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.