Ladd Haven

by Dianne Venetta

  “I quit.”

  Her spirits burst like a balloon. Troy quit. Of course.

  It’s what he did.

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “We don’t have to think,” Jimmy said, surprising Casey with his show of nerve. “It’s what you do. It’s expected.”

  Troy turned on him. “Why don’t you hold your tongue before I rip it out of your mouth?”

  Casey jumped at the sheer nastiness he was displaying. “Troy!” He could break Jimmy in two and probably love the chance to do just that. “Please!” she cried. A few nearby diners were taking in the trio, but none with any knowledge as to the significance of what was happening.

  “Why don’t you get lost?”

  Casey stared across the table. This was a side to Jimmy she had yet to see. Usually he preferred to hang on the sidelines, avoid confrontation altogether. He did it the last time he and Troy faced off, did it with their professor at school...

  “You first,” Troy spat.

  “Stop it,” Casey thrust between them.

  Troy tossed a fiery glare her way but quickly extinguished it. “I don’t need him interferin’.”

  “Interfering with what?” she asked, annoyed and disconcerted at the same time. Troy was back. He was fighting with Jimmy. Continuing to conceal the round of her stomach, she smacked, “You’re the one who walked up on us, remember?”

  Taken aback by the edgy response, he gave her a double-take—which gave Casey a warped pleasure. That’s right, Troy. You’re the one interfering. We don’t want you here. But for some reason Casey couldn’t give voice to the first word. She was too happy to see him.

  Troy straightened. He pushed back his muscular shoulders and announced, “I came by to tell you I’m back. For good.”

  Casey laughed, but it was strangled, ineffective. What she intended to be hurtful fell short. She couldn’t look at Troy and instead sought refuge in the safety of her friend and supporter, Jimmy Sweeney. His Adam’s apple rose and fell as he accepted her lead. “Sure you are,” she muttered, wishing his return wasn’t on public display. There were so many things she wanted to say, to know. Troy was home. He’d quit. What would he think about the baby?

  “I am, Casey.” Appearing to dull the blade of his attack, Troy shifted weight from heel to heel, holding her steadily in his gaze. His eyes were molten with emotion, his surprise discovery of the two of them together surely unsettling. Troy was the jealous type and, worse, had always suspected Jimmy of being interested in more than friendship. To find them together had only underscored that suspicion. “I made you a promise when I left here and I aim to keep it.”

  “Too late. You already broke it.” Uttering the words broke her heart all over again. On their last night together, the most beautiful of her life, Troy had promised they’d be together forever. He was talking future and family. Her heart pinched at the memory. Stupidly, she’d believed him. Tearing her gaze from his face, she sought the safety and security of Jimmy.

  “I didn’t break anything,” Troy countered. “I quit drinking, I’m on a better road...”

  But the fight had left him. From the corner of her eye, she could see him waver. Troy wasn’t sure what to do. She understood his instinct was to stay and argue, but her voicing her position in no uncertain terms seemed to undermine him. He wasn’t sure how to proceed.

  From across the table, she could feel Jimmy’s displeasure. He was mad—at her, at Troy—at the whole situation. He’d been warning her about this day, warning her that Troy might come back and try to convince her to give him another chance. As if she’d forgotten, Jimmy constantly reminded her how Troy had run around with Jeremiah Ladd’s girlfriend, flirted with Jillian Devane, all while professing he cared for Casey. Then dumped her, ran off and left her pregnant.

  Casey didn’t need reminding. She lived with the pain every day of her life. At the moment, it was dulled in comparison to Troy realizing she was pregnant. That conversation was sure to stir up a hornet’s nest of trouble. Glaring at Jimmy, she needed Troy to be gone. She could only sit hunched over the table for so long before it became awkward and he saw the size of her stomach beneath the flimsy cotton dress.

  “I’m finished with it all,” Troy said. “No more.”

  “Yeah,” Jimmy replied snidely, “until the next eighteen-wheeler pulls into the lot with a case of Jack Daniels.”

  “Jimmy!”

  Troy glowered. “Why don’t you shut your mouth before I knock your skull into next week?”

  “It’s the truth,” Jimmy continued, angling his shoulders to face Troy. “You’re a waste of breath.”

  Ignoring him, Troy thrust angrily to Casey, “We need to talk. This isn’t over ‘til we do.”

  “What isn’t over?” Jimmy asked. “You already dumped her. What more do you have in store?”

  Troy stood rigid, his wrath aimed squarely at Jimmy. “This ain’t none of your business.”

  “It is my business when you’re standing here talking to my girlfriend.”

  Casey gasped. Troy froze. He locked onto Jimmy. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me,” Jimmy repeated.

  Gawking at Jimmy, Casey was met by a challenge. Tell him the truth. Fastening his gaze to hers as though daring her to say otherwise Jimmy hitched his chin toward Troy. Go ahead. Tell him you’re pregnant.

  Casey freaked. Did he think he was helping? Did he think taunting Troy with a statement like that was going to settle the matter?

  Troy pounced on her, his brown eyes searching. “Is this true? Is what he said true? You two are dating?”

  Fear zipped up and down her spine as she evaded his question. No—it wasn’t true—but maybe Jimmy was right. Judging by Troy’s reaction, maybe this was exactly what he needed to hear to get a taste of how it felt to be dumped—flat on his face.

  “Answer me.”

  “I don’t answer to you,” Casey defied. Drawing strength from Jimmy’s presence, Troy’s anger, she flipped her gaze up to meet his and nearly fell out of her seat. Instead of angry, the upheaval in Troy’s gaze undid her. He wasn’t angry. He was crushed. Guilt washed over her in a flood of surprise. But if he was here because he quit, he sure as heck wouldn’t be happy to hear she was pregnant with his child!

  Nerves pushed in at her stomach. Uncertainty flapped in her breast. Pregnancy changed everything. Things were different. She couldn’t dash out on a last minute picnic or hike along the river’s edge. They couldn’t lie around in a field late at night, stargazing until the wee hours of morning. Pregnancy meant bills, diapers, a screaming baby... It meant responsibility. Stability. Troy couldn’t quit work on a whim or get fired for impulse decisions. Being a father meant a whole new lifestyle, one that didn’t suit Troy’s temperament. No matter what he promised that night, that beautiful, wonderful night, reality would prove different. Casey struggled against tears. It was her reality now. Something he was going to have to get used to. “When you left me, Troy, you gave up your right to have a say over what I do, or don’t do.”

  “I never left you!”

  The outburst drew curious stares as Jimmy retorted, “Could’ave fooled us.”

  Troy plastered his hat onto his head. Without making a move for the door, he stared at Casey for the longest minute. It was a look that erased people and time, months and doubt, and replaced it with longing. There was so much left to say, so many questions, feelings, but neither uttered the first one. Too much needed to be said. Jimmy was wedged between them. It was awkward. Troy turned on his heel and strode out of the diner, dragging Casey’s heart behind him. Her gaze trailed him as he shoved open the door and disappeared from her sight. He was gone. It was over. In a rush of rage, she turned on Jimmy, smacking a hand to the table. Silverware bounced as she demanded, “What the heck was that about?”

  “What?” he asked dully.

  “You telling him we’re boyfriend and girlfriend!”

  “Well, we should be,” Jimmy mumbled.

&nb
sp; “But we aren’t, Jimmy! Now he thinks we are!”

  Met by a vacant stare, Casey could kill him. With one stupid statement Jimmy ruined her opportunity to understand what had happened. Why did Troy leave? Why was he back home? What happened between them? Was it her fault? His? At this rate she’d be lucky to ever see him again, let alone speak to him.

  “What am I going to do?” she wondered aloud.

  “I thought you said he was a thing of your past.” Dark brown eyes grew still. “Sounds to me like you want to pick up where you left off.”

  About to tell him exactly what she thought, Casey stopped herself. It was clear how she felt—to Jimmy, herself—to everyone but Troy. A ripple of spasm crawled slowly across the side of her belly, reminding Casey of someone else who didn’t know, might never know, especially now that she had just run him off. Troy was probably gone for good this time. Knowing his obstinate temper as she did, he wouldn’t give her a chance to explain about Jimmy. He hated the guy. Troy would assume it was true and cut her from his life.

  “I was only trying to help you,” Jimmy said. Sliding his glass of coke to him, he pulled a long sip from his straw. He didn’t look at her. He drank. Purposefully, mindfully, he ignored her.

  Dropping her gaze to the table, Casey was torn. She couldn’t be mad at him. Jimmy was only acting based on what she’d told him. She never wanted to see Troy again. Never wanted to hear his name. She’d never expected to see him again, especially not making statements like he had. I made you a promise when I left here and I aim to keep it. Did he mean it?

  Visions of him storming out tumbled through her. Angry, hurt, Troy wasn’t interested in explanation. Consumed with thoughts of him, she tried to convince herself it was for the best. Men disappeared when they heard their girlfriend was pregnant. It meant obligation, commitment, two important traits Troy lacked. I quit.

  He couldn’t even hold down a job. How was he going to support a family?

  At a quiet slurp, Casey’s thoughts reverted back to Jimmy. Unlike him. He worked two jobs to pay for his apartment and college classes, plus the occasional money he slid to his mother on the sly because his dad was a bum. Jimmy didn’t run from responsibility. Casey’s spirits slumped. He begged for it.

  Chapter Two

  Troy thundered into his parent’s home, anger and jealousy tearing through his heart. Jimmy and Casey? How could she? And with him of all people? Stomping up the stairs, he headed straight for his bedroom, his mind warring for reason. The guy was nothing but a weasel—a slimy, slithering, no good snake. He had no right to be with her. She was his woman, not Jimmy’s.

  But despite Troy’s every protest, the pain of reality continued to slice him with every step he took. Jimmy and Casey seemed real cozy tucked away in that booth in Fran’s Diner. The homecoming that he expected to be rocky turned out to be a dad gummed bald-faced cliff hurling him over the edge. How could she have moved on so easily? How could she have forgotten their night together?

  It was the most beautiful night of his life...better than any they shared before. Casey had run away to be with him in Murfreesboro, but it wasn’t the same. The night in the field beneath the stars had been special because she’d forgiven him. She’d forgiven him, when even he knew there was no reason she should. It was a grace he didn’t deserve but one she had given whole-heartedly. That night had meant more to Troy than anything in his life. Casey Owens was the only person in this world who believed in him and him alone, willing to overlook his stupidity. Could she really have changed so drastically?

  When you left me, Troy, you gave up your right to have a say over what I do or don’t do. The scene at the diner felt unreal, like he was walking through a nightmare. Didn’t their love mean anything to her? Was it so easy for her to forget the words they said, the promises they made?

  When you left me, Troy...

  Anger surged through him. Why did she say that? He didn’t leave her. He told her he needed to get a job and make something of himself, prove to everyone he wasn’t a loser. Just because he was doing it in another town didn’t mean he’d left her. He couldn’t. He could never leave her. The night they shared together and everything it meant lived and breathed in him, every hour, every second. It gave reason to his days, gave comfort to his nights. It was his reason to stay sober, to keep out of trouble and on target with his job. Casey had forgiven him and he wasn’t going to let her down—ever.

  Troy’s heart wrenched as he envisioned Casey lying in Jimmy’s arms. He could see her pale white skin, her delicate curves, her tender smile—could recall the scent of her with painful accuracy—and she had revealed it all to Jimmy. Busting into his bedroom, he slammed a fist on the dresser. “Dammit!”

  Visions of Jimmy Sweeney sitting across from his woman roused a hatred that unnerved Troy. He’d wanted to lash out and punch the kid in the face. Flatten him. It was probably his fault Casey didn’t return any of his calls. Originally Troy had blamed Casey’s lack of response on her mother but now...

  Thoughts of Jimmy and Casey together swirled in a sickening mix of disbelief and jealously the likes of which he’d never felt before. It had probably been Jimmy who convinced her not to talk to him. Troy knew the guy had been waiting to get his hands on her. Probably snuck in the second he left town to grab his opportunity.

  But Casey was Troy’s woman and only his. She told him so. Promised it would always be that way. She couldn’t love Jimmy. She couldn’t get over him that quick—it was impossible.

  Had been impossible for him. Every day on the job became harder and harder, his mind split between thoughts of Casey and the horse he was working. He couldn’t focus and the animal knew it, fought him every step of the way. The head rancher thought he was a loser. Thought his talk of training and experience was nothing but bull. It wasn’t. Mr. Foster had backed him up with a phone call. But in the end it didn’t matter. Troy couldn’t focus, couldn’t perform his duties. He couldn’t do anything without Casey.

  Raking a hand through his hair, he pulled his bangs tight. Sending his gaze fitfully about his room, his bed untouched, his suitcase unpacked, he wondered what next? Should he leave town? Should he give up and move on, accept that Casey had done the same? Settling on her vision, remembering blue eyes that cradled him with more love than he had ever known, a heart that encouraged him with a voice more certain about his future than even his own, Troy knew he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t give up. As sure as he was standin’ here, his gut clenched tighter than a dog on a bone, he couldn’t leave. Not until he was sure. Not until Casey told him to get out of town pointblank would he leave.

  He’d stay. He’d stay and wait her out. Maybe she’d realize what a mistake she was making by choosing Jimmy. Maybe after she had time to think about it, she’d change her mind and come back to him. His heart sank into his boots. She had to. No other girl but Casey would do.

  Travis Parker appeared in the doorway to his bathroom. “Whoa, brother. What’s got you so riled up?”

  “None of your damn business,” Troy fumed, hardly able to manage the rage and suffering streaming through his veins without the presence of his self-righteous brother. Travis always acted like he knew better than Troy. Like he was superior. Well, he wasn’t. Even dressed in his uppity jeans and designer T-shirt or with his first year of college behind him, his twin brother was no better than Troy.

  Travis smiled, his eyes dripping with self-importance. “Sure doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

  “Well, it is.”

  Travis leaned against the doorframe, his gaze matching the smug smirk on his lips as he crossed arms over his chest. “Get turned down?”

  Troy wanted to rip that smile right off his mouth. Instead, he yanked the hat from his head and tossed it to his bed. Pulling the wallet from his back pocket, he chucked it to the bureau. It slid into a picture of his parents, sending the frame crashing to the ground.

  Travis chuckled as though he knew exactly what was going on. “Shouldn’t have left her in
the first place.”

  Troy whipped a finger toward his brother. “Back off, Travis. This ain’t none of your business and I ain’t in the mood to mess with you.” Troy yanked off his T-shirt and threw it to the floor.

  “None of my business? I’d say it’s everybody’s business now.”

  “Is not.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “What I do with my girlfriend has nothing to do with you.”

  Travis pushed off from the door and walked closer. Spearing him with a spiteful gaze, he said, “It does when you leave me to pick up the pieces of your mess.”

  Troy stopped dead center of the room, his bare chest heaving in the heat of anger. Shoulders back, fist clenched, he was ready to lash out if need be. “What the hell are you talking about, ‘pick up the pieces of my mess’?”

  “What do I mean?” Travis raised his eyebrows, lines forming across his forehead as he asked, “Isn’t it obvious? Do you need me to spell it out for you?”

  Troy honed in on him. “What’s obvious?” Was he trying to rub it in? Did Travis know something he didn’t? A sharp dread stabbed at him. Were Jimmy and Casey more serious than he realized?

  “I thought you went to see Casey.”

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  And she’s hooked up with Jimmy, Troy admitted silently but couldn’t bring himself to say the words. Hooked up with Jimmy. They were words he never thought he’d have to think let alone utter.

  Clipped to his jean waistband, Travis’ cell phone rang. He plucked it free and pressed the call button. “Hey, Felicity.”

  Hearing her name only added to Troy’s misery. Felicity Wilkins was a childhood friend of the brothers, the three a best-friend trio since grade school. For a time Troy had designs on getting together with Felicity. Seemed Travis did, too. The rivalry stirred up a lot of trouble between them until she made her choice during high school—Travis would be her boyfriend leaving Troy to find his own love. At the time, he’d been hurt. But life was weird that way. If it weren’t for Felicity’s decision, he would never have found Casey.