Read Summer’s Forever first chapter.
Hudson Baker regulated his breathing, focusing on releasing the tension in his shoulders as he studied the petite woman across from him. He needed this job, but found that the best way to convince a prospective client of his suitability was not to appear desperate.
The woman who’d introduced herself as Tonya McPherson-Hall patted the baby swaddled against her chest. “Thanks for meeting me here, Mr. Baker.”
“No problem.” He glanced at a boy, around two years old, playing at her feet. “Call me Hudson.”
He wasn’t certain why she was interviewing him with her children in the room, but maybe she had no choice. Sickness didn’t check schedules to find a time convenient for the patient or their family members.
“Hudson.” She checked her phone. “You work exclusively as a home care nurse? Why?”
He studied her to gauge which answer would work best for her. Over the years, he’d gotten adept at deflecting those who suggested he was overqualified for his career as a home caregiver.
“Why shouldn’t homebound patients get the best care available?” He grinned in what he hoped was a disarming manner. “Isn’t that what you want for your loved one?”
Tonya’s brown eyes bore into his. “Let’s be frank, Hudson. With your qualifications, you could get a job in any hospital. Why do you choose to work with patients who are homebound? Do you prey on your clients? Is this how you get them to trust you before you rob them?”
Hudson refrained from rolling his eyes. “I might not look like what most people picture nurses.” He spent an inordinate amount of his downtime working out. “It’s an asset. It means I’ve never had a client I can’t rotate alone. This saves their family members from assisting me or hiring additional help.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Do you have nefarious intentions, Mr. Baker?”
He didn’t need this job after all. Hudson stood. “You have my references, Mrs. Hall. Has any past client complained of being taken advantage of under my care?”
He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “The answer is no. I expected more from a pastor’s wife. But you must not have gotten the memo that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. I’ll see myself out.”
He was used to people wondering why he’d chosen his profession. But he didn’t need to work with anyone who felt compelled to check the silverware, expecting him to make off with it. Without their trust, he couldn’t do his job.
Though his funds were low, he could survive another week in the motel. He could always go home if he didn’t find work before he ran out of cash. A shudder passed through him. He couldn’t return to Somerset defeated. Again.
His shoulders twitched as the weight of his past threatened to flatten him. Only a refusal to let Tonya McPherson-Hall witness his defeat prevented him from slumping.
He cast his thoughts heavenward.
Lord, I could use Your help.
God had never let him down, though sometimes his heavenly Father took His time getting to Hudson’s requests.
He made it halfway to the door before the toddler began wailing.
“Jeremiah?” Tonya’s high-pitched cry communicated her distress. He whirled.
Tonya was on the floor beside her son, eyes wide.
He strode toward them, dropping to his knees. “What is it?”
“Something’s stuck in his nose.”
“Let me see.” He gently turned the toddler toward him. “Hey, Little Man, let me help. You have something in your nose?”
The boy’s shrieks quieted to sobs, and he nodded.
“I’m taking it out. But you have to stop crying. Take deep breaths.” Hudson spoke in a soothing manner. He tilted the boy’s head, his grip loosening, as he spotted the patch of bright blue near the opening.
Thank You, Lord.
“Tonya, I’ll need your help as well.” He lifted the boy and placed him on the edge of the wooden center table. “Hold him still and cover the nostril that’s clear.” He pointed, so she knew which one.
“Okay.” Her voice was shaky as she obeyed his instructions. “What now?”
“Cover Jeremiah’s mouth with yours and make one sharp breath. That should expel the block. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She covered her son’s mouth with hers.
“One, two, blow.”
The block flew out, the wet smack of it loud in the stillness. Hudson grabbed it.
“You’re fine,” he assured mother and son.
He held the offending article out to the mother before checking the boy’s nostrils for fragments or injury. “He’ll be okay.”
Her hand trembled as she stared at the block. “I don’t know how he got that.” She cast her gaze around the room as if searching for an explanation.
“Thank you.” Her lips quivered, and tears welled in her eyes. “You saved his life.”
“At most, I saved you a trip to the emergency room, but you’re welcome.” He set the toddler down and pushed to his feet.
“Observe him for a few days. If there are signs of irritation, swelling, redness in the nostrils, or difficulty breathing, take him to the doctor.”
She nodded.
“In the meantime, keep small toys away from him until he gets over the urge to stick things up his nose.” He half-smiled to take the sting from his words.
“Mr. Baker.” Tonya grabbed his hand.
She squeezed his fingers, her gaze earnest. “Hudson. The job’s yours if you want it.”
His automatic response was to say no. There would be other jobs. As she’d said, he was well qualified. The question was whether he would find a job before he had to hightail it home to his family.
“Uhm.”
“Please.” She tightened her grip on him, crouched in her half-kneeling position.
Not wanting to loom over her, he stooped. She released him and ran a hand over the two-year-old’s head. The boy wriggled out of his mother’s arms.
“I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
The boy reached up, and Hudson pulled him close, resting a hand against the toddler’s sturdy back. Jeremiah pressed his face against Hudson’s neck, his skin warm and sticky with tears. The familiar, reassuring scent of talc and the faint waxiness of crayons clung to the boy.
“You wouldn’t.” She wet her lips. “You were right. I made snap judgments about you, and I shouldn’t have. It’s no excuse, but I’m on maternity leave for the third time in four years, and I watch a lot of crime dramas.”
She made a rueful expression. “It’s made me a little paranoid.”
“Three times?” He relaxed his posture, admiring the woman who could laugh at herself. “Where’s your other child?”
Jeremiah nestled closer against Hudson, creating a pulse of longing that he squelched.
“At preschool. I love my sons, but was grateful when Micah turned three to send him off to be someone else’s problem for a few hours each day.” She frowned. “Does that make me a terrible mother?”
“No.” He was quick to reassure her. “It makes you an honest one.”
“The patient is my mother-in-law, Marion. She had a mild stroke, and the doctors believe she’ll make a full recovery with the proper treatment.”
He arched a brow at her assumption that he’d accepted her offer, but didn’t stop her. She’d shared this during their screening call, but talking about her mother-in-law seemed to calm her.
“You’d like Marion. She’s a fighter. She’s a single mom who raised two children. Before her illness, she loved cooking.” Tears filled Tonya’s eyes. “Please. I’m sorry I insulted you. Don’t let Marion suffer for my mistake.”
Her earnest plea softened his heart. But before he accepted, he had to know. “Why are you willing to hire me now when you were adamant I wasn’t the right candidate?”
“You saved my son’s life. Anyone who’d rescue the child of the woman who treated him like dirt isn’t evil.”
He couldn’t resist teasing her. “Suppose this is my way of luring you into my web?”
“I don’t think so.” She shook her head with a solemn expression.
“How can you be sure?”
“You’re cradling my son.” She pointed to the toddler in his arms. “When he went to you, you picked him without hesitation. That’s the type of person I want caring for my mother-in-law, and my husband would agree.”
Picking up the infant had been pure reflex. Tonya was distressed, so his instinct was to help her.
“When would I start?”
“As soon as they discharge her from the hospital. I’d like you to meet her before. Are you available this evening during visiting hours?”
He swallowed, unwilling to voice his revulsion for hospitals. “Will your husband be there?”
“Yes, and my sister-in-law.” She chuckled. “If you think I gave you a hard time, Keke’s the one you’ll have to impress.”
He smiled. The name Keke conjured an image of a bubbly woman with a bright personality. How hard could it be to get along with a woman named Keke?
Summer’s Forever (A Heart for Every Season Book 2)
Table of Contents
She’s searching for the perfect man. He’s the last person she’d ever choose. But sometimes love has a mind of its own…
Addiction therapist Meredith “Keke” Hall has her future mapped out—find a successful, dependable man, get married, and start a family before thirty. She’s even joined an exclusive dating app to ensure she finds someone who checks all the right boxes.
Hudson Baker is the opposite of everything she’s looking for. As her mother’s new live-in nurse, he’s a constant thorn in her side—too familiar, too reckless, and impossible to ignore. So when he challenges her to rethink her “perfect type,” she surprises them both by saying yes.
When an unexpected online connection turns into something more, Keke is drawn to a man she never saw coming. And when the truth comes out, so do the fears they’ve both been running from.
She’s searching for stability. He doesn’t believe he’s the kind of man a woman chooses forever.
But love has a way of rewriting even the best-laid plans…
Summer’s Forever is a Christian contemporary romance with strong faith themes.
