Ladd Fortune (7 page)

Malcolm winked. “Sounds like my kind of
place.”

Chapter Five

Candi homed in on the man
walking through the salon. Her pulse quickened, her eyes sharpening
in alarm.
Jeremiah Ladd
. While he had changed, matured, there was no mistaking it was
him. Here—in her salon. Dressed in indigo blue jeans, ostrich boots
and fancy purple-blue shirt, Jeremiah popped like a firecracker as
he marched toward her. She gulped, clutched her station’s chair
back, noting that several hairstylists were glued to his every
move.

Slowing, he drawled, “Candi
Sweeney.”

She tightened her grip and said,
“Jeremiah.” Candi tried to smile, but standing rigid, the attempt
failed. Darting a glance around the neighboring styling stations,
she wondered what the women were thinking. Most of the stylists
were too young to know Jeremiah, but Ida did. Would she recognize
him?

Easy and familiar, he ignored the other
women and their clients, seemingly focused only on her as he asked,
“How the heck are you?”

“
Good.”

“
You look great,” he said
smoothly, eyes freely roaming her face, her body, over the black
dress and apron she wore, clear down to her glossy black
toenails.

Nerves fluttered across her breast.
Candi remembered Jeremiah and his smooth talking ways only too
well. Back in the day, he’d been smoother than a Tom cat on the
prowl, a bad boy magnet for the girls. For as long as she could
remember, Jeremiah had been the one the girls talked about, flocked
to—herself included. She tamped the memory back. But that was then,
this was now. “Oh, Jeremiah...” Candi batted the compliment away.
“How you do go on. I’m just a hillbilly, you know that.”

“
You don’t look like a
hillbilly to me,” he observed. “In fact, you put the women of
Atlanta to shame.”

Candi nudged her way farther behind her
chair, wondering why Jeremiah was here. She’d told him everything
he needed to know. There was no reason to stop by and speak to her
in person. She whittled a glance around the salon and thought if
word got back to Annie that he was here making nice, it would not
sit well. Her friend was already unhappy over the fact that Candi
had called him. The last thing Candi needed was for Annie to
suspect something was going on between them. She shuddered.
“Jeremiah, what are you doing in a women’s salon, anyway?” she
tried to tease. “I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“
Now, Candi. You know I have
the hots for you.” He leaned closer and she caught of drift of his
cologne. “Always have. And you called
me
, remember?”

Was he seriously here to make a pass at
her?

“
Well,” Candi stammered,
“you know I did and you know very well
why
,” she whispered, willing him to
understand that this was a private matter.

Jeremiah winked. “I’d like to think it
was more than helping out an old friend.”

Candi didn’t like the lust gathering in
his eyes. Feeling the heat from shifty glances, she wanted Jeremiah
out of her salon and quick. Ida would send word through town faster
than a swat on a fly putting Ashley first on that list, followed by
Delaney, Annie, Fran—the whole town would know by supper
time!

Candi struggled to stay calm. “What can
I say?” she began carefully. “When I heard about Ernie signing the
property over to Delaney and Felicity I had to call you. It ain’t
right!” she cried righteously, hoping it would sway him from making
further advances.

Jeremiah smiled, as though he
understood perfectly. “Doesn’t mean you and me can’t have a little
fun while I’m in town.”

“
Jeremiah,” she said
tightly, checking for witnesses to their encounter.

“
What? It could be just like
the old days...”

Candi shook her head
vehemently.
Please don’t say any
more
.

When she didn’t respond, Jeremiah
pulled back, apparently taking her refusal in stride. “Your loss.”
He surveyed the salon in short order and said, “About the property
deal. What exactly do you know about it?”

“
Nothing,” she replied
abruptly, relief streaming through her. “Other than Delaney is
trying to get it all for herself and Felicity—like I told
you.”

“
Those two men with her are
the hotel guys, right?”

Candi balked. “Two men?”

He nodded. “Two.”

She smoothed the hair down on either
side of her face, knowing the ears of her gossipy coworkers were
burning red hot over their conversation. But at this point, all she
could do was get Jeremiah out and the only way to do that was to
answer him. “Well, Annie told me about the one, man. His name is
Nick Harris. According to her, he’s the one who wants to build a
hotel on the property.”

Jeremiah’s brow rose. “Must be his
partner.”

“
Maybe.” Candi nodded,
flicking an annoyed glance at Ida, openly staring at her now. “He
was trying to buy the property from Ernie before Delaney got her
hands on it.”

“
Any idea why the old man
wouldn’t sell?” Jeremiah asked, searching her gaze. “Seems to me a
hotel man could offer a pretty penny for the place.”

“
I don’t. But you know
Ernie—he’s as hard-headed as they come! The only one he seems sweet
on is Felicity.” Jeremiah perked at the mention of Delaney’s
daughter. “Felicity plays her flute for him. That’s what Casey
says, anyway.” At Jeremiah’s blank look, Candi added pointedly,
“Casey is Annie’s daughter.”

Something he already knew.

“
Casey and Felicity are
friends?” Jeremiah asked, as though surprised by the
revelation.

“
Kinda. The Parker boys are
the common tie between them.”

“
Parker boys? As in Morton
Parker?”

“
Yes. He has a passel of
kids and the youngest two are twins, Travis and Troy. Well, they
hang out with Felicity and Casey, and Casey gets most of her scoop
from the boys.”

“
I see.” He swung a
conspiratorial gaze around the salon and asked, “Where do I find
these boys?”

“
The twins? Why they’re
everywhere, but usually you can find them at Fran’s.”

Jeremiah’s expression closed and Candi
realized he would be persona-non-grata there.

“
What about Casey?” he
asked. “She around somewhere?”

Candi blinked. “Have you not spoken to
Annie?”

“
Why would I?” he
questioned, in what Candi found to be a wholly contemptuous
tone.

“
Because she’s—” Candi
gasped, and cried under her breath, “Annie!”

Annie stood like a stone in the Bangs
reception area, her eyes fastened on Jeremiah. She held her breath
as she stared, shock swirling through disbelief and curiosity,
mixed with an emotion that bordered on hate, which oddly included a
murky longing.

Jeremiah turned from Candi, the instant
recognition transforming his expression from lazy pleasure to a
steely interest. Candi jerked her hands away from her styling
chair, the look in her eyes one of sheer desperation. Annie’s brain
felt muddled. Fuzzy.

Racing around Jeremiah, Candi hurried
down the center aisle toward Annie. “Annie!” she exclaimed and
quickly saddled up on her friends’ side.

But Annie only had eyes for Jeremiah.
It was the first time she had seen him since he and Lacy took off
for Atlanta. Eighteen long years since she’d held the man in her
gaze, in the flesh. She’d have to give him his looks. He still
looked good, his body lean, seemingly in shape. As he approached,
she noted the lines in his face, but rather than old, they added
depth, maturity. Jeremiah Ladd looked the same as he had when he
left, only older, wiser.

Better. Annie swallowed the lump in her
throat and said, “Hello, Jeremiah.”

“
Hello, Annie.” He stopped
front and center, his glance lingering on Candi’s as though the two
shared a secret.

Annie looked to Candi who blurted,
“Jeremiah just stopped by—like five minutes ago—wanting to know how
to find you.” She dodged his gaze and added, “And here you
are.”

Candi fussed with the blonde hair
around her eyes, ran her hands down her apron, then slipped them
into her front pockets. Wondering why Candi was rambling, Annie
turned back to Jeremiah. And why had he come to Candi to find her?
Her name hadn’t changed. She was in the phone book.

“
How ya been?” Jeremiah
asked her. “You work here, too?” Setting hands to hips, he hurled a
presumptive glance around the salon, as though he owned one just
like it.

“
No,” she replied
automatically. “I work at Trendz.”

Jeremiah nodded, but didn’t delve
deeper. “So listen, Candi,” he said. “We’ll be in touch,
okay?”

Like a wet cat with her tail ensnared
in an electrical outlet, Candi look horrified.

Smiling syrup and slime, Jeremiah
tossed to her, “See you around, baby.”

Annie watched him walk out of the
salon, sunlight setting fire to the gold in his hair. The door
swooshed closed and he was gone. Suspended in a haze, she stood
dumbstruck within the confines of the busy salon. Had that really
happened? Her gaze drifting from the front door to Candi, Annie
noted the fear squeezing out through the brown eyes of her friend.
Questions plagued her. Why had Jeremiah stopped by? Why check with
her first? The image of Candi and Jeremiah standing together by her
chair crystallized in Annie’s mind. Epiphany pinched. “Is something
going on between you two?” she asked.

“
No! Why would you
ask?”

“
Well, when I walked in
here, you two seemed awfully cozy...”

“
Good God, girlfriend, no
way! There is nothing going on between me and Jeremiah.”

At Candi’s fidgety scan of the salon,
Annie swept around to see what she was looking at. All eyes were on
them, yet no one spoke a word. Humiliation welled deep in her
heart. With great effort, Annie turned faced Candi directly. “Candi
Sweeney, don’t you lie to me. What was Jeremiah doing
here?”

“
Nothing
, Annie. He stopped by looking for you.”

At the crack in her voice, Annie’s
trust shriveled. “I don’t believe you.”

Candi’s demeanor began to unravel.
“Annie, it’s true! You have to believe me. There is nothing going
on between me and Jeremiah, you know that.”

“
What was ‘see you around,
baby’ about?”

“
Guy
talk—
loser
talk.
You know Jeremiah, he’s always tried to have his way with girls.”
Annie stiffened. When Candi appeared to realize her mistake, she
cried, “
Please
,
Annie, let’s not talk about this here.” Candi grasped Annie’s elbow
but she yanked free. Annie didn’t want to go anywhere with her at
the moment. “Annie,
stop
. C’mon, this isn’t like you.”

“
This isn’t like you,
either,” Annie derided.

“
We need to talk about
this,” Candi said firmly. “In the lounge.”

The women glared at one
another.

“
We need to talk,” Candi
pleaded.

Reluctantly, Annie followed
her friend through the salon, past the hushed glances and into the
privacy of the employee lounge. A sole table was littered with
cookie packaging, its gray Formica top covered in black crumbs.
Four empty chairs sat at haphazard angles around it. Suspicion
clawed at Annie, but she was willing to hear Candi out. This was
her best friend. Maybe there was a good explanation to why Jeremiah
was here, calling her “baby” and not out looking for
her
. Fleeing, in fact,
when he found her. “Well?”

Candi eyed the door, as if someone
would burst in any minute and intrude on their privacy. “Annie, I
swear I don’t know why Jeremiah was here.”

“
You said he was here
looking for me.”

“
He was—but we never made it
that far. He was only here for two minutes before you walked in,
seriously.”

“
And?”

“
And...” Candi dropped to a
seat and buried her face in her hands. “Oh, Annie.”

Fear clambered through her. “Oh, Annie
what?” she asked, dreading what came next.

Candi lifted her face, tears catching
in her mascara, the black smudging across her cheeks. “Jeremiah and
I had a one night stand.”

Annie felt the swift kick to her
stomach, clutched at a chair to steady herself. “What?”

Candi nodded, shame oozing like sewage
from her eyes. “Before he left—after you two were together. I was
drunk, it was one time. I’m so sorry...”

Annie stared at Candi. Limbs liquid
nothing, her insides were a vacuum. “I can’t believe it,” she
uttered, the breath trapped within her lungs.

“
It didn’t mean anything. I
wish it never happened.”