Game On (The Morgan Brothers Book 4) (27 page)

“Now, back to business before your men come back in here like the Neanderthals they are. We’ll be keeping you for a couple of days to be sure we’re past the most critical points for infection. Then I’ll release you into Mitch and Phoenix’s care if you agree to stay at the ranch because I know you’ll actually be safer there than you are here. There is only so much we can do here in the hospital without shutting down this whole wing.”

He smiled down at her when her eyes began to slide closed. “Damn, there is always a part of me that wants to whine when a female patient starts falling asleep on me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d bore a woman to sleep.” His words had been muttered more to himself than to her, and he fought the urge to soothe the lines of pain between her brows. Reaching over, he changed the dosage on her pain medication. Once she started moving around, it was going to take more to keep the pain at a manageable level.

After updating Phoenix and Mitch on Aspen’s condition, Ryan tucked his hands in the pockets of his scrubs and headed down the hall. He’d planned to tackle the mountain of paperwork littering his desk, but after spending time with Aspen, he knew it could wait. There wasn’t anything more important than spending some quality time with his sweet Joelle. Ryan already knew she was home and after a quick call to Brandt, their plans to surprise her were in place.

Kip couldn’t remember
the last time he’d been as pissed as he was at that moment. He’d seen Caila sneak in the back way with a bouquet of flowers. She spoke to a nurse, set the vase on the chest high counter surrounding the nurse’s station, then left the same way she’d come in.
What the fuck?
She’d made no attempt to talk to anyone in the family despite the fact she had to know they were in the waiting room—the damned waiting room she would have walked right by if she’d come in through the front door.

To make matters worse, Sage and Colt had also seen Caila leave through the back exit. Rounding on Kip, Sage crossed his arms over his chest, giving Kip a glare that was impossible to misinterpret. “What did you do to Caila?” Since when did his brothers use her given name? They’d always called her Calamity and now all the sudden she was Caila to everybody. He hated it when the rules changed, and he was left off the notification list. And damned if it had been happening his entire life.

“I didn’t do anything to her.” Hell, he hadn’t even seen her since minutes after Aspen was shot. And he didn’t even want to think about the terror that clouded his vision as he’d raced to where he knew her favorite hunting stand was located. Glaring back at Sage, Kip was practically snarling, “She sneaks in and out of here, and somehow I’m responsible?”

Yeah, he probably was responsible or at least partially to blame, but it would be a cold day in hell when he admitted it to Sage. Once he’d found her leaning against a tree, her rifle still at her shoulder, it had taken him several seconds to talk her into handing the weapon to him. She’d been so focused on protecting Aspen, Kip doubted she’d even felt the weight despite her trembling muscles.

The limited edition Henry her dad bought her when she graduated from high school weighed almost ten pounds before she mounted the biggest damned scope she could fit on the beautiful gun. Hell, a conservative guess put the value of the weapon he’d pried out of her fingers, in excess of five grand. And it was damned heavy for a woman as petite as Caila to be carrying around.

Shaking off the image of the lighter weight weapons he’d buy her if she belonged to him, Kip reminded himself of all the reasons he should have continued to avoid claiming the little temptress living on the neighboring ranch. But memories of the passion Caila displayed during the scene they shared, still haunted him every damn night.

Kip had spent years barely managing to stay away from her because he’d been terrified of destroying their friendship. And he’d known how angry his brothers would be when things fell apart between them—and he’d known they would. Kip had never been able to maintain his interest in any woman for longer than a week, two at the most.

Pulling her into his arms on the mountainside and feeling her unravel at the realization of what she’d done, had forged a special bond between them. Knowing she’d trusted him enough to let go was one of the most humbling feelings he’d ever experienced. She could have easily killed the man who she’d seen shoot Aspen, but she’d made the split-second decision to disable him. Damn, she was fucking quick. She’d known from one heartbeat to the next, Brandt would want to question the suspect. “What if he’s just the first one? I knew Brandt needed to know.” Her stuttered explanation had been dead-on accurate.

But Pine Creek was a small town, and Kip knew Caila would have heard about Orman’s escape. Was she feeling guilty about not taking him out? Had someone caused her to second guess her decision? Knowing she’d gone to so much trouble to avoid the waiting room grated on his nerves. Was she avoiding him or the entire Morgan family?
Fuck! This is why I don’t do relationships. Too much damn uncertainty and drama. How the hell am I supposed to know what she’s thinking?

Sage laughed out loud and slapped him on the back. “You could ask her, you know.” Kip stared at him in confusion. “Yeah, you said that out loud. Hell, every one of us talks to ourselves when it comes to the one woman who matters.”
Great. Just fucking great.

M
itch leaned against
the wall of the sitting room in Phoenix’s suite watching as Kent West pushed his hand through his hair—
again
. He’d made the same gesture of frustration three times in the past sixty seconds, and Mitch knew his friend’s patience was wearing dangerously thin.
Oh yeah, saying Kent is fed up would be a gross understatement.
Aspen’s ability to rattle the West twin who had the well-earned reputation as the
calm one
was something to behold. Hell, there was only one other person who could make Kent curse like the sailor he’d once been—his beautiful wife. But then again, Tobi West might well cause the Pope let loose with a few colorful phrases.

Aspen’s frustrated voice filled the air, “I don’t know how else to explain this, Kent. I’m not a dim-wit…I know the job is perfect for me. Hell, it’s my damned dream job. But your friendship means more than any job…it’s just that simple.” The sadness and resignation in her voice tore Mitch’s heart in two, but he didn’t move to comfort her.

Meeting Phoenix’s gaze across the room, Mitch knew the other man was fighting the same battle. There was a fine line between providing the support Aspen needed and coddling her.
Fine line, hell. It’s a fucking tight rope suspended over the Grand Canyon.
They wanted her to know they had her back while showing her they also respected her ability to deal with Kent. Holding back his smile, Mitch thought it was clear Kent was going to bring in back-up of his own.

Kent had been making the same offer since he stormed through the door of Aspen’s hospital room five days ago. His pleas had gotten more adamant every day, but she hadn’t budged.
Stubborn little wench.
Jax hadn’t had any better luck and his muttered, “Christ, my sister is deaf, and she listens better than your woman,” as he’d walked past Mitch had made him laugh. Of course, laughing had earned him a glare from Aspen which he’d happily added to her punishment tally.

They might not be able to paddle her just yet, but Mitch had learned the value of keeping a running list from the other Doms at Prairie Winds. By his calculation, if she continued at the current rate, she’d have one hundred and fifty-seven spankings coming by the time she passed the six-week mark. If her recovery was prolonged for any reason, the number could be significantly higher. Smiling to himself, he had to fight the urge to rub his hands together in happy anticipation.

“Fucking hell. Aspen, you are being unreasonable. You haven’t been this much trouble since you started dating.” Kent glanced at the door and his watch before returning his attention to Aspen. Obviously, the soft sell wasn’t working, it was time to bring in the big gun. The West brothers were nothing if not predictable, and Mitch was betting Kyle West was probably already on his way. “Do you honestly think our friendship is so fragile it won’t withstand a little turbulence now and then?” Mitch saw something close to regret flicker in Aspen’s eyes for the first time since Kent arrived.

“I didn’t say that…” She didn’t get the chance to finish because the door opened and just as Mitch had expected, Kyle West stalked into the room with Tobi following closely on his heels. There was a reason Kyle was both hated and revered as a team leader. The man’s demeanor was reserved on his best day and ice cold when challenged. When he entered a room, there was no question who was in charge. The West brothers might be equals in their business and personal lives, but they were experts at playing to their individual personal strengths.

Mitch watched as Aspen’s eyes widened in surprise. And, he could have sworn she actually flinched before narrowing her eyes on Kent. “Really? You called Kyle and tattled on me?” Kent’s answering shrug and grin had her clenching her fists in frustration.

“If you weren’t being such a pain in the ass, he wouldn’t have needed to call me, sweetness.” Kyle’s affection for Aspen was easy to hear, but the steel in his tone was unmistakable. Everybody in the room, including Aspen, knew the man wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Now, it was simply a waiting game to see how long she’d keep arguing a lost cause.

Feeling the soft brush of fabric against his arm, Mitch turned to see Gracie standing next to him. “Oh shit, she’s in for it now. I haven’t seen Kyle look this determined since Tobi decided she didn’t need his permission to go sky-diving.” At Mitch’s raised brow she grinned. “Oh, did I forget to mention she was pregnant at the time?” When Mitch laughed, she grinned. “Oh yeah, that was an epic battle. He thinks he won, but we all know she was the one who walked away with the prize.”

“What do you mean?” Mitch wasn’t sure he was following the beautiful Latin-American beauty’s logic. With her dark eyes and skin that always looked like she’d just returned from a tropical vacation, Gracie Drake-McDonald was a stunningly beautiful woman. But it was her big heart that drew people to her.

“I love Tobi; she is the sister of my heart. But there is a tiny piece of her that will always believe she doesn’t deserve the two men who love her with everything in them. The damage from her father’s abuse wasn’t only physical, sometimes the worse scars are those etched into our souls. You may not see them, and they may not fester often, but every once in a while, Tobi needs the reassurance her husbands will love her even when she’s impossible.”

Gracie’s lips quirked as she continued, “So occasionally, Tobi pushes them to the brink of sanity. I believe they understand her far better than they’ll admit, but I’m not foolish enough to spoil it for them.”

“Do you think Aspen is testing her friends? Is that what you’re trying so tactfully to tell me?” Mitch already knew the answer, but the flash of relief in her eyes was all the confirmation he needed.

“You’re a very astute man, Mitch. I can’t imagine you needing any guidance from me. I was just making conversation.” Gracie gasped as strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her back against Micah’s chest.

“My love, there isn’t a man in the world, let alone a Dom, who wouldn’t see through that last statement. I don’t know where you were leading this conversation, but I can assure you, Mitch knows full well when he’s being led by the nose.” Mitch chuckled at Micah’s comment, and he’d bet his last nickel that Gracie led her husbands around more often than they knew.

Brandt leaned against
Sage’s desk, listening as the Park Ranger for Glacier National Park detailed the circumstances of the remnants of the wrecked car they’d discovered earlier. The hair on the back of Brandt’s neck was still standing on end despite the man’s assurance the victim matched the description of Barry Orman, and his wallet had been found nearby. The burned car discovered deep in a ravine along a mountain road indicated Orman had been attempting to make his way undetected into Canada. “There wasn’t much left of the body, that’s for sure. We share a coroner with some of the neighboring jurisdictions, to be honest with you, most people driving these roads are smarter than this guy, so we don’t have a lot of trouble. He had to have taken the curve at a really high rate of speed because the car launched quite a distance over the edge.”