Things didn’t dry up at the hospital. Lou might be on his road to recovery, but Lauren and Alexis weren’t.

I spotted them talking in a corner of the main waiting room the moment I walked through the door. More fight than talk. I stayed out of sight until the surprise at seeing Alexis settled. If I waited until it completely cooled I’d become a piece of furniture.

It was tough to tear my eyes off her. She wore a slightly flared multi-colored summer dress that ended several inches above her knees. Her legs were open and I doggedly struggled to keep from filling them with a kinky montage. Pondering baseball didn’t help, but my conversation with Julie did. Cherche le cash. I took a deep breath and joined the fray.

Lauren hugged me. “I didn’t see you come in,” Lauren said, clearly relieved by the interruption. “Lou fell asleep as soon as they moved him into his room and we don’t want to disturb him.”

Although she looked better than she had the day before, Lauren still had bags beneath worried eyes. No sags for Alexis. A small smile tugged at the corners of her full lips and she raised her sleek brows when our eyes met.

“Nice to see you again, Alexis,” I said.

“Nice to see you, Matt. I’m so sorry about Lou.”

Her words alarmed me. “A relapse?”

Lauren shook her head. “No, but the doctor said it would take some time for him to fully recover.”

“How much time?”

“He’ll probably be here only a few more days, but he’ll have trouble breathing for a while. He has to stay off his feet and he’s going to need oxygen.”

I quickly shook Jayson and his machine from my mind.

“I’m going to take a little walk, okay?” Lauren announced. “I want to be alone for a couple of minutes.”

The moment she was out of sight Alexis and I stared at each other. “You’ve been a stranger, Detective Matt.”

“A lot’s been happening.” I couldn’t keep the protective gruffness from my voice.

All it did was broaden her smile. “So I hear. Lauren said you’d been to see Stephen. I’ve been waiting for my turn. Or did I already have it?”

Before I could say anything, I had to stop wanting her. Or fake it. Cherchez le cash, goddammit! “Yeah, I think we had our turn.” There, the words were out of my mouth.

Alexis’s almond eyes crinkled, “And I had hoped it was only the first of many.”

Despite the hospital’s air conditioning sweat covered my entire body. “Would you believe incest issues? Your mom and Lou are going to get married.

“No, I wouldn’t.”

She didn’t sound bitter, and I should have been relieved. Not me; I felt guilty, embarrassed, sheepish, and much to my dismay, desire. “How about, it’s too complicated?”

Alexis tossed her head, “I’m not used to men turning me down.”

“You handle it well.”

“Why thank you,” she said grasping the sides of her dress to curtsy.

I felt my cock harden, then worried about becoming the center of attention. “Why don’t we sit over there,” I pointed to a more secluded corner, “and talk about it?”

When we took our seats Alexis said, “A little old-fashioned, aren’t you?”

“Old-fashioned?”

“That’s right. You’re actually going to talk about why we’re not going to fuck.”

“I thought it’s the right thing to do, not old-fashioned.”

“What is it, Matt? Guilt about the girlfriend? Or worry about yourself?”

“Both.”

Alexis shook her head. “It wasn’t as if we hood and flogged you.”

“That’s not what I was talking about, Alexis.”

“You wouldn’t,” she said, smiling.

I’d successfully buried any honest thinking about my masochism since Clifford’s beating and had no intention of reopening the crypt now. “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

“And we’re done smoking?”

“I don’t think it would be good again.” My first lie. “Balance isn’t my strong suit. I’m having enough trouble figuring out my relationship with Boots without spending time with you,” I said truthfully.

“Is that really her name?”

“Comes from a home town ball player. Anyhow, I’m trying to say you ain’t a simple roll in the hay—or lighthouse. If we continued it would mess with my head.”

Alexis shrugged and ran her hand through her tangled curls. “Something you don’t want.”

“It’s not as if I don’t think about it,” I admitted. “I’m usually pretty self-destructive.”

“Thanks for what I believe is a compliment. I suppose I should be flattered you’re breaking a pattern.”

“More than one, sweetheart,” I said. “ More than one.”

Alexis’s laughter drew looks from a few people.

“You two seem to be getting along.” Lauren’s voice startled me. I started to stand but she gently placed her hand on my shoulder and pushed me back down. “Don’t bother.”

“He doesn’t have to, but I do,” Alexis said rising to her feet. “Saturday is my big day. I better get going if I want to stay in business.”

I felt Lauren’s eyes when I stood to face her daughter. “It was nice talking to you, Alexis.”

“Good for me too, Matt,” she said. “You’re quite an addition to our big happy family.”

Alexis shifted her body toward Lauren. “We aren’t finished, Mom.”

Lauren looked resigned. “Are we ever? It’s the only conversation we have.”

“Not the only one.” Alexis gave me a short smile and switched her way out the hospital door.

Lauren sighed and glanced in my direction. “I was hoping to meet Boots today.”

“She had to leave town on business. We’ll visit together tomorrow.”

“That girl of mine is a bombshell. Sometimes it makes things a little too easy for her. It often comes as surprise to Alexis when she doesn’t get her way.”

“She handled it well,” I said, answering all Lauren’s unasked questions.

She tossed her head, closing the subject. “Why don’t we see if Lou’s awake?”

 

I might not have been so eager to leave the waiting room if I’d known what Lou looked like. Ghost white he lay on his back, his thick gray hair Einstein like and damp, his eyes red and puffy. He was awake when we entered and struggled to lift his head.

“ Lay still,” Lauren ordered with a catch in her throat as she leaned down to kiss his cheek.

I stood immobilized just inside the door.

“Boychick?” Lou whispered weakly before covering his face with an oxygen mask. Jayson’s machine suddenly filled my mind.

When I got to the bed he took the mask off. “They say I should use it when I feel short of breath.”

“No need to explain,” I said, trusting my voice not to break. “We’ve been keeping close watch.”

Lou smiled feebly.

“Especially your ‘squeeze.’ The doctor told us you’re built like an ox, but that Lauren was a hero.” I would have kept babbling but the hero interrupted.

“Don’t listen to him, I just did what had to be done. Matt must have driven a hundred miles an hour after I called.”

Lou took a couple of hits of oxygen then smiled a slightly stronger smile. “The two of you are doing better, I see.”

Lauren and I glanced at each other, “We’re doing fine,” I said.

Lauren sat down near the head of the bed. Her fingers were in constant motion, fluffing Lou’s pillow, stroking his hair, squeezing his hand. I stayed at the foot. Each time Lou used the mask my gut rocked. After a while I couldn’t take it. “I’m going to leave the two of you alone. Now listen up, old man,” I warned. “Pay attention to the Gowns. This ain’t the time to get a hair up your ass.”

Lou raised the mask and smiled.

“I’ll stop back tonight and tomorrow I’ll bring Boots.”

“Not tonight, Matty. I’ll be asleep. Tomorrow is soon enough. I’m glad Shoes will be with you, I want Lauren to meet her.”

He was signaling me about his strength so I kissed him goodbye and almost ran out the front door to smoke a cigarette. Only once my hands got it lit, I knew nicotine wasn’t gonna do, so I lit one of my joints. Right then, I didn’t care if I got busted. Lou’s sallow face had clobbered me as hard as Clifford’s forearm. Drove home what Lauren said yesterday about vulnerability. Drove home my own.

I kept both sticks working with barely an eye for the law. Despite Lou’s general health, age, and my penchant for despair, I’d never imagined him dying. But the visit to his hospital room rubbed my face in it. He was going to pull through this time, but what about the next?

I was so busy collecting my fractured nerves I didn’t hear anyone approach.

“Put that out!” a harsh voice whispered. “Are you crazy? The police are in and out of here all the time!”

I almost pulled a back muscle twisting toward the voice. When I saw Lauren, I knelt down, gently rubbed the lit end of the joint on the ground, and carefully placed the rest in my wallet.

“Jesus,” she exclaimed. “I knew you were going to do something stupid.”

“That easy to read?” I asked.

“Ian’s given me plenty of practice. You looked like you wanted to hit someone.”

“It upsets me to see him like that.”

“He’ll be all right, Matt. The doctors expect a hundred percent recovery. It’s just going to take some time.”

The dope had worked its way into my bloodstream and bleached some of the fear from my anxiety. “It threw me to see all the equipment.”

Lauren smiled and lightly touched my arm. “That’s why they didn’t let you in the ICU. But it doesn’t make sense to act stupid.”

I nodded, “What can I say?”

“Tell me that Lou and I won’t end up visiting you in a jail or hospital.”

It was my turn to smile. “I’ll do my best. Why did you come out?”

“He needs his sleep and I wanted to catch up with you.”

“Thanks.”

“Remember? No more thanks. Matt, we both love that man and, frankly, I’m beginning to see you as one of the family.”

I wasn’t sure what I thought of that so I just let it pass. “Do you want a ride to the Hacienda?”

Lauren shook her head, “I’m going to wait here. The doctors say he’ll be better after each nap. What are you going to do?”

I thought about lying but didn’t. “Lauren, I don’t want to piss you off but...”

“You want to make certain the furnace was just an accident.”

I nodded and waited for an angry outburst. But, as she had since we first met, Lauren surprised me.

“Matthew, I want just one favor.”

“Sure.”

She chuckled at my rapid response. “Be gentle when you talk to the kids.”