Ladd Haven (19 page)

Casey pulled away. Eyes wide, lips
swollen, she held him in her gaze. “Troy, we can’t do this
here.”

A sudden hilarity jolted through him.
“Dad gum, Casey. I’m not trying to make love to you—I’m kissing
you!”

A tinge colored her cheeks. “I know,
but—” She glanced around. A few men stood near the barn entrance,
watching with heightened amusement. Spirit whinnied in protest of
being neglected.

Troy set her down to her feet. He
straightened her dress, careful to avoid contact with her stomach.
He didn’t want to hurt her. “I’ll leave you be.” Flecks of alarm
filtered into her gaze. “For now.” He pecked her nose. “But
later—”

It occurred to him there
might not be a later. She was pregnant. She couldn’t do anything
while she was pregnant. He peered at her.
Could she
?

“
What?” she
asked.

“
Nothing.” Troy laughed at
himself, warmth spreading through his chest, filling him with a
happiness he hadn’t known in too long. He was gonna have to learn
about pregnant women, having babies, the works! He was going to be
a father.
A daddy
.
It was a thrill he never expected to affect him quite this hard and
strong. Brushing the hair from her eyes, he traced her brow. “You
know you have to marry me now.”

She giggled. “What?”

“
You heard me. You have to
marry me.” Casey glanced away, seemingly uncertain as what to do
next. “I have to buy you a ring first. I don’t have a lot of money,
but I have saved up some from my last job.”

“
Troy, you don’t have to
spend your money on a ring for me.”

“
Yes, I do.” Offended she
would even suggest such a thing, he added, “I’m going to buy you a
diamond and you’re going to wear it when we get married. You can
help pick it out, if you want.” She giggled again and this time the
sound reached straight into his heart. “Dad gum, Casey. You’re not
supposed to laugh when a man proposes.”

“
Is that what you’re doing?”
she asked coyly, a bright smile embedded on her face.

Troy dropped to one knee. An outbreak
of nerves wracked him as he took her hand. “Yes, ma’am, I am.” His
pulse ricocheted like a pellet in a tin can as he asked, “Casey
Melody Owens, will you marry me?”

Her eyes glistened. Placing her free
hand over theirs together, she whispered, “Yes, Troy.
Yes.”

Chapter Fourteen

Casey swung in through the
front door of Fran’s Diner, flying higher than she had in months.
Troy was excited. Happy. He wanted to get married. A swarm of
butterflies took wing in her chest.
Married
!

Heading straight for the kitchen, she
had to tell Jimmy. She had to explain to him why she told Troy,
that it was the right thing to do. She knew Jimmy wasn’t fond of
Troy, didn’t care for him because he believed Troy was a selfish
hothead. At the same time, Jimmy understood her desire for them get
back together. He knew she still loved Troy but felt taking him
back was the wrong thing to do. Troy would only end up hurting her.
Well, he was wrong. After clearing the air between them, Casey
finally understood. Troy had never left her. He might have gone
about relocating in a way she disliked, but in his heart he never
left her. He simply crossed state lines for better
opportunity.

Coming to a stop at the food
counter, Casey searched for sight of Jimmy. Through the service
window, she glimpsed his mismatched head of hair on the opposite
side of the kitchen, next to the sinks. His turned and their eyes
locked. She smiled, he smiled, and for a second they were the same
old friends they had been for the last six months. Then a
realization deepened his features. Casey’s heart caught in her
throat.
He knew
.

Jimmy combed a hand through his hair,
looked around his immediate vicinity and then retreated from sight.
And he wasn’t happy.

“
Casey.”

Startled by the voice, she turned to
find Felicity standing by her side. “Are you here for
dinner?”

“
Um...” She glanced back to
the kitchen, “I don’t know.”

Felicity turned her mouth down in a
mock frown. “You don’t know?”

Seeing no more sign of Jimmy, lead
poured into her chest. Jimmy wasn’t happy. She’d chosen Troy, but
couldn’t they still be friends? Glancing back toward the kitchen,
Casey glimpsed a busboy depositing a load of dishes into the sink
where Jimmy had been standing. She slumped with a sigh. “I was here
to talk to Jimmy but it looks like he’s busy.”

“
Is everything
okay?”

“
Actually,” Casey replied,
inhaling deeply, “I told Troy the baby was his.”

Felicity grabbed hold of her shoulders.
“You did?”

She nodded, encouraged by the
excitement in Felicity’s voice. “I did.”

“
And?” she asked, brimming
with eager anticipation.

Casey broke into a grin. “He wants to
get married.”

Felicity enfolded Casey in a hug and
squeezed. “I’m so happy for you!”

“
Thanks,” she replied. “Me,
too.”

Pulling away, Felicity asked, “What
made you change your mind?”

Casey shrugged. “I thought about what
you said. Whatever happens, the choice should be his. It’s his
child, too.”

Felicity flung a glance toward the
kitchen then back to Casey. “You did the right thing. I know it was
hard, but you still did it. And now look. You’re getting married!”
she squealed.

Part of Casey cringed. She didn’t want
Jimmy to hear the news this way, like she hadn’t come to him first.
Struck by a thought, Casey lingered on the notion. Jimmy had asked
her to marry him. It was a pity proposal, but he’d done it with a
sincere heart and a genuine desire to help. Casting a limp gaze
toward the kitchen, Casey was saddened by his response. Jimmy was
one of the good ones.

“
Felicity!”

Both turned. Travis waved her over to a
booth. “Food’s here.”

“
In a minute,” she called
back to him.

Casey wondered at the mild grunt that
accompanied the reply. Was she mad at Travis?

“
Come join us,” Felicity
invited.

“
Oh, I don’t think so.”
Casey gave a dismissive wave. “I’m not really hungry.”

“
You’re here, aren’t
you?”

“
Yes, but I was here for a
different reason...” Unwilling to explain how she managed to ruin
Jimmy’s day, she let go of further explanation. Maybe she could
still talk to Jimmy. Once his shock wore off.

“
C’mon, Travis won’t bite.
Besides, you and he are going to be family!” Felicity squealed
again, more excited than Casey would have believed possible.
Casting a wary gaze toward Travis, she groaned inwardly.
Oh, brother
—literally.
Though not interested in sharing her good news with Travis, Casey
followed Felicity over to their table.

Travis didn’t think much of her.
Despite Felicity’s protests to the contrary, Casey accepted that he
didn’t like her, believed she was “beneath” him because she wasn’t
going to college. Evidently, a few classes here and there didn’t
count as going to college. Travis didn’t approve of Troy’s choices
either. But Travis was an over-achiever. He aced everything he did.
A guy like him didn’t understand doubts, insecurities. He didn’t
understand when people strayed off course. Felicity said to give
him time, he’d come around. Casey disagreed. Travis had no interest
in straying off course—not from his life plan and not from his
opinion.

Felicity sat next to him and said,
“Travis, guess what?”

His gaze trailed Casey as she sat
across from them, filled with mild alarm. He was probably wondering
why Felicity had invited her to join them. Warily, he asked,
“What?”

“
Troy and Casey are getting
married! Isn’t that great?” His gaze hardened, a reaction that said
it all, and one he quickly tried to cover as she continued, “She
told him about the baby and he proposed.” Felicity lightly punched
his shoulder. “I
told
you he’d do the right thing.”

“
About time,” Travis
replied.

Casey shifted her gaze to the back as
Jimmy emerged from the kitchen, arms loaded with plates of food.
Totally ignoring her, he walked to a table on the other side of the
diner. He didn’t make eye contact, didn’t smile. He was grim.
Gloomy. Shafts of remorse stabbed through her. She should never
have dragged him into this mess in the first place. She and Jimmy
were friends, but when Troy left, Casey had leaned on him all the
harder. She’d needed him—someone—and Jimmy was it. Troy’s
unexpected departure had hurt. She’d been sure he had dumped her.
Why else would he have skipped the state without telling
her?

Casey’s heart wrenched. Tracking Jimmy
to the kitchen, she knew she’d hurt him. A part of her had always
known that he wanted more than she’d been offering. Even when Troy
was here and the two were together. At work, after their shift,
Jimmy always stayed late to help her finish closing out—because she
was slow, taking her sweet little time to get things
done.

They’d talked and laughed, but she’d
never been interested in more than being friends. Not in her
darkest days had she wanted to be with anyone but Troy. Pulling her
gaze away from Jimmy, as their friendship pulled away from her,
Casey stared at the plates of food before her—crispy drumsticks,
steaming mashed potatoes soaked with a melting patch of butter in
the middle—and felt the full brunt of his pain and disappointment.
Jimmy was a good guy. He deserved someone to love him. That someone
just couldn’t be her.

The sunset ride long since returned,
the horses cleaned and put away, Delaney closed the books for the
day and pushed back in her seat. Slants of afternoon sun cut across
the stalls, painting the white wood in creamy gold. It was her
first week on the job in full swing, and she was still getting a
fix on how she wanted to run things. She needed to establish a
flow, a rhythm. She needed her employees to work as a team, be in
sync with her expectations and those of the guests. Kicking her
boots up onto the desk, she laid her head back and laced hands
together across her stomach. So far she was pleased. The men she
hired were strong and reliable, the female riders equally as
capable. Especially Troy. Only a few days on the job, but already
he was proving himself a standout, staying late, volunteering for
extra jobs. She’d been delighted by Casey’s surprise. It appeared
the two were working through their differences. A good thing. Troy
clearly loved the girl and she loved him.

Exhaling a sigh, she ran a mental
review of the entire staff. Most of the employees had come to her
on strong recommendations from area ranches, one of them a man from
the Foster’s ranch. Misgiving spiked her gut. Gerald’s call to
apologize for the evening-gone-wrong with Felicity came to mind.
Seems he understood something more happened to her daughter than a
case of sick belly. He was right, though he didn’t seem to
understand the extent of it.

Which didn’t prevent Delaney from
appreciating the gesture. Gerald was a good man, a generous man. He
might not have ended up with the woman of his dreams, but he stood
by the woman of his choice and his family as a loyal and devoted
husband should. It was a respectable trait in a man. Unfortunately
it wasn’t a trait he passed on to his son, Jack.

Visions of Jack acting the
good son, entertaining his lovely daughter in his lovely home
soured in her belly. At least it was a charade that didn’t last.
Felicity finally understood what Delaney had been dealing with all
these years. Unfortunately, she learned it the hard way. It must
have been painful for her to flee that house like a scared mouse.
Jack had called, demanding what she had said to Felicity, as if
Delaney were the cause of his troubles. Reeling in her legs, she
placed hands to the arms of her chair and pushed up from her desk
in one fluid motion.
Try
again
. She wasn’t the troublemaker. Ruining
lives was Jack’s job.

Turning out the office light, Delaney
went to say goodnight to Sadie. It was a ritual she’d begun since
her mare’s first night in the new stables. Delaney wanted Sadie to
know she hadn’t been abandoned, only moved to a new home, a home
they would continue to share. She smiled inwardly. Sadie had
exhibited a case of the jitters when a dozen new horses entered the
stables the next day, taking up residence alongside her. Delaney
shook her head. Like she would forsake her precious baby for some
other horse. She chuckled. Guess animals were like humans that way.
They needed reassurance they were loved.

Rounding the corner to Sadie’s stall,
she clicked her mouth. The horse turned and shook her white-blonde
mane with a soft nicker. “Going home, baby girl,” Delaney said,
reaching through the metal bars to stroke the flat space between
her eyes. Big brown eyes blinked as the horse pushed up her nose.
Delaney rubbed a hand beneath the velvety muzzle, the whiskers
tickling her fingers as she scratched along the horse’s jaw line.
“We’re going to have fun tomorrow. You and I are taking a group out
on a trail ride.” Cupping the rounded jaw bone, Delaney moved her
hand back and forth then scratched behind the horse’s ear. “You up
for it? Promise I won’t bring that rowdy Brandy with
us.”