Ladd Springs (Ladd Springs, Book #1) Read Online Free Page B

partial scholarship, but it only
covered the first year. Delaney’s fear was that she wouldn’t be able to afford
the next three.
    “Don’t
‘mom’ me. It’s true. You need to further your training, and why he doesn’t see
that is beyond me. We need title to the property so we can sign on for the
logging before they go elsewhere.”
    Felicity’s
hazel gaze clouded. “Are you sure that won’t ruin the land?”
    Delaney
wiped her palms against the white cotton apron tied at her waist. “You won’t
even notice. They want to work the north side of the property. A patch of about
a hundred acres. We’ll never see them.”
    Felicity
sank to a barstool. “A hundred seems so much...”
    “Clearing
the forest is good for the land,” Delaney told her. “The trees will grow back
and we’ll have plenty enough money to pay the property taxes and your
tuition.”
    “Maybe
I shouldn’t go to UT. It’s causing so much trouble—”
    Delaney
held up a stiff hand. “I don’t ever want to hear those words come out of your
mouth again. You’re going. That’s final.”
    Felicity’s
small mouth closed as instructed, but the hint of frown upset Delaney. Her
daughter should not feel guilty about getting an education. She shouldn’t be
dragged into the mess of Ernie’s foul disposition, nor should she have to
endure threats from a complete stranger. Nick Harris’s image formed in her
mind. While the man seemed nice enough, looked nice enough—nicer than anyone
would ever hear her admit to—he did not have her daughter’s best
interests at heart. He wanted this land for himself, for his hotel. Delaney
needed it for her family, her daughter’s future. The two were incompatible
goals.
    Delaney
brushed the stressful thoughts from her head, hushed the clamor of her pulse. She
didn’t want to think about it right now. She wanted to enjoy Felicity.
Loosening a mini loaf of cornbread from the black iron bake pan, Delaney
slathered it with butter, set it on a plate and slid it toward her daughter. “So
how was school?”
    “Good.”
Felicity picked up the yellow bread and held it before her mouth. “The Parker
boys asked me to be their date for their graduation party.”
    Delaney
gaped at her. “Both of them?”
    Felicity
smiled and said, “It’s the current running joke between them.” She bit off the
end of the bread.
    Identical
twins, they forever teased Felicity. They claimed to have lost their combined
heart to her—it was she who had to choose. “And you said?”
    “Told
them I’d have to think about it.” She cast a dramatic gaze toward the ceiling
and said, “Because they’re so different, I’d have to decide what kind of
night I want grad night to be—fun or funner.” She giggled. “It’s such a
dilemma!”
    “Funner
is not a word.” Delaney dipped her chin and peered at her daughter. “Please
tell me I’m not wasting my money on flute lessons when you should be tutored in
grammar.”
    “JK.”
    Just
joking .
Delaney shook her head at the incessant “text turned speech.” JK. IDK. LOL. It
was like some kind of new language with these kids.
    Felicity
peeked beneath the foil of fried okra. “Are these from Ashley’s garden?”
    “They
are. Picked them myself.” Ashley Fulmer had been her mother’s best friend. She
was also their local gardener-extraordinaire, with a thumb greener than a
meadow in summertime.
    “Travis
and Troy want to go riding this weekend. Is that okay?”
    The
mention of riding led Delaney’s thoughts back to this afternoon. “Yes. But I
don’t want you in the woods by yourself.”
    She
furrowed her brow. “Since when?”
    Since
we have strangers lurking between the trees. “Since today.”
    “Mom.”
    It
was Felicity’s one word rebuttal spoken with emphasis to insist, I’m an
adult now . You can be honest with me . On one level, that was true. But
her daughter was not strong on self-defense. It wasn’t in her nature. “There’s
been some trouble with