Losing Ladd Read online

  LOSING LADD

  by

  Dianne Venetta

  SMASHWORDS EDITION

  *****

  PUBLISHED BY:

  BloominThyme Press

  Losing Ladd

  Copyright 2013 by Dianne Venetta

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  *****

  LOSING LADD

  Ladd Springs Series:

  LADD SPRINGS ~ #1

  LADD FORTUNE ~ #2

  HOTEL LADD ~ #3

  LADD HAVEN ~ #4

  LOSING LADD ~ #5

  Other novels by Dianne Venetta

  Romantic Women’s Fiction series

  The Gables Trilogy:

  JENNIFER’S GARDEN

  LUST ON THE ROCKS

  WHISPER PRIVILEGES

  Women’s Fiction

  CONDEMN ME NOT

  Losing Ladd

  Copyright 2013 by Dianne Venetta

  ISBN: 978-0-9884871-9-2

  Publisher: BloominThyme Press

  Editor: Best Foot Forward

  Cover Design: Jaxadora Design

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the copyright owner.

  Acknowledgements

  For a writer, research is critical. Not only because your imagination can take you to some amazing places and spin some wild tales, but because your readers might have been there, done that, actually experienced some of the crazy stuff you come up with! You don’t want them reading a scene only to say, that couldn’t happen. Hospital scenes are a prime example. Doctors and nurses understand the procedures. Life and death situations are nothing new to them.

  But explosives? Who knows anything about those details?

  My nephew, for one. Ex-Navy, he worked as an EOD technician and is well-versed in the mechanics of how bombs are made, what makes them tick—and how to disable them. EOD is short for Explosive Ordinance Disposal, which means it was his job to locate the device, assess its capability and neutralize the threat, protecting your fellow men and women. It’s a tough job, especially considering much of his duties were performed underwater. Without his help, I wouldn’t have been able to create authentic scenes for this book.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my family. Without their support, I wouldn’t be able to spend hours upon hours playing with my imaginary friends. It’s a great life!

  LOSING LADD

  Book #5

  Felicity Wilkins might own Ladd Springs but when Jeremiah Ladd struts back into town with retaliation on his mind, she realizes how little her possession means. Not far behind him, Jillian Devane arrives on scene and between the two of them, everything Felicity holds dear is in jeopardy.

  Travis Parker knows the players and knows the law. Problem is, Jeremiah and Jillian don’t play by the rules and thwart his every effort to bring them to justice. Complicating the situation is the impending trial against Travis' twin brother Troy. Jack Foster continues to pursue his revenge against Troy, aided by his mother, Victoria. It's a battle that threatens to blow up the small town until a secret box of letters discovered in an attic changes everything.

  Cal Foster alone understands the valuable find, and uses it to protect his new family from the bloodlust of past quarrels they had nothing to do with. But one explosive evening on hotel property threatens Felicity’s entire world, throwing her at odds with Travis, and placing her life in grave danger.

  Will Jeremiah and Jillian finally exact their revenge on Hotel Ladd? Will Jack and Victoria prevail in their vendetta? Family feuds pack a powerful punch leaving no one untouched in the grand finale, Losing Ladd...

  Meet the cast of characters of Losing Ladd...

  Ernie & Albert Ladd – Brothers of Ladd Springs

  Susannah Ladd Wilkins – Sister to Ernie & Albert

  Delaney Wilkins – Ernie’s niece, married to Nick Harris

  Nick Harris – Founder, Harris Hotels

  Felicity Wilkins - Delaney’s daughter

  Travis Parker – Boyfriend to Felicity, twin to Troy

  Troy and Casey Parker – Newly married

  Cal and Annie Owens – Son of Gerald & Victoria/Mother to Casey

  Jeremiah Ladd - Ernie’s forsaken son, father to Casey

  Jillian Devane – Hotel developer, competitor to Nick Harris

  Malcolm Ward – Hotel developer, partner to Nick Harris

  Lacy Owens Ward – Wife to Malcolm, sister to Annie

  Jack Foster – Brother to Cal, Delaney’s ex-husband

  Beau and Clint Foster – Cal’s brothers

  Gerald & Victoria Foster – Cal’s parents

  Hank Dakota – Town lawyer working with Jack & Victoria

  Fran Jones - Owner of Fran’s Diner, aunt to Annie & Lacy

  Candi Sweeney - Annie’s best friend

  Jimmy Sweeney – Candi’s nephew, Assistant Mgr. Fran’s Diner

  Chapter One

  Felicity Wilkins took the sharp turn with a death grip on the steering wheel. Negotiating the rural mountain road as fast as she could, she had to get to the hotel fast. Someone unlocked the gates at the hotel stables, setting the animals loose. Some were gone. Her horse, Blue, was one of them. Visions of what could happen to her black mare inundated her mind.

  Felicity’s mother had called, her deadpan tone sinking in deeper with every mile. Blue was missing. Gone. Tightening her two-fisted grip, Felicity focused on the way ahead. There’d been a string of horse disappearances in the last month. Properties along the forest were being targeted due to the ease of escape. If anything happened to Blue, Felicity would die. She would die!

  With a tap to the brakes, she veered hard to the left, then lurched right, taking the snake turn at high speed. As she barreled down the final stretch of pavement, she prayed no one pulled out of their driveway. She wouldn’t be able to stop. The road was heavily lined with forest, nothing but trees and bushes as far as the eye could see, save a few tin mailboxes poking out. A route ingrained in her memory, a road traveled many times with Blue.

  Blue. Felicity’s heart caught in her throat. The mare had to be okay.

  Driving past a wall of rock, Felicity faintly registered the stream of spring water spurting from its façade. The neighbors had inserted a makeshift pipe for easy collection of the water, water that belonged to Ladd Springs. Her family’s property. As she passed a rusty old house trailer parked twenty feet off the road, memories of Clem Sweeney flushed through her mind. Not only did he try to steal their water, but he tried to steal their gold. Gold that had been discovered deep in the forest of her family’s property little over a year ago. Her property. Last year, Uncle Ernie had signed it over to her before he died. Muscles jumped in her jaw. It had been a sore spot between him and her mother, Ernie refusing to give in and sign the deed as promised, but in t
he end he did. Ernie had signed it over and died weeks later.

  At the time, Harris Hotels had been vying for the land to build a hotel. They specialized in luxury eco-resort hotels around the world and wanted to incorporate the Tennessee landscape into their portfolio. At first, her mother resisted. But once she and the chain owner became romantically involved, her position flipped. Felicity leased the land to Harris Hotels, and they transformed the property into a beautiful mountain resort, complete with spa, restaurant and stables. Stables someone had deliberately opened and forced the animals to flee.

  Felicity’s car reverberated over the wooden planks of the creek bridge, skidding in a cloud of dust as she floored the gas pedal and headed uphill. The staff parking area would be closest to the stables. Spying an open space near a clump of trees, she spun the wheel and braked to a hard stop, pitching her body forward. Pushing out her door, she slammed it closed, startled by the thunder of noise behind her.

  She whirled, calling out breathlessly, “Troy!”

  Troy Parker’s truck rocked back and forth as it too took the gravelly terrain at high speed, mirroring her arrival. He parked haphazardly, jumped out and headed straight for her, his muscular swagger reassuring in her time of need. Relief swept through Felicity. Her mom must have called him to come help. As Troy closed the distance with determined jean-legged strides, she saw concern digging through the brown of his eyes. “Your mom told you?” he asked.

  Felicity nodded. “Blue—” she sputtered, words choking away.

  “She told me someone unhooked the gates,” Troy said. “Is that true? Do you know what this is all about?”

  She shook her head, overwhelmed by a horrible helplessness.

  The brown of Troy’s gaze darkened, underscored by the black of his T-shirt and cowboy hat. He was not a man to contend with lightly. Not with that matchstick temper of his. “Whoever did this is going to pay, Felicity.”

  She nodded, suddenly grateful for Troy’s brash, bull-headed nature. She wanted whoever did this to pay, to suffer—especially if her horse had suffered. Felicity began to shake. “We need to find her.”

  “We will.” Troy grasped Felicity by the arm and directed her toward the stables of Hotel Ladd, a place he loved as dearly as she loved it, marching them onward. Troy and Felicity had been friends for as long as she could remember, along with his twin brother, Travis. The three were a trio. They rode together, played together. Horses were in their blood, part of their everyday lives. The thought of anything happening to one of their animals cut deep. Would they find them?

  After they passed through a cluster of trees, the packed clay ground was uneven, marked by jutting rocks and gnarled roots, the aroma of pine dominated the shaded trail. Unable to wait, Troy and Felicity began to jog, picking up their pace as they raced through the canopy of green toward the new stables. A creek trailed along their path, the babble nearly inaudible as fear and uncertainty rang in her mind, the pound of boots jarring her body.

  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 stabl
es?” 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.”