Lost in a Stallion's Arms (Kimani Romance) (14 page)

L
ooking around the library of the Preston Hollow home, John was reminded of everything he’d accomplished for his family. Since day one everything he’d done had been for the people he loved. The magnificent estate on Audubon Avenue had eventually become home to him and his brothers. But it had taken some hard times and much hard work to make that happen.

John appraised the room a second time. The handsome study was complemented by Brazilian cherrywood floors, wall-to-wall built-in bookcases and a beamed ceiling. It was one of his favorite rooms in the house. It was the library his mother had dreamed of having for herself.

Flashing back to shortly after the death of their parents, John remembered coming home to a teary-eyed Luke. The eight-year-old had been inconsolable. John had barely made it through the front door before his little brother had glued himself to John’s side, sobbing uncontrollably. It had taken seventeen-year-old John a full fifteen minutes to decipher that little Luke was petrified of them not having a home of their own. It had taken another thirty minutes to convince the kid that he would have the best home John could muster.

When all was said and done, the child’s smile didn’t compare to the grin that had been plastered on his face when three years later John had given him his very own key to Preston Hollow. With some fifteen thousand square feet of living space and acreage that boasted a putting green, an Olympic-size swimming pool and tennis courts, the house had surpassed all of their expectations. Love, trust and respect between the four siblings had made it a home they were each proud of. Although Mark and Luke were the only two still residing there, it was still very much the family home.

Now, he and his brothers were fighting to hold on to everything they’d built. Someone was threatening their security and all four brothers were determined to make sure that didn’t happen.

He took a quick glance to the Rolex watch on his wrist. It was minutes away from seven o’clock in the morning. John had fallen asleep in the leather recliner sometime after three o’clock that morning. He and Matthew and their legal team had worked well into the night and early morning to prepare their case against E-Kal. For hours the team had debated strategy. From back-end buyouts to a white-knight defense, they’d argued the pros and cons of every tactic against the hostile takeover they could fathom. No stone had been left unturned as they’d considered every possible scenario and its potential outcome.

John yawned, stretching his body upward. He was just contemplating a hot shower when Mark came into the room, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands.

“Figured you’d be awake by now,” Mark said, passing one cup into John’s hands.

“Too much work to do, bro. Too much work to do. How are you doing this morning?”

Mark shrugged. “Mitch has morning sickness twenty-four hours a day. She’s miserable, so I’m miserable.”

John chuckled. “I’m sure it’ll get better soon.”

Mark laughed with him. “I sure hope so.”

The senior Stallion blew a heavy sigh, blowing air over the hot brew. “Have you seen Matthew?”

“He’s upstairs taking a shower,” Mark said, gesturing with his index finger.

“What about Luke?”

Mark’s shoulders pushed skyward. “Who knows. He didn’t come back last night. Called to say he was staying with Joanne.”

John rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Young love…”

Both men grinned as they fell into a vat of silence, savoring the comfort of quiet and the rich, robust flavor of their morning beverage. Their night had been long. The day would probably be even longer. This brief respite was a welcome reprieve. Minutes later when the front doorbell rang neither one made any effort to see who was calling or why.

On the second ring they heard Michelle fussing about where everyone was. When Matthew’s booming voice and a woman’s sharp laughter were stirred into the mix, both men knew their moment of reflection had come to an end. Before either could form a second thought, Vanessa came barreling into the room, Matthew following close on her heels.

“Good morning, Boo!” she said, reaching to kiss John’s cheek. She greeted Mark with a hearty embrace. “Hey, Big Daddy!”

Moved by her vitality, both men smiled. “What brings you here so early, Vanessa, or do we need to ask?” Mark said, raising an eyebrow toward Matthew.

Vanessa laughed heartily. Matthew didn’t find the comment funny and said so.

“Actually, I’m here on serious business,” Vanessa said, reaching into the leather attaché slung over her shoulders. “You all need to see this.” She passed a manila folder to John. “What’s this?”

Vanessa glanced toward Mark then back to John. “It’s some information your brother wanted me to track down for you. I told y’all before I’ve got some mad private-eye skills.”

Vanessa swung back around to take a seat on the upholstered love seat. “What’s for breakfast? I’m hungry!”

The room grew silent as John flipped through the wealth of data that had been collected. The light in his eyes darkened considerably as something caught his attention, moving him to turn his back to the group as he continued to read.

Matthew and Mark both grew concerned as they stood watching. Vanessa’s smile was still wide as she nodded. “It’s some mess, huh?” Vanessa said, peering toward John.

Glancing over the top of the folder, John cast his eyes down to the woman. “Are you absolutely certain about this, Vanessa?”

She nodded. “Absolutely, positively. I’ve checked, double-checked and triple-checked all the facts.”

John closed the folder, his shoulders slouching as he fell back into the leather recliner. He pulled a fist to his mouth, his eyes closed as he fell into thought.

“What?” Matthew and Mark both asked, sounding like surround sound in the room.

John said nothing, blowing warm breath into the morning air. Extending his hand, he passed the folder to Matthew. Soon his expression matched his brother’s. After reading and rereading the information, he passed the folder to Mark.

“Well, I’ll be damned…” Mark exclaimed loudly.

Before anyone else could comment, Luke and Joanne slid into the room, hand in hand.

“Hey, good people!” Luke chimed happily.

“Good morning,” Joanne echoed.

Everyone in the room turned to stare, their gazes focused on Joanne, each of them appraising her. Joanne stared back, meeting each gaze one by one. The sudden tension in the room was palpable.

Vanessa rose from her seat. “I smell bacon cooking. I’ll just leave y’all to it. If you need some backup, me and Mitch will be in the kitchen. Just holla!” she said as she eased toward the door. As she passed by Joanne she shook her head, her expression daunting. “Humph,” she muttered loudly. “Humph.”

Dread suddenly blanketed Joanne’s face, an unsavory feeling rising in the pit of her stomach. She could tell from the stares she was getting that her secret had been exposed. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Her good morning wasn’t feeling quite so good anymore.

“What’s going on?” Luke asked. “What’s Vanessa’s problem? He looked from one brother to another. “Did something happen?”

Rising from his seat, John moved to Mark’s side, pulling the manila folder from his hands. He passed the folder to Luke. He met Joanne’s gaze briefly before turning to sit back down.

Joanne grabbed Luke’s forearm, tightly clutching him. “Luke, baby, I have to tell you something. I’m so sorry…” she gasped, tears rising to her eyes.

Flipping open the folder, Luke quickly scanned its contents. The short period of time felt like an eternity as the young man focused on one piece of data that screamed up at him. Jerking his arm from her touch, Luke moved to his brother’s side, turning to stare at the woman. A frown flashed across his face and he swallowed angrily. “Joanne, is this true?”

Joanne’s tears rolled over her cheeks. She nodded. Luke’s stare had gone cold, the gleam in his eyes harsh. Joanne could feel a rift widening between them. “Luke, I didn’t mean for this—” she started.

Luke cut her off, shaking his head. “You played me. I trusted you, and you played me. All this time I thought you cared about me, and you were playing me.”

Joanne stepped toward him, clutching the front of Luke’s shirt. “I didn’t…I wanted to tell you. I tried…”

Clutching her by the shoulders, Luke pushed her from him, the gesture sending her backward into the wall. They locked eyes for just a brief moment, then without saying another word he rushed out of the room, leaving all of them behind.

Their silence had been deafening and expressive. It had been a bleak, brooding silence that seemed to spell out a wealth of anger. Joanne had begged them to understand that she hadn’t had anything to do with her father’s battle for control of Stallion Enterprises. She tried to explain, and not one of the brothers had had anything to say to her until Matthew had politely asked her to leave their home, gently escorting her by the elbow to the front door. Luke had disappeared from sight, refusing to answer when she’d called for him. The Stallion limo had been dispatched to take her wherever she wanted to be taken, and Joanne had been sobbing ever since.

Marley stared at her from across the room, her head shaking. Her best friend had tried to console her and had failed, unable to find the words to assure Joanne that it would all work itself out. Not even Marley believed Joanne could make this mess well again.

“You love him, don’t you?” Marley asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Joanne lifted her bloodshot eyes to stare at the woman. She nodded her head, her tears beginning to fall once again. “I do. I didn’t mean for this to happen, Marley. Now I don’t know what to do.”

“Give that boy some time,” Mama Estelle said from her seat at the kitchen table. “Give him some time and then you need to talk to him. Communication is key,” she repeated for the umpteenth time.

Joanne nodded, dropping her head back against the arm of the sofa. She had no doubts that she would have plenty of time before Luke Stallion would want to speak to her about anything ever again.

“She played me! All this time she was only trying to weasel her way inside. I can’t believe I fell for it.”

“What you fell for was her. Admit it. You’ve fallen in love with Joanne.”

Luke cut his eyes toward Michelle. The woman had a sly smirk on her face. He frowned in response, his lips forming a tight line. He ignored her comment.

“Why’d she do it, Mitch? Why? Why would she lie to me like that?”

“Did she lie? Is that what she did? You said she always avoided questions about herself. What was it she actually said to you?”

Luke paused for a moment to reflect. When he didn’t say anything, Michelle rose from her seat, moving to his side. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she patted him gently against the back.

“Give it some time,” Michelle whispered softly. “If it’s meant to be it’ll work itself out.” She moved toward the door. “If you need to talk I’ll be at the garage. Just call me,” she said as she waved goodbye.

Nodding, Luke knew with a high degree of certainty that he wouldn’t be calling. He wasn’t much interested in talking about Joanne with anyone.

Luke sat in the home’s Victorian conservatory. It was a light-drenched glass chamber that looked out over the landscaped property outside. The morning sky had gone from a brilliant blue to a profusion of blue-gray clouds threatening to explode rain down over the land. The shift in climate mirrored his mood.

Luke lifted his legs onto a chaise, settling back against the plush cushions. He took a deep breath, then two, holding both briefly before blowing the stale air past his full lips.

The folder in his lap felt like a lead weight bearing down against his thighs. It weighed even heavier against his heart. He flipped through the documents again, wading through the details that had connected all the dots. E-Kal Industries.
Lake
spelled backwards. A privately owned enterprise headed by Joanne’s father, Dr. Charles Lake. How could she not have known? She was listed as an active officer of the business! How could Joanne not have told him all of this?

More important to him, though, was understanding how she could have told him she cared about him if she didn’t? Luke tossed the folder and its contents to the floor. Clasping his hands behind his head, he stared skyward. What he really wanted to know was what Joanne Lake truly felt for him, if all the two had shared had only been a lie.

“I
messed up,” Luke said to his brothers. He stared from one dark face to another. “I told her everything. I thought she…” The young man hesitated.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” John said calmly. “I tell Marah everything, too. And I’m sure Mark vents to Mitch after a hard day, as well.”

Mark nodded. “That’s right. If you can’t share your thoughts with your woman, who can you share them with?”

“I trusted her. I can’t believe she…”

John cut his eyes at Matthew and Luke. “You need to talk to her,” he said firmly.

“No!” Luke shook his head vehemently. “That’s not going to happen.”

“That’s a mature response,” Matthew said sarcastically.

Luke shrugged. “Sure, that’s easy for you to say. The woman you love didn’t lie to you. Not that I recall you ever being in a situation like this before.”

“No, she didn’t,” Matthew responded. “But if she had we would definitely be having a conversation about it. And watch your tone. You ain’t that grown, little brother. I can still whup yo’ tail if I have to.”

Luke tossed up his hands in frustration.

John shook his head. “Luke, you have to do what you feel is right for you. We can’t tell you what that is. But we can tell you from our own experiences what we think is right, not that you have to agree. Bottom line, though, is that not talking to Joanne isn’t going to solve a thing between you two. Avoiding her is not going to give you any answers or make the situation different.”

John rose from his seat. “On that note, we have a team of attorneys to meet with. They’ll need to know exactly what you might have shared with Joanne that can be used against us, if anything at all. For all we know, nothing you shared is important. After that we need to prepare for the shareholders’ meeting. We need to do everything we can to ensure that as many votes as possible are in our favor.”

“So, does anyone else have anything before we head to the conference room?” John looked from Mark to Matthew to Luke, his gaze lingering on his baby brother’s face.

Luke shook his head no.

Matthew cleared his throat, rising from his own seat. “Yeah, I do,” he said, turning to their youngest kin. “I will tell you what I told John when he and Marah fell out. If you truly love this woman, then talk to her. You owe yourself that.”

It had been two full weeks since Luke had turned his back on her. He wouldn’t take her telephone calls, wouldn’t answer her messages and he was avoiding every place the two might have run into each other. Joanne got sad and then angry every time she thought about it.

She couldn’t believe this was happening to them. If she had just been open about everything from the beginning, things might be different now. She heaved a deep sigh.

Climbing out of her bed, she dragged herself into the bathroom. Staring into the vanity mirror, she cringed. Maybe it was a good thing Luke didn’t want to see her, she thought.

I look bad,
Joanne mused. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was blotchy from crying so hard. Her hair was standing on end, and she was certain she’d gained twenty pounds from the steady diet of ice cream and potato chips she’d been soothing her hurt feelings with.

Joanne reached for the shower faucet, turning on the hot water.
This has to end,
she thought. She had to figure out some way to fix this mess. Stripping out of her pajamas, she stepped into the heated moisture. The water felt soothing as it flowed over her face and down the fullness of her body.

Joanne inhaled deeply, wrapping her arms tightly around her body to hug herself. She missed Luke. She missed him so much it actually frightened her. She would never have believed it possible to love a man as much as she found herself loving that man. She loved him, and she wanted him back, and she was willing to do whatever was necessary to make that happen.

Luke slowed his pace down to a moderate jog as he took his eighth lap around the half-mile-long track at the Cooper Aerobics Center. His body hurt, and his muscles were beginning to burn from exhaustion. He’d been pushing his body harder than he needed to, and he was beginning to feel the stress. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the burn would rise to the brink of unbearable and he would want to quit. At some point his body would fail him if he didn’t just give in to it.

His thighs and calves had begun to quiver. His heart was starting to beat harshly against the walls of his chest, his lungs crying for a cool breeze of relief. But he refused to stop, adamant that he would not give in to the pain. As long as he ran he wouldn’t have to think about Joanne. Joanne, and the hurt in his heart. He refused to let that ache, or his discomfort, consume and control him.

Slowing down even more, his chest heaved up and down as he began to walk briskly. The hard run had pulled him into a comfortable euphoria, the runner’s high nicely replacing the anxiety and turmoil that had been consuming his heart and head since discovering Joanne wasn’t the woman he thought she was.

But then the questions returned. Who was Joanne Lake? Who had he fallen in love with? Who was that woman who’d made him feel like they’d been the king and queen sitting at the top of their own little world? Who was that divine creature who’d convinced him that no matter what the obstacles they could accomplish anything with each other? That without each other all was lost to them. Because he felt lost without her, and he wasn’t liking the feeling one bit.

He’d asked those questions in prayer that morning, down on his knees at the altar. His aunt Juanita had pointed him back in the direction of Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church, the house of worship he and his brothers had attended since they’d been little boys. “Pray,” she’d admonished, believing that prayer would give him the answers he was seeking.

He’d have preferred to keep his problem secreted away, but church had a way of exposing whether a person was doing well or not. Dressed in his Sunday best, prayer had provoked his tears to sneak past his lashes and down his face, and anyone who’d been watching had been able to tell that Luke Stallion wasn’t doing well.

He missed her, and he couldn’t deny it if he wanted to. He missed her laughter and the way she teased him when it was just the two of them alone. He missed their late-night conversations as they lay side by side in his bed cuddled close together. He would have given anything to hold her hand, her fingers entwined between his own. He loved her, and in that moment, all he could think of was how much he wanted Joanne to love him back.

“I think we should intervene,” Marah was saying to John, the two curled together on the rear patio of their home.

“No,” John responded emphatically, tightening his arms around his wife’s torso. He hugged her warmly. “No, Marah. They have to work through this on their own.”

“If our families hadn’t intervened when they did, we might not be together right now.”

John laughed. “We’d be together. It would just have taken your stubborn self longer to realize how much you loved me.”

“Me? I knew I loved you. I was the one who flew all the way to New York to find you, remember?”

John nuzzled his wife’s neck. “Yes, you did, and had I been in New York we would have made up sooner.”

“That’s why we need to intervene. You weren’t in New York, and if our family hadn’t helped we’d still be flying across the country trying to find each other.”

“Perhaps, but we still are not going to interfere with Luke and Joanne, and that’s final. The two of them will figure this out on their own.”

Marah said nothing, a wicked smile pulling at her mouth. “Okay, honey. Whatever you say.”

“I mean it, Marah Stallion. Leave Luke and Joanne alone.”

“I said okay, John!” She tilted her face to his and kissed him quickly. “Whatever you say, baby!”

John laughed again, the hearty chortle echoing through the late-night air. “I swear, Marah,” he said after catching his breath, “if you and your sisters even think about getting involved…”

Marah giggled, turning to kiss him again. Her smile was wide and full. She responded brightly. “Yes, dear, I understand perfectly.”

Joanne refused to answer her father’s telephone calls. Recognizing the number on the caller ID, she let out a frustrated sigh. The telephone rang six times before her answering machine finally picked up the call. After the message had played, Charles Lake’s booming voice flooded the room for attention.

“Joanne, there’s a package being delivered today. Sign the papers inside and then get them back to me please. This is important.

“And call me back, Joanne. I don’t know what is wrong with you, but this is not the time for one of your tantrums. Call me, Joanne, and I mean it.”

The phone clicked and a dial tone filled the room before the machine cut off. Joanne rolled her eyes, annoyance flooding her spirit. She fingered the large envelope sitting on her kitchen table. The deliveryman had knocked on her door just minutes before her father’s call had come. Tearing open the envelope’s sealed flap, she pulled a stack of legal documents from the inside. A yellow sticky note was affixed to the front, her father’s scrawly handwriting reiterating his instructions. “Joanne, sign and return. Dad”

Flipping through the documents, Joanne’s expression was suddenly contemplative. After reading through the contents, she jumped from her chair to reach for the silverware drawer. Grabbing the stack of envelopes inside, she tossed them onto the kitchen table and began to open each and every one.

What Joanne discovered was more than she had bargained for, and the knowledge was powerful. She couldn’t begin to imagine what her father had been thinking.

As if reading her mood, the weather outside suddenly turned. Wind swept leaves and debris in a whirlwind. It grew noticeably in force, gusting hard against her windows. When the rain started to fall, pouring out of the sky, Joanne’s tears fell with it, and then, just like that, both stopped, tears and rain finishing together.

Moving toward the back of the home, Joanne knew that somehow she needed to talk to Luke. She knew beyond any doubt that it wasn’t going to be easy to accomplish, but she knew where to go to try. There were only a few people who Luke respected enough to listen to. She would start there, she thought, as she formulated a plan.

An hour later, dressed to impress, Joanne pushed the stack of paperwork into her leather briefcase. Grabbing her keys and cell phone, she rushed out the door, determined to fix what she’d managed to break.