Losing Ladd (5 page)

“
An old
friend.”

She sat expectantly, waiting for him
to elaborate. Jack wasn’t going to go into detail but figured a
little couldn’t hurt. She didn’t know the man. “That’s Jeremiah
Ladd. Delaney’s cousin.”

“
Ah...” she responded.
Raising her glass ever so slowly, Jillian brought it to her lips
and took the smallest sip, hardly leaving a lipstick mark. Setting
it down, she looked to Jack. “You knew him growing up?”

“
Sure did. We hung
out—when he wasn’t hanging around Delaney, that is.”

“
Kissing cousins?” she
asked, a hint of mockery in her bronze gaze.

“
No, nothing like that.
Delaney was a Tomboy and Jeremiah close in age. They lived on the
same property, so it made sense they’d spend a lot of time
together. We all hung out together in high school.”

“
I see.”

Jack wasn’t convinced that she did,
but at the moment he didn’t care. He only had one thing on his mind
when it came to Jillian Devane. “So where are you
staying?”

Jillian pursed her glossy tawny lips,
the move causing a tingle in his loins. “Is that an
invitation?”

“
You know you have a
standing invitation, doll.”

She smiled. “I thought I’d check in to
the new hotel.”

“
Pretty brazen move, don’t
you think?”

Jillian raised her glass to him and
replied, “Do you not think I will be welcome?”

“
I do not, but I doubt
that will stop you.”

She winked, and sipped. “It
won’t.”

Chapter Four

Delaney closed the door to her office.
Walking back to her desk, phone at her ear, she said, “There’s
still no sign of the horses, Cal. I’m afraid they might have been
picked up.”

“
Let’s hope not, but I
hear what you’re saying.”

“
I was hoping you could
give Beau a call. Put the word out in case any of them show up.”
Delaney didn’t want to think the worst but facts were facts. Blue
had not surfaced and she of all horses knew her way around this
land. If she was gone, it might be due to foul play. Beau Foster
was Cal’s brother and head man over at Misty Mountain Ranch. Cal’s
family bred horses and knew the players in the industry. If someone
picked up the horses and tried to sell them, Beau could find
out.

Unless of course the person
responsible kept the animals for themselves.

“
No problem,” Cal replied.
“As soon as we hang up, I’ll give him a ring. Besides Blue, how
many others are you missing?”

“
At this point only Blue
and Spirit.” The two animals that meant the most to Felicity and
Troy. “We found the others in the forest, on the back side of the
stables.”

“
Okay, and
Delaney—”

“
Yes?”

“
Don’t give up. We’ll find
those horses.”

She heaved a sigh and rolled her gaze
through the plate-glass window, where a view of a stable full of
horses served as constant reminder. The lengthy corridor cut
between two dozen stalls housing quality horses. Most were new to
Delaney but Cal understood the implications. Felicity’s horse had
been with her since grade school and Spirit...well, Spirit was
fast-becoming Troy’s professional salvation. Delaney didn’t want to
lose either animal, but the loss would hit her kids hardest. Her
kids. Troy was like one of her own. A kid who’d had a rough go of
it lately, the only bright spot being the birth of his daughter,
Cassidy Jo Grace. “Thanks, Cal.”

Ending the call, memories of the
emergency delivery in the barn pulled warm feelings of pride. Casey
had gone into labor two months premature and Troy had saved the
day, single-handedly delivering his child amongst the hay and dust.
Fortunately Cassidy was healthy and happy, coming home from the
hospital after only a few weeks. Delaney shook her head. Troy was
amazing. There was no other word to describe him. But his hardships
weren’t over. Jack continued to press forward with his phony
charges of assault, jeopardizing Troy’s freedom. If she couldn’t
convince a judge and jury that Troy had only attacked Jack in the
act of defending her, he would go to jail.

For a very long time.

A tremor raced through
her, but Delaney shook it off. Wasn’t gonna happen. Jack was a liar
and he would not prevail. Gavin Shore might not have given her an
open-minded reception when she tried to give her statement about
Jack’s attack, but a jury would. They’d hear every word she had to
say, provided Jack didn’t drop this stunt of his beforehand.
Delaney scooped the day’s schedule from her desk and perused it. A
good chunk of her believed dropping the case was his plan, going to
trial a ruse. He had no intention of going through with it because
he knew he would lose. Doubt fluttered in her belly.
He had to lose
. Too much
was riding on it.

Checking the time, she plunked the
schedule back to her desk and left the office. She only had an hour
between now and the first ride, and she had yet to check in on
Albert. Since Uncle Ernie died, Albert had no one to look after
him. Not that he did a whole heck of a lot to “look after,” but
Delaney swore the man wouldn’t eat if someone didn’t set a plate of
food in front of him. Blowing strands of hair from her face, she
set out for the trail to his place. Nick had a small cabin built
for Albert near the river restaurant, accessible by a small winding
road and wooded trails for those who knew their way around the
property. Albert spent most of his time sitting on a front porch
rocker, watching the water as it rushed over and around the
boulders. When he wasn’t outside, he was indoors watching the cable
television Nick had installed. It was a lonely existence but one
Albert insisted he enjoyed. Mentally preparing herself for the
endless conversation about squirrels and trees, she entered the
forest and headed downhill for her “visit.”

Cal dialed the number for his family’s
ranch, calculating the odds of someone running off with Blue and
Spirit. He doubted either happened. Spirit was too cagey to allow
anyone near him—anyone but Troy—and Blue was as loyal to Felicity
as the stripes on a flag. No one had ridden the horse but Felicity,
and Cal would bet no one would ride her now. Like Delaney said,
Blue knew this land. She could escape a horse thief without
effort.

“
Misty Mountain
Ranch.”

“
Beau, it’s
Cal.”

“
Hey, Cal. What’s
up?”

“
Nothing good at the
moment.”

“
Come again?”

“
We’ve had a problem here
at the hotel. Someone unlocked our horse stalls setting loose the
animals.”

“
What
? You’re kidding?”

“
Wish I was. We’ve found
most of them but two are still on the run and I need your
help.”

“
Name it.”

“
I want you to be on the
lookout for two Quarter Horses, a dark brown stallion about
eighteen hands and a black mare approximately
sixteen-five.”

“
Will do.”

“
Delaney seems to think
someone might try to sell them.”

“
But you’re not so
sure.”

“
I’m not sure they’re
gone. One of them belongs to Felicity and knows the land. The other
hasn’t been mounted in two years and I doubt that will change with
a stranger.”

“
Gotcha. Either way, I’ll
keep my eyes open, make a few phone calls.”

“
Thanks.” Cal paused. Beau
was a good man. Faithful, smart, a horseman to the bone. He ran the
ranch for Daddy and did a damn fine job. Cal’s other brother,
Clint, worked at the bank alongside their father. Daddy was
grooming him to take over in a few years, maybe sooner. The way
Jack and Momma were causing friction, Gerald Foster might up and
retire tomorrow to escape the town scrutiny. Daddy was a fine man,
a decent man. But he wasn’t above falling victim to his past, a
past his wife seemed determined to unearth and throw in his face.
“How’s Daddy?” Cal asked.

“
Hanging in there, but
with the trial barely two weeks away, Momma is packing heat like a
wildcat, lickin’ her chops for the kill.”

“
What’s Daddy
say?”

“
Nothing much. He’s been
pretty quiet, pensive. I’m afraid this might be the end of their
marriage, if she keeps pushing.”

Cal agreed. Victoria
Foster was a proud woman, a society woman, but she was acting
anything
but
these days. Cal chalked it up to Jack’s seedy influence. He
was her youngest, her baby, and she was using his problems with
Delaney to dig up problems of her own, rehashing a past affair that
had no bearing on her present-day life and family—other than what
she was creating out of thin air. Susannah Ladd and Gerald Foster
had been an item in high school. High School. Over forty years ago
they shared feelings for one another and for some reason, Cal’s
mother was letting those old feelings tear her family
apart.

But the more serious concern remained
Troy. If Jack was successful at trial, Troy’s life would end. A new
baby, a new wife, a promising career at Hotel Ladd would all be
sucked away.

It was criminal what Jack was doing.
Raping and plundering all over again. Cal had been there the night
of the assault. He’d seen Delaney, witnessed the fear and shock in
her eyes. Troy had jumped in and saved her from a horrible fate.
Two, in fact. Attempted rape and her near killing of the man. Cal
clenched his jaw as anger knotted in his gut. Would have served
Jack right, treating a woman like that.

“
Let’s hope Jack comes to
his senses before it’s too late,” Cal said. When Beau didn’t
respond, he added, “Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking.”

“
Whatever, I’m here for
you brother.”

“
Thanks. We’ll talk
soon?”

“
You got it,” Beau
replied.

As Cal ended the call, he glanced
around the hotel manager’s office. Small, private, located off the
front desk in the hotel lobby, this space had become his lifeline,
his salvation. Leaving Arizona one year ago with nothing to his
name but a bank account, Cal had returned to Tennessee to start
over. He’d come home to prove himself worthy of his daughter’s
love. Newspaper headlines lit up in his mind’s eye, dragging him
back to those dark days of the accident, the lives he changed,
irrevocably marring them forever. Cal had crashed his truck into
another man’s car because his reflexes were slowed. It had been
raining, but not hard enough he couldn’t see. He’d missed seeing
the other car because he’d been drinking.

A man had lost the use of his legs
because of Cal. His family had faced near financial ruin because of
Cal. Didn’t matter that Cal tried to help out by offering money.
They didn’t want his help. They wanted nothing to do with him. Same
as Cal’s daughter and wife. Despite the fact he gave up the bottle,
his family had cut him from their lives.

But that had all changed when Malcolm
Ward offered him the position as General Manager of the new Hotel
Ladd. More than redemption and the chance to prove himself to his
ex-wife Caroline, his daughter Emily, this job gave him purpose.
Then he married Annie and his world grew more complete. They built
a home together, forged by a bond strong enough to heal the past.
Emily was on the road to forgiveness. With his ex-wife’s help, Cal
was going to see his daughter this afternoon for the first time in
almost two years. Ribbons of nervous anticipation threaded through
his belly. She was coming to visit him and Annie in their new home.
If things went well, she’d be able to spend summers with him in the
future.

Cal couldn’t give voice to the
gratitude he felt. Without a sense of purpose, the love of family,
a man could be reduced to self-destruction. Troy faced the same
battle. Drinking had cost him more than one job and nearly cost him
his life with Casey. But like Cal, he’d given up the whiskey and
focused on family. With the threat of criminal conviction hanging
over his head, the missing horse that he’d worked so hard to
retrain, Cal feared Troy might fall hopeless and give up. Cal had
been there himself. Soon after the accident, he’d been tempted to
hit the bottle. He’d been tempted to give up. Only thoughts of
Emily kept him sober. With a looming trial and without a job with
the horses he loved, Troy had no purpose to his days. Sure, he had
a wife and daughter to care for, but a man needed more. He needed
to provide for his family. He needed to be strong,
reliable.

He needed to be needed.

Chapter Five

Travis took the lead for the morning
search, intent on finding the animals before Felicity became
totally unstitched. All evening she’d been consumed with the loss
of her mare, a loss they didn’t even know for sure was the case.
She hardly touched her food during dinner, barely said a word
afterword. Even when he left her house, the peck to his cheek felt
like a bullet to his skin. Probably didn’t sleep a wink by the
looks of the bluish-black marks beneath her eyes, made worse by the
navy blue of her shirt. It was unusual to see her look anything but
fresh and bright, yet today she looked tired and worn.