Page 70 of Honky Tonk Cowboy

“They’re gonna have to work when I’m not around watchin’ ‘em, and they’ll either do great or drop the ball. Better to see how it goes now than later.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but…most of the time one or the other of us would be here,” she said.

That wasn’t going to be true for much longer, Ethan thought. Still, there was no point bringing it up now. She got all funny every time he mentioned leaving town. But that had always been the plan.

It only took fifteen minutes to get to the hospital in El Paso.

They signed in, got passes to stick onto their shirts, and headed to the hospital room. Lily knew the staff, and she knew her way around, having worked there. She squeezed his hand and said, “I can wait in the waitin’ room. We just passed it.”

He nodded, but didn’t release her hand. He was staring at the door, completely unsure what the hell he was doing there, what he was about to learn. This was his brother, the son of the man who’d murdered his mother. Then again, Ethan was also that man’s son. Biologically, at least.

What sort of man was Jeremiah Thorne? Was his soul as black and bloody as their father’s, or as torn and tormented as Ethan’s own, or somewhere in between?

He tapped the door twice, then opened it and stepped inside.

But the hospital bed was empty.

Lily squeezed his hand, then tugged him with her as she spoke to a passing nurse. “Hey, Sally. We’re looking for the patient who was in this room.”

He let her pull him around to face the nurse she’d stopped in the hallway. She had red hair, and redder eyeglasses. “Hey, Lily. Great to see you!” She hugged Lily, and he had to let go of her hand then.

After the hug and a speculative but quick look his way, Nurse Sally said, “You mean Mr. Thorne?”

“Yeah, bushy beard, dirty blond hair,” Lily said.

“Yeah, that’s him. He signed himself out, ‘bout a half hour ago.”

It felt to Ethan like a blow to the mid-section.

“Was he okay to leave?” Lily asked.

“We’d have kept him overnight,” she said, “But he’ll prob’ly be okay. Sore, but okay.”

Gone, just like that.

“Wait, wait, who took him downstairs?” Lily asked, and when Ethan shot her a questioning look, she said, “Rules are rules. Somebody has to walk discharged patients out, make sure they’re safe till they’re off the property?—”

“So they don’t trip over a pebble and sue us,” Sally put in. And they shared a look. “I took him down myself,” she said. “You know, the guy’s not bad-looking under all that hair.”

He saw that Lily agreed with that opinion, and a dark cloud tried to move in.

“Did you see who picked him up?” Lily asked.

“Taxi,” she said. “I watched him get in, then headed back to the floor.”

“Thanks, Sally.”

“Any time. You’re a little bit famous around here, you know.” She was speaking to Lily but her gaze shifted to Ethan, as he was the reason.

“Infamous, maybe,” Lily corrected.

Then Sally leaned in and whispered loud enough for him to hear, “He’s even better looking in person, isn’t he?”

Lily tucked her arm through Ethan’s and said, “Way better.” Then she walked him down the hall toward the elevators. She didn’t take her arm out of his until the doors closed. Then she did, though, and he realized it had been for the other woman’s benefit.

Marking her territory, maybe?

For some reason the notion made him stand a little straighter.