The room was dark enough that it was difficult to make out his features. She could see the scars, and knew the unmarked side of his face illustrated the beauty he had talked about. The perfection. When he stared in the mirror, he saw both halves of what he did as a surgeon. He was the before and the after. The creature of the shadows and the man of light.

Words bubbled to the surface, but none of them would make a difference. She didn’t fully understand the problem, nor was she qualified to fix it. She only knew he was in pain and somehow she wanted to make him feel better.

“Come with me,” she instructed and took his hand.

She expected him to protest, but he went along with her. They walked to the elevator, then got inside. She pushed the button that would take them down two floors.

The nursery windows were lined with people pointing and waving. Denise had left, probably to take Peter home, and Dakota had returned to her family. But Nevada was still there, along with Mayor Marsha and everyone else who had waited to hear the news of the twins’ birth.

Marsha saw them first.

“Montana, there you are. Oh, and you brought Dr. Bradley.” She approached them. “We met when you first arrived.”

“I remember.”

Simon shook hands with her.

“I’m here to welcome our newest citizens,” Marsha said with a smile.

Montana wasn’t touching Simon, but she still felt the stiffness in his body. This was exactly what he’d wanted to avoid. There was no way to tell him that she hadn’t brought him here to talk to other people. Instead, she’d wanted him to see the babies.

Fortunately, Mayor Marsha excused herself and most of the other visitors drifted away. Montana was able to walk to the glass and stare at the two sleeping newborn girls, with the last name of Moreno tagged on the bassinets.

“These are the embryos that Crystal left Pia. She had them implanted and now they’re born.” She glanced at him. “You can’t do anything that compares with this.”

“I know.”

“Do you? Every day people get to create a miracle. They have children, grandchildren. And there’s no price put on that. No exacting from the gods. Why do you think what you do is so damn special that you have to pay for the rest of your life?”

His expression went carefully blank. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she had a feeling it wasn’t good. She’d hoped to convince him that he didn’t have to suffer to be brilliant.

But instead of saying he understood, or arguing, he simply stepped back, said, “Excuse me.” And then was gone.

She was left alone by the nursery, aware that instead of making Simon understand, she’d insulted him and caused him to feel even more isolated. She’d had her chance and she’d blown it.


DENISE STOPPED AT THE CORNER and waited until the car to her right cleared the intersection.

“Renting will give you a chance to figure out if you like the neighborhood,” she said as she accelerated.

“It’s Fool’s Gold, Mom,” Kent told her from the passenger seat. “There aren’t any bad parts of town.”

“True, but you want to be where there are people your age and Reese can have friends. You and your brothers were always bringing home neighborhood kids.”

Her house had been the one where everyone had hung out. While having a dozen or so boys playing in the yard or watching TV had created a lot of extra work—not to mention the expense of feeding them all—she’d liked having her boys at home and knowing all their friends.

“Are you worrying about me?” Kent asked as they pulled in front of a two-story Craftsman house.

“Yes, and don’t say I shouldn’t. I’m your mother. It’s part of the job description.” She glanced at the house. “This is nice.”

“Josh owns the house,” Kent grumbled. “I’m not sure I want him as my landlord.”

Josh had moved into their house when he’d been ten or twelve, Denise thought fondly. His mother had abandoned him, literally. The town hadn’t wanted to turn him over to the state, so she and Ralph had taken him in. He’d been one more kid in an already crowded house, but they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“On the other hand, you can threaten to humiliate him by telling stories about when he was younger.”

Her son grinned. “Good point.”

They got out of the car and walked toward the house. Josh had said he would leave it unlocked, so she turned the knob and they stepped inside.

The foyer was small, opening onto a good-size living room. While the floors were freshly refinished and the paint was new, the Craftsman details—built-in cabinets and beams over the doors—had been left untouched.

“It’s lovely,” she breathed, heading for the dining room.

“Lorraine would really like it,” Kent murmured. “Craftsman was always her thing.”

Denise came to a stop and had to consciously unclench her teeth.

It had been over a year since Lorraine had walked out on Kent and Reese. Like Josh’s mother, she’d abandoned her husband and her child. A case could be made for ditching a spouse, but what kind of woman left her kid? Lorraine rarely saw Reese, didn’t call or even text. And she wasn’t dead. Apparently Kent had made sure of that. From what he’d told her his ex-wife was living a different kind of life now and didn’t want to be married or deal with her child. Not that she was willing to contribute to child support either. Denise had begged her son to take her to court over that, but he refused.

Kent walked into the kitchen. “This seems fine. Lorraine always liked big windows over the sink.”

Even as Denise told herself this wasn’t her rock to carry, she stalked into the kitchen. She stopped in the center, noted the blue granite went really well with the white cabinets and tile floors, then put her hands on her hips and faced her son.

“It’s been over a year,” she said, hoping she sounded more calm and reasonable than she felt. “A year. Lorraine isn’t on vacation—she walked out on you and Reese. She left her son, Kent. Not a word, not a note, nothing. This isn’t an example of a woman who has feelings. She’s not a good person and she’s not coming back.”

Her son stood with his back to her. She saw the tension in his back and the way his shoulders hunched, and felt crappy.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t say anything. I just hate to see you like this.”

He faced her, defeat in his gaze. “I can’t help loving her, Mom.”

“Have you tried letting go? Are you doing anything to get over her?”

“Are you over Dad?”

Ralph had been gone long enough that she could hear the question without having to deal with the pain. “I still miss him, if that’s what you’re asking, but, yes, I have moved on. I have a life.”

“Good for you, but I’m a different person from you. Lorraine was the one.”

No, Lorraine was a bitch, Denise thought, lowering her arms to her sides. “There can be more than one great love. Maybe if you got out there and started dating, it would help.”

“I don’t want to.”

“So you’re going to spend the rest of your life pining for a woman who doesn’t care about you?”

His body flinched and he looked away. “You weren’t there, Mom. You don’t know what she was like. We have a past.”

Not a very good one, Denise thought, grabbing on to her patience. As for knowing what Lorraine was like—everyone but Kent had figured that out years ago.

“I love you and I hate to see you like this. I want you to at least consider trying to put your marriage behind you. If not for yourself, then for Reese. Don’t you think he knows how much you’re hurting?”

“I don’t talk about it.”

“He’s a smart kid. He’s going to guess. Having you in pain hurts him. Don’t bother trying to tell me I’m wrong. I remember how you kids were every time I cried.”

He walked to the window and looked out. “Maybe.”

It wasn’t much of a concession, but she was going to take it all the same.

He turned toward her. “What about you? Are you really moving on with your life?”

“I’m dating,” she said. “So far not very successfully or with much enthusiasm, but I’m trying. You need to do the same.”

“Will you get off me if I say I’ll think about it?”

She smiled. “Of course.”

Which wasn’t exactly the truth. What she really meant was “for now.” But Kent didn’t need to know that. At least not yet.


CECE DROPPED THE SMALL BALL she held in her mouth and gazed at Kalinda expectantly. The girl giggled, picked up the ball and tossed it toward the end of the bed. Cece bounded toward it, captured it and returned to Kalinda’s side.

They’d been playing the game for nearly ten minutes. Even as Montana watched Kalinda start to tire, Cece dropped the ball and cuddled up next to her. The girl rubbed her back. Cece rolled over to get a tummy rub, as well.

“She trusts you,” Montana told her. “Cece doesn’t let just anyone rub her belly.”

Kalinda smiled. “I like her a lot.”

“She’s certainly helping,” Fay said from the other side of the bed, where she’d pulled up her usual chair.

“Can she stay longer tomorrow?” Kalinda asked, her blue eyes pleading. “Dr. Simon said she could.”

Fay’s expression turned wry. “We probably should have discussed it with you first. I’m sorry about that. We were talking about how Kalinda loves having Cece around. Dr. Bradley said we could use his office as a sort of home base for her. He hardly uses it at all and said she wouldn’t be any trouble.”

Montana supposed she should be pleased that Simon had come so far on the dog front. No longer just germy annoyances, the service animals had become a tool he could use for healing. Yay, her.