Ladd Fortune

by Dianne Venetta

  LADD

  FORTUNE

  by

  Dianne Venetta

  SMASHWORDS EDITION

  *****

  PUBLISHED BY:

  BloominThyme Press

  Ladd Fortune

  Copyright 2013 by Dianne Venetta

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold 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.

  LADD FORTUNE

  Ladd Springs Series:

  LADD SPRINGS ~ #1

  LADD FORTUNE ~ #2

  HOTEL LADD ~ #3

  LADD HAVEN

  Available October 2013

  Other novels by Dianne Venetta

  Romantic Women’s Fiction (series)

  JENNIFER’S GARDEN

  LUST ON THE ROCKS

  WHISPER PRIVILEGES

  Women’s Fiction

  CONDEMN ME NOT

  Ladd Fortune

  Copyright 2013 by Dianne Venetta

  ISBN: 978-0-9884871-4-7

  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

  As anyone who’s ever visited Tennessee can attest, it’s some beautiful countryside. From the hills and streams to the trails and sky, Ladd Springs represents one of my favorite summer destinations. But more than a beautiful setting, Ladd Springs represents family and friends and good times.

  While we can’t choose our family, we are fortunate for the role they play in our lives. Family sticks to you, whether you like it or not. They’re made from the same stuff, see life much the same way...

  Family is a part of you like nothing else in this world. Family is more than blood. Family is love, and Lacy and Annie are proof-positive that love can conquer all.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the Good family,

  my friends, my family, a bond strong enough to withstand

  the test of trials, tribulations and time.

  LADD FORTUNE

  Book #2

  Lacy Owens has come back to Tennessee for a return to the fold, only she’s done so on the heels of Jeremiah Ladd. The prodigal son of Ladd Springs, a mecca of natural springs, streams and trails in the eastern Tennessee mountains, he’s determined to reclaim the property as his rightful inheritance. Lacy cares little about Jeremiah’s plan. She simply yearns for the comfort of family.

  Sister Annie Owens wants nothing to do with Lacy, but sees opportunity in Jeremiah’s return. With him in town she can finally prove paternity for her daughter Casey, and ultimately stake her claim in Ladd Springs. Trouble is, Jeremiah’s father has already willed the property to his granddaughter, Felicity Wilkins. She’s away at college, but fighting for her rights is Malcolm Ward, partner in Harris Hotels, and a man with a financial stake in Ladd Springs. It’s his job to see the land remains in Felicity’s possession.

  But when Malcolm falls for Lacy without realizing her hidden agenda, everything he’s worked so hard to achieve is jeopardized. In these parts, blood runs thicker than legalities and feuds aside, it’s a hard lesson to learn for a city boy from California. Love and money are powerful forces but only one can prevail when it comes to Ladd Springs. Which will it be?

  Meet the cast of characters of Ladd Fortune...

  Ernie Ladd - Owner of Ladd Springs

  Albert Ladd - Ernie’s brother

  Susannah Ladd Wilkins – Ernie’s sister (deceased)

  Jeremiah Ladd - Ernie’s forsaken son

  Loretta Flynn – Jeremiah’s girlfriend from Atlanta

  Annie and Casey Owens - Jeremiah’s ex-girlfriend and her daughter

  Lacy Owens – Sister to Annie Owens

  Malcolm Ward – Hotel developer and partner to Nick Harris

  Delaney Wilkins - Ernie’s niece, daughter to his deceased sister Susannah

  Felicity Wilkins - Delaney’s daughter

  Nick Harris - Hotel developer interested in developing Ladd Springs

  Candi Sweeney - Annie’s best friend

  Travis and Troy Parker - Neighbors and friends of Felicity

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

  Ashley and Booker Fulmer - Ernie’s sister Susannah’s best friend & her husband

  Clem Sweeney – Candi’s brother, jailed for kidnapping attempt on Delaney Wilkins

  Willie - Cohort of Clem

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

  Chapter One

  Lacy Owens tamped down the flutter of pulse skirting through her chest. Parked across the street from the salon, she stared at the day spa, the mirrored glass display window splashed with fancy lettering. Trendz. Inserted between a sandwich shop and an insurance office, it was painted glossy black and stood out like a bald eagle in a blue sky. The hoagie shop to the right had been there for as long as Lacy could remember, its exterior faded to drab beige. The insurance agency was new and remarkably boring, its window marked by white block letters spelling out the company name and agent. Beyond the building, the green hills of Tennessee rose into the sky, a batch of patchy white clouds floating lazily in the distance.

  Would Annie be happy to see her? Would she be angry? Lacy’s breathing grew shallow. The temperature in the car was rising, heat pressing in on her. Their reunion could go either way. Knowing Annie, she’d try and toss her baby sister out on the sidewalk with a kick to the rump—which would hurt, in more ways than one.

  While Annie might throw her out on sight, Lacy had to try. It was meant to be. She knew it the minute Jeremiah Ladd walked into the lounge, announcing to his girlfriend, Loretta Flynn, they were headed for Ladd Springs. Ladd Springs. Tennessee. Home.

  It was her opportunity. The stars were in alignment. That very day her horoscope said it was time for a return to the fold. Lacy nibbled at her lip, fiddled with the steering wheel. Atlanta had never been home. Atlanta had been her escape.

  A woman pushed out through the front door of Trendz, her brown hair straight and shiny in the midday sun, her clothes fitted and chic. Lacy wondered if the woman had had her nails done. Was Annie in there? Lacy glanced at the clock on her dashboard. Three o’clock. She slid her gaze back to the salon. Annie would have to be, wouldn’t she? She still worked full-time, didn’t she?

  Nerves sputtered and popped. Grabbing a slim leather purse from the passenger seat, Lacy pushed opened her car door and headed in. It was now or never. Hopefully, Annie would understand. Hopefully, she’d forgive her. Hope was all she had. As Lacy crossed the street, her legs felt boneless, like she’d dissolve into a mess on the street, this instant. It was a wonder she could even walk! But walk she would. She’d walk straight into that salon and face her sister, once and for all. It was time. This mess betw
een them had gone on too long and it had to stop.

  Lacy opened the salon door and was immediately sucked in by the strong scent of hair products, nail polish and perfume. Her heart thudded as she scanned the salon’s interior. A line of mirrored stations manned by a bevy of women dressed in black created a corridor down the center. Each stood by their chairs wielding blow dryers, flat irons and scissors over their clients. From above, drips of blue hung down in the form of ceramic lighting. Lacy thought the subtle hues very modern, very sophisticated. Venturing in a few steps, she noticed the nail station was empty. Her spirits fell. No Annie. She heaved a sigh, eyeing the receptionist who sat smiling behind her check-in desk. She was a perky young blonde who didn’t look a day over fifteen.

  “May I help you?” the girl asked.

  “Um...” Lacy hesitated. She looped short curls of hair behind an ear. Should she ask about Annie? Should she leave her name, thus warning her sister of her arrival?

  Absolutely not. A surprise visit was best, sort of a spontaneous reunion where she could gauge her sister’s reaction on the spot and respond accordingly. “Well...” Lacy paused, suddenly second-guessing her entire scheme. “I was wondering about having my nails done.”

  “Great! We have a nail tech who’s the best in the business.”

  Lacy didn’t doubt it. When she and Annie were kids, her older sister forever practiced on her nails, creating stripes, polka dots—the works. Lacy had always been amazed by her sister’s uncanny ability to “stay within the lines” as she painted and wished she could have done as well, but she never could. Polish forever smudged and dripped. Annie was good with hair, too. Lacy could apply makeup, but hair and nails were Annie’s area of expertise. “Hm,” she hedged, “do you happen to know her name?”

  The receptionist looked at her queerly.

  Dingbat—of course she did! She worked here, didn’t she? Flummoxed, Lacy clarified, “I mean, I want to make sure it’s the same woman my friend recommended.”

  “Annie Owens. Is that who you were looking for?”

  Lacy’s heart raced at the confirmation. She nodded.

  Flipping through pages in her appointment book, the receptionist said, “She has availability Friday afternoon, and then next week.” She dragged her pencil lightly down the page and said, “Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon.” Checking with Lacy, she asked, “Will any of those work for you?”

  But Lacy didn’t answer. In the back of the salon, Annie had emerged and currently stood immobile in the center aisle. Dryers whirred, conversation chattered, but Annie only had eyes for Lacy.

  Lacy gulped. Without looking at the young woman, stammered, “Um, let me think about it, okay?”

  “Sure thing,” the receptionist replied.

  Annie came to life and approached Lacy with a hard line in her gaze, a chop to her step. Familiar blue eyes bore into her. Annie’s wrath arrived ten steps ahead of her, followed by a sharp whoosh of displeasure, which strummed in the air around them as the women stood face-to-face. “What are you doing here?”

  Despite her sister’s animosity, Lacy thought Annie looked good. Her hair was shorter now, cut into a cute pageboy, her black-clad figure trim. Her makeup was flattering in shades of pink and other than the vile look in her eyes, Lacy discovered her sister had grown into an attractive woman. “Hi, Annie.” Lacy gave a short wave, flushing with an uncomfortable awkwardness.

  Apparently catching onto the underpinnings of anger between Lacy and Annie, the receptionist closed her book and busied herself with something on her desk.

  “I asked you a question,” Annie repeated flatly.

  Lacy shuddered beneath the caustic tone. People could hear her! “I wanted to let you know that I’m back in town,” she ventured softly.

  “Why?”

  “Um...” She bit her lip, averting the gaze of the receptionist, the inquisitive glances from hairstylists. “Because we’re family, why else?”

  “Is Jeremiah with you?”

  Without thinking, Lacy nodded.

  Loathing poured into Annie’s expression. “So you two are still together.”

  “No!” Lacy exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest. “Oh, no, we’re not together at all!”

  Annie’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Then why would he be here same time as you? Coincidence?”

  “No. He’s with my friend Loretta. Loretta Flynn.”

  “Your friend?” Annie asked, disbelief crawling through her eyes.

  “Yes, yes—we work together at a lounge in Atlanta.” Or did. She’d quit on her way out the door as she headed home for Tennessee. “That’s how I know he’s here. He told Loretta he was coming home and I...I...” Lacy didn’t know exactly how to say it. I needed an escape? I wanted to come back home? By the icy nature of Annie’s reception, it didn’t seem like her sister much cared why Lacy had returned. Only that she had—and it wasn’t good news.

  “What do you want?”

  Lacy glanced about the immediate vicinity. Was the middle of the salon’s entrance really the place to be having this discussion?

  As though taking her cue, Annie stalked off toward a white leather nail chair. Beside it sat a square black ottoman, a pristine white towel draped over one side. A myriad polish bottles lined the work table, shades ranging from the sheerest of pinks to the darkest of plums. Files and clippers were lined neatly to one side, the workspace made all the brighter by a petite but powerful black lamp. Lacy thought her sister had come a long way from the rinky-dink salon in which she started her career as a teenager. From what Lacy could tell, Trendz was top of the line, as nice as any in Atlanta and a surprise find in this backwoods town. When Lacy lived here, the fanciest store they had going was the flower shop, and they only stayed afloat because of weddings and funerals.

  Struggling to continue the conversation with something harmless, Lacy decided on a compliment. “This is a nice place you work in.”

  “This isn’t a social call.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  Annie glowered, crossing arms over her chest. “What do you want, Lacy?”

  “I’m here to say hello.”

  “Goodbye.”

  Lacy reached out for her sister but quickly rethought the gesture. Annie looked as if she might bite her arm off. “Annie,” she pleaded, “what about all the letters I wrote you? Why didn’t you write back?”

  “Because I had nothing to say to you. Still don’t.”

  Crestfallen, Lacy couldn’t believe her ears. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned their reunion. Rocky, maybe. Thorny, possibly. But absolute rejection? Her sister didn’t even want to try? Sliding a hand up her narrow purse strap, Lacy asked, “Can’t we catch up on old times? Get back in touch?”

  “The old times I remember are you running off with my boyfriend. Sorry, but it’s not something I care to catch up on.”

  “But Jeremiah wasn’t really your—” Lacy scrambled for reason. She’d never thought that Annie and Jeremiah were a serious couple. Jeremiah had been with so many others. Could Annie really be that upset she’d moved to Atlanta with him?

  “He was my boyfriend,” Annie declared, “the one you decided to chase to Atlanta. The fact that he wasn’t faithful doesn’t change the truth.”

  Lacy breathed easier. So she did know. Then why so mad? “I’m sorry, Annie. I just thought—”

  “Thought what? That because he was playing around behind my back, it might as well be you he was playing with?” Disgust rolled through Annie’s expression. “You’re dead to me.”

  “Annie Grace!” Lacy cried, punctured by the hateful remark.

  “What?” A glimmer of pleasure crept into her sister’s gaze. “You don’t like hearing the truth?”

  Lacy smoothed the ruffled layers of her blouse and searched for onlookers. Eavesdroppers in these parts were as common as oxygen and sure as she was breathing, Lacy knew word would get out about her arrival and this dreadful showdown. But Lacy would not be deterred. “Annie, the truth has more
sides than one. I’m sorry you’re upset with me about going to Atlanta with Jeremiah, but I thought you two had broken up.”

  Annie laughed, the sound biting to Lacy’s ears. “And I’m supposed to stand here for a lecture on the truth from someone who wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and smacked her on the head?”

  “Annie.”

  “Don’t Annie, me. You fibbed as a child and you fibbed as a teenager. I don’t expect it to change.”

  Tears pushed behind her eyes, but Lacy held them in check. She didn’t want to break down in front of her sister, the entire salon. It was bad enough people were staring at her from clear across the room. They didn’t have to witness her losing it completely.

  Lacy pushed back her shoulders and said plainly, “I’m sorry, Annie.”

  “You’re darn right, you are.”

  Staring into Annie’s blue eyes, the black pupils punctuated by white from an overhead drip light, Lacy’s heart fell. “This was a mistake,” she said quietly. She had hoped to make amends. She had hoped to forgive and forget and move forward with the only family she had left. Daddy was dead, Momma was gone. Annie was it.