Feels Like Home: A Southerland Family Contemporary Romance Book 1 (25 page)

It wasn’t a comfort. Autumn suspected a drunk
Dwayne would have been easier to deal with than this crazy man high
on whatever he’d been taking.

She had to get Abby out of the trailer,
preferably before Dwayne realized she was there. She must have
heard him but for now at least she’d stayed out of sight. Max put
himself between Dwayne and Abby’s door, keeping up a low steady
growl.

“
Who’s fucking dog?” Dwayne
grabbed a baseball bat from beside the door and pointed at the dog,
who amped up his growl.

More than she’d ever wished for anything,
Autumn wished she’d gotten to the bat first. Reaching behind her,
she felt around for anything she could use as a weapon.

“
Dr. Southerland’s.” Her
voice came out as a scared croak, and she coughed to clear it. “Max
belongs to Dr. Southerland.”

At the sound of his name Max paused in his
growling but when Dwayne took a step closer to Autumn he started up
again, louder this time.

“
So you’re fucking the good
doctor. Probably think you’re too good for me now, stupid
bitch.”

It didn’t seem like a good
time to point out she’d always thought she was too good for him.
She glanced over Dwayne’s shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of
Abby without alerting him. She didn’t see the little girl, but Max
was slinking closer like he was trying to protect her but was
unwilling to leave Abby’s door.
Good
dog.

“
He knows we’re here.” God,
if only that were true, but no one knew they were there and she
didn’t even have her cell phone. She cleared her throat again. She
should be used to the smell by now but it seemed to be getting
stronger.

“
Well then we’ll just have
to be quick about it. One Maddox whore is as good as any other.” He
closed the distance between them, an ugly sneer on his
face.

Max must have decided she needed him more
than Abby. He growled one last time and let out a booming bark
before lunging at Dwayne.

Jude woke warm and happy, basking in the glow
from the previous night. Until he reached for Autumn and found the
bed empty.

She wasn’t anywhere in the
rest of the apartment and he didn’t see a note.
God damn it.
He couldn’t believe
she’d sneak off like that.

He tugged on jeans, slipped
on his t-shirt and shoved his feet into shoes. The
if she thinks she’s going to sneak out of my bed
in the middle of the night and walk away from something this good,
she’s got another thing coming
litany
played on a loop in his head as he drove the few blocks to her
house.

He banged on the front door and Summer opened
it, holding a mug of coffee.

“
They’re not here.” She
turned away and he followed her into the kitchen.

She reached into one of the cabinets and
snagged a mug with Worlds Greatest Grandma printed on the side. She
filled it with coffee, handed it to him and motioned for him to sit
at the counter.

He held the mug in both
hands and breathed in the rich aroma before taking a sip. This
wasn’t Andrew’s coffee house coffee; this was good old
fashioned
good to the last drop
coffee.

“
Where are
they?”

“
The three of them went to
Hawk’s.” Summer pulled out a frying pan and went to the
refrigerator for eggs and cheese. “Bacon or sausage?”

“
You don’t have to cook for
me.” Even as he said it, his stomach growled.

“
Yes I do. You’re hungry
and it will give me something to do while we talk.” She pulled out
a tube of sausage and set it on the counter with the eggs. “What
happened?”

“
You tell me.” He took a
swallow of his coffee. “Last night was amazing. This morning I woke
up and she was gone. No note. Nothing.”

“
You really don’t have any
idea what’s going on?” Summer sliced sausage patties and put them
in the pan to fry.

His first impulse was to say no, he didn’t
have any idea why Autumn left, but something about Summer’s
matter-of-fact, almost motherly care made it hard to lie to her.
And himself. He took a deep breath and told her everything, how
cutting Andrew had been on the boat, how she’d pulled away from him
at the hospital, the way she reacted when he told her what he’s
said to Andrew.

“
She thinks she isn’t good
enough for me, but she is.”

“
Damn skippy she is.”
Summer flipped the sausage before reaching for her coffee. “And
that’s not it exactly. Autumn is a strong capable person. She knows
her own worth. She couldn’t have done everything she has if she
didn’t. But she also knows what it’s like to grow up in this town.
She doesn’t think people are ever going to let you forget about her
family.” She put sausage and a big scoop of scrambled eggs on a
plate and set them in front of him. She glanced at him sheepishly.
“It doesn’t help if some of us keep reminding them.”

“
That’s just
stupid.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.

“
The family thing I mean.
Not the other thing and nobody knows about that anyway.”

“
This is Bedford.
Everybody’s heard about it by now. Gossip travels so fast in this
town; I think sometimes the Ladies Auxiliary knows about things
before they even happen.”

Jude smiled and took a bite of eggs.

“
It doesn’t matter to me.
Autumn is the one who matters to me. I love her.”

Summer squeezed his shoulder and he was
struck by how comfortable she seemed with him. Living with her
sister was good for her.

“
I know you do,” she said.
“And I think you’re right. I think she’s giving up on a once in a
lifetime kind of love. Which, by the way, is the only reason I’m
telling you any of this. Don’t make me regret it.”

It was hard to reconcile how crazy he looked
with how quickly he acted. In a move that seemed almost
choreographed, Dwayne brought the bat up and swung just as Max
jumped for him. It was like a pitch and swing except the ball was
Max’s head.

Autumn heard a sickening crunch and the big
dog went down. A sob caught in her throat and her eyes stung with
tears, made worse by the smell that seemed to be getting stronger
every minute. She had to get Abby out.

She forced herself to look past the lifeless
body of the dog to Abby’s door. She could see her niece’s stricken
tear filled eyes peeking around the door to her room.

She was going to kill Dwayne for Max and
Summer, but most of all for Abby. And then she was going to make
sure her niece never had that haunted look in her eyes again.

Still holding the bat casually by his side,
Dwayne took a step closer and Autumn backed up, bumping up against
the countertop.

“
Now,” he said, reaching
for her neck. His breath blew hot and sour in her face and she
fought the urge to gag. “We better hurry before the good doctor
comes looking for his dog.”

His thumb dug painfully into her throat and
she felt her pulse hammering under his hand. She didn’t fight him
as he forced his hips against her, ramming the small of her back
into the corner of the cheap laminate counter and the stove. She
reached behind her to brace herself and her hand caught the handle
of something.

She wouldn’t fight until Abby was safe, but
she would fight. She’d be damned if she would let things end here.
She was not going to die in this stupid, stinking slice from her
past. And she was done running from her future. She wasn’t going to
let something as superficial as choices her mother made stop her
from having the life she wanted. If she got out of here – when she
got out of here – she was going to go find Jude and start her
future with him. She thought about Max and a sob caught in her
throat. If he’d still have her.

Her eyes watered from the pain, the sour
smell of the trailer, and an unwashed Dwayne. Forcing herself to
ignore the feeling of his erection pressing against her belly, she
used her free hand to motion behind his back for Abby to get
out.

Dwayne grabbed her breast and mashed his
mouth against hers, bruising her lips. She ignored her disgust at
his touch and the fetid taste of his brutal kiss. She managed to
keep her eyes open so she could look over his shoulder and watch
her niece slip out the trailer door.

As soon as she was sure Abby had made it out,
she brought her knee up as hard as she could and caught Dwayne in
his balls. When he staggered back, she grabbed the handle of the
cast iron skillet and swung with everything she had, aiming for
Dwayne’s head.

The smack and gong of metal hitting bone
reverberated through her arm and Dwayne crumpled to the floor. He
didn’t go the whole way down and before he had a chance to regain
his bearings, she hit him again. With him flat on the floor she
caught a glimpse of what she hadn’t been able to see before.

Wisps of smoke curled out from under the door
of Dwayne’s secret locked room.

Autumn hurried around Dwayne to get to Max.
Blood matted his fur and he didn’t move. She threaded her fingers
through his thick black coat and felt under his jaw where she
thought his pulse might be. It wasn’t much, but he was still warm
and she thought she felt something.

Worried that she’d hurt him by moving him and
even more worried she was running out of time, Autumn gently worked
her arms under the dog’s body. She struggled to lift him over her
shoulder. He had to weigh at least eighty pounds and by the time
she managed to get him into something resembling a fireman’s carry,
the smoke had started to roll out from under the door.

She made it down the rickety wooden porch
steps and was setting Max on the ground behind her car when she
heard a wumpf and bang. Flames shot out the trailer door.

She wanted Dwayne out of all their lives, but
she didn’t want him to burn to death. She left the dog and crept
around her car to the front door. Before she reached the steps, she
knew it was no use. Even in the shelter behind the car she could
feel the heat from the fire and flames filled the doorway. She
couldn’t get in there to save him. No one could save him now.

Turning, she saw Abby standing on the
neighbor’s porch, a gray haired woman standing protectively behind
her. When her niece saw Autumn, she started to come to her, but the
woman wrapped an arm around her and held her fast. Grateful, she
went to Max to try to move him farther away from the burning
trailer.

When she bent to wrestle her arms under him,
Max moved his head. Just a little, but it was enough to make Autumn
sob with relief. She hooked her arms under his front legs and
started to shuffle drag him toward the road. He cart wheeled his
legs feebly, trying to help her. As soon as she felt like they were
a safe distance from the fire, she collapsed on the gravel, wrapped
her arms around Max and started to cry, her face pressed into his
thick black fur. In the distance she could hear the sirens getting
closer.

Jude made the turn into the trailer park,
Summer sitting white knuckled in the passenger seat beside him. She
hadn’t said a word since Adam called to tell them there’d been a
fire. He wanted to reassure her, but all he could think about was
Autumn and Abby.

Lights from the police and fire vehicles
flashed ahead and clouds of black smoke billowed into the sky. A
sob escaped from Summer when he pulled close enough to see the
trailer engulfed in flames.

“
There.” He pointed to the
small figure wrapped in the arms of an older woman. He barely
managed to park the car behind the police cruiser before Summer
leapt out and raced up the steps of the porch to her
daughter.

Still no sign of Autumn.

Jude climbed out of the car, scanning the
organized chaos. Police created a barricade keeping onlookers at a
safe distance while firefighters kept hoses trained on the fire. It
was obvious the trailer was a total loss. They must be worried
about the flames spreading. Even at a distance, he could feel the
heat.

Up ahead, he saw Adam motioning to him.

“
Where is she?”

“
She’s okay. She’s with the
EMT’s.”

Jude didn’t wait to see if his brother had
anything else to say. He jogged to the back of the ambulance.

She was there, sitting on the tailgate
wrapped in a blanket even though the heat from the fire could be
felt this far away.

He pulled her into his arms, overwhelmed with
the need to surround her, to cover her with his body and protect
her. Her body shook and he held her tight in the shelter of his
arms while she cried.

“
I’m sorry, so sorry.” She
sobbed the words against his chest.

“
Shh, baby. It’s okay.” He
rubbed her back and crooned. “You’re okay. You got Abby out.” His
heart clutched at how easily he could’ve lost her.

“
But Max.” She tipped her
face up to look at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “He hit
Max.”

“
It’s okay. He’ll be okay.”
He prayed that was true. When Adam called to tell him about the
fire, he’d filled him in on what happened without giving him
details. He knew Dwayne tried to kill Max and that Autumn had
gotten him out before the fire started. “Dawn Mitchell works at the
animal hospital. She took him in.” Dawn was also on the volunteer
rescue squad, but there was no one to rescue today. He looked over
at what was left of the trailer. No one could survive that
fire.