Read Online 01 Do You Believe in Magic - The Children of Merlin by Susan Squires - Free Book Online Page A

being without a ride and all.” Her face
was bland, but her eyes were … speculating, maybe.
    “Yeah.” Like he’d ever call
Kemble or his father. Wouldn’t want to worry his mother. His sister
Drew might not tell their parents. She was the closest thing
he had to an ally in the family. His cousin Devin was seventeen. He
could drive. But neither could just disappear. Their father would
have the Marines out looking for them. Big families knew each
other’s business. Except, no one knew him. And now no one even knew
where he was.
    “So, you call ’em?” Maggie
pressed, trying to sound casual.
    “Yeah.” Lie. He’d even
lied to the doc. She’d threatened to make him go to a nursing home
with a bunch of old people if he checked out without support. His
plan was to tell her his family was here, wait until she released
him, then order the cab. Push came to shove, he’d check out
AMA. If she sicced social workers on him, well, they’d have to find
him first.
    She lowered her chin and gave
him a challenging look. “Two parents and six brothers and sisters
including the adopted guy, and not one could be bothered to fly up
and see you in the hospital? And don’t tell me they’re all afraid
of flying. In two days, they could have driven.”
    She remembered his description
of his family? That was good, wasn’t it? “They’re, uh, real busy
people.”
    She sighed. “Yeah. I guess Elroy
would be just that much of a jerk.”
    The last thing Tris wanted was
to talk about his family. “You … you got any rodeos coming up?”
Talk about her. That was better.
    “Three weeks. Over in Denver.”
She cleared her throat. “I want that one bad.”
    “It’s important?”
    “Yeah. Prestigious. They’ve got
some real mean bulls. I figure if I can win the women’s division
again, the promoters might let me compete in men’s.”
    The thought of her endangering
herself by riding mean bulls made him want to shake her. Or forbid
her to go just to protect her. “You could get hurt. People get hurt
rodeoing.”
    She laughed a little then. That
was the first time he’d heard her laugh. It was like what he
imagined her singing voice would be, throaty and sensual. “If you
grow up riding wild or half-broke horses, by the time you get to be
my age you’ve fractured a lot of bones.”
    “That’s awful.” The thought of
her suffering any kind of pain was painful in itself.
    “Seems like cycles are worse
than horses,” she threw back at him.
    “Not worse.”
    “But not better.”
    He couldn’t argue. “Guess we’re
both a little addicted to the wild side.”
    Her eyes were still smiling.
“You could say that.”
    Great! That was good. They had
something in common after all. He’d forgotten his food. But now he
took a bite of soggy green beans. She got up and came to stand
nearer. Under the table, his loins responded to her nearness. She
was peering at his nightstand.
    “Jack Kerouac, huh? I liked that
one.”
    “Me too. Too bad I finished
it.”
    “Mr. Tremaine, time for your
medication.” An older nurse bustled into the room.
    “Well, I better head out,”
Maggie said, edging away from the bed.
    “You don’t have to go,” Tris
protested. But she’d already slipped behind the motherly nurse and
was heading for the door.
    “Yeah, I do,” she said,
pausing.
    “Your … your business maybe
keeping you in Reno overnight?”
    She shook her head. “Got to get
back to Elroy’s.”
    He swallowed. “Yeah. Yeah, of
course. Well, thanks a lot for coming by.”
    “Not a big deal.”
    And she was gone. He wanted to
shout at the motherly nurse for giving Maggie an excuse to leave.
Hell, he hadn’t even gotten a number. He pushed away the tray, not
caring that the meal was half-eaten or that his erection would be
revealed. “I don’t need anything for pain,” he gritted.
    “ Mr. Tremaine,” the nurse
said in that firm mother voice that always got to him. “This is not discretionary. Antibiotics and pain