"Oh my God!" Jace cried, as she tried to catch him. He slid then fell to the carpet. "Call 911 Nat!"
"Ram!" Jace loosened his shirt, undoing the top buttons, feeling for his pulse. "He's thready," she told Warren, who hovered above them.
It seemed an eternity before the paramedics arrived and started firing questions at her.
"When did this start?" the tall one asked.
"He seemed a bit confused," Jace responded, "then he just passed out. Is he in fib?"
"Seems like atrial fib," the other one said, after he'd hooked up Ram to heart monitors. "How long was he confused?"
"I'd say about ten minutes," Jace replied.
"May have been a stroke. And his name?"
"Ramsey Knowles." The two attendants looked at each other.
"Hey, Ramsey!" one said loudly, "Can you hear us, Ramsey?"
But there was no response. Ram was still unconscious.
After that, things moved too fast for Jace, who watched helplessly as they rushed him into the waiting elevator, then an ambulance.
She changed quickly to casual clothes and followed with Nat and Warren in a cab.
Ram became aware of sounds of a siren, distant sounds, before a jolt told him he was the one being transported. "What happened?" he asked one of the attendants, his voice sounding far away, watching the inside of the ambulance before they wheeled him into the emergency room.
"Just take it easy Ramsey," the man told him loudly, too loudly. So Ram closed his eyes again, too tired to keep them open.
As he heard swishing sounds, then bleeps, he felt himself being lifted onto another bed. He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't cooperate. Jace. He needed Jace, where was she? No, but Jace had left him, he remembered from yesterday. She was gone. She was mad at him. About the Victoria picture. Damn Victoria anyway, he thought.
"His pressure is two-hundred over one-twenty five," he heard someone say.
He winced as he felt someone stabbing the back of his hand, as he struggled to open his eyes. Again, swishes of material against material, as his hand felt warm. "That should take care of the pressure for now," someone said.
Then, he heard Jace, and he smiled.
"Suspected parathyroid tumor," she said, and he wasn't sure who she said the words to.
But, why was Jace here? he wondered. Had she come back to him?
"Ram," he heard Warren say. It was so familiar. From long ago.
"Susan?" Ram said, still trying to open his eyes. "Did Susan make it?"
"Christ," Warren breathed, as his voice faded off.
"Ram, wake up," he heard Jace say. But, he thought, where was Susan?
Finally, his eyes opened to see Jace bending over him. Still confused, his eyes caught hers. "She didn't make it, Ram, Susan didn't make it," she said quietly. She took one of his hands in hers. "But I'm here. I won't leave you, Ram. I won't leave."
He nodded, before he lost consciousness again.
"Such a simple thing to fix," Jace said to Natalie, as they waited in Ram's room for him to wake up after the operation. "It's just a fifteen minute procedure. After this, his blood-pressure will be all right, he won't be confused, the atrial fib will be fixed, he won't pass out and his bones won't hurt him anymore. He'll still have the osteoporosis, but the supplements will help that. At least he won't be in chronic pain. And no more headaches."
Nat squeezed her hand. "He's lucky to have you, what with mentioning his wife like he did."
Jace shrugged. "He was confused. I would have said the same thing in his shoes."
"They're too big for you," Ram said groggily, as he opened his eyes and struggled to sit up.
Jace smiled at him, as she walked over and smoothed his hair. "I can tell you will be the worst patient this hospital ever saw."
Frowning, he said impatiently, "How soon can I get this thing out of my hand?"
Laughing, Jace told Natalie, "See what I mean? That sounds like the Ramsey I know."
Warren walked in with three cups of coffee.
"What, none for me?" Ram said.
"Hey," Warren said with a grin, "be careful or I'll pour it on your head."
"You and what army?" Ram said, while his eyes flitted to Jace again.
After a short silence, Warren said, "Hey Nat, come here there's something I want to show you in the lobby."
The two left, and Ram continued his steady stare at Jace.
"What?" she asked with a smile.
"You knew, didn't you? What was wrong with me? So you told them. I heard you. When they first brought me in."
"Well, I had a theory that turned out true in the end. I'd already called Doctor Seth, and he was going to study your labs. He was just a bit slow. I called him just now. I think it really devastated him to know he'd been wrong, or I should say just not right."
He squeezed her hand. "You're so damn everything. Beauty, brains, compassion, and did I mention you give dynamite head?"
She laughed at that. "Yes, that was some fun experimenting I did. We'll have to continue that after you're better."
"What an incentive. Now, when are they taking this thing out of my hand?"
The next day, Natalie woke with a start, unsure of where she was. She looked around at the pretty room, and realized she was in the penthouse in Ram's hotel in Nassau.
Relaxing, she looked over as Warren's eyes opened, and she turned her body towards him.
They said nothing, before his hand came along the back of her neck, pulling her towards him for a slow kiss.
"Sweet," he whispered against her lips, "you up for me today Nat?"
She smiled as she thought of the day before. "You didn't get enough last night?" she whispered back.
"Never," he said, as his hand roved across her backside, drawing her leg up over his.
And he thought he could probably never get enough of her, with her heady sexual nature and desires to please him. Now, as he stroked between her legs, she was hot for him, he felt her, caressed her wetness before he eased his fingers into her.
She made a little sound he loved, a sigh, as she closed her eyes. And, as he always seemed to wake up hard, her strokes on him just made him harder still.
There was just something about her, he thought, that made him wild.
Flipping her on her back, he drove himself into her, while she made the sound, gasping then. "Look at me, Nat," he whispered.
She opened her eyes, which were still drowsy with sleep, and met his gaze. "You always this eager first thing?" she said with a smile.
"Yeah. I am. And you?" He thrust harder, balancing with one hand, while the other roved along her breast then her waist and back up again.
But he didn't give her a chance to answer, just sucked on her breasts, one then the other.
He just couldn't get enough of her, as he thrust harder and she gasped, while her hips met his, with a pounding rhythm.
"Oh, my baby, you are hot, so hot," he whispered, "come for me," he urged, kissing down her neck, "now, Nat."
Her body tensed and she cried out, while he grinned. "Tell me you love me, Nat. Right now, while I'm in you."
"Love you, love you, now," she gasped.
Warren and Natalie's early morning lovemaking sounds were apparent to Ram, as he sat and smiled at Jace in the living room. "I really am all right you know," he joked, "you can take off the kids gloves now."
"With you," she said slowly, smiling now too, "I'd just as soon be safe then sorry."
She hesitated for a minute. "So tell me about this home wrecker, this Veronica woman."
"Ronnie? We always called her that, Susan and I. A very insecure woman, always trying to undermine any kind of obviously loving relationship."
"Char said something about her along that line. So, how do you get rid of this woman?"
"Good question."
"Doesn't she have a man with her? It seems to me I've seen someone with her, brown haired sort of a quiet type. Always there by her side."
He smiled a
s he put his coffee cup on the end table. "That would be Marley Banes. Old money. Not much to do all day but try to run after her. He is quiet, but I get the feeling he loves her but she's rejecting him all the time. Sort of using him."
"I just had the best idea, Ram."
He laughed. "Why does that scare me?"
"Just give me his phone number. I'll get my idea going."
*****
Veronica wasn't sure how long Ram would be staying at the Nassau Manor House, and none of her contacts could even tell her, which left her in a very peevish mood.
She called, and Marley's number was busy, which put her in an even worse mood. And she tried him steadily for ten minutes, and finally got through.
"Who on earth have you been talking to?" she told him sharply, without even identifying herself.
She heard him sniff. "None of your business, Ronnie."
"What? Why are you calling me that?"
He laughed. "It's your nickname. I've been calling you that since grade school behind your back."
"Well, I don't like it. I prefer Victoria."
Laughing again, he said, "Okay Ronnie."
"What's gotten into you today?" She couldn't understand this. He never spoke to her like that, ever.
"Oh, just a stroke of wisdom, I guess. Say, Ronnie," now his voice lowered, "what are you wearing right now?"
"Why?"
"Just trying to picture you in my mind."
"Why are you doing that? I'm not going to tell you, anyway."
He sniffed again. "So, I may be heading home soon. I'm tired of Nassau."
This didn't sit well with Victoria, and she was silent then.
"And," he continued, "I'm tired of being at your beck and call. I treat you well, that's why you call me in the middle of the night."
"You are not that good," she told him sharply.
His voice was soft now again, as he said, "I'm as good as the person I'm with." And, with that, he hung up in her ear.
Her mouth fell open at his audacity.
She called him back, and his line was busy again. Thinking he was seeing another woman, her heart sank. And she couldn't figure it out. Thinking of him, he was usually so pliable to all her demands. Sighing, she continued speed dialing him.
Jace laughed into the phone. "Did she really say that? Oh, I'm sorry Marley. But, trust me on this, you must be firm and hard against her prodding. Otherwise she'll run right over you. Be firm, don't be a pushover. Be 'not available' all the time. Let it be on your terms. Turn your phone off, and let her go to voice mail. Go out somewhere for breakfast so you won't be in your room if she comes there. It will drive her crazy. But, you see, she wants what she can't have. She needs a firm man, a strong man."
Her gaze traveled to Ram, sitting with a big smile on his face.
"Actually," she continued, "you could be seen with some other society women. It wouldn't hurt. I'm sure we could get your picture in the paper. We have a multitude of media outlets at our disposal all the time. Okay, you take care. Remember, stand firm now."
She laughed. "We'd better head out of town, Ram. A big blast is about to go off."
Chapter 14
Victoria was furious at Marley. He was hiding from her for some reason. She went to his room down the hall from hers, and pounded on his door, but he didn't answer.
She launched a tirade at the maid who was changing sheets in the next room, but the woman could give her no answers.
And she mentally rehearsed what she would say to him when she did finally catch up with him. He would be very sorry indeed, she thought.
Ram, Jace, Warren and Natlie spent the next few days sunning, swimming, eating, dancing, and generally enjoying themselves. But, Jace knew Ram was anxious to get back to his businesses. And much as she feared a relapse with him, she told herself he was fine, and he was cured of the small tumor that had almost ended his life.
"So," Jace asked, as she and Ram sat together on the penthouse patio, "what's the next stop, boss?"
"Actually, I'd like to go back to Dallas. I'm missing home something fierce. I'm missing Dallas."
A brief smile passed her lips. "Home. I was almost getting used to life on the road."
He sighed. "Lots of shadows back in Dallas, lots of old feelings I have to deal with in my own way. I must face them, Jace."
She nodded, understanding completely, but unwilling to let him go. She wanted him all to herself, but then she knew it was impossible. And, again, she felt the pull of his dead wife.
The next day the two left Warren and Natalie still vacationing in the penthouse and took Ram's jet back to Dallas. He seemed to be preoccupied during the trip, with business matters, and Jace tried to make herself scarce, even at one point, talking to Mac the pilot.
And, as the jet banked, leveled off, then banked again for the landing, she saw the huge skyscrapers of Dallas with trepidation.
While they walked through the airport, she cast quick looks at Ram, making sure he was all right, and seeing a grim look on his face.
After dropping Jace off at her house, the taxi took Ram to his home. He stood at the entranceway and, for a minute, did not even want to go in. But, he knew he had to. He needed to face his demons.
After a fond hello by Ellie, his housekeeper, he strode upstairs with his bags. Throwing them on the floor in the master bedroom, he looked around. Susan was everywhere, he thought. On the walls with her paintings, on the bed with the beautiful mahogany bed set and green coverlet she'd bought two years ago, and in the adjoining studio, with her last painting still waiting on the easel.
"Ellie!" he called.
She ran up the stairs. "Are you all right then, Ramsey?" Her face was concerned, as she'd heard, from Jace calling her, about his illness.
He smiled at her. "Yes. I'm more than all right. I just wanted to know how you feel about moving from here with me?"
"But, why? This is a lovely house, Ramsey."
"It's a mausoleum and full of Susan. I need to sell her paintings, or better yet, give them to charity. I'll start fresh. Jace and I will get a ranch somewhere."
She nodded and smiled up at him. "A ranch would be great. And Jace is wonderful for you."
"She said she'd like to get a dog some day. We could have horses too. Do you know of a realtor?"
"I'll ask around, Ramsey, I'm sure we can come up with something."
"Well," he said slowly, as he ran a hand through his hair, "the only sticky thing is convincing Jace to marry me. She's a very independent woman."
A silence ensued. "Does she love you, Ramsey?"
"She told me once. Just one time."
"Well," she said briskly, "you'll need a ring then. Don't propose without a ring, Ramsey. Also, it needs to be a romantic setting, somewhat private."
"I don't want it to be here," he said quickly. "Maybe Robertos for dinner. They have the private rooms in back. Sort of intimate."
After gathering up her precious plants from her neighbor, Jace sat down to weed out her mail and pay her bills.
But, after a while, she found herself pacing the floor. She missed Ram, but didn't want to call and interrupt him. And Natalie was still on vacation, and Ann and Lee her friends were on call and they'd be tied up too.
A terrible loneliness set in then, an unpleasant feeling not unlike when Ralph had strayed. Only, this time, the other woman was dead. There was nothing for her to fight, just memories.
Donning her sweats, she went for a walk in the brisk air, a long, long walk, convincing herself that Ram also was a memory for her. Just a memory now. He hadn't mentioned keeping her on in any capacity, so she was free of him. The only problem was, she didn't want to be free. She wanted to be with him all the time now. All she had of him were memories, good times, and even some bad times. Miserably, she thought, in sickness and health.
When she returned to her house, she went straight to her bedroom, and sobbed on the bed until darkness approached and she fell asleep.
A pounding woke her
later, and she looked at the clock. Seven o'clock. Feeling punchy, she rose and still heard the pounding. On her front door. And she cursed her ex-husband for not installing a peep hole there.
"Who is it?" she said loudly, hugging herself, shaking.
"Open the door, Jace."
It was Ram. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, trying to wake up.
Opening the door, she looked up at him, felt his presence fiercely, and smelled the scent of his expensive aftershave.
Ram thought she was the loveliest woman he'd ever seen, with her sleepy eyes, hair in disarray and husky voice, saying, "Yes?"
It was not the friendly greeting he was expecting. "You didn't answer your cell phone. Are you all right?"
"Yes, thank you. And you are all right also?"
She still hadn't asked him in. "Am I to stay on the porch all night?" he asked finally.
Rubbing her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry. Come in. Sorry, the place is sort of a mess right now."
And he thought it really seemed lived in, with papers and magazines here and there, but wasn't too bad. "It's all right," he said, "you've been gone for a while. I won't hold it against you."
She sat on a chair while he sat on the sofa. The silence was awkward between them.
"Are you having pain?" she asked him, with a concerned look on her face.
"Yes," he told her, although he really wasn't having any aches or pains.
"Well, I don't have a table here, but my bed is fairly firm." She yawned.
"Did I wake you?" he said softly, noticing her eyes were half-closed and she hugged herself as if cold.
Romance in Dallas - Tycoon! Page 12