Only Yours. Сьюзен Мэллери

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СКАЧАТЬ The older woman was elegantly dressed in a suit and pearls. Her white hair remained perfectly in place, despite the light breeze. By contrast, Montana felt a little scruffy. Her sundress had been old last year and she’d slipped off her sandals as soon as she’d gotten in her car. Red marks from her new sandals dotted her feet, and a few puffy areas promised to turn into blisters later.

      “There’s a conference room in the kennel,” she said. “Is that all right? Or do you want to go up to Max’s house?”

      “The conference room is fine.”

      Mayor Marsha followed her along the path, then into the large building. There was an office, a small bathroom, the conference room, a kitchenette, then wide doors led to the kennel area.

      “Something to drink?” Montana asked when they’d entered the conference area. The oval table could seat twelve, although they rarely had that many people out for a meeting. “We have soda, or I could make coffee.”

      “I’m fine.”

      Marsha waited until Montana had pulled out a chair before taking the one across from her.

      “You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” the older woman began.

      “To sell me raffle tickets?”

      Marsha smiled. “I need your help on a special project.”

      Montana’s first instinct was to bolt. A few months earlier, Mayor Marsha had asked Montana’s sister Dakota to help on a special project. Dakota had ended up working on a reality show as the liaison between the town and the producer. The good news was Dakota had met the love of her life, gotten pregnant, engaged and had adopted a beautiful baby girl. It had been a busy time.

      But even if the idea of another special project made Montana nervous, running wasn’t an option. She was a Hendrix and a member of one of the founding families of the town. Not exactly as thrilling as being a member of the Daughters of the Revolution, but history was important.

      “How can I help?” Montana asked, knowing she was making her mother proud.

      Marsha leaned toward her. “There’s a doctor visiting town. A gifted surgeon. He’s brilliant, a little difficult, but what he can do for people…. Simon Bradley specializes in patients who have been burned. He also performs regular plastic surgery. We have him here for nearly three months. That’s what he does—goes from place to place performing miracles, then moving on. I want him to stay. He would be a wonderful asset for the town.”

      Montana frowned. “He sounds really great, but what can I do to help?” She was assuming Marsha didn’t want her to set herself on fire to get close to the good doctor. No doubt he was the type who would—

      She instinctively started to stand, then forced herself to remain sitting. The room suddenly seemed a little stuffy. She wanted to say it wasn’t possible, that no one’s luck was that bad. But she knew differently.

      “You, ah, said he’s new in town?” she asked.

      “Yes. He’s been here about a week.”

      Montana swallowed. “Have you met him?”

      “Yes. As I said, he’s not the most talkative of men, but he has a gift.”

      “Does he also have a scar on his face? Just on one side?”

      “Oh. You know him.”

      “Not exactly. I had a run-in with him earlier. Literally.”

      Montana explained what had happened. Instead of looking shocked, Mayor Marsha started laughing.

      “I wish I’d been there,” she admitted with a chuckle.

      “Only if you’d taken my place.” Montana sighed. “As much as I’d love to help, you can see why I’m the wrong person.”

      Marsha’s humor faded. “Not really.” She leaned forward. “You are absolutely the best person I can think of.”

      Montana nearly fell off her chair. “Why?”

      “I have a feeling in my gut. I can’t explain it better than that. I’ve met Dr. Bradley and there’s something about him.”

      “A stick up his butt,” Montana muttered under her breath. “He’s already mad at me. Don’t you want someone without such an unfortunate history?”

      “I want you. Just be your normal, charming self. Befriend him. Show him around, maybe take him to meet your family. That sort of thing. Help him to see that Fool’s Gold is a wonderful place to live.” The mayor straightened. “I need you, Montana, and so does the town.”

      Montana wanted to offer more reasons why this was a mistake but the mayor had already said the magic words. Giving back was part of Fool’s Gold’s culture. When asked, the good citizens said yes. Even if they really, really didn’t want to.

      “I’ll talk to him,” Montana promised. “But if he still hates my guts, you’ll have to find someone else.”

      She couldn’t imagine any circumstances under which Dr. Simon Bradley would want to spend time with her, which made her acceptance slightly less meaningful.

      “Agreed,” the mayor said, coming to her feet. “If the good doctor refuses to have anything to do with you, I’ll find someone else.”

      Montana stood as well. They walked toward the door.

      “I’m glad you’re growing your hair out,” Mayor Marsha told her. “It makes it so much easier to know which triplet is which. I don’t have any trouble telling you three apart, but I’ve had complaints.”

      Montana laughed as she fingered the hair that had grown down to the middle of her back. “Seriously? People have complained?”

      “You have no idea what I deal with on a daily basis.”

      Montana led her outside. “Last year my hair was dark. That should have helped.”

      “It did, although I prefer your natural blond color.” As the mayor spoke, she eyed Montana speculatively. “I wonder if Simon likes blondes.”

      Montana held up both hands. “How far exactly am I supposed to go to convince him to stay in town?”

      The mayor laughed again. “You don’t have to sacrifice your virtue, if that’s what you’re asking.”

      Virtue as in … virtue? That ship had sailed several years ago but she wasn’t going to discuss that with someone old enough to be her grandmother.

      “I’ll do my best,” she said instead.

      “That’s all anyone can ask for.”

      After the mayor left, Montana returned to the play area and worked with the dogs. Max was a big believer in constant reinforcement. Therapy dogs were expected to be well behaved and well trained. She worked with those dogs still in training twice a day and ran the more experienced members of the team through different sequences a few times a week.

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