“You’re with her. That means everything.”

“I hope so.”

Reese came to the door. “Do you have any games we can play? Kalinda’s hands aren’t burned too bad, so she could use a joystick or control.”

“Or you could play a board game,” Montana told him.

He sighed heavily. “Yeah, that would be great.”

Fay laughed. “You’re just like my daughter. I did bring in her Playstation 2. Does that sound better than a board game?”

“Lots.” He grinned. “I know how to hook it up to the TV and everything.”

Fay excused herself.

Montana was left standing alone in the hallway. She decided she would find a waiting area close by and read. An hour should give the kids enough time to enjoy the game without tiring Kalinda too much.

She started toward the nurses’ station only to turn the corner and nearly run into Simon. They both came to a stop.

He was as tall as she remembered, and the right side of his face was just as perfect. She barely noticed the scars, except that she knew they were significant to him.

“Montana.”

“Hi. I brought my nephew to visit with Kalinda. So far it’s going well. They’re playing video games.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “That sounds like it will be fun for her. Good. We don’t want her getting depressed. It interferes with healing.” He cleared his throat. “I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to speak to you about something. Several children will be by the hospital tomorrow to get out their stitches. If the first one starts crying, it upsets the rest and the morning goes badly. I was wondering if you could bring a service dog by to distract them.”

She nodded, even as she thought about her schedule. “Of course. What time?”

“Nine-thirty. For about two hours.”

“I don’t have any appointments with the dogs until afternoon. I’ll bring one of the bigger dogs. That’ll make more of a diversion.”

“Good.”

He sounded so formal. Distant, even. That was her fault. She’d been the one to cross the line.

She reached out and touched his arm. The fabric of his white coat was smooth under her fingers.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “About what I said before. It’s not my place to tell you what to believe or how to live your life. I barely know you. I was trying to show you something and I got it all wrong. I apologize for hurting you or offending you or whatever it is I did.”

His expression gave nothing away. “And if I say it was nothing?”

“I won’t believe you, but I won’t argue.”

“You like to argue.”

“No, I don’t.” She stopped and sighed. “I don’t mean to like it.”

“Then that changes everything.”

She studied him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. “Are you mad?”

“No.”

“Do you hate me?”

“No.”

Do you still want me?

She didn’t speak those words. Her courage only took her so far.

“Do you forgive me?” she asked instead.

“Yes.”

She smiled. “Thank you for saying that, instead of telling me there was nothing to forgive. I really am sorry.”

He raised his hand as if he were going to touch her face, then lowered it back to his side. Disappointment swelled inside her. Terrified she’d blown it, she didn’t know what to say. How was she supposed to ask a man to want her again?


RESTLESS FROM HER ENCOUNTER with Simon, Montana decided what she needed was a good book to distract her. An evening curled up on the sofa reading would make her feel better. When she was done with work, she swung by Morgan’s Books.

As usual, the place was busy, with a dozen or so people browsing and chatting. The scent of fresh coffee filled the air, along with the distinctive and delicious smell of brownies. Morgan’s daughter Amber must have come by with a fresh batch from her bakery.

Montana waved to people she knew and headed for the romance section. Her love life was in the toilet, but there was no reason not to live vicariously through others, she told herself. She scanned the shelves, looking for a book that fit her mood, and stopped in front of a red book with a picture of a woman on the cover.

“Visions of Magic,” she murmured, studying the flame tattoo on the woman’s back. She’d never read Regan Hastings before, but was intrigued.

She reached for the book, only to bump hands with someone else.

“Sorry,” she said, stepping back and turning. “Oh, hi.” She recognized the curvy blonde as new to town. “Heidi, right?”

The woman, about her age, but much prettier, smiled. “Yes. And you’re one of the triplets. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you apart yet.”

“Montana.”

“Right.” She tilted her head, as if studying Montana and hoping to find a difference.

Montana grinned. “If it helps, Dakota is pregnant, so for the next few months she’ll be easy to find.”

“Great. Thanks for the tip.”

Heidi had golden blond hair she wore in two braids and large green eyes. Green eyes that made Montana think about Simon, which she didn’t want to do.

“You and your grandfather bought the Castle Ranch outside of town, right?”

“That’s us.”

“How are you settling in?”

“We’re figuring it out as we go. The house needs a complete renovation. I don’t think anyone has lived in it for a while.”

Montana tried to remember who had lived there last. “Old man Castle died ages ago. Maybe twenty years or so. I can’t remember. He had a family living there. The mom was the housekeeper and her three boys worked the ranch. It wasn’t much, even then. I don’t know what happened after that. When he passed away, the family left. There was talk of someone from back East inheriting, but no one ever showed up.”

“The place looks like it.” Heidi wrinkled her nose. “I remind myself I’ve lived in worse. At least the plumbing and electricity work and the roof will last another couple of years, but seriously, when was the last time you saw an avocado-green stove?”

Montana laughed. “Once. In the movies.”

“If you want to see the real thing, let me know. I have one.”

Montana hadn’t heard much about Heidi and her grandfather. “Are you running cattle on the ranch?”

Heidi shook her head. “No. I’m not big into cows. There are a few roaming around. They’re wild or feral or whatever it is cows get when no one is around to take care of them.” She paused. “I have a few goats I milk and I use the goat milk to make cheese.”

Goats? “Your name is Heidi, you live with your grandfather and you have goats?”

Heidi laughed. “The irony is not lost, believe me. The difference is Glen, my grandfather, is very friendly, so I won’t have to act as a liaison between him and the villagers.” She glanced around the bookstore. “I’ll bet Morgan has a copy here. When was the last time you read Heidi?”

“I think my mom read it to me and my sisters when we were pretty little. Wasn’t there a girl in a wheelchair?”

“I sort of remember that.” Her smile faded. “My mom read it to me, too. It’s a good memory.”

Sadness replaced humor and Montana had the feeling Heidi had lost her mother a long time ago. Having suffered through the death of her father, she knew what that was like.

“Do you get to town much?” she asked. “We have a girl’s night out, or sometimes in, every few weeks. Just a bunch of us getting together to talk. If you want to give me your number, I can let you know when the next one is and you can join us.”

“I’d like that.”

Montana pulled out her cell phone and took Heidi’s number.

“Are you and your grandfather okay out there by yourselves?”

The humor returned to Heidi’s expression. “Despite the hideous appliances, we’re doing great. This is the first real home we’ve ever had. We always traveled around a lot. I can’t tell you how good it feels to finally be settled. We have a lot of plans for the ranch.”

“I take it they don’t include cows.”

“Probably not. But I want to expand my herd. I plan to create a cheese empire.” She laughed. “Plus, we’re both really loving Fool’s Gold. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. And in an unexpected turn of events I can’t decide if I’m okay with or not, my grandfather is quite the hit with the ladies of a certain age.”

Montana wasn’t surprised. The man shortage had been mitigated by several new businesses and lots of guys moving to town, but few of them had been past middle age.

“It’ll keep him young,” Montana told her.

“As long as I don’t walk in on him having his way with one of them, I’m good with it.”

Montana reached for the Regan Hastings book and grabbed two copies. “Let me buy you this. Sort of a welcome-to-town gift.”

“Wow. This is why I love it here. Let me just announce to the universe, I’m never leaving. Wind, snow, a herd of locusts, I’ll outwit them all.”

“I like that—a plan. Did you know that Fool’s Gold was originally settled by a group of Mayan women? They called themselves the Máa-zib. It means something like few men. I heard they kept men as love slaves.”

Heidi grinned. “Don’t you miss the good old days?”

“All the time.”


MONTANA TOLD HERSELF not to be excited about the clinic with Simon. Kids were getting their stitches out—that was hardly a reason for her to want to break into song. The thing was, she was far more tingly about seeing him again than thinking about kids, which probably made her a bad person.

“Something else I have to work on,” she told Buddy as she opened the back door of her car, stepping to the side so he could jump out.

Buddy looked at her, a faintly worried frown pulling his doggie eyebrows together.