She didn’t want to agree, but couldn’t seem to keep herself from nodding.
“I go to Peru in a few weeks. Then on to somewhere else.” He looked at his coffee, then at her. “I could come back, to visit.”
“But not to stay.”
“No,” he said with finality. “Not to stay.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MONTANA DIDN’T USUALLY attend city council meetings. Her job had never been political. Before working for Max, she’d been a part-time librarian. But Mayor Marsha had asked, so here she was.
The agenda was much as she had expected. Information about road construction—in this case a project funded by the state. A few permit issues. An update on the Summer Festival, only two days away.
Gladys, the city treasurer, turned to Mayor Marsha. “I assume Montana is here to talk about the Dr. Bradley issue.”
“She is.” The mayor smiled at Montana. “How is our project going?”
Montana realized she shouldn’t have been surprised by the shift in topic. If she’d thought about it for even a second, she would have known why she’d been asked to attend. Unfortunately, she went completely blank.
“I, ah, I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Is he enjoying Fool’s Gold?” Marsha asked.
“Yes. Everyone has been very welcoming and I think he appreciates that. He’s not much of a joiner, though. I haven’t found that he has any hobbies.”
“He went golfing with Josh and Ethan,” another council member said. “Raoul Moreno joined them for the last nine holes.”
“Do you think he would be impressed by sports celebrities?” Marsha asked earnestly. “Should I suggest Josh and Raoul spend more time with him?”
Montana felt everyone staring at her. She did her best not to squirm. “Not really. He’s not that kind of man. He’s quiet and thoughtful. He only seems comfortable opening up to his patients.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve had sex yet?” Gladys asked.
Heat flared on Montana’s cheeks.
“That is not our business,” Marsha announced firmly. “I asked Montana to be his friend, to show him around town and talk about the benefits of living here. She’s not expected to give her, ahem, all for the sake of the town.”
“In my day we understood a good sacrifice,” Gladys mumbled.
Marsha ignored her. “Montana, do you feel you’re making progress?”
“I don’t know. I’m never sure what he’s thinking.”
The mayor nodded, then the meeting moved on to other topics. When it was over, Mayor Marsha asked her to stay behind.
“Do you know how he got his scars?” the older woman asked when it was just the two of them.
She asked the question in such a way that Montana realized the mayor knew the answer.
Montana shifted in her seat. “He hasn’t told me.”
“Do you want to know?”
The tone was gentle, the expression caring. Mayor Marsha wouldn’t tell her if she didn’t want to know.
Montana nodded.
Marsha slipped on her reading glasses and opened a slim folder in front of her.
“From what I’ve been able to find out, his mother was largely a disinterested parent. There’s no word on Simon’s father. He seems to have disappeared fairly early on. Possibly while she was pregnant. According to the police reports, her boyfriend left because he found Simon…disconcerting.”
Marsha glanced at Montana, looking over her half-glasses. “He was very intelligent, even when he was young. He’d skipped a couple of grades by the time he was eleven and was expected to skip even more.”
Montana gripped the edge of the large conference table. She sensed she was going to need the support.
“When the boyfriend took off, Simon’s mother blamed her son. She pushed him into the fireplace.” Marsha looked up again and removed her glasses. “Obviously we’ve all seen his scars. When he tried to climb out, she pushed him back in. It’s something of a miracle he didn’t die.”
Don’t throw up, Montana told herself as her stomach turned over and over. Don’t think about it and don’t throw up.
Horror swept through her. Her brain flashed to Freddie, whose father had cut him on purpose.
“The neighbors called an ambulance, who in turn called the police. When Simon was taken away, the mother confessed all. She didn’t care if she went to jail. She never wanted to see her son again. As far as she was concerned, Simon had ruined her life.”
The mayor slipped on her glasses and continued to read. “He spent nearly four years in the hospital. There were countless surgeries. Amazingly, he was able to study on his own, without the benefit of much more than a part-time volunteer teacher. He achieved nearly perfect scores on the SAT and ACT tests and was given a full scholarship to Stanford at the age of sixteen. From there he went to UCLA medical school.”
Montana couldn’t listen anymore. “Excuse me,” she said, pushing her chair away from the table. “I have to go.”