidence flowed in around him, filling Delaney’s
working space with his masculine presence. Standing six-four in
boots, his long legs rising into a tapered waist and broad
shoulders, Delaney felt the weight of her concern lift. Where she
once considered his black eyes swarthy and suspicious, she now
found them attractive and soothing. When Nick walked into a room,
it felt like he was lifting whatever ailed her at the moment. “Two.
An Appaloosa and a Quarter Horse.”

“
The new one?”

She shook her head. “Troy’s out
looking for him now.”

“
Good,” he said and
circled her desk. Taking her hand, he pulled her from her chair
enfolding her in a hug. Delaney melted into the hard lean line of
his body, immersed herself in the woodsy spice of his cologne. She
didn’t consider herself a weak, needy woman, but next to Nick, she
felt every ounce of her femininity.

Kissing the top of her head, he said,
“I talked to Malcolm.”

“
And?” she asked, pulling
away.

“
He’s going to call his
pal in Vegas and find out who paid the marker for
Jeremiah.”

“
Do you still think
Jillian had something to do with it?”

“
Damn straight I think she
had something to do with it, and as soon as Malcolm calls his man,
we’ll know for sure.”

Delaney hated to utter the woman’s
name, but it did seem she was the most likely culprit. A vixen of
the highest degree, she’d already proven herself capable of such
tactics. Nick’s jilted ex-lover, hotel developer Jillian Devane,
wanted nothing more than to see their lives filled with misery. It
seemed like her life’s calling had turned from building hotels to
exacting revenge against Nick and Delaney. One phone call from Nick
had iced her first attempt. Her last had been spoiled by none other
than Annie Owens.

Jillian had tried to purchase Casey’s
half of Ladd Springs. Annie had tried to negotiate a sale so she
and Casey could get their hands on the money, but reneged on the
deal before closing. Seems Annie realized there was more to
happiness than dollar signs, a lesson learned with the help of one
Cal Foster. Jillian had been livid to hear she would not have the
pleasure of ruining Harris Hotels from the comfort of the adjoining
property and left town in a huff.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop the
threats. And there was only one person who could pay fifty thousand
dollars on Jeremiah’s behalf—one person with a motive. Jillian
Devane. Delaney swallowed back a rush of nerves. “What are you
going to do if it was her?” she asked, battling a slew of mixed
emotion.

Anger thrashed in the black of his
gaze. The lines around his mouth hardened. “I’m going to make her
wish she’d stayed in Brazil.”

“
You don’t think she’s
coming here, do you?” Jillian was the last person Delaney wanted to
see in Tennessee. Jillian Devane once held an attraction for her
husband. Despite her tendency for revenge and cutthroat business
dealings, Jillian had the looks and body that didn’t quit. Delaney
didn’t consider herself an insecure woman, but putting Nick and
Jillian in the same room might remind him of why they’d gotten
together in the first place! After all, Jillian had tried to seduce
Troy the last time she was in town. Why not take another swing at
Nick?

Nick looked away, his gaze drifting
through the pane-glass window and into the stables. “If she did
have something to do with Jeremiah’s release, she can’t be far
behind.”

“
But how could she know
about Jeremiah? She never met him. Not that I don’t trust you, but
that part still doesn’t make sense.”

Nick turned back to her, his face
devoid of pleasure. “Jillian has her ways. She’s not a woman to be
underestimated. And until she gets her revenge, she’ll use whatever
means necessary to do so.”

Gets her
revenge
. On Nick. On them. Delaney glanced
around the office, the stables beyond, her mind filled with
horrific thoughts of flames and destruction. In the past, Jillian
had chosen fire as the method to exact her revenge on a rival
hotel. Delaney gulped. Would she do so again?

Chapter Three

Jack Foster pushed in through the
front door of Whiskey Joe’s bar in need of a drink. Twiddling his
thumbs as he waited for his trial against Troy Parker was not his
idea of fun, but his mother insisted he stay in town for trial
prep. The attorney she hired out of Nashville had a busy schedule
and Jack needed to be available. At the guy’s whim, he mused
sourly. The man might be decent when it came to a courtroom, but he
was arrogant, refusing to give Jack more than an hour’s notice when
he or one of his people were in town to work on the case. Usually
one of his peons. Too busy for menial evidence collection himself,
the guy had only made two appearances, one in the beginning for a
quick meet and greet and one a week ago, at his mother’s behest.
She wanted to firm things up, make sure there weren’t any loose
ends that needed tying—around Troy’s throat.

During the meeting, the
guy had the gall to try and convince Jack to drop the charges, on
account of it was a “he said-she said” deal with two against one,
compounded by the fact Delaney and Troy were longstanding members
of the community.
And he
wasn’t
? Living in Nashville for the last
ten years didn’t negate the value of his family’s reputation in
town. Jack’s daddy owned the biggest bank for a hundred miles and
their ranch was the finest three counties wide. If that didn’t
equate to upstanding member of the community Jack didn’t know what
did. Especially against a kid with a troubled past.