by Angelo, Judy
She folded her arms across her chest. “Just say what you came to say then get out.” She said the words through gritted teeth. “I have no time to entertain slime balls.”
Raul threw back his head and laughed out loud. “Was that the best you could come up with? You’re losing your touch, Solie. Where’s the fiery chica who used to match me word for word? Where’s the witty rejoinder?”
Solie took a step forward and scowled at him. “Listen, you’re not welcome here. You’re lucky I even let you in. Just state your case and leave.”
That got her a look of amusement. “You let me in? How droll.” Then, as if tired of the game, he shifted and dropped his legs to the floor. He patted the seat beside him. “Come on over and sit so we can talk.”
Solie did not move. The very idea made her skin crawl. Sit beside Raul so he could wrap his arms around her, maybe even force himself on her? She wasn’t that stupid. “Just talk,” she said. “Say what you have to say and get out.”
Raul sat back and regarded her, the amusement sliding from his face. “Oh, so that’s the way it is, is it?”
“That’s the way it is.”
“Fine.” He slapped his hands on his knees and then sat forward. “Let’s get serious.” He looked over at her, his smile gone. “I want you to come back to me.”
Solie shook her head. “I got that. What I don’t get is why in this world or the next you would think that would ever happen. You’ve gone mad or what?”
Raul shrugged and this time the smile he gave her was free of bravado. It almost looked…genuine. “Mad is right,” he said. “Mad in love with you.”
“Raul,” Solie dropped her arms and jammed her fist on her hips, “you said let’s get serious so why don’t you?”
“I am serious.”
“No, you’re not. You’re the one who desecrated our relationship by cheating on me. You’re the one who couldn’t stay out of your secretary’s pants. Or did you forget?” Solie sucked in her breath, the anger building as the whole scenario came flying back to slap her in the face. “And after all that, you expect me to take you back? No,” she said, shaking her head, “you’re definitely not serious.”
“That was a big mistake, Sol. I was going through a…phase. But I’m over that now. I came to my senses. I need you.” He gave her a look so earnest that if Solie didn’t know him she would swear he was telling the truth. Well, the truth according to him, anyway.
“And what about Miss McQuade?” She just had to ask. Not that it would make any difference but her curiosity was getting the better of her.
Raul gave a snort, his lips taking on a bitter twist. “That bitch? I got over her a long time ago.”
Solie lifted her eyebrows, shocked at his crudeness. Then she frowned. “I can imagine you called me the very same thing.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, “never. I respect you too much.”
That almost made her laugh. It would be funny if it weren’t so sick. “Yeah, that’s right. That’s why you cheated on me.”
“I told you, it was just a -”
“I know, a phase. That’s what you called it. But let me tell you something about that ‘phase’ of yours.” She slid her hands into her pockets, her anger giving way to a stillness in her soul, a sign that this man could no longer stir her. “That phase,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm, “can go on forever as far as I’m concerned. It’s been over a year since we broke up. What we had is dead. Buried. Rotting in its grave.”
This time Raul did not take her answer sitting down. Lithe as a tiger, he was up and by her side before she could move. “Not anymore, Solie. I still want you and I know you want me, too.”
He hadn’t touched her and Solie used the opportunity to back away, moving out of his immediate reach. Things were getting too hot for her, too emotional. She needed a wild card to get her out of this mess. Desperate, she drew for the one thing she knew would rid her of him once and for all. “Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” she said, her voice cold. “I don’t want you. I moved on a long time ago. I have a man in my life now.”
A stroke of anger flashed across his face. “You’re lying. I can see it in your eyes.”
She shook her head. “I’m not. I’m telling you the truth. I have a man. He means everything to me. There’s no room in my life for anyone else.”
At her declaration Raul drew back and his dark eyes grew cold. “We’ll just see about that.”
***
Ransom stared out the window of his hotel room as he held the phone to his ear. The naked branches reaching up into a bleak sky and the dreariness of the snow-covered landscape almost made him shiver. Boy, was he glad he’d be heading back to sunny Florida soon. This kind of frigid environment, he could do without.
“Uh, huh. I got that but what I want to know is, when he’s going to deliver.” As he spoke into the phone he reached out to slide the pads of his fingers on the glass. It was so cold it felt like his fingers would stick.
He slid his hand into his pocket and listened some more. “Wrong answer, bud. Give me something more positive than that.” He was not liking the direction of the conversation. No project was ever one hundred percent smooth but this one seemed to have more than its share of issues. First, it was the permit then the plumbing and now this. “And the department of transportation and roads is adamant we can’t cut the road through there?”
The answer came back in the affirmative. Ransom bit down on his lip as he did a quick assessment in his mind. “All right, just put things on hold for now,” he said. “I’ll deal with it when I get back.”
He ended the call then checked the time on the cell phone screen. Ten twenty. He might as well head out now. This would be his last chance to see Rafe before he would have to get back to the oil rig. He should be honored, he guessed, that his brother had taken two whole days off so they could connect. Ransom was grateful although he’d be the last to say it out loud. He wasn’t the kind to get all emotional but, no matter what, he loved his brother and he welcomed the chance to see him.
Not that Rafe shared the sentiment. He was as laconic as ever.
Ransom bundled up in coat, scarf and gloves and headed out from the hotel, carefully directing his rental car along the icy road. He wanted to get off that road and inside a warm building as soon as possible.
Within twenty-five minutes of setting out he was pulling into the driveway of Rafe’s hotel. He hopped out and headed for the lobby.
The Princess Royal was a pretty decent hotel with marble tiles on the floor, elegant faux palms in each corner and a granite counter for a reception desk. Here there was a tall vase of fresh-cut roses and these, surprisingly, were real. Ransom cocked an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected fresh flowers gracing a hotel lobby in such a remote part of Alaska but then he did a mental shrug. Why not? Wasn’t that what green houses were for?
The desk clerk, tall and willowy and very blonde, gave Ransom a friendly smile. “Welcome to the Princess Royal, sir. How may I help you?” As he approached she tapped her computer screen. “Do you have a reservation?”
Ransom returned the smile. “No, I’m here to see one of your guests. Rafe Kent. He’s expecting me.”
His greeter nodded and reached for the phone. “I’ll call him for you. Please pick up the receiver at the hall table when the phone rings over there.”
When it did, it was a scratchy-voiced Rafe who came on the phone.
“Don’t tell me you were still sleeping. It’s almost eleven o’clock.”
“It is?” Rafe sounded doubtful. “I went to bed pretty late. Sorry.”
“Yeah, well hurry up and get your butt down here so we can talk.”
Ransom hung up and walked over to the elegantly furnished lounge with its grand piano, handcrafted sculptures and antique furniture. What he saw made him upgrade his evaluation from decent to quite nice. This definitely was no cheap hotel. That was one good sign. As radical as he was, at least it didn’t look like Rafe had taken
a vow of poverty.
It took another twenty minutes before Rafe made his way downstairs and by that time Ransom’s stomach was growling. He hadn’t had breakfast and, obviously, neither had Rafe.
“Does this place have a restaurant? We might as well grab some grub.” He got to his feet as Rafe walked into the room.
“Sure. Come on. I’ll take you there.” He set off, not bothering to wait for Ransom. “The food is pretty good. That’s why I stay here every chance I get.”
He was right. Both he and Rafe chose to have a light brunch with Rafe stocking up on some fatty but mostly sugary items while he went for the oatmeal, fruit platter and coffee. Rafe could afford to be lax. He was skinny as a rake.
Soon enough the meal was over and it was time to talk. Ransom got the ball rolling. “Now tell me what it was you couldn’t have told me yesterday.” Pushing his plate to one side he leaned forward, ready to get a resolution to the mystery.
Rafe relaxed in his chair and reached over to pull his glass of water toward him. He took a slow sip before he spoke. “Where do I start?” he asked, not looking at Ransom. “It’s a long story.”
“Start at the beginning.”
Rafe began, and he hadn’t been lying when he’d said it was a long story. He went as far back as a year earlier and, like Ransom should have guessed knowing Rafe, it involved a woman.
“So it didn’t work out. You needed to get away. I get that but what does that have to do with your family? Why cut yourself off from us, especially Mom?”
Rafe’s lips tightened and he looked down at his hands. When he looked up again there was such pain in his eyes that Ransom was taken aback. “This is all about my family, Ransom. Especially Mom.”
Ransom looked at him askance. This was getting more and more confusing by the minute. “What does Mom have to do with it?”
“She’s got everything to do with it. I was too ashamed. I didn’t want to hurt the family…and especially not her. That’s why I decided to stay away.” His face grew solemn as he stared off into space.
Ransom glared at him. “You’d better start talking sense before I knock some into you,” he growled. “What are you blabbing about? Spill it.”
“The girl I was with…Rhonda…you know Mom liked her, right?”
“Yeah, so what? It didn’t work out. These things happen. You don’t think Mom would understand?”
Rafe shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. Mom more than liked her. She loved her…like the daughter she never had.”
Ransom almost groaned. Not that argument again. Since childhood Rafe was convinced that their mom would have preferred a girl to another boy. Idiot, the older ones used to say, she chose you, didn’t she? She could have chosen a girl if she wanted. But he always came back to that idea simply because, when he was six years old, he’d overheard their mother telling their Aunt Mary how there were such cute dresses in The Children’s Place that she would have loved to have a little girl to shop for.
“And that was why it was so hard,” Rafe continued. “Mom blamed me for the break-up. She never forgave me when I told Rhonda it was over.”
“She told you that?”
“She didn’t have to. She’s been nice to me like always but I can read Mom like a book. She’s still hurting because she lost her daughter-in-law to be.”
Ransom remained silent, just staring at his brother. Finally, he spoke. “Mom knows why you broke up with Rhonda.”
Rafe shook his head. “No, she doesn’t. Rhonda told her all kinds of stories and she pretty much believed them.”
“Mom knows why you broke up with Rhonda.”
That made Rafe stop and stare. “How could she? I never told her.”
“No, but Rhonda did.”
“What? Those lies she fed Mom? The way she painted me, I’m surprised Mom even speaks to me anymore.”
“She came back and told Mom the truth. Eventually. Mom knows that she was the one who did the cheating, not you.”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “She never told me that.”
“Who? Rhonda or Mom?”
“Neither one of them. I didn’t know they had that conversation.”
“Maybe if you would come home once in a while or even pick up the phone and make a friggin’ call you’d know by now.” Ransom gave a snort of exasperation. “Mom says when you call you’re always in such a darned hurry to get off the phone she can’t even get a chance to talk to you.”
“I thought she didn’t want to talk to me.”
“When does Mom never want to talk to you? To any of us?” Ransom glared. “That’s what she does best. She’s our Mom.”
Rafe drew in a long breath then let it out on a sigh. “Yeah. I know. And I’ve been a real jerk, staying away like this.”
“You said it.” Ransom slapped a hand on the table, making the forks jumps. “Now get your act together. Go call your mother.”
That evening when he returned to his hotel Ransom felt satisfied. While he’d been there Rafe had called Mother Kent and although the conversation had been short, at least it was a lot more meaningful than the ‘hey, Mom, I’m okay, see ya’ kind of calls they'd been having lately. It would take a lot more conversations between Rafe and Maggie but at least today was a start.
Now, relaxed on the king-sized bed, Ransom could afford himself the luxury of letting his mind wander to the woman he was dying to kiss. What was Solie up to right at that moment? Was she busy at work, busy being the consummate professional, taking charge of everything? Or was she lying in bed thinking about him like he was thinking about her?
And, just in case she was, he decided to call her. It would either go to voicemail or, if he was lucky, she’d pick up the phone and he’d be blessed with that saucy, sexy voice of hers.
Ransom picked up the phone and dialed. It rang four times and then clicked over to voicemail. He didn’t bother leaving a message.
After all, what would he say? I’ve been thinking about you? Even worse, I miss you? Talk about stalker mode. If he did that, the girl would go running in the opposite direction and who could blame her?
Smiling to himself, Ransom settled back into the pillows and turned his attention back to the television. He must be in his second childhood because, like a kid, he could hardly wait to get back to see her again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“So am I allowed to work now?” Ransom couldn’t help throwing that jab at his manager.
“Gimme me a break, boss. You’ve been back on the job two weeks now. When are you going to let up?” Trevor shook his head as he reached for the pile of charts. “Aren’t you ever going to forgive me?”
“For turning me into a prisoner in my own home? Maybe not.” Ransom chuckled. “But then again, maybe some good might come out of it.”
“Hey, some good already has. You made a friend, didn’t you?”
Ransom gave him a wry grin. “I guess you could say that.”
Trevor shrugged. “I guess I could. What else would you call it?”
“I’d call it fate.”
Trevor dropped the charts back onto the desk and turned toward him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said.” Ransom’s tone was enigmatic. That was as much as he was going to say. He got up and walked toward the door. “I’ve got some business to take care of on the road. Be back in an hour.”
The fact was, Ransom was becoming more preoccupied with Solie with each passing day. It was a worrying thought. Not since high school could he remember being so obsessed with a girl. And he hadn’t even kissed her yet.
But that would soon change. The next time he saw Solie Felix he’d steal a taste of her succulent lips or he wasn’t Ransom Kent.
He’d been back in Fort Lauderdale two days now but, as luck would have it, the issues had been waiting on the table and he’d been too swamped to run over and check on her. Today, though, he didn’t want the evening to pass without hearing her voice or, better yet, seeing her face-to-face.
<
br /> And once he had her in his sights again, who knew what would happen?
When Ransom got home that evening Solie’s car was nowhere in sight. The disappointment left a bitter taste on his tongue but he swallowed it and went on inside. He was a big boy. He could wait.
But the evening seemed to pass way too slowly for his comfort. He’d spent the past two hours killing time, watching television, but there was just so much of that you could take. Finally, when King Tut began to whine he took the opportunity to throw on his jogging gear and take the dog for a walk. They circled the park six times before he felt like they’d had enough. Then he headed back up the street toward home.
As luck would have it, just as they were two gates away from Solie’s house Ransom saw her car pull into the driveway. He quickened his steps, intent on catching her before she went inside. He got there just as she slipped the strap of her handbag over her shoulder and slammed the car door shut.
“Hey, how're you doing? Long time no see.” Ransom smiled and went up to take the grocery bag from her hand, King Tut close behind him.
“Oh, hey. You’re back.” Solie gave him a tiny, restrained smile and dropped her eyes.
Ransom didn’t know what to think of that. He’d been all excited but she didn’t even look happy to see him. Had he misread her signals? So the feeling wasn’t mutual?
Apparently not. Instead of letting the handle of the grocery bag slide into his hand Solie held on tight then she gave a slight shake of her head and lifted her face to look up at him. “Thank you, Ransom,” she said, her voice soft, a hint of strain about her lips, “but I can manage. It’s not heavy at all.”
She dropped her eyes again then turned and began to walk toward the front door. There she paused and turned to stare at man and dog still standing in her front yard. The tiniest of smiles graced her lips. “Have a good evening.”
She waved and then let herself in but not before Ransom saw a strangely wistful look in her eyes.
Even after she’d gone inside he still stood there staring at the now closed door, baffled. Talk about a cool reception. But there was something more to all this. What the hell was going on?