More than a Promise by Ruth Logan Herne

Author:Ruth Logan Herne
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781616369569
Publisher: Franciscan Media
Published: 2016-01-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Amos had looked really ill when Matt walked into Elle’s living room ninety minutes before.

By the time the front office staff slipped him in to see the doctor, the little guy’s fever was gone, and Amos was racing mini cars up and around the examining table with more realistic noises than Matt would have thought possible.

A virus going around, the doctor said. Rest and fluids, fever reducer as needed, and he should be fine in a couple of days.

Which was pretty much what Elle’s brother-in-law intimated.

He pulled up into the drive, knowing he was destined to eat crow.

Amos hopped out of his seat, dashed up the walk, and yelled, “I’m home! I got a sucker! I’m home!”

Elle stepped out.

Matt did a quick mental assessment as he approached. On a scale of one to ten, one being happy to see him, ten being pack-your-things-and-go, she looked…

An unreadable five.

Now he remembered why he hated fives, because the conversation could go either way. She leaned over the back rail, arms folded against the faded wood, and watched him approach. “What’s the verdict?”

A dishonest man would lie to get himself out of trouble, but what kind of man did that?

A smart one.

He waved off the warning and paused as Amos dashed up the steps. “A virus. Wait it out.”

“Ah.”

He waited, knowing she could and should ream him out, because instead of listening to her or her brother-in-law doctor, he’d charged off, handed over a fifty-dollar co-pay, and been told the same thing Jeff told Elle over the phone. “I panicked.”

“You did.”

He climbed the lower two steps and paused. “I’m sorry I raced off.”

“And ignored your mother and me.”

“That, too.”

“And interrupted my work session today.”

“That’s off limits, I take it.”

Her gaze slid from the barns housing all kinds of pricey equipment back to Matt. “Respect for work space goes both ways.”

“You’re right. I’m just not used to…” He trailed off, not sure how to put it and stay out of trouble.

“A woman’s work being important.”

“Of course it’s important. It’s just—”

She raised a hand. “We can talk about this later.”

“Or I’ll apologize and go back to work, and we’ll forget it ever happened.”

“Option one,” she told him as she turned and opened the door. “And you can’t go back to work. You’ve got a kid to watch.”

“Where’s Junie?”

“I sent her home when your mother decided to take the older boys to her house overnight.”

“They’ll love that,” Matt said as he followed her inside. “They haven’t had a chance to do that in months.”

“So she said. But this guy,” she smiled and squatted low to talk to Amos, “is going to need more medicine soon because that fever’s likely to come back, and we don’t want him uncomfortable, do we?”

“No.”

She pointed to the countertop. “Ibuprofen and acetaminophen there, next to the special spoon with a hollow handle. Your mom brought some freezer ices over, there’s Jell-O in the fridge, and he’ll need the next dose around six o’clock.”

Matt stared at the medicine, then the clock, then her.

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