Read Baby, Come Home for Free Online Page B

inches. He was obviously besotted. Like Kendall.
    Rachel made a face. “No offense, Doc, but I don’t like needles.”
    “Ah, but you’ve never had a prick from me.”
    Amy bit back a smile.
    “When I want a prick,” Rachel said drily, “I’ll let you know.”
    “You do that,” he said cheerfully, then wheeled away.
    Rachel looked at Amy, then rolled her eyes. “I think I’ll find a ladies’ room and wash my hands. Will I be seeing you around?”
    “Probably,” Amy said. Considering she’d be working with Kendall, and Rachel was attached to Kendall at the hip, it seemed likely. When jealousy toward the blonde beauty threatened to surface, Amy squashed it. She had no claim on Kendall. “Could you tell me where I might find Marcus Armstrong?”
    “Marcus usually sticks pretty close to the construction office. It’s a trailer down the gravel road that runs alongside the dining hall.”
    “Is it walking distance?”
    Rachel looked down. “Not if you’re fond of those gorgeous boots.”
    “Thanks.” Amy lifted her hand in a wave to Kendall’s girlfriend and walked out of the clinic tingling head to toe. “Kendall’s girlfriend,” she murmured. The words felt surreal on her tongue. That person had always been her.
    Amy looked up and down the main street of the new town of Sweetness—also surreal…and different.
    Both good things, she told herself as she opened the rear hatch of her SUV to remove a pair of sturdy work boots. Because without attachments, it would be easier to leave this place once Evermore Bridge was rebuilt.

5
    K endall squirmed as Nikki wrapped a bandage around his thumb.
    “Does that hurt?” she asked.
    “No.” It did, and his big toe hurt, too, but he just wanted to get out of there.
    “You look a little flushed.”
    He wasn’t about to tell her it was humiliation. For years he’d imagined seeing Amy again, yet when the moment had presented itself, he’d been as tongue-tied as a teenager.
    Nikki felt for his pulse on his uninjured hand. “Your heart rate is up.”
    From seeing Amy. “I appreciate your help, Dr. Salinger, but I’m kind of in a hurry.”
    She nodded. “Rachel is waiting for you.”
    He grunted. “I need to get back to work.” He turned his head for a glimpse out the window through slitted blinds, yearning for another look at Amy, wondering why she was here and terrified she’d leave before he could talk to her. “That woman you were speaking to in the lobby…”
    “Amy Bradshaw?” Nikki asked. “She’s a friend of mine from Broadway. I thought you might know her—she grew up in Sweetness.”
    “I used to know her,” he said absently. “Did she say why she’s here?”
    “She said Marcus had hired her to build a bridge.”
    Kendall blinked. “A bridge?”
    Nikki nodded. “Amy’s a structural engineer.”
    He blinked again. “Really?”
    “Really. I guess the two of you haven’t stayed in touch?”
    “No…we haven’t.”
    Nikki smiled. “Looks like you’ll have some time to get reacquainted.”
    Kendall pressed his lips together and looked away, his mind churning.
    Nikki patted his arm. “All done. Leave it wrapped for a few days. You’ll probably lose the nail, and it’ll be tender for a couple of weeks. Use the antibiotic ointment to stave off infection.”
    “Thanks,” he murmured, then stood and walked to the door, trying not to limp.
    “Kendall.”
    He turned back.
    “Why don’t you and Porter join me and Amy for dinner tonight at the boardinghouse?”
    He hesitated. “I don’t know…”
    “It’s the hospitable thing to do, don’t you think? To welcome her home?”
    He nodded. “Okay. See you later. Thanks again.”
    Kendall left the exam room and walked out into the waiting area, looking right and left. To his relief, Rachel was nowhere in sight. But neither was Amy. He practically ran to the door and out into the cool air. He spotted an unfamiliar burgundy SUV with a Michigan license plate and wondered if it