Her Very Own Family by Trish Milburn Read Free Book Online Page B

hoping his mother would recover from her stroke, here that he’d heard the doctor say that she had succumbed after lingering for a week. He wouldn’t have guessed he’d be back here so soon.
     
    T HE WHEEZING WAS GONE now, replaced by embarrassment. She hadn’t had an attack in months. It hadn’t even occurred to her to bring her albuterol inhaler. She’d thought she was past ever needing it again.
    The young doctor listened to Audrey’s lungs. “You seem to be doing much better.”
    Audrey nodded.
    “Any idea what set off the attack?”
    “Anxiety. I was diagnosed with anxiety-induced asthma last year.” Not to mention the occasional panic attack, but she wasn’t going to share that tidbit. She didn’t want to admit, even to herself, that she was still susceptible to them. Today would be the last one. It would .
    The doctor glanced toward the door of the examining room. “Anything we can help you with?”
    It took Audrey a moment to pick up on the implication. “Oh, it’s not him. It’s a family matter.”
    “He’s not family?”
    “No, just a…friend. He’s helping me do some work on my place.”
    Her response must have rung true with the doctor, because the suspicion faded from her expression.
    “You need to always carry your albuterol with you,” she said as she gave Audrey a sample inhaler. “Even if you never need it, it’s there if you do.”
    Audrey nodded, hating the idea of carrying around yet another reminder of how her life had changed since her mother’s indictment. As she slid off the examining table, her new, beautiful life felt like a shaky lie.
    As she approached the waiting area, though, she forced all those memories of the past away and put on her best “I’m totally fine” face.
    Brady pushed away from the wall he was leaning against when he saw her. “You okay?”
    “Good as new.” She held up the inhaler and wiggled it. “And prepared for the next time high pollen counts stage a sneak attack.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    She looked at him more closely, scrunching her forehead. “What for?”
    “You must have been allergic to something at the park.”
    Again, she waved away his concern. “Who could know? I should have had my inhaler with me.” Sheheaded for the E.R. doors, noticing that Brady had moved her car into one of the nearby parking spaces. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for an ice-cream cone before I head back to work.”
    “Maybe you should take the rest of the day off,” he said as he strode out beside her.
    “Nah. Really, I’m fine.” She took a long, deep breath. “See, no wheezing.”
    He didn’t look comfortable about it, but he didn’t protest further. Instead, he slid into the passenger side of the car without trying to baby her more by insisting on driving.
    After taking a detour through the Dairy Queen drive-through, they headed back to Willow Glen. Thankfully, she was able to keep the conversation focused on the work at the mill and her plans for the future. She wanted to keep looking forward and ignore what was behind her.
    If the investigators mentioned in that article would let her.
    As they approached Willow Glen, Audrey looked to her left and saw a large sign set back off the road that said Witt Construction. Beyond it was a drive leading back to several buildings and a lot filled with construction machinery.
    She glanced over at Brady, her eyes widening in surprise. “Is that your company?” That was a bit more than a little construction business.
    “Yep. Dad started the company forty years ago.”
    “Looks like it must be successful.” Her tone made that sound like an understatement.
    “It pays the bills,” he said simply. “No one’s really rich in this area.”
    “Just good, honest, hardworking folks,” she said. “That’s why I like it.”
    After dropping Brady off at his father’s house, Audrey backtracked to Willow Glen to buy a copy of the newspaper that had sent her into that horrible gasping fit. She