He could see the righteous anger in her blue eyes. At last someone was going to yell at him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anyone he wanted to be mad at him.
“Kalinda,” he began.
“Uh-uh. You promised. You were promising when my heart stopped. You can’t go back on that now.”
Fay stood. “I’ll walk you out,” she told Simon and led him into the hallway.
When they were standing facing each other, she smiled an apology. “I’m sorry about that. Kalinda can be very stubborn. You probably find it annoying, but I’m so happy to see that she’s herself again.”
“I see the improvement as well.”
He wanted to protest that he hadn’t promised, but knew the girl was right. He had been promising. But soon he was leaving anyway.
Going back on his word to a kid? How screwed up was that?
Once again he found himself missing Montana—her emotional sanity had become something he depended upon. Without her he was adrift in a world where he didn’t belong.
Fay touched his arm. “I want to thank you for all you’ve done. We wouldn’t have gotten through this without you.”
He wanted to tell her that of course she would have, but he accepted her words with a smile. That’s what Montana would have told him to do.
Back in his office, he updated his charts, then leaned back in his chair. He stared at his cell phone, knowing how easy it would be to call. But then what? Nothing had changed. It was better for both of them if he didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.
“I SAW THE MOVIES a bunch of times, but this is better,” Daniel told Montana as he sat in one of the small conference rooms at the library. “My mom already bought me the whole set. They’re kind of hard, but it’s fun, too.” His nose wrinkled. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”
Montana held in a smile. “Because reading isn’t cool?”
“No. I don’t want to be one of those smart kids.”
Peer pressure started early, she thought.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying the
“Is a million dollars a lot of money?” she asked casually.
Daniel stared at her. “Yeah.” His tone made it clear he thought she was an idiot for asking.
“I think so, too. Do you know that according to some studies, people who go to college earn a million dollars more in their lifetime than people who don’t?”
There were plenty of exceptions, but she wasn’t going to get into that with Daniel.
“A million dollars more?”
“Uh-huh. Sometimes being smart is kind of a good thing.” She leaned toward him. “I don’t know why you had trouble reading, but that’s all gone. You’ve jumped two grades in your reading ability just in the past few weeks. It’s like your brain was getting ready and getting ready and suddenly it
He gave her a shy smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t want to try before. It was hard.”
“I know, but you tried anyway. Buddy likes that in a guy.”
He hugged the dog. “Buddy’s really smart, too.”
“He is. But here’s the thing. They’re going to reassess your reading abilities when you go back to school, and you’re going to get moved to a different group of students.”
“With the really smart kids?” He sounded concerned.
“It depends on how you do. I know you’re worried that your friends won’t be happy if you change. But that’s what growing up is about. Changing. Trying new things. Do you want to play sports in high school?”
He nodded vigorously.
“You need good grades to stay on the team. The same in college.”
“I’d love to play college ball. Do you think I could?”
“I’ve seen how you’ve worked on your reading, even when it was hard. I think you can do anything.”
“That’s what my mom says, but I thought it was because she had to.” He shrugged. “She loves me.”
The words were spoken with perfect certainty. Montana thought of Simon and wished his childhood had been filled with that kind of affection and support.
“I think knowing you can do anything is a little more about you than her.”
Daniel rose and walked around the table. He hugged her, squeezing hard. “Thank you.” He straightened. “I’m going to college so I can earn that million dollars.”
“I’m glad.”
He left the room.
She bent over and stroked Buddy. “You did it, big guy. You were exactly what Daniel needed. Everyone is pretty happy. Daniel’s mother sent a letter to the school principal and everything. The program is going to be expanded.”
His doggie eyebrows drew together, as if he were worried about keeping up with it all.
She laughed and kissed the top of his head. “Relax. You can handle it and I’ll be right there with you.”
KALINDA’S SURGERY took over ten hours. The work was detailed, every tiny adjustment, every cut, every stitch would determine how she looked for the rest of her life. Simon felt the weight of responsibility—wanting to get everything right.
Perfect was a bitch, but as he pulled off his gloves, he knew he’d gotten damn close.
After checking in with Fay and her husband, telling them that everything had gone well and that their daughter would be in recovery for a couple of hours, he headed back to his office.
His body ached. Standing for that long always took a toll, as did being hunched over and doing such meticulous work. He grabbed a cup of coffee from one of the nurses’ stations and took the stairs up two flights. He should eat something, he thought. Before he started on his rounds. Keep his energy up.
He entered his office and was greeted by a soft yip.
He flipped on the light and saw Cece stepping out of her crate and stretching.
“You’re a surprise,” he told the happy dog. “Did Montana bring you by so you could be with Kalinda later today?”
The dog’s fluffy tail wagged. She danced around him, obviously thrilled they were together at last.
He set down his coffee, then picked her up. She gave him happy kisses, then settled into his arms with a contented sigh. He checked that she had food and water, then walked over to his desk and sat down.
“Want to play?” he asked, opening his bottom desk drawer and pulling out a couple of toys he’d bought for her.
There was a tiny cat with a squeaker in the middle and a Ping-Pong-size tennis ball. Cece quivered with excitement, then scrambled to get out of his arms. She raced to the end of his small office and barked expectantly, as if urging him to get on with it.
He threw the cat toy. She caught it in midair, then held it, squeaking happily. The high-pitched noise made him grin.
“You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you? Have you seen a real cat? I’m not sure you’d win the fight.”
Cece dashed toward him and leapt into his lap. It was something she’d done a dozen times before, maybe more. But this time the partially open bottom desk drawer was in the way.
Simon saw what was going to happen a microsecond before it did. He reached for her but couldn’t get there fast enough. Her back left leg clipped the drawer, the impact loud enough for him to hear.
She dropped the toy and cried out, then fell to the ground, yipping loudly. He shoved the drawer back in place and dropped to his knees, beside the writhing dog.
“It’s okay,” he said, feeling stupid. He didn’t know what was wrong, so he couldn’t commit to an outcome. Still, the words were instinctive, and he murmured them over and over again.
He reached out and gently stroked her. She quieted, her dark gaze locking on his, as if begging him to make it stop hurting.
He touched her leg and she yelped again. He swore. Was it broken?
