“There’s a new doctor in town. A plastic surgeon who specializes in children who have been burned. He goes from place to place, only staying a few months. She wants me to convince him to settle permanently in Fool’s Gold.”
As she finished talking, she instinctively tensed, waiting for her sisters to start laughing at her. After all, why would anyone think she could convince Dr. Simon Bradley of anything? But they didn’t laugh.
Dakota shrugged. “Makes sense to me.”
“Why? She said I should charm him. I’m not charming. I wouldn’t know what to say or do.”
Her sisters exchanged a glance. “Just be yourself,” Nevada told her. “That’s enough charm for any man. Trust me, he won’t know what hit him.”
“He seems amazingly unimpressed by me.”
“Are you sure? Have you looked in the mirror?” Dakota asked with a laugh. “I know that in theory we’re identical, but you’re the pretty one. And funny. How can he resist you?”
Jo brought Montana’s lemondrop. She appreciated the timing. Thanking the other woman meant it was more difficult for her mouth to drop open. The pretty one? Since when?
“I’m not pretty. I mean, not any prettier.” She’d always thought that her sisters were gorgeous but that she was not quite there. As for being funny, maybe, but it wasn’t always on purpose. “He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met. He’s really serious. Stick-up-the-butt serious.” She told them what had happened at the hospital.
“I’ve met Fluffy,” Nevada grumbled. “She’s a menace. Adorable, but not the best-trained dog on the planet.”
“She has a big personality.”
“And no sense of her size. She needs to be with a family. One with boys.”
“Dr. Bradley would agree with you.”
“He came to see you,” Dakota reminded her. “He needs your help. You can bond over that. Then show him around the town. That will give you things to talk about.”
“Maybe. I could—”
The phone on the bar rang. Instantly the large room went quiet as everyone watched Jo pick it up.
“Is it time?” she asked, sounding worried.
After a pause, she shook her head. “Not Pia,” she told the crowd. Conversation resumed.
“Poor Pia,” Dakota said sympathetically. “I know she’s ready for the babies to arrive.”
Pia was pregnant with twins. Everyone had assumed they would come early, in the way that twins often did. But not Pia’s. So far they were hanging on until the very last day.
“She’s huge,” Nevada said. “I saw her two days ago and I swear my back started to hurt just looking at her.”
Dakota raised her eyebrows. “Talk to Pia about your doctor friend. She knows everything about the town and it will be a distraction for her.”
“Great idea,” Montana said, holding out her lemondrop for Dakota to sniff.
“If that doesn’t work, you can seduce him into staying,” Nevada teased. “Wrap yourself in cellophane.”
“I’ve never understood the point of that,” Dakota admitted.
“You’re a present,” Nevada said. “Gift wrapped.”
“I don’t think Dr. Bradley is into that kind of stuff,” Montana said. He was so stern. She couldn’t imagine him smiling, let alone getting naked and having sex. Not that he wasn’t sexy—in a scary, distant kind of way.
“Then skip the cellophane,” Dakota told her with a grin. “All men are into naked.”
“Right,” Montana said, laughing. “I’ll show up at his hotel room naked. That will make Mayor Marsha so proud.”
“At least it will give us all something to talk about.”
MONTANA STEPPED OUT of the hospital elevator with Cece in her arms. As they approached the doors leading to the burn ward, she drew in a deep breath.
“There are going to be rules,” she told the dog. “You’re going to have to stay clean and not jump and generally be well behaved. Kalinda is really sick and you’re going to make her feel better. At least, that’s the theory.”
She smiled into Cece’s warm, brown eyes. “This would go a lot better if you spoke English.”
“If the dog spoke English, we would have other issues.”
Montana spun toward the speaker and saw Simon standing by the doors leading to the burn unit.
He was as tall as she remembered, and just as incredibly good-looking. At least on the one side. The white coat was still intimidating, she realized as she swallowed.
She blinked at him, replaying his words in her mind. “Was that humor?” she asked, before she could stop herself. “Were you being funny?”
Nothing about his expression changed. “Apparently not.”
She winced. “I’m sorry. I should have laughed. I’m just nervous. You’re really scary.”
One eyebrow rose. “Do you always say what you think?”
“I try not to,” she admitted. “Sometimes I can’t help myself.”
“If you say anything to hurt my patient…”
Emotion flashed in his smoky-green eyes. Anger and determination. A need to protect.
She supposed she should have been insulted or more frightened, but oddly enough his intensity reassured her. “You take care of them. Your patients, I mean.”
“That’s my job.”
“But that’s not why you do it. You care.” She smiled. “That’s nice.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
He didn’t sound as if he were glad at all, but that was okay.
He motioned to Cece. “The dog is clean?”
“Yes. I spoke with one of your nurses this morning and used the soap she recommended. She’s been kept away from the other dogs and hasn’t been outside since her bath.”
“Thank you.” Simon frowned. “Won’t she have to go to the bathroom?”
“Cece is paper trained. She can go on a puppy pad.” Montana did her best not to smile. “Don’t worry. She’s not going to pee on the bed.”
“Good to know.” He glanced toward the doors, then back at her. “Since you’re not a medical professional, you probably don’t know what to expect. Kalinda’s burns are recent. While she’s bandaged, there are exposed areas of her skin. It’s raw and unattractive. There’s a smell, from the burns and the various medicines we use. She’s in pain and is exhausted.”
Montana nodded, her smile fading. “I wish I could do something to help.”
“Hopefully the dog will accomplish that. Recovering from burns takes years. It’s uncomfortable, to say the least. Despite our best efforts, the worst cases can never be what everyone would call normal. It’s a failing.”
She studied him, suddenly aware that he considered it a personal failing. As if he should be able to do better than everyone else.
“You’ll stay fifteen minutes, then leave. We’ll assess how the visit went before deciding if they will continue.”
Before she was ready, he’d pushed open one of the doors and motioned for her to follow.
The last time she’d been on the burn ward she’d been more concerned about getting Fluffy under control than noticing her surroundings. Now she was aware of closed doors with warnings about isolation and cleanliness. As she walked with Simon, she was aware of his scars. When he spoke of the effort of recovery, he spoke from personal experience. She wondered what had happened to him and when.
They stopped in front of a half-closed door. Simon pushed it open and a woman in her late twenties stepped out. She was petite and obviously exhausted. Her skin was gray and dark circles shadowed her blue eyes. When she saw Montana or, more precisely, Cece, she smiled.
“You brought a little dog!”
Montana moved toward her. “I’m Montana Hendrix. This is Cece. She’s a trained therapy dog.”
“Fay Riley.” The woman let Cece sniff her fingers. “This is exactly what Kalinda needs. Thank you so much for bringing her.” Fay’s gaze moved to Simon. “And you for arranging it.”