Ladd Fortune (5 page)

Jeremiah glanced indoors and wrapped
his gaze around her, meeting her eyes after a lustful once over.
“Hello, Delaney. Long time, no see.”

His pleasure slid down to his mouth,
opening it into a smile of comfort and ease. Delaney steadied her
voice. “Hello, Jeremiah.”

“
It’s Jerry,
now.”

“
Jeremiah,” she returned
bluntly. “What brings you by?”

He chuckled. “I see some things don’t
change.” Addressing Nick, currently blocking his entrance, Jeremiah
asked, “May I come in?”

Nick opened the door and stepped aside,
allowing him to pass. Without closing the door, he shadowed
Jeremiah’s movements inside the cabin as her cousin surveyed the
interior. Wood floors polished to a subtle shine, log walls and
ceiling marked by exposed beams, a lone painting by the fireplace—a
scene straight from the river banks. Her home was rustic, simple,
and all she needed.

“
I like what you’ve done to
the place,” Jeremiah commented. “Especially the floors.”

Delaney didn’t thank him. This wasn’t a
social visit. Flipping her gaze to Nick and Malcolm, she registered
their silence. This was her deal and they were allowing her to take
the lead. “What do you want, Jeremiah?”

Bringing hands to his hips, he slid his
fingers into the front pockets of his jeans. Still opting for
cowboy boots—his current ostrich more fashion than
function—Jeremiah wore a purple and navy shirt with a floral
pattern woven into the background. Seems the Tennessee hillbilly
had gone metro. Dressed in red plaid and jeans, Nick looked more
country than Jeremiah.

“
I think we both know why
I’m here,” Jeremiah said smoothly.

Remaining by the kitchen island, she
replied, “Maybe you should spell it out for me.”

“
I understand you’re the new
owner of Ladd Springs.”

“
I am.”

“
Actually...” He paused,
tapping a knowing gaze to both Nick and Malcolm. “Your daughter
is.”

At the mention of her
daughter, Delaney tensed, thankful Felicity was with the Parker
boys today. Delaney didn’t like the idea that her child was mixed
up in this mess at all, but like Jeremiah said, it was
her
name officially listed
on the deed.

“
Is she here?” He rolled his
eyes to the bedroom, the loft. “I’d like to discuss some business
matters with her, if possible.”

“
You leave my daughter out
of this,” Delaney snapped.

“
What?” He feigned shock.
“She’s the owner, isn’t she?”

“
You have any business with
Ladd Springs, you deal with me.” Despite herself, she stole a peek
at Nick.

“
I see.” Jeremiah nodded,
crossed his arms over his chest. “So what is Felicity, about
sixteen, seventeen?” He glanced at the men and grinned. “I bet
she’s a looker. Does she take after you, Delaney?” he asked, and
seemed to purposefully plant his gaze on her breasts. “You’re still
as hot as ever.”

Anger spit through her veins. “I’m
warning you, Jeremiah. Back off.”

“
You’re here about the
property,” Nick intervened. “We know.” Jeremiah shot a smug smile
toward Delaney as Nick continued, “But the title has been
transferred and recorded. There’s nothing you can do.”

Jeremiah sighed, a tad more exaggerated
than warranted. “Yes, you have a vested interest, don’t you?
Building a hotel, right?”

Where Jeremiah received his
information, Delaney had no idea, but he was dead on. Smooth as
silk, too, Delaney marveled, and wholly different from the brash
boy she remembered. The old Jeremiah would have come in half-cocked
and punched Nick in the face by now. But not this one. He was cold
and calculating.

“
Too bad you wasted your
time. Unfortunately for you, my father saw fit to transfer title
without first consulting with me.”

“
He doesn’t need to,” Nick
informed. “It’s his property to do with as he sees fit. Apparently,
that judgment didn’t include you.”

“
I’m not sure if you know my
father, but he’s not exactly of right mind,” Jeremiah said, tapping
Malcolm with a glance as though putting him on notice,
too.

“
His mind is right enough to
know a losing proposition when he sees one.”

Jeremiah stilled. His features remain
pasted with ease, but his eyes grew cold. “I guess banging my
cousin makes you feel entitled to insult me, but I’d advise against
it. I’m not a man to contend with lightly.”

Delaney gripped the edge of butcher
block, taken aback. Jeremiah had nerve, she’d give him that. Near
the same height as Nick, his build was nowhere near the mass. One
strike from Nick and Jeremiah would go down. In a flicker of
wishful thinking, Delaney almost hoped he would.

“
Nothing less than I’d
expect from a guy like you, resorting to trash talk when you have
no facts on your side. Pathetic, but predictable.”

Malcolm stood silent.
Vigilant.

Jeremiah’s façade showed the first
signs of cracking. “Take your shots now, funny man, because soon
there will only be one us laughing and I’ll take great pleasure in
watching you run out of town with your tail between your
legs.”

Nick stepped toward him and Delaney
braced for impact.

“
Gentlemen,” Malcolm
interceded, placing a hand to Nick’s forearm. “I think these
matters are better discussed in a court of law.”

Malcolm knew his partner well, Delaney
thought, heartened by his presence. No sense in giving Jeremiah an
assault charge to add to his list of grievances. Lawyers lapped
that stuff up like butter on a biscuit. Privately she doubted
Malcolm was physically capable of putting a stop to a fight should
one break out. Loafers, linen slacks and silk shirt suggested a man
unaccustomed to the bull ring.

“
Believe me, we will.”
Jeremiah squared his shoulders to the men before him. “Take this as
your notice. You will be served.”

Nick chuckled derisively. “Fancy words
for a country boy.”

Malcolm turned to Nick, but said
nothing.

“
Expectations have a way of
surprising,” Jeremiah said, as though his confidence had never
escaped him. He looked to Delaney and winked. “See you
later.”

The three of them watched him go,
Malcolm tossing the door closed behind him. “What the hell were you
doing?” he said to Nick. “Are you trying to stoke him into
attack?”

Nick glowered. “He’s a cocky bastard
who deserves a firm one across the jaw.”

“
Whether he does or doesn’t
is not relevant. You hit him and you’re adding to the problem.”
Anger rippled through Malcolm’s calm. He lobbed a glance between
Nick and Delaney and said, “The man may have a case.”

“
Do you think he does?”
Delaney asked.

Malcolm nodded. “I think it’s a
possibility. And a headache we don’t need.”

Chapter Four

“
Aw, sugar, you haven’t
touched your coke,” Aunt Frannie said as she rubbed Lacy’s back in
the quiet of the diner. Fran’s Diner was
the
place to go for breakfast, lunch
and dinner, but at the moment, the main lunch crowd had cleared.
Cooks prepared for dinner, the air drenched with the sumptuous
smell of Lacy’s favorite fried chicken and fried okra. Mixed with
the scent of her aunt’s Shalimar perfume, it reminded Lacy of her
momma. It was the perfume of choice for both women, one that held
fond memories. Every time she’d caught a drift of the fragrance in
Atlanta, Lacy had been transported back home, to the wonderful
world of family, friends and fun.

None of which her hometown resembled at
the moment. Hitched up to the eat-in bar, her elbows propped on the
counter, she dropped her chin to her palms. Home wasn’t as sweet as
she remembered. It was downright bitter.

“
Annie will come around,”
Frannie added quietly, her loving blue eyes filled with compassion.
Red hair tucked up in her hair net, her uniform the same
white-collared dress she’d always worn, the red apron a match to
her checkered curtains, Aunt Frannie and her diner hadn’t changed a
bit. Red, red, red—booths red, chairs red. Red was Frannie’s
favorite color.

“
I don’t think so,” Lacy
replied glumly. “You didn’t see her face. She
hates
me.”

“
You stop that nonsense,
right now. Annie Grace doesn’t have a hateful bone in her
body.”

Lacy turned and shrieked, “She does for
me and uses her hateful bones like bats, I tell you!”

“
C’mon, child,” Frannie
hushed her. Seizing her neck, she massaged with a strong hand.
“You’ve got to pull yourself together. She needs time, that’s all.
She’s been dealing with that wicked Jeremiah since the day he left
town. You need to see it from her point of view.”

“
Jeremiah’s been in Atlanta.
How’s she had to worry about him?”

Frannie loosened her hold, slid her
hand down Lacy’s back. “She has a daughter, Lacy. That changes
things.”

Lacy shrugged. She didn’t have any
kids, though she wanted some. Bad. And she was getting old. At
thirty-five, her clock was ringing like crazy. Alarm bells were
clanging so loud, the roosters were envious. Lacy needed to find
the right man and quick! But she wanted a good man, a nice man.
Atlanta had been full of slick men who wanted nothing but sex and
she was high tired of it. Every last one of them claimed to want
her forever, but none wanted to commit. None saw the beauty in who
she was. Then she read her horoscope. The stars said she had to
return to her roots to find love. Next thing you know, Jeremiah
walked into the lounge and she knew what she had to do. Without a
second thought, Lacy packed her bags and followed him and Loretta
Flynn back home to Tennessee.

Only her plan for a family reunion
wasn’t working out like the stars had promised. Her first day back
and already her sister was trying to kick her out of
town.

Frannie leaned onto the counter and
scooted close, her brown eyes assumed a sudden heaviness. “You’ve
got to understand. Annie has had a rough time of it, especially
since the overdose.”

Lacy whirled. “Overdose?
Annie?”

Frannie shook her head, saddened. “Her
daughter, Casey.”

Lacy covered her mouth with a hand as
the news trickled through her heart. How dreadful! “Is she
okay?”

“
Physically, yes, but the
girl’s going through a difficult time and Annie’s real sensitive
about it.”

“
Why? Because of
Jeremiah?”

Frannie nodded. “Him and this whole
mess about the property. Annie has it stuck in her craw that Casey
deserves half of Ladd Springs and she won’t let it go. She’s like a
pit bull, I tell you, and it’s causing her a heap of turmoil. Part
of me wishes she’d just give it up and move on, though I understand
why she won’t.” Frannie shook her head. “It’s a plum shame she and
Delaney don’t get along anymore.”

Lacy absorbed the information,
calculating its significance. Annie was trying to get her hands on
Ladd Springs? Lacy had always loved the place and it would make a
great place to live, to raise a family. She looked into her aunt’s
eyes and asked, “Do you think she has a chance?”

“
Aw, sugar, I don’t know.
Jeremiah is the one with any possible claim to the property and
even he’s gonna have a hard time. Ernie Ladd has already signed it
over to Felicity.”

“
Felicity?”

“
Delaney’s daughter. She’s
about Casey’s age and stands to inherit the entire property upon
Ernie’s death.”

Lacy blew out her breath. “Wow.”
Thoughts zipped to and fro through her mind, bounced off the walls
of her skull. Delaney’s daughter gets everything? “But if Jeremiah
is Casey’s father like Annie’s been claiming, wouldn’t that make
his daughter entitled to half? I mean, Delaney and Jeremiah are
cousins. The daughters are cousins...that makes them equally
entitled, doesn’t it?”

Frannie’s blinked. “Child, what are you
thinking?”

Lacy pressed her lips together. Did
Aunt Frannie know that Jeremiah was back in town?

“
C’mon, now. Fess up.”
Frannie cupped her chin firmly. “I know you and I can see those
wheels spinning a thousand miles an hour.”

“
Well...” Lacy’s gaze darted
toward the kitchen but returned to the sharp brown eyes of her Aunt
Frannie. Thickly brushed with mascara, her lids were colored in
shimmery blue. Same as they had been for thirty years. “Well, if
Casey did get part of the property,” Lacy proposed, “maybe Annie
would let me live on Ladd Springs—for a while—just until I get
settled, you know.”

Frannie furrowed her brow and demanded,
“Where are you staying right now, child?”

Lacy’s shoulders sagged. “At a
motel.”

“
Lord a’mercy!” Frannie
exclaimed. “You better go pack your things this minute! Why,
I
never
.” She
slanted her gaze toward the front door. “No niece of mine is
staying in a motel when I have plenty of empty rooms in my very own
house.”