Read Online Summer Breeze by Catherine Palmer - Free Book Online

man’s pants pocket told how he came to be wandering around the lake homeless, filthy, and hungry. Cody’s father wrote that his wife had died. Was that true? Or was it possible that the man had run off with Cody when he was just a little boy? Had no one ever gone looking for the two of them? Could there be a woman somewhere—an aunt, a sister, or even a mother—who might want to know what had happened to that child?
    Patsy glanced at Brenda, who had gone pale as a sheet. Then Patsy looked at Esther, whose mouth hung so far open it looked like her teeth might drop into the teacup. Last, Patsy focused on Kim, who wasn’t moving a muscle.
    She had the most awful feeling that no one would say anything, and then Cody might blurt out something even more shocking.
    But Kim, bless her heart, chose that moment to stand up and settle her purse strap on her shoulder. “I don’t know if the person who drowned was a man or a woman, Cody,” she said. “But I do know that we would all miss you very much if you suddenly disappeared.”
    Cody beamed. “That’s because I’m in the club. And I work hard to keep everything span. And I take showers and wear clean clothes.” His face sobered. “Swimming is not for me, though. I am not a fish.”
    “I won’t go near the water either, Cody,” Esther sang out as she put her notebook away. “No one cares about that, honey. We love you just the way you are. Say, did you eat all the chocolate cake, Cody? I noticed it was cut into squares, the way I like it.”
    “Me too! I’ll get you a piece, Mrs. Moore. There’s lots left.”
    Cody leaped up and headed for the dessert counter as the women broke into relieved chatter. Patsy leaned back in her chair and watched as Kim Finley crossed the salon and disappeared through the front door.

CHAPTER FOUR
    K im didn’t know when she had ever looked forward to a weekend so much. Or dreaded one so intensely. As she gathered up her purse and car keys in the staff room at Dr. Groene’s office, she heaved a deep sigh.
    “Everything all right?” The dentist’s gentle voice drifted in from the doorway. “I hope I haven’t overloaded you this first week back in the office, Kim. We had a few cases I just couldn’t put off any longer. Old Abe is about to lose his teeth. If we don’t take some action, he’s going to lose every last one of them.”
    Kim reflected on the shabbily dressed and slightly odorous man who had come into the office several times lately. Dr. Groene was doing his best to preserve the fellow’s few remaining teeth, but one of his molars was just begging to be pulled.
    “It’s pretty obvious that Abe Fugal hasn’t ever been to a doctor—or a dentist, for that matter,” Kim agreed. At some point in life, the fellow had broken several fingers, and the bones had fused in such a way as to render his left hand almost useless. His eyesight was poor, and he blinked repeatedly as he asked about the sterilized tools spread out on the tray next to his chair. And as for his mouth … well, it was safe to say those teeth hadn’t seen a toothbrush in many a long year. “You know,” Kim continued, “even though we didn’t need to use gas today, I was concerned about him driving. Doesn’t he usually have a woman here with him?”
    “Yes, June Bixby—long gray hair and brown eyes. She’s been here a few times. I was hoping to get a look at her teeth one of these days too.” Dr. Groene tugged off his white coat and dropped it into the laundry bin. “Well, anyway, I hope it hasn’t been too much for you this week.”
    Though they worked closely together, Kim rarely spoke to the dentist at any length. She viewed her role as one of support and assistance. Occasionally he chose to consult with her about a perplexing situation, but usually he chatted with the patient and ignored Kim almost completely. She didn’t mind. Ben Groene had an excellent reputation in the area, and his office was filled with patients from the moment