Free Texas Bossa Nova (Texas Montgomery Mavericks Book 5) by Cynthia D’Alba Page B

in Caroline’s expression.
    “Nope. It’ll be stronger than ever. But he has a long road ahead of him. It’s going to take at least three months to heal, maybe longer. And he’ll have to go through physical therapy to get all his strength back, but he’ll get there.”
    Reno’s eyes widened. “Mom and Dad.” His gaze swung to his sister beside him. “KC, you’ve called them, right?”
    She put her arm around him. “I called. They’ll be here in the morning. There’s nothing they can do tonight, so I told them not to charter a private plane. No reason to. Besides…” she swept her arm around the waiting room and sea of Montgomerys standing and sitting there, “…I assured her that we have loads of family support.”
    “Yeah.” A long breath escaped. He raked his fingers through his hair. “Thank you all for coming.”
    Caroline stood. “I’m heading back into surgery to see how it’s going. I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything more than what I’ve told you.”
    “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.” She leaned down to hug his shoulders. “Hang in there. Darren is in the best hands I know.”
    He nodded.
    Caroline motioned Magda to follow her. “I’m glad you came with him,” she said. “He’s going to need all the support he can get.”
    “I know. I remember how helpless I felt when Zeb was in here, like there was something I could be doing but wasn’t.”
    Caroline nodded. “Patients have it rough, but then families do too, especially families as close as the Montgomerys.” Her gaze flicked to her husband, Travis, and back. “Marrying Travis and inheriting all this family was the best idea I ever had.”
    Magda smiled. “They all love you. I can tell.”
    “Speaking of family, Zeb seems to be doing well.”
    Chuckling, Magda said, “Good medicine or a good woman. Which do you think?”
    Caroline nodded. “A combination of both, I’m thinking. But I’m glad he’s getting back on his feet. I’d better get back to the OR and see what’s going on.”
    Magda stood alone for a minute, worried that she’d overstepped and shouldn’t have come with him. But then Mitch came over.
    “Good to see you, Magda.” He snaked an arm about her shoulder and gave her a hug. “How’s working for Reno and Darren been?”
    “They’ve been easier to train than you were.”
    He laughed. “I was older and more set in my ways maybe.”
    “Maybe. Or more bullheaded.”
    “Yeah, that too.”
    “How’s Blanche working out?” She wasn’t sure what she wanted him to say. Her ego wanted him to say that Blanche couldn’t compare to her. But seeing how happy Blanche made Zeb, and how Blanche seemed to care about Zeb, she also kind of hoped she was as awesome as Zeb thought.
    “Well, she’s no Magda Hobbs.”
    “But then again, who is?” she replied.
    He squeezed her shoulder again. “Blanche is working out fine. Good cook. The kids love her. She’s the third grandmother in their lives. Spoils them rotten. I can tell you that Adam is still convinced you’re his girlfriend, so you haven’t been replaced there.”
    Magda wiped her hand across her brow to remove imaginary sweat. “Whew. At least someone loves me.”
    “Hey. The whole Landry family loves you. We missed you too. Can’t tell you how glad we are to have you back around. Zeb is happier than I’ve ever seen since him, excluding the day he dragged you to my ranch. There wasn’t a happier man in the world.”
    “Thanks for saying that.” She glanced over at Reno. “I better go see if I can do anything for him or KC.”
    As it turned out, Reno only needed her to sit by him.
    Around the room, there were small clusters of Montgomery family members talking and drinking coffee. The conversations were hushed as though they were sitting in a library or church.
    In an unexpected action, Reno reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. Her first response was to jerk her hand back, but she didn’t want to make