Losing Ladd (35 page)

“
Jeremiah shot
me.”

Felicity gulped. Blunt. Straight to
the point. “Yes. Do you remember why?”

The spirit returned to his dark eyes,
thrashed within the depths of brown. “He was trying to get you into
his truck. He...and those other guys.”

Relieved to hear the old Travis
rearing up, she nodded. “The Ladd boys. Those men were Albert’s
sons.”

His gaze leapt. “Albert’s?”

“
Yes. It looks like
they’re the ones who sent Jeremiah the money to get out of
jail.”

“
Fifty thousand
dollars?”

Travis flinched and her heart kicked.
She squeezed his hand. “Are you okay?”

“
Fine,” he murmured
willfully. “They traced the wire then?”

“
Jeremiah confessed. Said
the boys robbed a bank in North Carolina to pay the money. The
police are checking into it now.”

“
Why would they do
that?”

“
Gold.” Felicity slumped
at the mention. Finding gold on the property had brought nothing
but trouble to them since the day they discovered it. “Jeremiah
told the men there was gold on the property and they could share in
it. He’d show them where it was so long as they bailed him
out.”

“
And they did
it?”

“
Guess they’re not very
bright.” That, or greed made people do terrible things. Felicity
recalled Clem Sweeney and his attempt on her mother’s life over the
gold. Jeremiah caused trouble the last time he was in town for the
very same reason, including threatening Uncle Ernie’s life. Riled
by the thoughts, Felicity shoved them aside. Clem was in jail.
Jeremiah was in jail. Her mother and Travis were safe.

“
What about your father?”
Travis asked.

The question stirred mixed feelings.
“He’s not responsible for the fire,” she said, assuming that’s what
Travis was after. She’d been wrong about him. According to Nick, it
had been Jillian all along. Travis thought Jeremiah had had
something to do with it but it didn’t look like it. His phone had
been used, but Nick believed Jillian stole it to make the call and
then got rid of it somehow. They were still looking for it in hopes
of gathering more evidence against her. Seems she really had it out
for Nick and her mom.

Breathing in deeply, Felicity spewed a
sigh. Guess they were both wrong. Curling her hands around the
fleshy palm of Travis’ thumb, she squeezed gently. “Jillian is the
one who set off the explosion in the stables that caused the fire.
They arrested her at the hotel, but Nick says it’s going to be a
long-drawn-out battle now that her lawyers have been called in.”
Lawyers. She rested her gaze on Travis, his boyish face and sweet
brown eyes. He was going to be a lawyer someday. A lawyer who
fought to protect the innocent and not the guilty—like her father
and Jillian. “There is good news where my father’s concerned. He’s
dropped the charges against Troy.”

“
He did?”

Felicity nodded, disturbed by the
sudden increase in rhythm on the monitor above. Darting her gaze
between machines and man, she wondered, was she saying too much?
But this was good news they were discussing. It couldn’t be bad for
him, could it?

“
Why would he drop the
charges?” Travis asked.

“
Somehow Cal convinced his
mother to stop supporting him in his vendetta, and Nick said
without her support, my father has no chance of getting Troy put in
jail. Who, by the way, has his job back at the hotel,” she added
brightly, wondering how Travis would feel about it.

“
Good. He deserves
it.”

Floored by his response, she ventured,
“Really? You really mean that?”

Settling on her, Travis slid his gaze
down toward their clasped hands. He rubbed the side of his thumb
back and forth across her fingers. “Whatever you might think of me,
I don’t hate my brother. We have our differences...but I don’t hate
him. He never deserved to go to jail for something he didn’t
do.”

“
But you agreed with your
parents. You said it was good to teach him a lesson and let him sit
in jail.”

Travis sighed, taking a minute before
saying, “I still do. But Troy’s a tough kid. One night in jail
wasn’t gonna hurt him. It was to give him time to think. Hit the
reset button.”

Surprised by the revelation, Felicity
mulled over his words. She couldn’t exactly disagree with him. It
was true. Troy was tough. He didn’t take crap from anyone, didn’t
turn away from danger. She recalled how he pulled her and Blue from
the stables. The fire was blazing around them yet he didn’t
hesitate. Troy grabbed her, grabbed her horse and hauled them both
outside to safety. Peering at Travis, she realized he’d done the
same. He went in after the horses. He’d been on his way to Blue
when she called out his name, but then detoured when he saw her mom
was in trouble. When a burning rafter fell, almost hitting her,
he’d pushed her out of the way and carried her out to
safety.

Thinking back, Travis and Troy were
more similar than she’d realized. Twins, brothers, they were
kindred spirits. Their temperaments varied, as did their style, but
their hearts were one and the same. Always had been.

“
I never thanked you for
saving my mom.”

“
No need.”

His modesty tugged at her
heart. They both knew otherwise. Without Travis’ heroic efforts,
her mom might not be alive today. But that was Travis. Strong and
brave. Priceless. “I’m sorry for what I said, the way I acted,” she
said, the words spilling out of her control. “I didn’t mean it. I
picked the
right
one. I never wanted Troy over you. I always wanted
you.”

Hurt washed through his gaze. Had she
said too much? The wrong thing? She didn’t mean to. She wanted to
say everything right, make everything right.

She dropped her head forward. “Travis,
I’m sorry for getting mad at you. I was wrong.”

For a moment, nothing moved between
them. Above, monitors recorded the beat of his heart, machines
beeped, fluid dripped from a bag into a tube in his arm. Sitting in
silence, Felicity felt trapped by her confession. Humbled by
circumstance. She’d never meant to hurt Travis. He’d always been
the brother she’d wanted. Since the day the three entered high
school, she’d known. He and Troy had fought over her and she
enjoyed it. They’d made declaration after declaration, vied for her
attention, swore their undying devotion, but Felicity had always
known. She’d never loved Troy. Her heart had always belonged to
Travis. The heart-shaped pendant at her breast represented that
promise. Felicity and Travis. Forever.

It had only been since college that
things changed. Only since his rigid ideology stepped between them
had she doubted her feelings for him. Travis was so set on his
path, so determined that his way of doing things was the right way
and everyone else was wrong. When Troy announced he wasn’t going to
college last summer, Travis came undone. He’d lost it. He’d been
mean and it was a side to him she’d never seen before.

Of course Troy followed suit with a
slew of his own ugly words, and she found herself torn between
them. Then Casey entered the picture and the whole thing blew up in
Felicity’s face. She’d never been friends with Casey during school,
but when it was proven she was family, all that changed. Casey was
blood. Her mother had her split the property and encouraged her to
start fresh. Felicity did and the two became fast friends. When
Casey and Troy became an item, Felicity had sided with them against
Travis because of his unyielding stance against them. Strangely,
the idea felt shameful to her now. Like she’d dumped Travis and
took up for Troy.

Honing in on him, his reserve,
Felicity thought it felt shameful because it was. “I’m sorry,
Travis. I haven’t been a very good girlfriend.”

“
That’s not true,” he said
and a sadness swamped his gaze. “I was wrong to push. You were
right to tell me to back off. Put a cork in it,” he added
sheepishly.

Shocked by his recall, she remembered
the day well. Drifting through the past, she revisited the
afternoon. They’d been riding along the river and she wanted him to
stop insulting Troy, wanted him to accept his brother’s choices, no
matter what. But Travis refused, instead comparing Troy to her
father. They’d both quit their jobs, made choices by the spit of
their temper. Felicity had been trying to see the good in people
while Travis was stomping out her sunshine.

She’d been mad. Partly because it was
true. Troy hadn’t been able to hold down a job. Her father was a
skunk. Travis had been right. She’d been wrong.

Well, not totally wrong. Her father
was a louse but Troy wasn’t. A smile touched her heart. He was a
cowboy. Now he was a father and a good one at that.

“
Felicity.” Travis tugged
at her hand, encouraging her to look at him. She obliged, a sharp
heartache weaving through years of memories as she clung to his
gaze. “I don’t blame you for saying the things you did. I can get
bull-headed, I know it, but I should have let you have your say,
make your own decisions. I haven’t been trying to coddle you. Well,
not really.” He walked the statement back with a small smile. “I
just want you to be okay. It doesn’t mean I don’t think you can
take care of yourself. I do. I
know
you can. I just want you to need me.” He stilled,
brown eyes shining as he asked, “Is that so bad?”

“
No, Travis,
no
. It’s not bad at all.
I do need you. A lot.” Images of Jeremiah flashed through her
mind’s eye, the Ladd brothers... If that didn’t prove she needed
Travis, Felicity didn’t know what did! “I’ll always need you
but—”

When she hesitated, he asked,
“But?”

“
Sometimes, maybe
the
way
I’ll need
you will change.”

He chuckled, the sound warm and
natural. “I get it. Women. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without
‘em.”

She dished out a pout.
“Travis.”

“
I’m
kidding
.” Fixing his gaze on their
hands, he tugged at their hold. “I just want you to love
me.”

“
I do, Travis. So much,”
Felicity insisted and meant it, from the very core of her being.
She loved Travis, for what he stood for, where he came from...even
how he wanted to take charge. It made him strong in her eyes, a man
who would make a solid partner in life, like Nick was for her mom.
Travis would be that man. And she wanted him to be hers.

“
Will you marry
me?”

She blinked. A rash of nerves sprinted
through her belly. “Marry you?”

He nodded. “When we graduate college,
will you marry me?”

Love and adoration toppled
through her. He wanted to marry her.
Marry
her
. “Yes. Yes, Travis. I’ll marry you,”
she gushed.

He grinned and cocked an eyebrow. “Now
listen, this isn’t my proposal. For that I’m going to do it right.
I just wanted you to promise.” Travis angled his head and pinned
her with a teasing gaze. “I don’t want you running off with some
other guy while I’m in law school.”

Felicity erupted into a
giggle.
Why would she do
that
?

There was no other guy in the world
for her but Travis. Clutching hold of him, she said, “I love you,”
pained by words she hadn’t uttered often enough. “I love
you.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Ashley Fulmer waved them over from
across the lawn, a host of jangles sliding down her forearm, a
United States Flag emblem glittering in the sun against the blue of
her shirt. Standing beside her, Fran Jones grinned, waved wildly,
her hair loose and shining a vibrant red in the sunlight of a
cloudless May afternoon. Surrounded by her inner circle--her mom
and Nick, Malcolm, Lacy, Emma Jane and Travis—Felicity waved back.
Warmed by the sight of the two women, Felicity was glad to see Fran
in attendance. It meant Jimmy Sweeney was doing well in his role as
Assistant Manager of Fran’s Diner.

Taking in the scent of
smoky barbecue and live country music, the tangle of final exams
cleared from her mind. She was home. Secure in the lap of love and
comfort. The last nine months had been tough. After nearly losing
her mom in a fire and Travis to a gunshot wound, Felicity struggled
to maintain focus on her studies at college. She’d wanted to forego
the school year altogether to stay home and help care for the two
of them, but her mother wouldn’t have it.
You’re going to school, period
.
Travis echoed the sentiment, insisting Felicity needed to stay on
course. He’d return to school after a semester of recovery and
catch up for lost time by taking extra classes. Felicity had
resisted but in the end, Nick convinced her to go. Her mom was in
good hands. Travis would be watched twenty-four-seven by his
parents.

More importantly, Nick said, Felicity
needed to take care of herself and get her life back to normal.
Inhaling the sight of her family and friends, a yard filled with
people she grew up with, Felicity couldn’t disagree with him.
Normal was good. Welcome. After what Jeremiah Ladd and Jillian
Devane had done to her family, Felicity was grateful to be home
without worry or stress. And there was no place like Ashley’s
annual picnic to lift a girl’s spirits and take her mind off her
troubles.