Free lori king rough ride romeo by Lori

despoiling, too.”
    “I sure did, and I enjoyed every minute of the despoiling!” Lacy’s long red
    hair was tied up in her standard braid and hung over one shoulder as she entered
    the room and headed for the coffee pot. Roman’s heart instantly warmed as he
    was surrounded by people he loved. Even though Lacy had only been part of the
    family for a few months, she fit right in, and made the place seem almost whole
    again. There was laughter, and sweet voices, and Roman couldn’t remember the
    last time Drannon looked so happy.
    “What is that donkey crap you’re eating, boy?” Marilyn asked as she
    propped her hands on her hips and glared at his cereal.
    “Lucky charms. Want some?” he offered, gesturing with his spoon to the
    brightly colored box.
    “Have you suddenly taken to disliking my cooking?” she asked, frowning at
    him.
    “Never.”
    “Then why would you eat that sugary crap?”
    Marilyn was sensitive about processed foods in general. She felt like anything
    worth doing was worth doing right, and as her main job on the ranch was
    cooking, she didn’t tolerate well anyone invading her space.
    “I didn’t want to wake you early just for me, so I made do. I promise I’ll hide
    it away when I’m done.” Roman said, making the sign of an X over his heart as
    he made the promise.
    “See that you do. I can’t stand seeing those fruit-loopy things in my kitchen.
    Not when I have eggs and bacon laid out for the morning.” She spun to the fridge
    and began pulling out ingredients. “Lacy do you want scrambled or fried this
    morning, sweetheart?”
    “Either is lovely.” Lacy answered, taking up a seat next to Roman and
    opening the newspaper. Vin settled on the third stool and stole a marshmallow
    from Roman’s bowl when Marilyn wasn’t looking.
    “I’d prefer fried.” Vin said winking at Roman.
    “That’s nice Vincent. You’ll get what I give you.” Marilyn answered without
    hesitation.
    “Why does Lacy get a say in it?” Vin protested.
    “Because she’s prettier than you.” Roman offered, smiling at Vin’s middle
    finger gesture.
    “Aw, thanks Romeo! You’re my favorite brother.” Lacy said, giving him a
    peck on the cheek. Roman looked up just in time to catch Lacy and Marilyn
    exchanging a look that set his suspicions spinning. They were up to something.
    Before he had a chance to question the two further, Drannon and Hawke
    joined them, and everyone moved into the dining room to give Marilyn space to
    work. Roman made a point of rinsing his bowl out and tucking his favorite cereal
    in the back of one of the tallest cabinets so that Marilyn wouldn’t toss it out, and
    then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he grabbed an orange and went to
    get his boots on. He wanted to run into town and feel out a few of his friends for
    more clues. If he could just pinpoint a place that would fit the general description
    Franki had, maybe they’d stumble over more hard evidence and she’d be wil ing
    to call in Bran.
    “Where are you running off to?”
    The question caught him off guard, and he stutter-stepped just long enough
    to nail his shin on the bench by the door.
    “Ouch! Cheese and biscuits that hurt,” he yelled, rubbing at the stinging
    fesh. Franki stood on the bottom step of the grand staircase watching him, and
    he silently cursed his luck. He’d hoped to get out the door before she woke so that
    she wouldn’t ask to go. The last thing he wanted was the townspeople shading her
    opinion of him with reality. He was doing his damnedest to charm her without
    liquor.
    “Cheese and biscuits?” she asked with a wry grin.
    He shrugged, “Sera hated it when we cussed. My more creative words were
    replaced with more tolerable phrases, and some of them stuck. Did you sleep
    well?”
    She shook her head, “Not really, but it’s not because I don’t have fantastic
    accommodations. So, where did you say you were going?”
    “I didn’t.” he said, shoving his hand in