Feels Like Home: A Southerland Family Contemporary Romance Book 1 by Evelyn Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

Foot hurts?”
    Another shake accompanied by the dry, barking
cough.
    Jude looked through the chart and smiled
reassuringly at Summer. “No fever. Immunizations up to date.
Elbow?”
    Abby shook her head and grinned up at him.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Jude put his finger in front of
her lips. “Wait. I think I’ve got it this time.” He pulled a pen
light from his pocket and picked up a tongue depressor. “Open
wide.” He took a few moments to look into her throat. “Just what I
thought.”
    Abby gazed up at Jude from the circle of her
mother’s arms, her large round eyes making her look owlish.
“What?”
    “ You’ve got a frog in your
throat.”
    “ No, I don’t,” she said and
then coughed.
    “ You do. See he croaked.
Don’t talk.” He put his finger to her lips again and then turned
his attention to Summer. “It’s irritated, but it doesn’t look like
strep. Does she have any other symptoms?”
    “ No, she woke up with the
cough and complaining of a sore throat. She doesn’t have a fever,
but I didn’t want to send her to school.”
    Autumn watched Summer cradling Abby on her
lap and she was struck again by the fact her baby sister was a
mother. And, with the exception of her crappy taste in boyfriends,
a very good mother. It made her proud and even more determined to
get Abby and Summer away from Dwayne.
    “ You did the right thing. I
could give you a prescription if you want, but I think
over-the-counter cough medicine and rest is all that she needs.
That and a few popsicles to chase the frog out.”
    He stroked Abby’s cheek and Autumn felt her
heart clutch. Watching him take care of her niece and put her
sister at ease wasn’t doing a thing to settle the butterflies in
her own stomach.
    “ I bet your aunt could get
you some popsicles.”
    There was that grin again, the one that made
her knees shaky. Unwilling to look too closely at her own feelings,
Autumn nodded to Abby. “You bet. I’ll bring them by after I get off
work.”
    “ You don’t have to do
that,” said Summer.
    “ I know. I want
to.”
    “ If you ladies are okay, I
think I have a boy with a weasel waiting for me in the other exam
room. I imagine the frog will have moved on in a day or two, but if
it doesn’t or you’re worried about anything, just bring her back.”
He smiled at each of them, saving Autumn for last. When he moved
past her she could smell the clean citrus scent of his aftershave
and she fought the urge to lean closer.
    Her thoughts must have shown on her face
because when she turned to face Summer, her sister was staring at
her.
    “ Really.”
    “ What?”
    “ You like Dr, McHottie,”
said Summer. Abby giggled up at her mother and then coughed. “Sorry
baby.”
    “ Do not.” Autumn felt her
cheeks flame. There was no way she was talking about Jude
Southerland here.
    “ Do too,” Summer teased and
some of the worry eased from around her eyes.
    “ Don’t you have to go get
cough syrup?”
    “ I’ve got some at home –
grape flavored. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t strep or
something serious.” She gave Abby a squeeze. “We’ll go home and
have cough syrup and hot tea, baby girl.”
    “ I’ll bring popsicles by
after work. What kind do you like?”
    “ Grape,” said Abby. “I like
grape icicle pops.”
    Autumn smiled at the way her niece twisted
the words. She could see her sister start to say something and then
catch herself. Good. She wanted Summer to let her be part of their
lives. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her sister until
she got her back. She didn’t want to miss her anymore.
    “ Thanks. That would be
nice. And maybe then you can tell me what’s going on between you
and Dr. McHottie.”
    “ There’s nothing going
on.”
    Summer gave her a look which said she didn’t
believe her, picked up Abby and followed Autumn out of the
door.
     
    “ Excuse me, Mrs. Dunman.”
Autumn caught the immaculately dressed woman as she reached the
front