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

much the people here loved her, loved the way she went out of her way to do the nice things for them. They still talk about her with affection, Frank. Even Lorraine Ketterman, and you know how grumpy she can get.” Sure, it was a generic thing to say, but it was the truth. Noncommittal, but true. And it’s what Frank needed to hold on to—the side of his daughter that people had adored. He was holding hard, because he was smiling now. But Dermott saw pain behind that smile—the pain Frank never talked about.
    Dermott gave his father-in-law an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder. “So, are you two men going to finish up that blue bed this afternoon?”
    Max looked up at his dad, grinned, gave him a big, blue, double thumbs-up sign. “Can you come and see it, big guy?” Max asked, then took off running down the path to the barn.
    Dermott and Frank followed at a slower pace. “I don’t mean to overstep the mark, Dermott. Under the circumstances, it’s generous of you letting us have Max with us so much. He makes up for, well…you know.”
    “Not generous, Frank. I need you to look after him. You’re the only ones I trust to do that.” So very true. He was a lucky man, having them in his life the way he did, and no matter what it took, he intended on keeping them there. “Besides, Max loves coming here. It’s good for him. Gives him something to do other than hang around an old building all day.”
    At the barn, Dermott got a good look at Max’s work of art. “You’re right, Max,” Dermott said, biting back a laugh. “It is a good color. Did Grandpa give you permission to paint all the wooden columns in his barn with those blue happy faces, by the way?” Dermott sighed a contented sigh. Happy faces, happy life. Too bad it couldn’t be that way all the time.
    “You’re the new nurse,” the woman behind the lunch counter said on her way around to show Jenna to a table by the front window. “I heard you did a good job on Isaiah Wilkerson last night.”
    The woman, whose name tag read Sadie, seemed pleasant. She was about Jenna’s age. Platinum-blonde hair. A figure even the most well endowed would envy. Voluptuous didn’t begin to go far enough in describing her. And she had a friendly smile, too. That’s what Jenna liked, the smile. It was like the one so many of the people here turned on her and, to be honest, the genuine warmth in Fort Dyott felt good all the way down to the bone. It was a place she could call home, she thought. “Did you hear that from Isaiah?” she asked.
    “Him, and about thirteen other people. Isaiah said you were very kind to him, and I’m guessing that wasn’t easy. He’s a stubborn man. And I can say that because he’s my uncle.”
    “He was a little stubborn, come to think of it.” Jenna’s eyes twinkled with laughter. This was a nice place, she felt welcome here. “But I’ve had worse. All things considered, he wasn’t even on my list of the ten worst patients I’ve ever had.”
    Sadie returned Jenna’s laughter. “Worse? Tell that to my aunt. She had a fit last night when she found out what had happened and he hadn’t even called her. And she had a bigger fit when she found out he’d actually thought about driving himself all the way over to Muledeer.”
    “Because he didn’t want to disturb the doctor.”
    “Doc Callahan’s had a rough few months and we’re just trying to help out. There’s so little you can really do when someone…well, dies, you know? And time is such an easy thing to give him, especially now, when he needs it with his son.”
    “Except you’ve got to balance common sense with that.”
    “Tell that to Uncle Isaiah. He still thinks he should have gone to Muledeer. He was Nancy’s schoolteacher for a couple of years, so he wants to be supportive to her family right now.”
    “Nancy?”
    “Nancy Allen. Dr. Callahan’s wife, and office nurse.”
    “Her name was Nancy?” Interesting, how Dermott had never mentioned her name.