Losing Ladd (2 page)

Blue knew this land as well as
Felicity, but the hotel stables were new to her, having moved in
only weeks ago. Surely Blue wouldn’t run off. She might wander, but
she wouldn’t go far.

Unless she had been frightened. But
her mother didn’t relay any such detail. Probably because Felicity
hadn’t given her the chance. The minute she heard Blue was missing,
she ended the call, jumped in her car and peeled out of Casey and
Troy’s driveway in two seconds flat. She’d been visiting with them
and the baby when her mother called. As manager of the stables, the
horses were her mom’s responsibility. It was a job she took to
heart. Like Felicity, Delaney Wilkins Harris adored horses. She
lived and breathed them. If anything happened to any one of the
animals, her mother would be devastated. Felicity glanced to her
side. As would Troy. He was a horseman through and through. He
could work a horse quicker and better than anyone, retrain them for
riders or break them in for the first time, his recent performance
in the stables of Hotel Ladd proof positive. Hired by her mother,
Troy had been in heaven. It was his second chance, his dream come
true. Until her father stole it from him.

Her father, Jack Foster.
An evil man, he had attacked her mother one night and Troy jumped
in to defend her. The two fought, a gun was fired, then afterward
her father lied like the devil to have Troy wrongly charged with
assault. Assault with a deadly weapon. Troy had pointed a gun at
her father—her mother’s gun to be precise—using it as a way to
protect the two of
them
from the real criminal. Her father. Could he be
responsible for setting the horses loose?

“
Are you okay?” Troy
asked.

Felicity was falling behind. Now they
were out in the open air, the August sun was taking its toll, as
was the incline. The trail was graded but steep. Lengths of white
four-board fencing lined their path up to the stables. At the top
of the hill the distant tin roof reflected silvery
white.

Urgency clawed at her. “Fine,” she
muttered, her chest heaving under labored breath. Troy slowed and
she cried, “But we have to get there!”

“
You sure you don’t need
to slow down?” he asked.

Perspiration gathered at her neck and
beneath her blouse, a sure sign her fair skin would be flushed red.
“Yes,” she replied and pushed at him to continue forward. Blue
needed her.

Her mother needed her.

Within minutes they reached the level
ground surrounding the stables and paddocks. Her mother emerged
from an open doorway of the stables, her bearing rigid, tense. Long
white blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail; her low-waisted
jeans hung snug on her slender frame, her body fit from a life
outdoors. She wore a navy tank top, her bare arms buff. But that
was her mom. Delaney Wilkins Harris would rather be out hiking,
throwing sweet feed or sitting on the back of her horse, Sadie,
than primping with fuss and makeup.

As she approached her mother, the chip
of fear in her brown eyes stopped Felicity cold. Was her mom’s
Palomino gone, too? “Is Sadie okay?”

“
Fine. But the others are
still missing. I’ve got several of the hands out looking, but you
two are the ones I need.” Delaney glanced between Felicity and
Troy. “The horses will respond to the sound of your
voices.”

“
What happened?” Felicity
asked.

Delaney slid a hand over her shiny
head of hair, then dropped it to her waistband. “Someone came in
this morning and unlatched the gates. Several of the horses stayed
around but most of them left.”

Because they were new to Ladd Stables.
Because the animals came from other ranches and weren’t fully
acclimated to their new home yet. As though reading her thoughts,
her mom said, “Blue is probably down by the old stables. But
Spirit...” She turned to Troy and his expression went slack.
“Spirit is a different story.”

“
He’s not ready for
release.”

Delaney returned a minor shake of her
head. Spirit wasn’t ready for riders, let alone free
range.

“
He could be anywhere,”
Troy mumbled.

“
You’re the one he’ll
respond to, Troy,” Delaney said. “If anyone can find him and bring
him back home, it’s you.”

Felicity looked to Troy. He’d been
working with the horse since the animal’s arrival. He’d come to
Ladd Stables from a rancher friend in Georgia with a warning. He
wasn’t suitable for accommodating guest trails rides. But her mom
took the animal anyway. Said she fell in love with the mahogany
Quarter Horse the minute she laid eyes on him, and she was taking
him. It was an emotion Felicity understood. And her assessment
appeared to be right on, once Troy got his hands on the horse. He’d
made huge progress but it was a process, one he hadn’t quite
finished.

Because he lost his job.
Because of her father. Felicity closed her eyes.
Please don’t let him lose the horse,
too
.

“
Who would have done such
a thing?” Felicity demanded in a surge of anger.

“
I have my suspicions, but
right now we need to find those animals.”

Something moved behind her mother’s
gaze. Did she know?

Troy responded immediately. Looking to
Felicity, he asked, “You goin’ down to the old stables?” She
nodded. “Okay. I’ll take the north side. Call me if you see
anything, you hear?”

“
Will do,” she
replied.

“
Felicity!”

At the sound of her name, she turned.
Travis Parker jogged up to them, his gaze darting between her and
her mother. “I came as fast as I could. What’s going
on?”

Felicity circled her palm around his
bicep, drawing him close. The smooth round of his muscle was
reassuring in its strength, his calm level-headed presence
comforting to her nerves. Travis was an identical twin to Troy, the
brothers sharing the same build, sporting the same dark eyes and
overgrown layers of brunette hair complete with a strong jaw line
and determined gaze. Unlike Troy who never left home without his
cowboy hat, Travis saved his for rides and hikes.

Yet both shared her love of
horses.

Travis honed in on her mom. “Do we
know who did this?”

“
I think Jeremiah Ladd had
something to do with it. Someone paid his debt to the casino,
making him a free man.” Delaney glanced briefly to Troy. “He’s out
and he’s back in town.”

Travis raked a hand through his hair,
a fiery gaze landing on his brother. “You’d better watch your
back.”

“
Oh my gosh—” Felicity’s
pulse tripped. Frightened for Troy’s safety, she darted a glance
between the two of them. “You don’t think he would come back to
cause trouble, do you?”

Travis glared at his brother. “Troy
didn’t exactly befriend the man while he was in town.”

“
Back off,
brother.”

“
Well, it’s true,” Travis
shot back. “What did you think would happen when you tried to sleep
with his girlfriend?”

Troy angled toward Travis. “I did no
such thing.”

“
I caught you in the
act!”

Delaney stepped between the boys.
“Stop it you two. Infighting will get us nowhere.”

Felicity thought Travis had some nerve
bringing up the past at a time like this. Jeremiah Ladd was not a
man to take lightly. Sure, Troy might have gotten mixed up with the
man’s girlfriend, but it didn’t give Jeremiah the right to hurt
him. Didn’t Travis care that Troy could be in serious danger?
Didn’t he remember what happened the last time Jeremiah was in
town? Not only had he tried to take Ladd Springs from Felicity and
her mother, but he threatened Uncle Ernie’s life! Thank goodness
her uncle was a tough old goat and didn’t take grief from anyone,
including his own son. He’d signed the property to her and that was
the end of that. Uncle Ernie didn’t care what Jeremiah wanted or
why he wanted it.

Memory cut loose a flurry of angst.
According to her mom, Uncle Ernie had even gone so far as to have
Jeremiah beaten and left for dead in the street to stop him from
interfering. Felicity centered on Troy. Would he now receive the
brunt of Jeremiah’s revenge?

“
He’s back,” Delaney
intervened, “and I don’t think this it’s any coincidence, but it
has nothing to do with Troy.” She paused, settling a heavy gaze on
Felicity. “It has everything to do with us.”

Chapter Two

Travis stepped back, tugged at his
plaid shirt and doused his anger. Felicity needed him. She needed
to find her horse, and that’s why he was here. He’d deal with Troy
another time. “C’mon,” Travis said, taking his girlfriend by the
arm. “Let’s go after Blue.”

Felicity didn’t resist, though he
could see the hesitation in her soft green eyes. As usual, her
strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a French braid, a frame
of fine strands curling around her face. In the afternoon heat, her
fair skin was flushed pink, brightening the spray of freckles
across her cheeks. Felicity had always been sensitive at heart, but
being hung up on Troy’s well-being, currently jeopardized because
of his own stupid actions, was plain wrong. If Troy hadn’t tried to
make it with Jeremiah Ladd’s trashy girlfriend, he’d have nothing
to worry about. He wouldn’t be wearing a bulls-eye on his back. But
that was Troy. Act first, think second. Travis deemed it would
ultimately be his undoing.

“
Go on,” Troy told
Felicity. “I’ve gotta go after Spirit.”

“
But what if Jeremiah
finds you?”

“
We don’t know it’s
Jeremiah,” Travis interjected. Sending a dodgy gaze toward
Felicity’s mom. Running off half-cocked was Troy’s specialty, not
his. Miss Delaney should know better. Unfortunately, she shared
Troy’s hair-trigger impulse control.

“
Travis is right,” Delaney
said. “We don’t know for sure who did this. The more important
matter is finding those horses.”

Relieved by her retreat, Travis asked,
“How many others have gone missing?”

“
Other than Blue and
Spirit, we’ve got five unaccounted for. One of the guys called and
said he located two of the animals grazing in a field on the other
side of the river. The other three might be of a similar mind. I’ve
asked the men to check all the clearings.”

“
Spirit won’t be in the
open,” Troy said. “He’s too skittish.”

Delaney looked to Troy, and Travis
felt an admiration string between them. “I’m going to let you
decide on where to look for Spirit.”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

Delaney Wilkins Harris was like a
mother to them. Hanging out with Felicity since they were kids,
Travis and Troy spent nearly every day at her house or on horseback
along the river. They’d been a team, an inseparable trio. The first
cracks in their bond didn’t show up until high school when it
became clear as a mountain stream both brothers harbored feelings
for Felicity, feelings that went beyond friendship. In the
beginning he and Troy joked about it, but one afternoon it came to
fists. Travis insisted Felicity wasn’t Troy’s type. She was more
like him. Studious, more sophisticated. Troy flew out of control
and the two hit the ground, rolling and punching. It had been ugly,
both walking away with bruises. In the end, Felicity chose him.
Travis had won and Troy couldn’t get past it. He’d stewed over the
loss for weeks. Until he decided to hook up with Casey—right after
he was messing with her father’s girlfriend. Disgust roiled in
Travis’ gut. Sometimes he wondered how they could be
brothers.

“
Be careful, Troy,” Her
gaze held immense affection as Felicity said, “I don’t want
anything to happen to you.”

Travis’ stiffened as
Felicity’s words lit into him.
Maybe I
chose the wrong brother.
Maybe Casey’s the
smart one and I’m the loser
. The remarks
from months ago still cut raw. Felicity seemed more concerned with
Troy than him. And Casey and her brand new baby, too. She brought
clothes for the kid, played the flute for her. She went to their
cabin practically every day. Staring at his girlfriend, Travis felt
the pinch. Since when did they rank higher than him?

“
I’ll be fine,” Troy
replied. “You go on with Travis.”

Travis agreed. “C’mon,” he said
quickly and led Felicity away.

She followed his lead, cruising down
the trail, keeping pace with him. The sun was scorching today, not
a cloud in the sky, and Travis was hot. Mostly from his run up the
hill, but the temperature had to be pushing a hundred. Swiping a
hand through the hair on his forehead, he slid it back. Grass was
dry, more brown than green. There hadn’t been much rain lately, and
the fields were beginning to wear. Casting a sideways glance, he
could see Felicity was hot too. Not only was her skin flushed from
exertion, but her neck was slick beneath her braid, her green shirt
spotted with perspiration. The crux of her concern could be found
in her face. While orange-blonde strands of hair caught and
reflected the sunlight, reminding him of many a day spent outdoors
in the sunshine, her emerald green eyes were knotted with
worry.

Travis hated that she was upset, but
at least she called him to come over and help her look for Blue.
Ever since Felicity had overheard the Foster wives gossiping about
how her father hit her mother and that’s why she dumped him, she
seemed changed, as if what happened between her parents ten years
ago had bearing on her life today.