Romeo

by Gail Faulkner

  Before Carla could answer, Romeo’s deep voice interjected smoothly. “Perhaps the girls would like to take their bags in and relax first, Steve. It’s a four-hour trip down here. Pop the trunk, Carla.” His tone was low and quiet, but there was no suggesting about it. Those soft directions were commands. Lauren immediately recognized the attitude that drove Romeo’s cousins nuts.

  A little smile snuck up her face and she had to look down to hide the amusement. When she glanced up again, Romeo shot her a questioning look. He’d seen her instant amusement and questioned it with a raised brow. Lauren pretended not to see the brow as she reached into the now open trunk for her one bag. A large hand closed over hers from behind and gently moved her hand aside as Romeo lifted out her bag.

  “This it?” he questioned softly, his tone intimate in the midst of the crowd. Around her, Lauren felt watching eyes and avid expectations. He now stood beside her to curve his large body over hers for the bag. His scent of fresh-cut hay, pine and just pure male enveloped her in a slightly dizzying fog of strange new hormones she didn’t know what to do with. No, no, no. These vultures were not going to read anything from her interaction with Romeo.

  Being careful not to breathe in too deeply and lose all hope of rational thought, she resolutely turned slightly away from him. “Yep, and the rest are Carla’s.” Lauren smiled brightly and intentionally looked over at Steve. “You look like you’re into weightlifting, Steve, they should be no problem for you.” Her flirty joking blended into the ribbing and diffused the attention off her and Romeo.

  Steve and his younger cousin Jason grabbed Carla’s bags and commenced to loud groaning at the weight. Carla smacked both of them on the back of the head in playful protest and everyone moved toward the house. Somehow, Romeo was right beside Lauren with a large hand at her back as she went up the steps to the porch. She moved away from him quickly, trying to be casual as the group entered the house to greet more family in the form of aunts and uncles.

  The large entry, which had probably been the front room at one time, was crowded with Monteros and it was almost difficult to see the casual comfort that made this rambling structure a home. There was a fireplace off to the side, beside it were long rustic benches for removing boots and coat racks at each end so clothing could be shed right at the door. No stuffy pretension of a formal entry existed.

  Through several archways one could see the various rooms and a hallway leading off down both sides of the house. Directly in front of them was the oversized living room whose casual seating arrangements fed naturally into what appeared to be a den, complete with a pool table. In the opposite direction off the living room an archway led to a large dining room. Beyond that appeared a doorway that probably led to the kitchen since there was also a pass-through in the wall and cabinetry barely visible in the other room. Every room boasted its own fireplace, which seemed to draw the rustic past into the present. The fireplaces were large and welcoming with wood stacked neatly by each one, even in the middle of summer.

  The introductions over and general pandemonium continuing unabated, Lauren suddenly felt a warm rush of breath wash over her ear from behind. “Come on through here, I’ll show you where you can relax a moment.” His low voice sent a shiver down her spine.

  It would have been nice to turn down the invitation, but at this moment, her head was pounding and her legs had just started trembling. Lauren really wished she wasn’t physically desperate for a few seconds’ peace. She should have told Carla about her little problem before accepting this invitation. It’s not like the condition was transmittable or contagious. It was just a pain in the ass, as Carla would say.

  Lauren’s head turned slightly to him and nodded. Immediately his large hand spanned her back again and guided her backwards. With tender insistence, his hand remained on her back as he turned them down a hallway.

  At the end of the hall he opened a door, ushering her into what immediately felt like a soothing space. But Lauren couldn’t be sure anymore—she needed her medication as the pounding in her head grew louder. Romeo stepped past her to deposit her case on the bed. In that moment when his back was to her, Lauren let herself grope for the chair at the wall beside the door. She sank into it while shaking hands fumbled with her purse.

  He seemed to sense her distress and glanced back at her even before he dropped the bag. Sharp eyes took in her collapse onto the chair and shaking hands.

  “What is it?” Romeo demanded as his big body moved across the room in a second and he sank to his haunches before her. Steady hands took the purse from her and delved into it. “What am I looking for, Lauren?”

  “Prescription,” Lauren breathed, her head relaxed back onto the tall chair and her eyes closed gratefully.

  “Let me get you a glass of water, just a second.” He bounced up and was gone. Then she felt a glass pressed into her hand and a pill to her lips. She opened for the pill and drank the water gratefully.

  Opening her eyes a slit, Lauren found him in front of her on his haunches again, studying the prescription bottle. He read it carefully then plucked her purse off the floor and started digging through it again. “Are there more?” he asked tightly.

  “No, just that one for headaches. I’ll be fine in a few minutes. It’s only a migraine,” she assured him. His casual commandeering of her purse was something she didn’t have the energy to deal with right now. However, it highlighted his in-charge attitude. Lauren was aware enough to be relieved she’d put the immunosuppressive drugs she’d now be on for a lifetime in her case. His nosy ass would have had a field day with those. Aaarrrrggg, even snorting silently hurt.

  Romeo dropped the purse and looked into her eyes. “Why?” he asked bluntly.

  “Because I get them?” Lauren attempted a feeble joke to distract him.

  “I’m asking why you get migraines? People who get them this bad know why, Lauren. Tell me.” There was that commanding tone again—it was beginning to wear on her.

  Lauren smiled weakly—he really could be a pain in the ass. “It’s stress. That’s the trigger. Relax. I’ll be fine soon.”

  “What caused this much stress, Lauren? You’ve only been here ten minutes. It takes much longer than that for this sort of thing to build. You were already shaking and couldn’t see very well, could you?” Romeo pressed her with surprising knowledge about the condition.

  “You really want to know, Romeo? You won’t like it,” she warned him tiredly and leaned back, closing her eyes again. It took too much energy to look at him and argue.

  His hands settled on her jean-covered thighs and rubbed up and down in a soothing caress. “I already don’t like the fact you get them, honey. I really don’t like the fact that the doctor on your prescription is a heart specialist. What’s one more thing to dislike?” His low tone was an auditory smile as he murmured to her encouragingly. “So tell me why you have the headache, then tell me about your heart.”

  Shocked at his perception, Lauren managed to lift an eyebrow. “What makes you say it’s a heart doctor?” Lauren asked.

  Before he could answer she opened her eyes and frowned at him. “Look, Romeo, we just met a few minutes ago. I’m an unexpected guest in your home so that entitles you to some answers about a near collapse. It does not give you the right to demand my life story,” she informed him firmly and removed his hands from her legs.

  “I see,” he mused, allowing her to remove his touch but now resting both palms on the chair arms on either side of her. “Then tell me the part it does get me.”

  “I am feeling stressed because of your cousins. The reason Carla invited me this weekend is not entirely what it seems. I found out in the car outside your gates. That’s what gave me the headache,” Lauren stated and closed her eyes again.

  “Really?” Romeo’s voice was a gentle murmur. He straightened up and bent to scoop her into his arms. Before she could react to being in his arms, he deposited her on the bed and adjusted the pillow behind her. Immediately turning to the tall wi
ndows, he pulled the drapes, submerging the room into a dimly lit environment that did calm her. The bed she lay on had to be a queen, its width covered with a muted forest green down comforter that pillowed her entire body in welcome softness. The room seemed to flow around them in tranquil tones of well-polished natural wood and plush woodland colors.

  Fetching water again from the attached bathroom, he held it to her lips until she drained it. Then he was sitting on the side of the bed and leaning over to take her hand in his. “Now tell me the real reason you were invited.”

  Lauren huffed. He was good, very good. He’d done everything possible to aid her recovery, waiting on her hand and foot, and then asked for information. She felt obligated to tell him. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore how gorgeous this dominating, caring man was, and began her explanation.

  “Carla said she convinced me to come this weekend because she wanted to see your reaction. She has also told your cousins what a cold shoulder I’ll give you and now they’re watching our every move. She thinks I’m the Ice Queen. They can hardly wait to see me put you in your place,” Lauren said resignedly.

  “Why does she think you’re an Ice Queen?” Romeo asked.

  “Because I hardly ever date, and when I do, I don’t…um, she knows I don’t put out,” Lauren finished determinedly. He wanted details, might as well be blunt.

  “Ah, Carla doesn’t know about your weak heart, does she?” Romeo surmised.

  “I do not have a weak heart. It’s perfectly fine!” Lauren defended herself.

  “But it wasn’t fine before, was it? Tell me what happened, Lauren. It’s better if I know to begin with. That way we won’t have any nasty surprises later.” His gentle tones made him sound perfectly reasonable. Until you thought about what he was saying. The weasel wouldn’t give up.

  “My heart is fine. It’s the rest of me that’s, ah, not what it could be. However, I am not in danger or an invalid. So stop with all the concern and let me rest a minute. I’ll be up soon and everything will be normal,” she insisted. Lauren determinedly closed her eyes and decided ignoring him was the best method of getting rid of him.

  Firm lips briefly brushed hers then were gone. Her eyes blinked open as he straightened and smiled down at her. “I need to clean up and then I’ll be in my study when you get up. It would be a good idea for us to have a chat about this little plot my cousins are trying to involve us in.” He strode to the door and turned. “Don’t worry. It was right to trust me with the truth. You’ll come to find I’m a dependable guy.”

  Romeo Montero moved down the hall frowning. The little female he’d left in the darkened room disturbed him on every level. The first thing he needed to know was what her condition really was. A photographic memory gave him the doctor’s number from the prescription bottle. He’d known the name anyway. He knew what the man did for a living and it worried him.

  Looking at a frail form lying in a darkened room wrenched him back in time. The flood of helpless anger was familiar and not welcome. His mom had been a tall blonde but slender, easily exhausted and often suffered the same migraines. Intellectually he knew it wasn’t his fault she had been sick. It wasn’t his fault she and his father had died so young. Emotionally it’d been hard to deal with. Losing his parents and grandparents in a short time span left side effects that lasted a lifetime. It had created a deep fear of losing loved ones. His natural protective instincts kicked into high gear at the first sign of danger.

  After a quick shower and change, he headed across the house. Entering the den on his way to the study, the din of laughing and talking quieted suspiciously as his six cousins looked up at him.

  Carla glanced around. “Hey, where is Lauren?” she asked.

  “I showed her to her room. She seemed tired,” Romeo answered tersely. He was sure Carla didn’t know her friend had been or was gravely ill. That didn’t excuse her from obviously losing track of her for this long, much less not noticing the white lines of strain around Lauren’s mouth a few minutes ago.

  “Is she all right? Should I check on her? I thought she’d share my room, where did you put her?” Carla wanted to know in her usual rush of both questions and information.

  “She’s in the green room. She said she’d be out in a few minutes. I doubt she wants anyone checking on her,” he responded.

  “She’s cute, isn’t she?” Carla insinuated as if it’d just occurred to her.

  “Beautiful,” Romeo agreed casually. “But she seemed a bit prickly to me.” Six sets of eyes lit up at his comment. The whole group was obviously in on this just as Lauren said. That required some attention—right after he took care of the important stuff.

  “I’ve got work to do. I hope you guys are old enough to refrain from killing yourselves or each other.” With that, he headed off to make a few phone calls.

  Shortly Romeo had all the information he needed. Lauren was a heart transplant recipient. Her surgery had been two years ago. At the age of ten she’d been in a serious car accident, which had nearly killed her, that’s when they’d diagnosed the heart problem. She’d spent years waiting for a new organ and the injuries from the accident complicated her condition. Consequently, her life up to a year ago had been very sedentary. The doctor explained she now had a healthy heart but her body was trying to catch up.

  The doctor also divulged that Lauren belonged to a very protective family with three older brothers and father who were all still uncomfortable letting her go. They’d spent too long with a sweet little girl on the edge of death. The doctor laughed as he commented she’d be pissed if she found out he was telling another protective male about her condition. But Romeo and the doctor were old acquaintances. Their relationship went back too far for the request to be denied. Especially when Lauren was at Romeo’s place.

  Leaning back in his chair, Romeo realized the house felt very quiet. Lauren hadn’t shown up in his study and he began to have a bad feeling when he realized how much time had passed. Rising, he went in search of her. She wasn’t in her room, the pool area was quiet but down at the corral there seemed to be a commotion. Romeo frowned as he headed in that direction.

  All six cousins were appalled when Lauren confessed she’d never been near a horse, much less on one at their suggestion of a ride before supper. Carla assured her it was a blast. She had to learn to ride, it was just wrong to be a native Texan and not know how. So wearing her brand spanking new cowboy boots and jeans, Lauren stood beside what looked like a giant of a horse and petted it nervously. Steven was the one who brought it out of the barn and “tacked up” for her. Now Carla was insisting she “mount” it.

  They were standing in the wide, long corral directly off the horse barn door designed for a large number of horses to be tacked up at the same time. It was actually big enough for the private rodeo shows Romeo and the hands occasionally put on for visiting groups of school children.

  “You’re sure it’s gentle?” Lauren asked for the fifth time.

  “As a lamb. It’s the most boring horse Romeo owns,” Carla assured her. “Now put your foot in the stirrup and swing the other leg over.”

  “I can’t reach the thing, Carla. I haven’t got the mile-long legs you have. Is there a stepladder I could use or something?” Lauren questioned as Carla laughed and the big beast swung his head around to eyeball the two women. Lauren stared back at it and could swear the thing was laughing at her. Could horses laugh? This one could apparently.

  “Shouldn’t there be, like, padding? Or helmets? A hockey uniform to ride these things?” Lauren wanted to know. Up close and personal put a new perspective on riding and it wasn’t a nice one. How could anyone consider the insisted precaution of wearing boots protective clothing? Carla had made a big production out of the appropriate attire for riding, making Lauren go change before they came out here. Dang, that whole irritating clothing scene seemed woefully less than adequate now. The horses were mammoth.

  “Jason,” Carla called. “Come over here and help Lauren u
p. She’s too short to reach the stirrup.” At barely twenty and the youngest cousin, he was all energy and action on a whole new level it seemed. Jason grabbed Lauren around the waist and easily lifted her slight form up on the animal in what seemed to Lauren an abrupt motion giving her no time to prepare.

  Lauren found herself perched atop a shifting mountain of muscle. Fear shot through her and she froze. Unaware of her friend’s momentary bout with terror, Carla untied the horse from the rail to lead it to the center of the corral so she could teach Lauren the basics of riding. At that moment, Steven emerged from the barn with the horse he intended to ride. It was a magnificent, prancing beast. As far as Lauren was concerned it snorted fire and had a death wish for every other living thing. It reared and screamed, broke away from Steven and charged down the corral at top speed, straight at Lauren and her huge horse.

  The horse under Lauren had no problem deciding what to do. It whirled and jerked to get out of the way. The swift, unexpected movements made it seem to simply step out from under her. She didn’t have a good hold on it and her feet weren’t even in the stirrups yet. Crashing to the ground from that height was not Lauren’s greatest concern. It was the black hooves of death thundering towards her as she lay in the path of the screaming devil horse.

  All she could do was roll over and bury her head in her arms. There was a lot of action around the corral as people tried to yell instructions, but the two seconds between Lauren’s hitting the ground and wild horse being upon her didn’t allow escape.

  Only one hoof hit her with a glancing blow to the back of her upper thigh. The way it moved her and her cry of pain made it appear to the horrified eyes watching that she’d been trampled with every fall of the steel-shod hooves. Romeo’s huge body vaulted the fence and came skidding to his knees beside her prone form. Large hands hovered over her, afraid to touch, afraid not to. Lauren groaned and lifted her head to check the location of the satanic beast.