Read Online Found: A Mother for His Son by Dianne Drake - Free Book Online

them insisted on not disturbing the doctor, and asked Jenna to take a look. A little sinus congestion, no infection. A little poison ivy, spreading.
    A very sparse morning led into what promised to be an even sparser afternoon as there was only one patient scheduled. Someone else who insisted on leaving Dermott alone. Well, it was odd, but for the office nurse it was fulfilling, being the one they wanted to see. And it was nice that Dermott had confidence in her being the first line of medical care, so to speak. But that did leave her wondering, because the people all seemed so sincere about not wanting to disturb him. Could a whole town really be that concerned over the welfare of one of its own?
    For someone who hadn’t even had a father who’d cared, it was hard to imagine. But she was a little cynical by nature, and she admitted it. A healthy dose of cynicism was an awfully good barrier.
    “Big guy!” Max screamed as he ran down the front walk leading away from the Allen house and launched himself into Dermott’s open arms.
    Dermott scooped up his son and gave him a great big hug. “What have you been doing with yourself all morning? Something blue?”
    “Painting that old bed for Jenna! I wanted to paint it red and green, but Grandma said it would look better if it was blue. But Grandpa let me choose which color blue.” He grinned from ear to ear.
    “Well, the blue on your shirt looks like a very nice blue. Is that the one you chose?”
    Max nodded. “Grandma says Jenna will like it if she’s smart. Is she smart, big guy?”
    “Yes, she’s very smart.”
    “Good, because I heard Grandpa telling Grandma that it wasn’t going to be easy. What’s not easy? Painting her bed blue?”
    Dermott swallowed hard. “What Grandpa said…” He glanced over at his father-in-law, who’d heard Max and was now turning all shades of red.
    “Yes, Max. A blue bed isn’t so easy to paint, which is why I needed your help,” Frank Allen said.
    Dermott’s heart went out to the man. For all the things Nancy had been, and all the things she’d done, she’d still been Frank’s daughter, someone Frank had loved as much as he loved Max. “You OK with the arrangements, Frank?” Dermott asked the older man. “Having her live with us was the only way I could afford her.”
    “OK enough. But to be honest, it’s hard seeing another woman taking Nancy’s place everywhere. I understand that the two of you were separated and would have probably gone through with the divorce, and don’t get me wrong here, I know you need to move on, and we want you to, but…”
    Frank was entitled to his feelings, but Dermott was entitled to his own, and part of those feelings were about concealing all the ugly truths from Nancy’s family. Sure, they knew she’d abused drugs. Everyone in town had found that out at the time of Nancy’s accident, and he’d spent the months since then trying to hide everything else. Especially from Nancy’s parents. Would it do them any good to know that when she’d been high she had also abused Max? That she’d had other men in her life? That she’d stolen her drugs from his own medical supplies?
    The answer was no. They didn’t need any more pain. “She’s not taking over, Frank. Just stepping in and helping me where I need it,” Dermott said, lowering Max to the ground. “I know the people here are determined to slow down their medical care so I can have more time with Max, and I appreciate that, but I need help even with the way I’ve cut back, and I am thinking about growing the practice back up again because I do miss my work. So I need an office nurse who might be able to bring back a few of my straying patients.” The people here deserved the convenience of more medical care at home and he did want to give that. It was part of making his life normal once more, but it was also his duty.
    “My daughter—she was a good nurse, though, wasn’t she, Dermott?” Frank asked.
    “You know how