Ladd Haven

LADD

HAVEN

by

Dianne Venetta

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

PUBLISHED BY:

BloominThyme Press

Ladd Haven

Copyright 2013 by Dianne
Venetta

License Notes

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LADD HAVEN

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

The Gables Trilogy:

JENNIFER’S GARDEN

LUST ON THE ROCKS

WHISPER PRIVILEGES

Women’s Fiction

CONDEMN ME NOT

Ladd Haven

Copyright 2013 by Dianne
Venetta

ISBN: 978-0-9884871-7-8

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 an animal lover, I find any and all
abuse of animals abhorrent. Doesn’t matter how big or small the
creature, animal cruelty is senseless and repulsive. Troy Parker,
the hero in Ladd Haven, is a young man who has dedicated his life
to working with horses, turning a childhood passion into his
career. Rough and tumble country boy on the outside, Troy’s a man
with a gentle heart. Especially when it comes to those he loves,
including his horses.

Many of you might be
familiar with a horse trainer by the name of Monty Roberts. I was
introduced to his work years ago via a novel I read, written by
Nicholas Evans. An unforgettable read,
The
Horse Whisperer
is one of those books that
breaks your heart, then turns around and mends it by weaving a
story filled with incredible acts of kindness.

Many of the horse training moves my
character demonstrates are rooted in the principles emphasized by
Monty Roberts: a gentle tone, non-verbal communication, and
patience. Translated: Never push an animal to do what it’s not
ready to do. Mr. Roberts developed his approach after witnessing
the violent training methods of his father. I imagine watching a
man tie a helpless animal and almost torture him into submission
would change a person. It would me.

If you ever get the opportunity to see
a live demonstration by Monty Roberts, don’t miss it. Years ago I
watched him perform in Ocala, Florida and walked away from the
event amazed and joyous.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to horse lovers
everywhere.

LADD HAVEN

Book #4

When Troy Parker returns home, a
pregnant Casey Owens rejects him outright asserting he lost his
right to honesty when he abandoned her to pursue his fortune in
Kentucky. Jimmy Sweeney, friend and ally to Casey, never cared for
Troy and is more than willing to take part in her
deception.

Jack Foster has a few tricks of his
own, beginning with reconciling his daughter Felicity Wilkins with
the Foster family. Her mother, Delaney Wilkins, wants nothing to do
with family reunions, knowing some relations are best left
buried.

But as time passes, lies unravel. Casey
can no longer deny her feelings for Troy and confronts him about
the pregnancy. Felicity is doing some confronting of her own now
that she’s learned a disturbing truth. Yet it’s Delaney's
confession that causes families to collide as folks take sides,
shattering both past and future generations, ensnaring Casey and
Felicity in painful complications for which neither is
prepared...

Family feuds run deep and
wide, threatening even the most solid of unions.
Find out who survives the perils in this chapter
of Ladd Springs
…

Meet the cast of characters of Ladd
Haven...

Ernie Ladd
– Original owner of Ladd Springs

Albert Ladd
- Ernie’s brother

Jeremiah Ladd
- Ernie’s son, forsaken by the family

Susannah Ladd
Wilkins
– Ernie’s sister
(deceased)

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

Nick Harris
- Developer responsible for Hotel Ladd, married to
Delaney

Felicity Wilkins
- Delaney’s daughter, half-owner of Ladd
Springs

Casey Owens
– Jeremiah Ladd’s daughter, half-owner of Ladd
Springs

Troy Parker
– Casey’s boyfriend, childhood friend to
Felicity

Jimmy Sweeney
– Friend and co-worker of Casey

Annie Owens Foster
-- Casey’s mother

Calvin Foster
– Annie’s husband, Foster son moved back home from
Arizona

Jack Foster
– Cal’s brother & Delaney’s
ex-husband

Gerald and Victoria
Foster
– Parents to Cal, Jack, and brothers
Beau & Clint

Travis Parker
– Twin to Troy, boyfriend to Felicity

Malcolm Ward
– Hotel manager and business partner of
Nick

Lacy Owens Ward
– Annie’s sister, married to Malcolm

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

Candi Sweeney
- Annie’s best friend, Jimmy’s aunt

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

Hank Dakota
– Town lawyer

Chapter One

“
So they can’t take a
honeymoon?” Seated across from Casey Owens in a red-vinyled booth
at Fran’s Diner, Jimmy Sweeney shook his head. Bright light flooded
in through the pane of front windows, red-checkered curtains
serving to cast his fair complexion in warm shades, accentuating
the naturally red highlights in his brunette hair. Casey noted most
of the black hair dye had grown out, the dark ends the only visible
hint of Jimmy’s Goth stage. He refused to cut his hair short which
would have eliminated the color altogether, claiming he wasn’t
comfortable with short hair. Too mainstream. At least it was only
the tips, Casey mused. The brown hair made him appear semi-normal
and not half-bad looking, no longer sullen, brooding and
rebellious.

Jimmy was a loner at school, torn
between his desire for attention and his debilitating shyness. He
couldn’t make the first friend yet it was all he longed for.
Friends, people who understood him, accepted him. He was a little
on the quirky side, but Casey had come to learn it was due to his
extreme intelligence. Jimmy was a brainiac born to a family of
dysfunction. His aunt Candi was Casey’s best friend, a
thirty-eight-year-old woman who still lived at home. His Uncle Clem
was a no-good bum, a man who tried to loot gold from Ladd Springs,
land that now belonged to her thanks to her mother’s vigorous
battle to prove paternity. A victory Casey had only recently come
to appreciate. While she was glad to own part of Ladd Springs,
Jeremiah Ladd was a dirt bag. Could anyone expect her to celebrate
the fact he was her father?

Her change in attitude was due in large
part to Jimmy. He’d convinced her to see the positive in owning
half of Ladd Springs, as opposed to the negative. Forget the reason
she had the land and focus on what it meant going forward. But that
was Jimmy. He was her constant. The guy who’d been there for her
when everyone was else was too busy with their own lives. The two
struck up conversation one night while rolling silverware after
working a shift at the diner. Going through troubles of her own at
the time, she’d needed a friend and was willing to chance a
conversation with the extremely odd Jimmy Sweeney. Turns out, he
wasn’t so weird once you got to talking to him. He was smart,
generous, and a good listener. They even had a few things in
common. Peering into his dark eyes, eyes that held affection,
friendship, she sighed. If it hadn’t been for Jimmy and his
friendship, Casey would have lost her mind. Lost her life,
really.

“
It doesn’t seem right,”
Jimmy said. “If I were newly married I’d want one.”

Staring at him, a part of
her knew Jimmy wouldn’t mind that marriage to include her. Only she
wasn’t interested. “They’re too busy with opening the hotel,” Casey
replied, picking at a biscuit on her plate, one of two her Aunt
Fran had delivered along with a cheese sandwich, none of which
she’d ordered. She didn’t want biscuits or sandwiches or her
customary cheeseburger and fries, but if she didn’t eat, Fran would
get on her and she wasn’t in the mood for another lecture.
Now fill up, sugar, you’re eatin’ for two. Don’t
go starvin’ that baby or I’ll report you to your
doctor
. With the amount of food Fran was
trying to pile down her throat, one would think Casey was eating
for two hundred! She was pregnant, not vying for an
eat-a-thon.

“
But no honeymoon?” Jimmy
pressed. “I thought that’s what newlyweds were supposed to
do.”

“
Eventually they will.”
Swiping a finger against a thick drip of honey, Casey sucked the
sweet substance from her fingertip. “My mom wants to go to Bermuda
for her honeymoon.”

Jimmy gaped. “Bermuda?”

Casey nodded. “Says it’s the closest
exotic destination she could think of.”

“
What—she afraid to go
far?”

“
She’s not sure about
flying.” Annie Owens was almost forty years old and had never been
on an airplane. Casey would say that was weird, except she hadn’t
been on one either. Growing up in a small town with little money to
their name, they never had reason. Now that her mom had married Cal
Foster, things were different. He had money—lots of it—and he was
more than willing to share, offering to build her a small house of
her own on the land her mother had secured for her. Warm feelings
washed over her. Mr. Foster was a good man. A loving man. Casey was
glad her mother had married him. Better yet, the marriage came with
a new step-sister, one she hadn’t met yet. Cal’s daughter, Emily,
was eleven and lived in Arizona with her mom. Unable to attend the
wedding, Emily was scheduled for a visit later in the summer and
Casey couldn’t wait. With no siblings of her own, Casey thought it
would be neat to have a kid sister. Cal said if things went well,
Emily might be able to spend summers here. Well, if Casey had
anything to say about it, Emily’s first trip to Tennessee would be
memorable.