Only Yours

CHAPTER THREE

JO’S BAR WAS ONE OF MONTANA’S favorite places in town. Unlike most bars, this one catered to women. The colors were girl friendly, with the large TVs turned to shows like American’s Next Top Model and the shopping networks. Drinks were fun and the list of food came with a selection of offerings for the calorie conscious. As for the men, they had a room in back, with a pool table and plenty of sports. But at Jo’s, women ruled.

Montana walked in and spotted her sisters already at a booth.

Technically Nevada was the oldest, with Dakota born in the middle and Montana last. They were separated by all of fourteen minutes. When they were young, they had truly been identical, nearly impossible for even family members to tell apart. As they’d grown, their personality differences had influenced their appearance.

Nevada was the most sensible of the sisters. A civil engineer, she favored short hair, jeans, shirts and boots that were practical on work sites. Dakota was as smart as Nevada, but slightly more nurturing. She was a child psychologist by trade, with a Ph.D. in her field. In the past three months, she’d adopted a little girl from Kazakhstan, fallen in love, gotten pregnant and then engaged.

Montana loved her sisters but there were times she felt like the family screwup. It was only the past year that she’d discovered what she really wanted to do with her life. Working with the therapy dogs was everything to her. She would deal with the fact that her love life was nonexistent another time.

“How’s it going?” she asked as she approached the table.

“Great.” Dakota slid in to make room for her. “Can I persuade you to order a lemondrop tonight?”

Montana greeted Nevada, then turned to Dakota. “Why?”

“I want to smell it.”

Because being pregnant meant not drinking, Montana thought. She looked across the table. “And you wouldn’t indulge her?”

Nevada motioned to her vodka and tonic. “I offered to let her smell this.”

Dakota shuddered. “No, thanks. Tonic water? I don’t think so.”

“Then I’ll take care of your need to sniff,” Montana said as Jo, the bartender, came over. “A lemondrop.”

Dakota grinned. “Because she loves me.”

“I could make you a virgin lemondrop,” Jo offered.

“Isn’t that just fresh squeezed lemons and simple sugar?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I was hoping for more.”

“We all need a goal,” Jo muttered and walked away.

Montana watched her go. Jo had arrived in Fool’s Gold a few years before and bought the failing bar. She’d had the money to completely refurbish it, but had never talked about where she’d gotten the funds. In fact, Jo rarely talked about her past. Rumors flew about everything, from her escaping an abusive husband to being a Mafia princess hiding out from her family. No one knew the truth and Jo wasn’t the kind of woman who took well to questions.

“Finn home with Hannah tonight?” Nevada asked.

Dakota nodded. “They’re watching Sleeping Beauty. He won’t admit it, but I swear he loves the movie as much as she does.”

“Probably not news you want to spread around,” Nevada told her.

Dakota laughed. “I’m not worried about what people might say. Let them get their own guy.”

“I wish,” Montana said wistfully, refusing to figure out exactly how long it had been since she’d been on a date. Too long, for sure. Soon, she promised herself. And this time it would go better. This time she wouldn’t feel as if she wasn’t good enough.

“We’re a town with a man shortage, remember,” Nevada said.

“Men are moving here. Last year we had busloads.”

“Oh, yeah.” Nevada picked up her drink. “I’m dying for a guy who can walk away from his life and take a bus to a place he’s never been simply because he’s heard there are desperate women there. That’s my idea of a dream come true.”

Dakota wrinkled her nose. “Have you considered your sarcasm is one of the reasons you’re still single?”

“No. Sarcasm is my version of charm.”

“How’s that working for you?”

“Just fine.” Nevada scowled. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She turned to Montana. “Distract her, please.”

Montana knew just what to say. “Mayor Marsha came to see me today.”

Dakota groaned. “That’s never good. What did she want?”

“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.”

“Let’s see how they get along,” Simon said.

Montana moved toward the room. Fay put her hand on her arm. “Did he tell you about …” She swallowed and tears filled her eyes. “She was burned pretty bad.”

“I’m so sorry for what happened,” Montana told her as she drew in a breath. “We’re going to do everything we can to make her feel a little bit better. That’s what Cece’s been trained for.”

Fay glanced at Simon, then nodded and pushed the door open more.

Montana drew a steadying breath. Whatever she saw would be nothing compared to what Kalinda was going through. Montana only had to deal with the burns from a distance. Kalinda was living them. Montana vowed she wouldn’t react in any way, no matter what.

But the promise was harder to keep than she’d expected. The girl on the bed seemed so small and helpless. Her arms were wrapped in white bandages, only the tips of her fingers exposed. Her face was a mass of raw skin, as was her neck. Thick ointment covered the burns.

The scent of disinfectant mingled with that of burned flesh and a rotting smell. For a second, Montana thought she might gag, but then she got herself under control and reminded herself to smile.

“Kalinda?” Fay said quietly. “You have a visitor.”

The girl opened her eyes. They were startlingly blue against the angry burns. Montana’s first thought was that she must have been a very pretty child, before the accident. Her second thought was she’d never seen that much pain in anyone’s expression before.

“Hi. I’m Montana and this is Cece. Your mom said you liked dogs, so I hope it’s okay I brought her to see you.”

Kalinda nodded rather than spoke. She moved her head slightly, then winced and tears filled her eyes.

Montana felt her own throat tighten at her obvious suffering. She wanted to turn to Simon and demand he do something. Make it better. Yet she already knew he was doing as much as he could. Some things simply couldn’t be fixed.

She set Cece on the bed. Simon moved to the other side, hovering protectively. She expected him to start issuing orders, but instead he waited.

Cece, all six pounds of her, studied Kalinda for a few seconds. Then she carefully made her way to the girl’s side. She curled up between Kalinda’s hip and her hand, stretched her neck a little and licked the exposed fingertips.

The girl smiled.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice scratchy. Her eyes sank closed, but her fingers moved against Cece’s side.

Montana stood by the bed for what felt like hours, but was probably only fifteen minutes. When Simon nodded, she picked up Cece and whispered a goodbye.

Fay followed them outside.

“That was wonderful,” she said, wiping away tears. “She smiled. Did you see that? She actually smiled. Please say you’ll come back.”

Montana glanced at Simon, who nodded.

“Whenever you want,” Montana told her. “If Kalinda is strong enough.”

“Let’s see how it goes,” Simon said. “We don’t want to tire her out.”

“Whatever you think is best,” Fay said, already moving back toward her daughter’s room. “She smiled.”

Montana felt a little sick to her stomach. While she was thrilled Cece had helped, she hated how both Kalinda and her mother were suffering. It seemed so unfair—the random cruelty of an accident.

The dog shifted in her arms, an attempt to get closer to Simon.

“Someone has a fan,” Montana said.

Gray-green eyes locked with hers. “Excuse me?”

She motioned to the dog, who stared at him intensely. “Cece has quite a thing for you.”

He barely glanced at the animal. “I’m sure she’s like that with everyone.”

“Not really.” Montana paused, thinking she should probably excuse herself, only to remember her assignment from Mayor Marsha. She was supposed to get close to Simon, to charm him into staying in Fool’s Gold.

“I could show you around town,” she said before she could stop herself. “You’re new and the town is great and I could show you around. You know, so you could see it.” She cleared her throat and waited for him to say something scathing or simply walk away.

Instead he continued to stare at her with as much intensity as Cece stared at him.

“Thank you,” he said. “That would be nice.” Montana continued to stand there in the middle of the corridor long after Simon had excused himself and walked away. He’d said yes. She couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe, the problem was, it was both.