The Billionaire Next Door (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection) (10 page)

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.

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?