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

the mystery room door
was stronger than the one on the front door, but surely she could
get her hands on Dwayne’s key. The walls were paper thin. If she
wanted to get into the room, she could.
    Autumn didn’t think she wanted to which was
okay. She didn’t have to know what was going on; she just had to
get Abby and Summer out of there. Maybe this would be the push she
needed.
    “ Where’s Abby?”
    “ Laying down in her room.
Her door was closed. The smell wasn’t bad in there.”
    Autumn had already started to get used to the
sick sweet smell. If she didn’t get Summer to leave soon, she
wouldn’t get her to go. She opened Abby’s door a crack and peered
inside. The little girl slept in a tangle of covers, her small face
smooth and untroubled. As she watched, her little chest heaved and
she coughed the same barking cough she had at Jude’s office. Autumn
felt Summer flinch beside her.
    “ We have to get her out of
here.” She tried to say the words as gently as she could, hiding
the anger she felt. Summer started to open her mouth but before she
could protest, Autumn interrupted. “At least for tonight. Just
until she feels better. Come on sweetie, grab some clothes and come
home with me. We’ll have a sleepover. It will be like old
times.”
    Summer hesitated, but when Abby’s brow
wrinkled in sleep and her breath came out in a rasp, she
nodded.
    “ Okay, for tonight.
Thanks.”
     
    Kids were amazing. Abby slept while they
buckled her into the booster seat Summer put in Autumn’s car. She
slept while her mother carried her into the house and only woke up
when Summer laid her down on the bed that had been hers as a girl.
Autumn followed them up the stairs, carrying both their bags.
    “ Where are we? Where’s
bunny?” She squeezed her small fists in her eyes and then blinked
up at them, owlishly.
    Autumn unzipped the little pink backpack to
grab the well loved bunny she’d tucked inside. She pulled the
rabbit out by his velvety soft ears and smelled the nasty sweet
odor from the trailer.
    “ I think bunny needs a
bath. Your momma and I will give him one and get him back to you
all clean and fresh.”
    “ Did you bring my icicle
pops?” She sat up, the rabbit momentarily forgotten.
    Autumn groaned. “I did, sweetness, but I
forgot and left them in my car. They’re probably a grape puddle by
now.” Please let the wrappers hold. Otherwise, she be cleaning
sticky grape off the floorboards of her ancient Volvo.
    “ Oh, okay.”
    She didn’t whine or complain and it made
Autumn proud and broke her heart at the same time. She was glad
Abby wasn’t spoiled, but she hated that she seemed so used to
disappointments. That wouldn’t work. Aunts were supposed to spoil
their nieces.
    “ Tell you what, why don’t
you and your mom take a nap and I’ll go get some more. I’ll be back
before you wake up.”
    “ You don’t have to do
that.” Summer sounded used to disappointments, too.
    “ Yes, I do. It’s what aunts
do.” She gave her sister a squeeze. “Stay with her. I’ll be back in
a couple of minutes.”
    She picked up the bags she’d just carried
upstairs and took them downstairs to the laundry. She opened the
washer and dumped in the contents of the pink back pack, including
the rabbit. Now that she wasn’t used to it any more, the smell was
strong again. What was it? She put the stuffed animal to her nose
and sniffed. Not exactly chemicals. It smelled sweet and burnt with
the underlying smell of ammonia or cat urine.
    What the hell was Dwayne doing?
    She did not need to know. Dwayne Foster could
blow himself to kingdom come as long as her sister and Abby were
away from him. She’d never say it out loud, but the world would be
a better place without him.
    She dropped the rabbit on top of the rest of
the load, dumped in a healthy dollop of detergent and went out to
buy some grape icicle pops.
     
    She came home with bread dough, cheese, and
sauce to make pizza, two kinds of grape