Read Online Losing Ladd by Dianne Venetta - Free Book Online Page B

Troy felt her attention would be better fixed on her
horses. Hopefully Travis and Felicity found Blue, and her hands
would be full caring for the animals. Troy pulled the cell phone
from his pocket and called Felicity.
    “ Hello?”
    “ Did you find Blue?” Troy
asked.
    “ Yes. She was down by the
river. How about you?”
    “ Spirit’s with me now. I’m
walkin’ him back to the stables.”
    “ Oh, good!”
    “ Where are you?” he asked,
flattening flowers and grass as he and Spirit plodded along the
tree line.
    “ At Fran’s. My mom sent me
here to pick up lunch for one of the guys at the
stables.”
    Troy nodded, his stomach growling at
the mention of food. “I could use a little lunch myself,” he said,
noting a shiny silver car turning into the hotel’s parking
lot.
    “ Want me to pick something
up for you?”
    “ Nah. I’ll go home for
lunch, but thanks.”
    “ Okay and
Troy...”
    “ Yeah?”
    “ I saw my father this
morning...”
    When she didn’t elaborate, Troy asked,
“What was he doin?”
    “ He was with Jillian
Devane.”
    “ Jillian Devane? What the
heck is she doin’ here?” he asked, memories of the cat woman
gurgling to the surface. The last time he saw her she was tryin’ to
wrap her arms around him like a noose. He’d been waiting for Casey
at Whiskey Joe’s and the woman latched onto him like white on rice.
Casey had walked in on him and nearly dumped him over the incident.
Which burned his hide. That vixen wasn’t even worth the
headache.
    “ That’s what I was
wondering, but it’s worse.”
    “ Worse? What could be
worse than the she-devil being in town?”
    “ I think she spent the
night with my father.”
    Troy groaned. Felicity was right. That
couldn’t be good.
    “ Gotta go,” she said. “I’m
pulling into the lot for Fran’s.”
    “ Okay. Thanks.”
    Troy picked up his pace, more
determined than ever not to share what he saw in the woods with
Miss Delaney. If she knew Jillian Devane was in town, she would not
be happy. She already suspected Jeremiah was up to trouble. What
would it do to her to know she was up against a
double-whammy?
    Crossing the bridge, Troy took the
turn for the trail leading up to the stables, stopped sudden by the
call of his name.
    “ Troy, hold
up!”
    Cal Foster descended the front steps
of the lobby and jogged over to him, wearing a light green
button-down and khaki pants, his standard manager wear. Combined
with his fair skin and light brown hair, the colors made him look
soft, but Troy knew the man to be anything but. Pausing, Troy
glanced back to Spirit, who tugged at the lead. “Whoa,
boy.”
    The horse stopped, shook its mane and
swatted a fly from his rear.
    “ You’re okay. We’re only
here for a second,” Troy said.
    Mr. Foster grinned as he reached them.
“I see you found Spirit. Good job!”
    “ Yes, sir. He was
wandering in the forest.”
    “ Delaney will be thrilled
by the news.”
    “ Headed up her way
now.”
    “ Let me take a look at
him.” Troy stepped aside as Cal assessed the animal behind him.
Walking the around the back of him, he inspected Spirit’s body and
legs, ran a hand the length of his mid-section. “He looks good. Did
you have any trouble rounding him up?”
    “ No, sir.” Troy paused.
Spirit’s ears twitched forward and back, he kicked a hoof
restlessly at the ground as he kept an eye on Mr. Foster. “But
there is something I have to tell you.”
    Mr. Foster’s expression stilled, his
hazel gaze clouding with concern. “What?”
    “ I saw Jeremiah Ladd in
the forest, out near the gold site.”
    “ What?”
    Troy nodded. “He was with two
men.”
    Cal raked a hand through his hair. “Do
I need to ask what they were doing?”
    “ I don’t know for sure,
but they weren’t real happy to find the gold had been
mined.”
    “ I’ll bet they weren’t! Do
you know who the men were?”
    “ No, sir. But I think Mr.
Ladd must have promised them some of the gold.”
    “ They probably