Only Yours (Fool's Gold #5)(64)

“I have a question,” Kent said. “Feel free to tell me to mind my own business.”

Simon braced himself. Kent was Montana’s older brother. Of course he would be worried about family. “Ask away.”

“Why do you keep your scars? When Reese was hurt, I did some research online. Doctors have figured out a lot of ways to treat scars. I would guess you know about all of them.”

It wasn’t the question Simon had been expecting, nor did most people have the courage to ask it, although he knew they wondered.

“I keep them for my patients. I want them to know it’s okay to look different. I want them to believe they can still be happy, even if they have scars or some other kind of disfigurement.”

He also kept them as a reminder, but he wasn’t going to tell Kent that.

“That makes sense,” the other man told him. “I hope the question wasn’t too personal.”

“Hard to hide these.”

“Thanks again for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kent walked toward the elevator. Simon took the stairs up a couple of floors and came out by the burn ward. He walked to Kalinda’s room and stopped when he heard the sound of laughter. From where he was standing he could see Reese walking like a zombie, his arms raised, his legs stiff. Both kids were giggling.

She wasn’t getting better fast enough. He knew that and didn’t know how to change things. The fever bothered him. It drained her and made it harder for her to heal. It meant her body was still adjusting, that there was still danger.

Uncertainty was part of the job, but he’d never accepted it. He always searched for answers, solutions that made sense. But sometimes they weren’t there. By now Kalinda should be progressing better. She should be safe and it didn’t sit well with him that she wasn’t.

“I THOUGHT DOCTORS TOOK OFF work to golf,” Montana said, sitting across from Simon in Margaritaville, one of the restaurants in town.

When he’d phoned her to ask if she wanted to have lunch, she’d suggested this place.

“You’re more interesting than golf,” he told her.

She laughed. “Is that even a compliment?”

“It is if you like golf.”

“Do you?”

He shrugged. “It’s okay.”

She laughed again. “Are you teasing me? Does the stern doctor board know? If they find out, you won’t be asked to speak at their conference.”

“I can live with the disappointment.”

“And here I wanted to see your picture in the newsletter.”

Their server appeared and quickly made guacamole tableside. Montana watched intently, giving herself over to the moment.

She did that a lot, he realized. So many parts of her life were fun. She must go from highlight to highlight. It would never be his style, but he could learn from her.

When the guacamole was finished and placed between them, she leaned forward. “You are going to love this. Seriously, it’s amazing. Everyone goes on and on about the margaritas they serve here, but I think they’re missing the point.”

She offered him the chips, then waited while he sampled the dip.

“Well?”

“Very nice.”

She rolled her eyes. “You need to work on your superlatives. Nice is a clean toothbrush. This is life changing.”

She scooped up some with a chip and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm. Perfection.”

He wanted to tease that she should get out more, but didn’t. Nothing about Montana needed changing.

“How are the puppies?”

“Growing. If you look at them long enough, you can see it happening. Oh, and last night there were no accidents.”

He’d learned in his lone overnight stay at her house that getting the puppies up at two in the morning for a potty break didn’t mean they weren’t going to pee on the floor.

“Progress.”

“I know. Now I’m waiting for them to get through the night. The 2:00 a.m. thing is getting really old. How are things at the hospital?”

“Good.”

He was tired, Montana thought, watching him as he told her about a difficult surgery. Working too hard. But that was probably always the case. He did as much work as he could in the short time he was around. Not that she was going to think about him leaving. Better to enjoy him while he was here.

“Montana! So nice to see you and your young man out in town.”

Montana looked up and winced. “Hello, Gladys.”

Gladys had been a fixture in Fool’s Gold for a lot longer than Montana had been alive. She was a good-hearted sort of person but often spoke her mind, and in a scary kind of way. She was the sort of person who made everyone around her cringe and then couldn’t see what she had said that was the least bit awkward.

She patted Montana on the shoulder and leaned down to speak in her ear. “Too bad about his face, but I bet the rest of him is working just fine.”

Montana didn’t know whether to scream, hide under the table or run for the mountains just outside of town. She hoped that Simon hadn’t heard the comment, but when she glanced at him one eyebrow was raised.

“Sorry,” she mouthed silently, then turned to Gladys. “You make me crazy, you know that, right?”

An unrepentant Gladys grinned. “Then my work here is complete.”