Ladd Fortune

by Dianne Venetta

  “Already taken,” Jeremiah grumbled. “I don’t have anything for you to steal.”

  The man stood taller and scowled. Like Jeremiah had insulted him, or something.

  Please, he mused bitterly. Get over it and move on to your next victim. Jeremiah pushed up from the ground, suppressing the urge to yelp. God damn that hurt. He shot a dirty look toward the man who then stumbled off. Good riddance. Slowly rising to his feet, Jeremiah glanced around, took a step and cursed. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  Three hours later, Jeremiah managed to make it as far as Fran’s Diner. His motel was a good mile farther, but there was a chance Loretta would be here. When she wasn’t chasing the Parker kid, it was her new hangout. Jeremiah didn’t kid himself when it came to Loretta. There was one reason she was with him and one reason only—he had money. Used to. Didn’t take long in Vegas to make a mint, or to lose one, he added ruefully. But after last night, his gold was gone too. Son of a bitch. Whoever took it was going to pay.

  Loretta wouldn’t be too happy to see him in this condition. He could smell the cigarette smoke and sweat that pervaded his clothing. The marks on his face would only add to his unsightly appearance, but too bad. With no wallet, he needed money.

  As he swung open the door to the diner, the bells reverberated in Jeremiah’s skull. “Damn it,” he muttered. He was trying to keep the jar of pain to a dull minimum. Scanning the diner in short order, he found no Loretta. His attention caught on the couple in the corner. Well, look who was here. If it wasn’t Loretta’s Parker squeeze. And from the back of the head sitting across from him, Annie’s daughter. His kid.

  Jeremiah sauntered over, enjoying the ignition of concern in the boy’s eyes. That’s right. Be concerned. Be very concerned.

  Casey followed Troy’s abrupt fascination with something behind her and turned to look, but whirled back around quickly. It was Jeremiah Ladd—her sperm donor—and he was coming over!

  She gulped, tamped down the sudden race of her heart and concentrated on ignoring the man. But how could she? His face looked awful, like he’d been beat up or something. Why would he be coming over to them?

  When he reached their table, Troy, ever the brave one asked, “What happened to you?”

  “None of your business.” He glanced briefly between the two and demanded, “Where’s Loretta?”

  Troy scoffed. “How the hell do I know? Not my problem you can’t keep track of your woman.”

  If he wasn’t standing in the middle of Fran’s diner, Jeremiah would have slugged the smirk from the kid’s face. “Don’t get cute with me, boy. As you can see, I’m in no mood.”

  “Don’t matter to me what kind of mood you’re in,” Troy said defiantly, speaking more to Casey. “We didn’t ask you to come over here.”

  Jeremiah looked at Casey and she averted her gaze. Not only did his face look terrible, it made him seem all the more scary. And he smelled disgusting. It was all she could do not to pinch her nose. How could he be her father?

  Through her periphery vision, Casey saw that he continued to stare at her, the silent probe like a hot barb shredding her nerves. Was he going to say something to her? Should she respond?

  But he didn’t. “If you see Loretta, tell her I’m looking for her.”

  “I have no plans to see her.” Troy looked at Casey and she yearned for him to say more, to mean more. After last night, she was beginning to feel like he really cared about her. “If you’ll excuse us, we’re trying to have a private conversation.”

  Casey held her breath. Was Troy trying to provoke him?

  “You’re a cocky son of a bitch,” Jeremiah replied but stalked off just the same. No lingering at the entrance, no words for other diners, he went straight for the exit. Jeremiah may be right about Troy being cocky, but it had never felt better having him near. “That guy gives me the creeps.”

  Troy reached over and pulled her hand toward him. “Don’t let him get to you.”

  His hold was strong, warm. Reassuring. Nerves tickled her neck. “I wonder what happened to him.”

  “Looks to me like he got what he deserved.” A flicker of pleasure lit up Troy’s dark eyes. “I only wished it could have been me.”

  Did Troy hate the man as much as she did? But he had been with that Loretta woman, hadn’t he? Suddenly confused and uncomfortable, a bucketful of regret poured into her heart. She pulled her hand free. Last night she had let Troy touch her. He had touched that woman.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “You were with his girlfriend.”

  “Loretta?”

  Casey nodded.

  “I told you, she don’t mean anything to me.”

  Jealousy fired hot through Casey’s veins. She felt cheap, easy. Troy had been with that blonde woman and then he smooth-talked her into going out with him, too. “If she doesn’t, then why were you two together?”

  Troy’s rough exterior melted. “I was trying to help you.”

  The tide of anger broke. “Help me? How does being with that woman help me?”

  “She was asking questions about Ladd Springs, said she was trying to get information about Delaney and Felicity. When she started, I didn’t know she was his girlfriend. She told me they were just friends. She said he was here to reclaim his property rights. I figured if I helped her to help him get the property away from Felicity, you’d have a chance at getting your share.”

  Casey clung to Troy’s every word.

  “It’s not right Felicity gets all of it. She don’t need a thousand acres. You should have some, too.” Emotion simmered in the depths of his gaze. “He is your daddy. It’s right you should have it.”

  “You went against Felicity?” It was more than Casey could ever wish for.

  He nodded. “Actually, more against Travis, but her, too.” Troy lowered his gaze. “The both of them.”

  Last night had meant something to Casey. She and Troy went out drinking, a little too much, and kissed. He held her in his arms like he really cared about her and said sweet things. So many sweet things. Hope bloomed warmly in her breast. Did he really mean them? Was last night as important to him as it was her?

  “Dad gum, Casey. I like you. I’m sorry if my being with her makes you mad, but I was only trying to help.”

  Casey didn’t care. He wasn’t with that woman anymore and it sounded like he didn’t want to be with Felicity either. Casey smiled. “It’s okay.”

  An hour later, Jeremiah pounded on the door to Ernie’s cabin. He’d found Loretta at the motel sunning herself by the pool, reading some trashy novel. As expected, she wasn’t pleased by the marks on his face, but that was too bad. He didn’t care what she thought. He was there for money and a change of clothes—even spotted his truck outside a gas station on his way over. Parked off the side of the road, it looked as if he’d been driving, been stopped, yanked out of the driver’s seat and hauled away. Beat the hell out of him was how it went down. He didn’t remember the first detail. According to the lumps on his head, it wasn’t a wonder.

  At least they left the keys in the ignition. Jeremiah was surprised the vehicle hadn’t been stolen but there it was, sitting pretty and waiting for him. Now he wanted to know who the hell was responsible for it all. There was no doubt it was planned, and the last person to threaten him was his old man.

  Ernie swung open the door, shotgun in hand. Pointed directly at Jeremiah’s head.

  Jeremiah flinched.

  Beady black eyes bore at him through the dusty screen. “You’re not welcome here, boy.”

  Caught off guard by the barrel in his face, Jeremiah taunted, “You gonna shoot me, now?”

  “I will if I need to.”

  “Haven’t you done enough already?” he goaded, searching for signs of guilt in his father’s face. Jeremiah didn’t put it past Ernie to hire some local thugs to rough him up after their encounter yesterday. Between him and Albert, they probably had access to enough of them.

  Ernie scrutinized Jeremiah’s
face, his injuries. “Too bad they didn’t finish the job.”

  Jeremiah riled. “Too bad you’re not dead already. Sure would have made taking this place from Felicity a hell of a lot easier.”

  Ernie thrust his gun into the screen between them. “Say her name again and I pull the trigger.”

  Jeremiah hesitated, his heart thumping against his rib cage. It was possible the old man was crazy enough to do it. Ernie Ladd, blowing his own kid clear off the porch with his shotgun. Glaring eye-to-eye, Jeremiah grimaced. “You’re not worth it,” he said, “but if I find out you had something to do with this,” he said, pointing to his face, “I’ll be back and give you a reason to use that gun of yours.”

  Ernie yanked it back and Jeremiah retreated down the steps, each foot fall a painful reminder he was not up for a fight. But he’d be back, that much was certain. There was gold on this land, gold that belonged to him. First, he’d have to nurse his wounds and get some more money. He might not have the cash to hire a lawyer, but he damned well had the brains to outsmart this bunch of hillbillies and get the judge to see things his way. And if that didn’t work, he always had the power of persuasion. Jeremiah punched fist to palm. A persuasion he’d take great pleasure in using against them.

  At the sound of a vehicle crossing over the bridge, Jeremiah cursed. Delaney and her boys. Well, talk about making his life easier. They were on the list of people he wanted to see today.

  From inside the car, Malcolm glanced across the meadow. The white car was gone. Knots unwound inside him. She must be okay. Questions swirled anew. Where was she? Why didn’t she return any of his calls last night?

  Delaney spotted Jeremiah and pointed. “Oh my God... What happened to him?”

  Via the rearview mirror, the two men exchanged a glance. “No idea,” Nick replied.

  Abruptly, she whirled on him. “Did you have something to do with that?”

  “No, ma’am,” Malcolm said easily.

  But the smile easing onto Nick’s lips didn’t help ease the worried look from her face. “If you’re lying to me—” she said to Nick.

  He put a finger to her lips. “I told you. I’m a man who believes in honesty. Mal and I had a meeting last night. We had nothing to do with Jeremiah’s beating. We may have shadowed him for a while before our meeting,” Nick allowed, “but we didn’t lay a hand on him.”

  “You followed him? Are you insane? Don’t you understand Jeremiah is not above using sleazy tactics?”

  It was exactly those sleazy tactics Malcolm wanted to discuss with Jeremiah. All night long he’d wondered about Lacy. He’d wanted to confront Jeremiah about it last night, but Nick forbade him. We’re innocent bystanders here. We can’t be tied to him in any way.

  Well, Malcolm had questions—questions he wanted answered. Before Nick placed the car in park, he jumped out, his eyes never wavering from Jeremiah as he approached. “Where’s Lacy?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Malcolm growled.

  Jeremiah snickered, his one eye swollen shut. Up close and personal the bruises from his beating were dark and pronounced. Whoever did this to him had done a thorough job.

  Delaney pulled up beside Malcolm. “What happened to you?”

  “As if you don’t know,” he said snidely.

  “Know? How would I know?”

  “Ask your boys, here. They’re responsible.”

  Delaney sucked in her breath but didn’t ask a single question. Malcolm understood. She already doubted them. Once Nick revealed their plan from last night—part of it, anyway—she had no reason to believe they wouldn’t have done this to Jeremiah. They had a will, they had a way. “That would be a waste of their time,” Delaney defended, her conviction quivering beneath a fine layer of nerves threading through her voice.

  “We didn’t beat you,” Nick confirmed. He grinned boldly. “Though I sure am glad someone did.”

  “Don’t push me,” Jeremiah cracked. He swiped a menacing glance toward Delaney and said, “You have people you care about that could get hurt.”

  Malcolm grabbed Jeremiah by the collar and wrenched him close. The stench of alcohol from Jeremiah’s breath assaulted his senses, set a fuse to his temper. “You lay a hand on Lacy and I swear I’ll kill you.”

  “Let go of me,” Jeremiah said evenly, “or you’ll be the one lying in the morgue.”

  Malcolm made a snap appraisal of the man’s eyes. They were black as coal behind a veil of brown. Jeremiah Ladd would fight and he would fight hard—to the death if need be. He was a man on the edge, a man with nothing to lose. Malcolm’s gut warned Jeremiah would prove a worthy opponent, too. Shoving him away, he thrust a finger in Jeremiah’s face. It might be worth a go-round to find out. “Warning stands.”

  Four heads swiveled in unison as a blue compact car passed by the bridge, turning into the meadow on the other side. Malcolm’s heart kicked. In the backseat sat Lacy. Lacy.

  Malcolm took off running. The driver slammed the brakes, put the car in reverse and drove over the bridge heading straight for him. Pulse pumping, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, emotions tangled in his heart. Lacy was okay. She was okay.

  The car stopped suddenly and three women popped out of the vehicle. Lacy ran toward Malcolm. A sliver of fear entered her eyes as she noticed Jeremiah. Malcolm scooped her up in his arms and hugged her close. God, she felt good. “Where have you been? What happened to you?”

  Lacy didn’t reply, only squeezed him tightly. Annie Owens and a blonde woman came up behind her. “What happened to Jeremiah?” Annie asked. But rather than showing alarm, she seemed oddly intrigued.

  “He got a beating last night,” Malcolm told her, then released Lacy but kept her close.

  “From you?” Lacy asked.

  Malcolm shook his head. “I wish.” Cupping her face in his hands, he searched her eyes for answers, meaning. “What happened to you? Why did you leave your purse in that white car by the trail last night? Why didn’t you return any of my calls?”

  Lacy’s eyes hollowed, her lower lip began to quiver.

  “We were in the forest,” Annie explained. “Lacy was showing me the gold. We were on our way out—until Jeremiah showed up.”

  “Jeremiah?” Anger exploded inside Malcolm.

  “Jeremiah thought it would be a good idea to threaten us,” she said. “Drove us off the property and took us to his motel.” Malcolm logged every syllable, each and every one stoking the embers of his fury. “Before we reached town, he received a phone call and that’s when he dumped us at the motel. Up and drove off, leaving us with no car of our own, no way to get home.” Annie’s anger was palpable. She raised a hand to her side. “I had to call my friend Candi, to come and get us.”

  Malcolm registered the blonde and her timid wave, registered the role Jeremiah played, registered the fact that Lacy had revealed the gold—the truth unfurling in her eyes as clear as a written confession. Malcolm’s heart ripped open. More hurt than he was prepared to be, he released Lacy. “How could you?”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Malcolm spun around and charged Jeremiah.

  “Malcolm!” Nick yelled.

  Annie screamed. Delaney jumped out of the way. From somewhere in the background, Lacy shrieked his name. Back-stepping, Jeremiah threw a punch, landing it against Malcolm’s jaw. He swung again, but Malcolm blocked it, undercutting Jeremiah’s chin with a slug of his own. The man reeled and fell.

  “Mal, stop!”

  Malcolm ignored the plea from Nick. Yanking Jeremiah up, he hit him again. Jeremiah moaned in pain, the sound like a balm to Malcolm’s pride.

  “Malcolm!” Lacy cried. “Stop! Please, stop!”

  Something inside him snapped. He no longer cared about the consequences of assault and battery. He no longer cared about a calm presence of mind. This parasite had it coming. Jeremiah lifted from the ground and Malcolm kicked him hard. His body fell limp.

  Nick gr
abbed Malcolm by the arm, pulling at him. Malcolm resisted, staring down at the bloodied face, the body writhing on the ground. He reached down to haul Jeremiah up, but Nick dragged him away. “This is not a fight you want to have.”

  “Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong,” Malcolm objected bitterly. He rubbed his jaw. That’s where you’re wrong. The pain building in his face had been worth it.

  Lacy ran to him. “Are you okay?” she asked, examining his chin.

  “I’m fine,” he answered gruffly.

  Lacy looked frightened as a kitten on a high wire. Tears spilled from her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She glanced at Annie, Delaney, Nick. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault!” She took off running. Malcolm’s instinct was to follow her, to chase her down and demand an explanation. But he didn’t. He didn’t move. Didn’t take the first step. Lacy had lied to him.

  Annie stepped forward, squaring her slender shoulders. The delicate lace trim of her blouse posed stark contrast to the authority in her voice. “She didn’t mean any harm. She had no idea it would cause this kind of trouble.”

  “Lacy told you about the gold?” Delaney asked, incredulous at the turn of events.

  “She was trying to help me.”

  “Help you? By telling you about my gold?”

  “It’s Felicity’s,” Annie corrected bluntly.

  “Mine and Felicity’s!” Delaney shouted.

  “Ladies, please,” Nick interceded, one hand clipped to the stirring Jeremiah.

  About to retort, Annie closed her mouth. She turned to Malcolm. “Listen, Lacy acts first, thinks second.”

  “That she does,” he agreed, tracking her fleeing figure. Lacy was running through the meadow in a direct line for the wooded trail.

  “She’s always been that way. She just doesn’t think in normal terms. But if I had to be honest...” Shame trickled into Annie’s blue eyes and Malcolm felt the pinch. “I’d say she was trying to do the right thing. The right thing by me and my daughter,” Annie corrected, brazenly baiting Delaney with the comment. To Malcolm, she said, “Lacy thought that if I knew about the gold, it would help motivate me to fight for Casey’s rights. As though I wasn’t fighting hard enough already,” she complained under her breath. “But Lacy doesn’t act on facts. She acts on emotion. She was trying help.” Annie’s expression softened. “It’s what she does, I think. She just tries to help.”