Ladd Fortune (3 page)

Annie took a step backward, as though
hit by an unseen force of intense magnitude. “?”

“
I had to, Annie! They were
stealing the property clear out from under your feet and I had to
stop them! You said so yourself, didn’t you? You threatened to call
Jeremiah. You told Delaney you’d let him know what she was
doing.”

“
I told Delaney that I’d
call him to scare her, Candi. I never intended to go through with
it!

Candi’s eyes rounded—froze—like a deer
caught by a flash of headlights. “You didn’t?”

Annie fell against the counter. “I
didn’t.”

“
Oh, no... I’m sorry, Annie.
I was just trying to help and now I’ve made a mess of things! I
only wanted you to have a chance to work with Jeremiah, to get the
property for Casey. She deserves her part of it and well, you do
too, and I...” Candi’s hand fell from the bowl, dropping her
explanation like an overheated flat iron. “I thought it would help
you and Casey.”

Staring at her friend, Annie thought
“mess” was only the beginning of how she’d describe Jeremiah Ladd’s
presence in town. He was here. Because Candi called him. Bringing a
hand to her forehead, Annie groaned. What must he think? Would he
assume that she put Candi up to it? Would he think she did it to
force him to claim Casey as his own?

Annie sharpened her focus and latched
onto Candi. “Tell me everything you said. Everything, Candi—don’t
leave a single word out.”

Chapter Two

Delaney Wilkin's hands trembled as she
sat huddled around her kitchen island with Nick Harris and Malcolm
Ward, Nick’s partner in Harris Hotels. The piece of paper was one
document out of hundreds she’d collected, but it was perhaps the
most important one. It was a copy of the title to Ladd Springs—the
very same Ladd Springs that she feared might now be in jeopardy.
“What am I going to do if Jeremiah comes back and contests Ernie’s
life estate deed? What recourse will I have?” She homed in on Nick,
hotel developer and the man instrumental in helping her secure
title to Ladd Springs for her and her daughter, Felicity. This land
was their home, their legacy, but now she and Felicity stood to
lose it all.

Because of Jeremiah Ladd. Because of
Annie Owens.

Nick smiled, the confidence in his dark
brown eyes quieting her angst, much like his dimples. They reminded
her of more friendly times, times when her future didn’t hang in
the balance. Nick was a man of calm, a man of strength under
pressure. From his formidable six-foot-four stature to his
determined, steady gaze, he’d know how to make this right. “When
there’s a lawyer involved,” he said, “you always have
recourse.”

“
But what? Jeremiah’s as
entitled to Ladd Springs as I am. His father, my mother…” Delaney
didn’t want to think about the repercussions of her cousin’s
presence, but she had to—she might have to go up against him in
court. And while she hadn’t seen Jeremiah since they were
teenagers, she remembered one thing about him. One very important
thing. Jeremiah Ladd was a man who cared little about the
consequences of his actions.

Nick reached over and took
the paper from her. Securing her hands within his, he was her rock.
Strong. Steady. Fearless. Everything she didn’t feel at the moment.
“Don't
worry
,
Delaney. Jeremiah doesn’t have a stake in this claim. Your uncle
was sole owner and he signed this property over to Felicity. I
intend to see that it stays that way.”

Delaney wanted to believe him, wanted
to believe it would happen, that she would keep Ladd Springs,
but... She dropped her gaze to the papers strewn about the butcher
block surface, a miscellany of warranty deeds, tax bills, any shred
of paper bearing the Ladd name that she could get her hands on.
She’d collected as much information as she possibly could on the
property, dating back to the turn of the century, searching for
clues as to how Jeremiah might possibly take it from her. Like a
Swiss watch, the hands of time ticked through the line of
ownership, recording generation by generation, each and every name
a Ladd. But Jeremiah’s name was nowhere to be found.

“
I agree with Nick,” Malcolm
said. “You’re in good shape.”

Peering at him, Delaney thought his sky
blue eyes cradled a gentle intelligence. Wisdom. Malcolm’s appeal
was softer than Nick’s rugged, swarthy looks. Malcolm was elegance
in the male form, sophistication, grace and aplomb. His tanned
complexion was smooth and refined, his body lean, like a runner’s.
Add the shock of white-gray hair on his head and you had the yin
and yang in men. Black and white. Lion and lamb.

“
Challenging a life estate
deed is tough,” Malcolm said. “Your cousin would have to contest
the validity of the deed, prove that your uncle did not have
authority to sign over the property, or that he was coerced in some
way.”

Delaney rustled through the papers, as
though the answer lay buried within them. “But Annie said it was in
the fine print. I’ve read through every document—twice. I don’t see
anything written by Grandpa Ladd that says Jeremiah has rights to
the property.”

Nick cocked a brow. “It’s not a wonder,
the way you Ladds write contracts.”

Delaney assumed he was referring to the
deathbed promise Ernie had penned for his sister, Susannah, the one
swearing he would give Delaney rights to Ladd Springs. Fear zipped
through her stomach. “But Annie said it was here. I’d lose the
title because I overlooked the fine print.” She pushed at the
papers and said, “I don’t see it!”

“
Have you considered the
possibility that Annie was bluffing?” Nick asked.

“
Bluffing?” Delaney scoffed.
Annie Owens was a lot of things, but a poker player was not among
them. “She’s not that smart.”

“
You don’t care for her
much,” Nick observed, a question lingering in his voice. Malcolm
seemed interested in her answer as well.

Delaney sat back on a wooden saddle
stool, one of four placed around her kitchen island. Pulling a
bare-footed heel up to the curved seat, she wrapped her arms around
her leg and rested chin to knee. “I don’t,” she said. “Though it’s
funny...when we were young, we used to be good friends.”

“
What happened?”

Delaney’s mind ripped through the past,
their cat fights with regard to boys, the petty jealousy...
Jeremiah had been a good-looking, scrappy kinda boy when they were
growing up which drew the eye of the girls. Delaney took him for
granted. He was her cousin, her constant playmate and the last boy
on earth she’d ever be interested in. Jeremiah had been hardened by
his father, and the shell he’d built around himself was
impenetrable. He’d take risks that would take her breath away, like
the time he jumped off a rocky ledge into the river below, not
knowing how deep the waters ran before taking the plunge. He could
have been killed, but instead broke through the surface with a whip
of blond hair and a raging smile. “Your turn!” he’d
hollered.

“
Not on your life!” she’d
told him—on more than one occasion. She’d stick to horse-back
riding and mountain hikes and leave the cliff-diving to
him.

“
Annie had a thing for
Jeremiah,” Delaney said. “For as long as anyone could remember, she
pined away but he didn’t know she was alive. And if he did, he
could of cared less. Until she threw herself at him in high school,
that is.”

“
And I’m assuming he did
what every hot-blooded teenage boy would do,” Nick said.

Delaney nodded. “She gave herself to
him and he took full advantage. She claims that Casey is
Jeremiah’s.”

“
Is she?” Malcolm asked, as
if alerted to a new wrinkle in their plans.

With a shrug, Delaney replied, “Who
knows? There were rumors she was sleeping with Clem at the time,
too.”

“
Clem Sweeney?” Nick asked,
his demeanor jolted by the revelation.

She looked at him. “Why so
shocked?”

“
Annie’s a good-looking
woman,” he replied, shooting a hand up between them to fend off the
distasteful look Delaney fired his way. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s
not my type, but Clem?” Nick glanced between her and Malcolm. “The
guy is a loser.”

Delaney glared while Malcolm
chuckled.

“
Annie is average,
maybe
,” Delaney gave him.
“But good taste is not one of her strong points.”

Nick reached for Delaney, but she
unfolded her body and rolled off the barstool, ignoring his attempt
at appeasement. Annie Owens was the enemy. She was the one
responsible for bringing Jeremiah back into the picture, and if
Nick wanted to use this property for his hotel, he’d better get his
alliances straight. She turned, unsettled by the two men staring at
her. Two very handsome men, neither of whom bothered to mask his
masculine appreciation. Dressed in tank top and jean cut-offs,
Delaney suddenly felt exposed in her minimalist attire. “It’s
Annie’s fault Jeremiah is involved,” she declared with a cross of
her arms. “I want him stopped.”

“
Understood.” Nick gathered
her in his sights.

“
As I see it, he has two
ways to go,” Malcolm said, holding his fingers up. “Jeremiah can
challenge the validity of the deed based on procedural error or
duress.”

“
What does that mean?”
Delaney asked.

“
Procedural error is just
that—something done wrong in the procedure of filing and recording
the deed,” Nick explained. “Undue duress or coercion means that
Ernie signed the deed over to you against his will.

“
But Ernie signed it over
willingly.”

“
You and I know that, but
the judge doesn’t.”

“
Jeremiah will have to
challenge you in court—or the validity of the deed, that is—and
prove that you forced Ernie to sign,” Malcolm said. “But I’ll tell
you, reversing a deed is not easy.”

“
That’s good, right?”
Delaney asked.

“
It’s good,” Nick confirmed.
“But it doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet.”

“
I checked with the clerk of
the court,” Malcolm continued. “The deed was filed and recorded per
the state’s requirements. So challenging you on procedure won’t
work.”

“
So he’ll have to prove
Ernie signed it over under force?

“
Yes. And seeing as how he’s
of sound mind, I think it will be tough argument.” Delaney and Nick
shared a glance that unsettled Malcolm.

When Nick called Malcolm to Tennessee,
he never mentioned the possibility they would be embroiled in a
firestorm of family dysfunction. Nick said the land deal was done,
solid, they were moving forward with construction of the hotel.
That’s where Malcolm came in. He was here to walk the land,
incorporate his vision for a secluded mountain retreat into the
hills and forests of Ladd Springs and get the bulldozers rolling.
Legal disputes had not been on the agenda. Emotionally-charged
family feuds had not been on the agenda. “He is of sound mind,
right?” Malcolm looked from one to the other, a trickle of
foreboding raising the fine hairs on his neck. “Ornery, but
sound?”

“
Well,” Delaney hedged. She
nibbled her lower lip.

“
Well what?” Malcolm asked
sharply.

“
Ernie is ill,” Nick said.
“He has terminal cancer.”

“
Great.”

At Malcolm’s groan, Delaney glanced to
Nick. “What? Could they use that against him somehow?”

“
If the man is dying of
cancer, Jeremiah could most certainly allege that he was coerced,
that he was pressured until his defenses gave way and he
signed.”

Delaney cupped a hand to her forehead.
“Oh no...”

“
But you said no one would
tell Jeremiah about his father’s illness.” Nick searched her gaze
and Malcolm didn’t like where this was going. “That everyone knew
the two couldn’t stand each other, that Jeremiah wouldn’t care if
Ernie died.”

“
That was before money
entered the picture,” Malcolm declared. “You know the smell of
green changes everything.

“
Or gold.” Delaney rushed to
Nick. Placing a hand to his thigh, she implored, “We can’t let him
find out about the gold.”

“
Delaney.” Nick took her
hand in his. “He won’t find out about it. And he won’t find out
about Ernie’s illness. None of us are going to tell him. Ashley
certainly isn’t going to tell him. She was the one prepared to help
you get title to begin with.”

“
What about your daughter?”
Malcolm asked. He’d only met the girl a few days ago, but seemed to
have a good head on her shoulders. “Does she know?”

“
I don’t want her caught up
in this mess,” Delaney stated bluntly.

“
She knows,” Nick answered
for Delaney. “She was there when we received the news from
Ashley.”

“
Will she tell anyone?”
Malcolm asked.

“
No,” Delaney snapped. “She
won’t tell anyone.”

Nick peered into Delaney’s eyes. “What
about the boys?”

“
She wouldn’t tell them. She
has no reason to tell them,” Delaney said, as if willing it to be
true.