Page 42 of Guitars and Cages

I rattled them again. I didn’t want him to see the desperation in my eyes, but I was feeling pretty fucking freaked out about being tied down at the moment. “Take ‘em off...please?”

“Can’t. Docs want to have a psychologist come in and evaluate you before they decide what to do next.”

My eyes got wide, my breathing panicked and erratic. “They can’t keep me.”

“Legally, they can. For seventy-two hours in order to evaluate you. If I were you I’d think long and hard about what to say to them when they come in here. Being a smartass isn’t gonna help you any.”

I coughed. My throat hurt, and every word was making it worse. Morgan still held the water, watching me. I coughed again, and then groaned, and he stopped waiting for me to stop being stupid and slid a hand under my head. He was careful, but I could feel the stitches when he touched them and I hissed.

“Drink this slow and stop being so goddamned stubborn,” he ordered.

I knew that tone and I obeyed, grateful for the coolness of the water and the way it eased the dryness of my throat. I finished the glass, and he eased my head back down on the pillow.

“Where’s Rory?” I asked, finding it easier to speak now.

“With Alexia, over the bar. I talked to Kimber, and he’ll be staying with me until she finds a place. Still no luck on that front, she said, so she’s faxing me what I need to enroll him in school in case it takes that long. I don’t know what’s going on there, but I don’t like it.”

I nodded, tried for a smile. “That’s good, better for him that way. She should have taken him to you in the first place. So, did you give Alex a job?”

“Yeah, I did. In the kitchen, like she asked, and a room over the bar to go with it. She told me about school; I’m proud of her, takes a ton of courage to do what she’s doing.”

I looked away, jaw clenching. It did take courage: far, far more courage than I’d ever had.

“I’d like you to think about moving over the bar, too. I know what you said the last time I asked, but I think you should reconsider.”

I shook my head; then thought better of it because that fuckin’ hurt. “No. I’m outta here as soon as they let me outta these goddamned restraints.”

It was impossible to miss the hurt look on his face, and the worry that deepened the lines around his eyes.

“Where are you gonna go?”

“I don’t know. Maybe back to California, or down to Mexico to visit Cole. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him and I could make some good cash, fighting down there like he does.”

“Colton is on his way back here,” he told me. “He called two nights ago, said he got into some trouble and was coming home to lay low for a while. Knowing that boy it was either gambling or a woman, or both. Either way, he’ll be here in a few days. I already told him he could have one of the rooms over the bar, too; at least that way I can keep you guys out of trouble.”

“I’m not moving over the bar, Morgan.”

“Give me one good reason why. Your brother and sister are gonna be there, Rory misses you like hell, I want you there, so why the hell are you being so stubborn?”

I rolled my eyes up to look at the ceiling. “You know Cole is gonna flip when he sees Alex.”

“Yeah; you flipped, too, and you got past it fast enough, so what’s the problem?”

“I don’t think Cole will get past it as quick as I did.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but that still don’t explain why you don’t want to live over the bar.”

“How the hell can you want me there?”

He frowned then, looking thoroughly lost. “I asked you, didn’t I? I’ve been asking you since you got here. You’d have been better off staying with me than in that flea-ridden apartment of yours.”

“But I... I mean back in the apartment I....” I looked away; it was easier to finish the sentence that way. “I kissed you.”

“Yeah, you did. You wanna talk about why?”

“Not really,” I muttered, blown away by how easy he’d taken it. No screaming, no yelling, no threats of bodily harm, and no whipping off of his belt and taking after me with it, not like I could have stopped him if he had.

“Then there’s nothing to discuss. When and if you wanna talk about it, we will; until then, let’s talk about you moving over the bar, because leaving town isn’t what’s best for you and you know it. You need to get control of your life before you destroy yourself. Believe me when I tell you that; I speak from experience. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help you, Asher, but you gotta take the first step and meet me halfway.”