Ladd Fortune (24 page)

“
Do you think Delaney will
share the property with Annie?” Lacy asked.

“
That’s hard to say. So far,
she’s been staunchly opposed to the idea.”

“
But if Annie proves it?
Wouldn’t Delaney do the right thing by Annie and give her
half?”

Malcolm glanced down at Lacy. It was
beginning to feel like she had a vested interest in Annie and Casey
prevailing in this deal. “Right’ can be a relative term. Is it
right for Jeremiah to have it when he’s suspected of murder?” he
asked, watching for her reaction. Did she truly not know about the
incident Delaney spoke of? Was it possible? “And how about Albert.
Is it right for him to be cut out completely? And what about his
sons?”

“
Billy and Robby,” she
murmured, dropping her gaze to the dirt path ahead of them.
“They’re blood kin, too, which means they’re entitled to a piece,
aren’t they?”

Malcolm heard distress in her voice, as
though the thought of Albert’s boys getting a piece of Ladd Springs
was not what she wanted to hear. “It’s convoluted to say the
least,” he acknowledged, unwilling to let talk of family feuds and
property rights interfere with their time together. “But in the
end, it will all work out.”

She angled her face up to his. “You
think so?”

Taking in her pert little mouth and
beautiful blue eyes, he replied, “I do. I much prefer to believe in
the positive, don’t you?”

Lacy smiled, as though realizing she
knew he was on to her and gave a gentle tug to his hand. “I
do.”

Passing the time in quiet for a while,
Malcolm thought hiking through the shade of the forest was like
traveling another world. From a floor of clay and rock to walls of
earth and trees and a ceiling of leaves, it was secluded. Cut off
from society. The forest smelled rich and clean, no trace of smog
or fumes, nothing like the busy world he normally inhabited. The
trail was totally private, insulated from stress. This land
promised a spectacular retreat for Harris Hotel guests. It would
make for a memorable stay in sensory experience. Malcolm’s mind
went to Lacy’s hand in his and felt this place was becoming
memorable for a different reason.

He was beginning to look forward to
spending some time here, designing the hotel, building it, and
hanging out with the woman by his side. As far as he could tell,
Lacy had no plans to return to Atlanta, nothing pulling her away
from him. She was free and easy and it was his job to see that
their relationship stayed that way. Observing a large rock at the
curve in the trail up ahead, Malcolm knew they were getting close.
Not far beyond was a valley of brush and a creek which would help
him locate the “golden rock” with ease. “We’re almost there,” he
informed her.

Her blue eyes widened. “We
are?”

“
Yes. But before I show you
the rock, you must promise me you’ll keep this a secret. Delaney
doesn’t want the entire world to know about it—”

“’
Cause they’ll come in and
get it for themselves,” Lacy finished for him. She nodded. “I
understand.”

“
Good.” He stopped. Cupping
her face, he gazed into her eyes for any hint of deception. “I can
trust you, right?” She nodded and linked hands behind her back like
a dutiful child. “You wouldn’t want me to get into trouble, would
you?”

“
Of course not.”

Malcolm smiled. “Me, neither. Delaney
can be a viper when she wants to be.”

“
You don’t have to tell me—I
grew up with her!”

“
Point taken,” he said.
Sliding a hand behind her back, he unwound her arms and entwined
his fingers through hers. Holding her hand was nice. Simple, easy.
His heart skipped a beat. Really nice. “This way.”

Malcolm led her to a large tree trunk,
a tight passageway cutting through rocks and roots as it forged a
path to the forest floor. Twenty yards and they would be
face-to-face with the gold.

“
Where is it?” she asked,
scanning their vicinity.

“
It’s over there,” he said,
pointing to the cluster of boulders, then looked down. “Are those
your good boots? It’s a bit muddy down there and I’d hate to see
them ruined.”

Lacy laughed. “These are cowboy boots.
They’re made for getting dirty!”

Malcolm felt a quick rise to his
cheeks. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“
Because you’re a beach boy,
not a country boy.”

“
You got me there,” he said,
and gestured a hand. “Ladies first.”

Without hesitation, Lacy scooted
between bushes and rocks, hardly touching a single branch for
balance or support. Like a rabbit, she scampered down in seconds
and waited at the bottom while he made his descent.

Steady as she goes, Malcolm mused,
hoping he didn’t slip and slide his way down. He wasn’t sure his
ego could stand the hit or his clothing the stain But to his
pleasant surprise, he made it without issue, leaping from rock to
trunk, then jumping down to within feet of her. His thigh muscles
felt the burn—probably still recovering from his mad meadow
dash—feats for which he’d pay dearly tomorrow. Definitely time to
renew that gym membership, he mused.

Guiding Lacy toward the gold, Malcolm
was careful not to trip over large stones jutting from the ground
beneath him. Small underbrush and ferns were matted in places,
trampled from the recent slew of foot traffic, he
presumed—something they’d have to put a stop to and soon. Delaney
was right. There was nothing preventing Jeremiah from waltzing in
here and taking the gold for himself. Other than a
shotgun.

Malcolm walked around the far side of
the boulder, motioning for Lacy to join him. “It’s there,” he
touched a finger to the cold gray stone before them. There was a
distinct segment of discoloration, a scraggly mark across the
surface. “You see this line? That’s the gold.”

Doubt wrenched her features. “That’s
it?”

“
It is,” he replied,
lowering near her, the scent of her hair distracting as he hovered
inches from her.

“
Wow,” she murmured,
mesmerized by the exposed precious stone. She ran a finger along
the jagged section, tracing the gouges. “It looks
so...so...”

“
Anti-climactic?”

She popped up and frowned. “Smarty
pants.”

Malcolm chuckled. “Looks a lot better
in jewelry form, if you ask me.”

A shadow fell across her face. “Me,
too.”

At her disappointment, he asked, “Not
what you expected?”

“
Not really. I thought there
would be huge chunks of it, like the whole rock would be
gold-filled.”

He lifted shoulders and hands and said,
“Sorry to dash your hopes.”

She turned to him. “Is there a lot
here? I mean, is it worth a lot of money?”

Lacy was back to twenty
questions—questions he didn’t have answers to or the authority to
give. “Don’t know. Nick is the one looking into it. They want to
make arrangements to have it mined.”

“
Mined?” She gaped at the
stone. “Why do they have to mine it, can’t they just chip it
out?”

He grinned. “Manner of expression. Yes,
I’m sure they could chip it out, but they believe there’s a heck of
a lot more underground.”

“
Huh.”

“
Huh?” Intrigued by her
response, he asked, “Why does it look as if your mind is working on
warp speed right now?”

Lacy snapped the lens to her thoughts
closed. “It’s curiosity, is all. I’ve never seen real gold. It’s...
interesting.”

“
Interesting.” Amused by her
choice of words, he suppressed a chuckle. “Well, have you seen
enough?”

“
I have,” she quipped. “Now
let’s get back to that picnic you promised me.”

“
I’m all yours.” Lacy
trotted off, easily climbing up to the main trail. As usual, she
was yards ahead of him, standing at the top waiting, tugging the
ends of her skirt back in place. She brushed the back of her skirt,
shaking back and forth, and suddenly Malcolm wanted a taste of her,
a feel of her body next to his. With a punch of energy, he made it
up the steep path in no time.

“
Do you want to go back and
get the food?” she asked, heading back the way they
came.

He shook his head and moved toward her.
“I’m not hungry.”

“
You’re not? But you hardly
touched your chicken. It’s already three o’clock.”

He smiled. “How about dinner? I’ll be
hungry then.”

Blue eyes blinked in confusion as Lacy
walked sideways along the trail with him. “Dinner?”

“
Dinner. You know,
restaurant, ambiance, food.”

It dawned on her what he meant and a
slow smile crept onto her lips. “Mr. Ward, are you asking me out on
a date?”

“
I am.”

With a new skip to her step, Lacy moved
a few feet ahead of him, though her gaze remained steadily fastened
on his. “Where are you going to take me?”

“
Where do you want to go?”
he asked, playing along.

“
Well, we’ve been to Whiskey
Joe’s,” she said, toying with him, keeping two steps
ahead.

“
They serve food?” He shook
his head as though surprised by the revelation, subtly lengthening
his strides to close the space between them. “Huh. Didn’t
notice.”

She smiled and continued, “We’ve been
to Aunt Frannie’s...”

Malcolm grinned. “Seems we’re getting
around, you and I.”

“
How about Lily
Swan’s?”

“
Sounds perfect,” he said
and lunged for her.

Lacy shrieked, hurrying to dodge him,
but Malcolm wrapped her up in his arms and she cried, “Let me
go!”

“
No way. You might run off
and leave me in these woods. I’d never catch you then.”

Snuggling up within his embrace, she
asked innocently, “Is that what you’re trying to do? Catch
me?”

Malcolm peered down at her. Short
tendrils of shiny black hair framed her cheekbones, but it was her
flirtatious twinkle that captured his full attention. “I absolutely
am.”

Lacy giggled and wriggled within his
arms. Desire fired through him as she tilted her mouth upward. No
more hard to get? When she closed her eyes, his loins pulsed.
Malcolm brushed his nose against the side of her face, inhaling the
scent of her, a mix of floral fragrance and light perspiration,
then slid his lips over hers. The supple quality of her mouth was
almost too much to stand. He kissed her. She was soft and pliant,
hunger and desire drove him harder, deeper.

Lacy gasped and pulled away from him,
her mouth soft and swollen from his. “Whoa.”

Searching for disapproval, Malcolm
found none.

“
That was some kind of
wow.”

Pleased, Malcolm smiled. Moving her
back against the flat expanse of a large rock, he interlaced his
fingers with hers and swept her arms above her head, pinning her in
place.

Lacy gazed at him, her gaze fluid,
attentive. “But what about dinner?”

“
Dinner can wait. You
can’t.” Malcolm pecked her forehead, her nose, then stared into the
depths of her eyes. Lacy stared right back. He savored the sight of
her, the feel of her curvy body beneath him. “I’ve never met anyone
like you before.”

She smiled, as though this were old
news.

“
I can’t get you out of my
mind.”

“
That’s good, right?” she
asked.

“
It’s better than good. It’s
phenomenal.” Malcolm gently pressed into her. He kissed her again,
only this time it was more caress than kiss. He wanted to immerse
himself in the sensation of her, his building desire, and thoughts
of bringing the two together as one. He wanted to think about Lacy
and the way she made him feel. Her exuberance, her spirit. He
wanted Lacy so bad right now he could take her right here. Touching
his forehead to hers, he drew her arms down her sides and held her
close. He nuzzled his nose against hers.
Dinner
.
Must
hold back until dinner
.

Chapter Eighteen

Lacy waved goodbye to Malcolm as he
walked out of Aunt Frannie’s diner. “Toodles!” she called out, her
heart singing. Malcolm had kissed her today, kissed her right out
in the open and here at Frannie’s, too. Trailing him through the
front windows as he walked back to his truck, Lacy sighed. Malcolm
was so wonderful. Handsome, smart, and he shared the gold with her.
Gold. On Ladd Springs. How thrilling!

“
Hey, sugar!”

“
Hey, Aunt Frannie!” Lacy
hurried over to meet her aunt and was instantly enveloped in a hug,
Shalimar perfume permeating her senses with a dose of nostalgia.
The fragrance reminded Lacy of her momma. She used to wear the same
perfume, and breathing in the scent of Frannie’s made Lacy long for
her mother. After she reconciled with Annie, Lacy decided she
should call her momma. It’d been too long. Much too long, and it
was high time the family had a reunion. Maybe her momma would come
back home for a visit!