Ladd Haven (22 page)

Felicity’s face was filled with pain.
Tears flowed freely, unleashing her sadness. Staring at her,
Delaney always knew this is what the truth would do. This is what
telling her daughter would have done all those years ago. “I’m
sorry, sweetheart. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing.
If I was wrong, I’m sorry. So terribly sorry.”

Felicity’s gaze shot to the side, her
cheeks flushed red with emotion. She hugged her arms to her body
and shook her head. “No, it’s me. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come
down on you like that without knowing...without...” Her voice
broke.

Delaney’s heart ached at the sight of
her daughter. Felicity was drowning, struggling to wrap her head
around a sordid past of lies and deceit she couldn’t comprehend.
She was mature, but she was young, idealistic. Her dreams were
still firmly attached to the clouds.

It was a flight reality had a way of
sinking. “You were angry, sweetheart. You didn’t know the history.
Which is my fault.” Delaney wanted to ask who told Felicity, wanted
to know what awful person thought it wise to share the information
but refrained. It didn’t matter. The damage had been done. “If I
could take it back and do it all over again, I would. I would have
found a way to tell you, to share the truth with you.”

“
You don’t have to say
that.”

“
It’s true. Nick was
right.”

“
Nick?”

Delaney smiled, inundated by a stream
of warm pleasurable thoughts. “He thinks you’re a strong young
woman. He thinks I should have told you, that you could have
handled the truth.”

“
You told him?”

She nodded. She told Nick everything.
Twisting the ring on her finger, she mused, why wouldn’t she? He
was her husband. There was nothing she would keep from him. It was
the way a real partnership was supposed to work. A marriage.
Something she and Jack had in name only. “He thinks you’re amazing
and he’s right.” She grinned. “You are. Totally.”

Felicity erupted into a giggle and
rolled her eyes. “Mom.”

It was the first hint of the
old Felicity, her baby, her girl.
Young
woman
, Delaney corrected. Felicity was
growing into an incredibly bright young woman, and her mother
needed to start treating her that way. “It’s true. You are
amazing.”

Felicity scooted near and Delaney’s
heart ripped open. As she reached out for her, joy gushed from
Delaney’s soul as she welcomed her daughter back into her arms.
“Oh, Felicity.” Squeezing tight, Delaney relished the warmth of her
child, the familiar scent of her. This is what living was about.
This is what mattered.

Holding on, locked as one, there was no
place Delaney would rather be than right here.

Chapter Seventeen

“
Now that Troy knows about
the baby, do you think his family history will have a bearing on
Casey’s pregnancy?” Annie asked.

All morning long she’d been running
through the possibilities, hardly able to concentrate on her
clientele. Several times she caught herself mid-swipe on a finger
nail she’d already done! It was crazy, but she was consumed.
Concerned. Casey had told Troy about the baby, and Annie couldn’t
help but think there was a connection. At her first break, she
decided to seek the counsel of her husband. Cal was smart about
most things. Maybe he’d have an idea.

“
Not sure that a man’s
contribution comes until after the baby is born,” he replied, one
eye on her, the other on the goings-on in the hotel lobby. Situated
to one end of the front desk, tucked close to the backdrop wall of
river rock, Annie didn’t mind his divided attention. She was so
proud of Cal and the way he was managing the hotel. In the salon
most guests didn’t realize he was her husband, and she’d overhear
them rave about him while sitting for their manicures.

“
From what I’ve been reading
online, it’s possible Troy’s genetics can play a role. What do you
think? Should I get Casey to ask him to see the doctor?”

Cal smiled indulgently. Today’s
heather-green button-down complemented the light brown of his hair,
enhanced the sensitivity in his eyes, softened the lines of his
clean-shaven face. “I think we should let the doctor decide if and
when he’s concerned.”

“
Aren’t you the least bit
concerned?”

“
It’s like I told you
before. Women have been doing this for years.” He pulled her close,
a drift of his crisp cologne tickling her desire for him. “Now why
don’t you tell me why you’re as worried as a first-time momma? Is
there something I don’t know?”

Annie peered up at him. Was he right?
Was she being overly concerned? Before she could reply, Cal
stiffened within her grasp. “What?” She turned and recoiled. Jack
Foster strolled into the hotel lobby boasting a bruised and swollen
face. Horribly out of place next to the cheering splash of
fountain, the atmosphere of peaceful retreat, he drew stares from a
few nearby guests. “What happened to him?”

Cal leveled his gaze. “It’s something I
was going to mention to you.”

Annie turned on him.
“
Mention to me
? Do
you know something about what happened to him?” Dread peppered her
senses. “You didn’t have anything to do with it, did
you?”

Jack sauntered up to the front desk,
dropped a hand to the sleek wood countertop. “Hello,
brother.”

Cal stood speechless.

“
What, no warm welcome?”
Jack glanced sideways down the counter.

Two young female reception clerks
dutifully ignored him, clearly assuming their best professional
detachment though it was obvious they were shocked by his face.
Annie tried to pull her focus away but couldn’t. He really did look
awful. “And I thought this was a fancy establishment, complete with
helpful, courteous staff.”

“
You have no business
here.”

“
Don’t I?”

“
You don’t.”

Annie clung to Cal’s side, a determined
foreboding settling in.

“
I’d like to see the
manager.”

“
You’re seeing
him.”

Resentment glinted in Jack’s dark eyes.
“The real manager. I’m here to press charges against one of your
employees.”

Annie flung a hand to her neck. Her
throat closed. An employee did this to him?

“
I’d advise against
it.”

Jack chuckled. “Of course you would.
But since I don’t take orders from you, I intend to do as I
please.”

Malcolm Ward emerged from the back
office. Located just to the rear, one could hear everything when
the door was open as it had been. Access was inconspicuously
fashioned into the rock wall, a discreet vantage point from which
he and Cal could be on site yet unobserved by guests. Annie thought
it must have been designed with episodes like this one in
mind.

Dressed similar to Cal, Malcolm’s cool
blue eyes, a near match to his pale blue button-down, leapt from
his tanned complexion, fixing on Jack in a penetrating gaze. His
shock of white hair was combed back giving him an older,
authoritative appeal, underscored by a lean, solid build. As hotel
owner and husband to Annie’s sister, Lacy, Malcolm had been
forewarned about the likes of Jack Foster and understood the full
extent of what he was dealing with at the moment. “Is there
something I can help you with?”

“
Yes.” Shooting a smug smile
toward Cal, Jack said, “I’d like to put you on notice. One of your
employees assaulted me last evening.”

“
Which one?” Malcolm asked
pointedly.

Cal interrupted, “You’re out of bounds,
Jack.”

“
Am I? Is that what you
called it last night when you spoke to Daddy? Told him I was out of
bounds?” When Cal didn’t respond, Jack continued, “For your
information, I didn’t try to rape Delaney. She pulled a gun on
me.”

Annie gasped. Malcolm
stilled.

Cal hardened his edge. “I have no
intention of litigating this matter in a hotel lobby. If you intend
to press charges, call the police.”

Jack shifted his weight and tapped his
hand to the front desk. “Oh, you’re a big man now, are you? Tough
and cocky. Instead of punishing me, you might want to ask what
Delaney was doing alone late at night with a stable
boy.”

Annie’s hearing became of
vacuum.
Delaney fooling
around
?

“
Get out before I throw you
out,” Cal growled.

Jack leaned a shoulder forward and
snarled back, “Don’t tempt me, brother, or I’ll include you in
those charges as well.”

Malcolm stepped in, leveling in no
uncertain terms, “I’d do as the man says. If you have charges to
press, call the authorities. Otherwise, I’ll have to ask you to
leave the premises.”

“
Really?” Jack laughed, a
gesture Annie could tell was forced. “I haven’t done anything.
How’s that going to look for your reputation, kicking out a member
of one of the town’s most prominent families?”

“
Move on, Jack.” Singularly
focused on his brother, Cal advised, “I think it’s time for you to
pick up stakes and get out of town.”

“
Like you did, Cal?” Jack
flicked a glance toward Malcolm. “Does your new boss know about
your accident?” Annie’s heart squeezed as he said, “Drunk driving
is a crime. A real shame when you cripple a man.”

Eyes darting to Cal, then Malcolm,
Annie wanted to lash out and strike Jack on behalf of her husband.
She wanted to cut him to the quick for the venom he was
spewing.

Cal stood immobile, anger heating his
gaze. Malcolm appeared oddly cool. “Another word and I call the
police,” Cal warned.

Jack laughed, confident he was back in
the saddle. “What, can’t handle a rowdy cowboy on your
own?”

Malcolm stepped around Cal, but Cal
stopped him. “Don’t. He’s not worth it.” Then to his brother, “Get
out, before I throw you out.”

“
I’m going,” Jack said,
pushing off from the desk. “But I’m putting you on notice. Smear my
name again and it’s the last thing you do. Same goes for Delaney
and Troy. Those two haven’t heard the last from me.”

Annie gaped. He’s the stable
boy?

Jack shot one last smirk their way,
then pushed out through the front doors of the lobby. Annie felt
tiny, wishing she were trapped in a dream rather than standing in
the center of reality where her husband was about to lose his job,
her daughter about to have her heart torn to shreds. She closed her
eyes, warding off the tawdry images. But it couldn’t be true.
Delaney and Troy were not together.

Cal said, “I’m sorry,
Malcolm.”

“
Not here.” Malcolm signaled
his staff with a nod of thanks, then retreated to his office. Cal
duly followed.

Annie debated.
Was it her place
? Reaching
out for Cal’s arm, she blurted, “I’ll be in the salon if you need
me.”

He merely nodded, but the gloom inked
in his eyes gouged her heart. He looked like a man on his way to
the guillotine.

Malcolm took a seat, indicating Cal
should take one himself. He did. Continuing to digest the scene
that had taken place, Cal ran through his options. Jack had left
him no room for escape. No room to detour. Separated by a simple
wooden desk, papers neatly assorted to one side, a computer and
keyboard to the other, Cal had to give it to Malcolm straight.
Resisting the urge to look at the security images on screens
overhead, he tensed. There was a security camera trained on them,
recording a conversation he never hoped to be having. It was a
closed chapter in his life. A wound that had healed. Until his
brother Jack decided to tear it wide open. “Listen, Malcolm, I’m
sorry about what happened out there.”

“
Disgruntled guests are a
fact of the business.”

“
Jack is more than a
disgruntled guest.” And they both knew it. “I need to explain about
the accident, about the drunk driving—”

Malcolm silenced him with a hand. “No
need.”

“
I can’t let it pass. I need
to explain.”

“
You don’t,” Malcolm
corrected. Surprised by the finality in his tone, Cal stared at
Malcolm, fighting to make sense of it. “I know about the
accident.”

Cal shot forward. “You
what?”

“
I know about the accident,
I know about the other driver. I know about what you tried to do
for him and his family.”

“
But how?” Malcolm closed
his expression, undercutting Cal like a blow to the chin. “I don’t
understand. You can’t know. I haven’t told anyone except for
Annie.”

Malcolm almost looked guilty as he
said, “I checked your background before I hired you. I made calls
to your boss, I searched the public records, did a full search on
your name.” He added a half-smile. “You’d be amazed by what the
Internet will reveal these days.” Cal dropped back into his seat
like a ton of lead. Something told him he was about to find out.
“When I learned about the accident from the papers, I made some
discreet inquiries to your attorney.” He raised a hand between them
and said, “The man didn’t break client-privilege, but he did reveal
in so many words how you were trying to help the family. I checked
into it. The hospital bills, the medical care...” Blue eyes
softened. “I respect what you tried to do.”