Montana frowned at the non sequitur. “We don’t have any mean service dogs. By definition of their job, they pretty much get along with everyone.”
Pia whimpered. “I thought if I could make a difficult dog like me, I would have a better chance with my babies.”
Montana rose and crossed to her friend. She bent over and hugged her. “You’re making yourself insane.”
“It’s the hormones. Okay, a little of it is me, but it’s mostly not my fault.”
Montana straightened and returned to her seat. “Try to relax. You’re going to be a great mom. You agreed to have someone else’s babies. That’s how much love you have to give.”
Pia sniffed. “I’ll try to remember that.” She drew in a breath. “Let’s talk about something else. How’s the world? I haven’t been out in it for a couple of weeks. I’m either here or at the doctor. Is there still a sky and trees?”
Montana laughed. “Yes to both. The planet orbits the sun and the days progress.”
“Good to know. You’re doing well?”
“Yes. I’ve started the summer reading program at the library. The dogs and I make the usual rounds at the nursing home and assisted living places.” She hesitated, wondering if Pia could help with one of her more pressing problems. “There’s a new doctor in town. Simon Bradley. He’s a gifted plastic surgeon who mostly works on children. His specialty is burn victims. He goes to a place for two or three months to help, then moves on. Mayor Marsha came to see me and wants me to convince Simon to stay in Fool’s Gold.”
“You’ve got to love our mayor.” Pia leaned her head back against the chair. “Do you know if he likes sports? Baseball, golf, that sort of thing?”
“No, but aren’t all doctors into golfing?”
“I think so. Let me talk to Raoul. Maybe he and Josh and Ethan could take Simon golfing. Or at least out for a drink. Guy bonding and all that. What does he like to do?”
Montana remembered Simon’s intense, toe-curling kisses but didn’t think that was what Pia meant. “He doesn’t talk about much other than work. Kent and Reese were in a car accident about a week ago and—”
Pia nearly came out of her chair, a trick considering how pregnant she was. “What? I didn’t know about this. Are they okay? What happened?”
Montana was on her feet again, hurrying to her friend’s side. “Sorry. I thought you knew. They’re both fine. You have to relax.” Raoul would kill her if Pia went into labor because she’d gotten upset.
“I’m fine. When did this happen?”
“Right before the Fourth. Kent wasn’t hurt, but Reese got a few cuts on his face. Simon worked on him and he’s not going to have much in the way of scarring. Mom invited him over for a belated Fourth of July dinner. Even she couldn’t get much information out of him.”
“What do you think of him?”
Montana considered the question. “He’s very solitary. Fierce when it comes to his work and his patients, but otherwise, he’s quiet. He doesn’t talk about himself. If my mother couldn’t get him to talk, then even a professional CIA operative would have trouble extracting information.”
Pia laughed. “That’s true. Denise isn’t obvious about it, but she usually ends up with whatever information she wants.”
“He’s not a traditional loner,” Montana said. “I think of those people as choosing to be by themselves. They prefer their own company. With Simon, I wonder if it’s coming from the outside. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s like it’s imposed on him.” She paused. “He has scars on his face and neck. From a burn. From one side, he’s beyond gorgeous, but from the other…”
“He’s a monster?”
Montana half smiled. “It’s not that bad, but I keep thinking something could be done about the scars. Does he keep them like that to have physical proof for his patients that he knows what they’re going through? Or am I being naive and assuming something that isn’t true? But what happened to him? He’s never said and I don’t know how to ask.”
She paused, only to find Pia staring at her.
“What?”
“Wow.” Pia grinned. “You’ve fallen for him.”
Heat exploded on her cheek and she ducked her head. “Don’t say that. I think he’s interesting. It’s nothing more than that.”
“It’s a whole lot more than that.”
It was the kisses, she thought. How was she supposed to ignore them?
“Even if he was my type, I’m sure not his.” So far she’d managed to avoid being anyone’s type.
“Why? From what you’ve described, you might be exactly what someone like him needs. But I won’t embarrass you by talking about it anymore. Let me think about different ways to convince the good doctor to stay in town. Does he have any family?”
Montana stared at her blankly. “Family?”
“You know. Kids. I’m assuming there isn’t a wife.”