Ladd Haven (20 page)

Brandy was an Arabian they’d acquired
from a ranch in Nashville. Sadie didn’t care for her at all,
surprising Delaney one day with an uncustomary nip to the horse’s
side.

Sadie’s ears pricked forward. “What’s
up, girl?” Delaney laughed softly. “Afraid old Brandy is
listening?” Stiff ears began to twitch. Brown eyes grew alarmed.
Delaney’s antennae shot up.

“
Talking to your
horse?”

Hairs rose on Delaney’s neck at the
sound of Jack’s voice.

“
Careful,” he said, “or
people are going to think you’re crazy.”

Delaney recognized the thick edge in
his voice. He’d been drinking. Slowly, she turned from her horse.
Ten feet away, Jack stood like a sheriff ready for a pistol fight.
Legs slightly parted—probably for balance’s sake—his hands hung by
his side. As expected, his eyes were glazed red from a day at the
bar. “What do you want, Jack.”

He snickered. “Stopped by to pay my old
lady a visit.”

“
Go home.”

“
Now what kind of reception
is that?” He swayed ever so slightly. “You treat all your guests
this way?”

Ignoring the barb, she repeated, “Go
home.”

“
I don’t want to go home. I
want to discuss our daughter.” He took a step toward her and
Delaney went on high alert. “What poison have you filled her with
this time? She’s not returning any of my calls.”

Disgust overrode any and all caution as
she said, “You’re the poison, not me.” Behind her, Delaney heard
Sadie snort.

“
I invited her to dinner.
She had a wonderful time. She went home and now she won’t speak to
me. Fill in the blank.”

“
Someone told her the reason
I left you. That you’re an abuser.”

“
What?”

Jack seemed genuinely surprised but
Delaney didn’t care. The dinner was the reason her daughter wasn’t
speaking to her either. “Yes. It was a fact I left out and your
family filled in.”

Anger stormed his dark features.
“You’re a liar. No one told her a thing. I was with her the whole
time and no one said a word.”

“
I’m telling you the truth.
She came home and told me.”

“
You’re lying. Same as
you’ve always done.” The change in his demeanor sent shivers across
her skin, causing Delaney to instantly assess the accessibility of
her gun. “You’re jealous she accepted my invitation to dinner and
decided to fill her head with ugly lies.” Jack closed the distance
before Delaney could step clear. He trapped her against Sadie’s
stall and hissed, “Nothing’s changed. You’re a lying bitch but this
time you’ve gone too far.”

“
Jack.” She pushed back, his
breath putrid in her face. “Stop it!”

“
Why should I?” he growled,
hands pinning her shoulders. “You didn’t see fit to stop with your
lies about me.” He rammed her against the gate, the metal grill
gouging into her shoulder blade. Jamming one arm sideways across
her chest, his other hand went to her stomach, digging under her
shirt.

Panic stabbed at Delaney. “Stop! What
are you doing?” she shrieked. Sadie whinnied in fright. Several
nearby horses began to follow suit.

Delaney struggled against Jack, fear
warring with disbelief. He was heavy, strong, his fingers clawing
at her skin as she shoved at them.

“
I’m gonna teach you a
lesson once and for all,” he ground out, his alcohol-soured breath
filling her nostrils. “I’m gonna teach you not to mess with
me.”

“
Jack, you’re drunk—you’re
hurting me!”

He laughed as she tried to push him
off, his size working against her. He tore at her shirt. She
brought a knee up between his legs. Slipping on the hay, Jack lost
his footing. Delaney broke free. He sprang toward her but she
dodged him, narrowly evading the swipe of his hand. “Dammit, get
over here!”

Pulse pounding, she swiped
the hair from her eyes. Sadie reared up, hooves hitting the gate to
her stall. Delaney’s heart went out to her mare.
Stop, Sadie. You’re going to hurt
yourself
!

But the animal seemed to be working off
the adrenaline of the others. The stables were layered in panic,
horses distressed by the shouts. Delaney bent down for her gun.
Jack came after her, but his movements were slowed by drink. She
sidestepped him, but he caught part of her pant leg. She whipped
out the pistol from her boot. “Stop or I’ll shoot.”

Comprehension blazed in his gaze as she
leveled stiff arms. Chest heaving, she said, “I mean it, Jack. Not
another move.”

He eyed the weapon in her hands, a
sardonic smile curling his lips. “Still packing heat, I see. Moved
up to an automatic, huh?” He nodded casually, as though he weren’t
wearing a target on his chest. “Nice move.”

“
I swear I’ll shoot
you.”

From his crouched position, he
chuckled. “You don’t have it in you.”

“
Try me.”

“
In case you hadn’t noticed,
that’s what I was trying to do.”

Delaney didn’t like Jack’s sense of
ease. Allowing him space to regain his wits wasn’t wise. Operating
under the influence, he was likely to make a dumb move, a move that
could cost her. Staring down the line of her arms and over the
black metal gun, Delaney slowed her breathing. “Get out of
here.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Not
until I finish what I started.”

“
You are
finished.”

He laughed again, as though he didn’t
take her seriously. “Remember the days when we used to do it in the
stables? As I recall, you enjoyed it. One of your favorite
spots.”

Finger curved around the trigger, she
muttered, “I’m warning you, Jack.”

“
They were some good times.”
He eased back onto his heels, set a hand to the ground to steady
himself. “Before you got all flighty, that is.” Jack pulled a gun.
Delaney hesitated.

A dark figure lunged.

In the split second, she screamed.
“Troy!”

The gun fired. Troy connected with Jack
mid-air, two bodies hitting the ground with a thud. Horses
shrieked. Cries pierced the rafters. Shock streamed through her
limbs.

Oh no... Troy!

Chapter Fifteen

Fear curdled in her stomach. Had she
hit Troy? Had she hit Jack?

Troy sunk a fist into Jack’s face. A
thunderbolt of relief coursed through her. Rising up again, Troy
slammed another one into Jack’s head.

Troy—where had he come from? As he
proceeded to beat the living daylights out of Jack, Delaney grabbed
at his shoulders. “Stop, Troy, stop!” She didn’t see any blood. Not
on him or Jack. “Let him go!”

Jack rolled them, careening the two men
into her. Delaney jumped but the momentum of their bodies caught
her on the ankle. She tripped, slammed to the ground. The gun
tumbled from her grasp. Like a crazed maniac, Troy continued
pummeling fist after fist but Jack broke free. Spotting Delaney’s
gun, he dove for it. Troy twisted.

“
Not so fast,
boy.”

Delaney’s pulse kicked at the sight of
Jack’s gun aimed at Troy. On hands and knees, Troy remained
immobile, his hand inches from her pistol. “Get up,” Jack
commanded.

Slowly Troy rose. Delaney leapt up and
rammed shoulder first into Jack. Troy snatched her gun from Jack’s
hands as he went down. Standing over him, Troy trained the gun on
Jack’s head.

Delaney shrieked, “Troy,
no!”

Dark eyes blazed hot with fury. “Give
me one reason.”

“
Casey!” she cried out.
“
Casey
,” she
repeated breathlessly. “Casey is your reason.”

In a sudden fit of movement, Troy
kicked at Jack’s unconscious body. Whipping the hair from his brow,
words seemed to hang on his lips, but he didn’t utter a sound. He
didn’t have to. The combination of innocence, shock and anger in
his eyes said it all.

Delaney’s heart broke. “I’m sorry,
Troy.”

Confusion slammed into his expression.
“You ain’t got nothin’ to be sorry for,” he snapped
angrily.

Delaney bowed her head. But she did.
She had almost shot a man.

Jack.

Moaning, he writhed on the ground
beside her. She had almost killed Jack. Almost shot Troy by
accident. A shudder passed through her, shockwaves rippling in its
wake. Leg muscles withered as a wash of light-headedness knocked
her off balance.

“
Miss Delaney? Are you
okay?”

No. She wasn’t okay. She
needed to sit. She needed to breathe,
to
think
.

Troy shadowed her to a wooden bench
parked against the wall. Broad chested, the black T-shirt strapped
tightly across his torso, he gingerly set the gun down beside her
on the bench. He shot a glance over his shoulder, concern swamping
his gaze. “You want me to get you a glass of water?”

She shook her head. No. She didn’t need
water. She’d almost killed Jack. She’d almost killed Felicity’s
father. Flashback images inundated her—his cocky grin, his
disgusting breath, his disturbing moves. Delaney closed her eyes.
“I almost killed him.”

Troy was calm, even-toned. “You did
what you had to do.”

Did she? What would have happened if
Troy hadn’t stepped in when he did? Would she have killed Jack?
Would she have been justified?

“
I heard enough to know he
would have got what was coming to him.”

Jack emitted a long groan. From the
periphery of her vision, she saw him roll to his side, reach for
his face. It was bloody. Bloody from the beating Troy inflicted and
not from a gunshot wound. Peering up at Troy, she mumbled, “I think
he was going to rape me.”

His face reddened. “Don’t talk that
way. It ain’t necessary.”

Because it was over. She glanced at
Jack. For the time being, it was over. Would he try
again?

A sliver of fear poked at her. Nick was
gone. He’d be gone for days. Turning, she took in the sight of
Jack’s battered body. If she’d killed him, he wouldn’t be back.
Ever.

Delaney didn’t say another word. Troy,
gun in hand and a guarded eye on Jack, went to calm the horses. At
Sadie’s stall, she could hear him whispering soothing words to her
mare. He went to the next and the next, systematically reassuring
the animals. Then he called Cal. In the quiet of the stables, she
could hear his every word. “Yes, Mr. Foster. She’s here. They’re
both here. Yes, sir. I think you need to come quick.”

Cal arrived within ten minutes. Resting
her head against the wall, Delaney watched him go to his brother,
held in place at gunpoint by Troy. The two exchanged harsh words.
Then Cal conferred with Troy. She felt detached from it all, as
though she were watching a movie play out before her, a movie in
which she didn’t have a starring role. She wondered idly where the
bullet landed. Was it in the ceiling? Entrenched in hay? Implanted
in a wall? Thank God it hadn’t hit a horse.

Cal walked over to her, his features
steeped in concern, his fair skin tinged pink. He seemed calm,
tranquil, unsullied by the scene splayed out before him. Neat and
tidily dressed in his business khakis and white button-down, he
looked too clean. Out of place. “Delaney, are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

“
Do you want to press
charges?”

The question dropped out of the sky.
Confusion swam in her skull. “Press charges?”

“
Jack attacked you. I can
call the police but you’ll need to provide a complete
statement.”

A statement. She would have to relay
the details of what happened. It would become public knowledge.
Nick would find out. Felicity would find out. Delaney shook her
head. She didn’t want to do that to her daughter. She’d have to
confide in Nick but she didn’t have to add injury to her daughter’s
current suffering. “No.” She stared at Jack, standing now, flanked
by Troy. The man wasn’t going anywhere until they said
so.

“
Are you sure?” Cal
pressed.

“
I had a gun. He had a
gun.”

“
Yes, but he attacked
first.”

“
And I almost ended it. I
almost killed my daughter’s father.”

The severity of her confession lodged
deep in his gaze. Clearly, Cal wanted to dispute the fact. He
wanted to defend her, but he couldn’t. She had drawn her weapon
first. She had intended to kill. Explaining that in a court of law
would amount to “he said, she said.” Delaney could feel emotion
churning within the man before her, words brimming on his lips, but
Cal simply replied, “I can’t let this pass. I can’t let this go.”
Then his gentle brown gaze nearly undid her. “So help me God, I
would have killed him for you, Delaney, I swear I would
have.”

The breath escaped her.
“
Cal
.”

Hazel-brown eyes shining, he shook his
head. “I mean it. I’m ashamed of him.”

Delaney pressed her lips in a firm line
and nodded. She understood. Cal Foster was a proud man, a
respectable man. A decent human being. His brother was
not.