LITMIR.BIZ

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      As Summer headed into her large walk-in closet, Autumn’s mobile phone went straight to voice mail.

      Summer sighed.

      Instead of continuing the search for the landline, she decided to stare at her clothes and try to figure out what was appropriate to wear out on a date with Fire Chief Cameron Jackson.

      He had not said where they would be going, but she had a general idea. Dinner and a movie were typical first-date fare. And unless he planned something for them to do in Raleigh, the options in Cedar Springs were pretty much limited to movies or bowling and eating.

      For a town its size, Cedar Springs, North Carolina, boasted an eclectic mix of restaurants. Everything from traditional Southern fare and Americana to national chains and the nouveau cuisine that might be associated with large cities like New York or Washington, D.C., could be found either in town or nearby.

      Cameron looked like a Carolina barbeque kind of guy.

      That thought made her smile.

      Something about his rugged good looks made her think he wouldn’t object to a pig-picking backyard barbeque. She could imagine him enjoying the food, not minding if barbeque sauce dripped on his shirt.

      The contrast with Dr. Garrett Spencer or even Dr. John Darling, her father, could not have been greater. If it were true that little girls grew up and married men just like their fathers, the case had certainly proven true with Summer.

      When Autumn said as much, Summer denied it. Now, however, with Garrett gone, she did see the similarities between the man who raised her and the man she married. Both were physicians dedicated to their professions and their patients. Both doted on their wives, providing the wealth that made outside employment for their spouses the stuff of hobbies and volunteer work.

      Summer knew it was true that her oldest sister, Spring, had taken after their father by going into medicine, while Summer tended to hearth and home, much like their mother, Lovie Darling. Lovie’s example had been one of quiet grace, Southern gentility and charm, and a strong faith enhanced with a healthy sense of humor.

      From her mother, Summer inherited the domestic gene. Autumn and Winter called themselves the changelings, because beyond physical attributes, neither of them seemed to carry the traits of either parent.

      Summer was pretty sure that Cameron Jackson was interested in her because he had not yet met Autumn. Her little sister was the Darling daughter who wowed everyone she met: men, women, teenagers and even little kids. Autumn knew how to bring people together. Spring was the healer and organizer of the bunch, championing causes and making things happen. Winter was always on a quest, off exploring or doing something slightly dangerous. But Summer, well, she was basically a boring homebody, content in the kitchen, tending to her garden flowers and being known as a gracious hostess.

      She sighed.

      Compared to her sisters’ lives, hers was vapid.

      And without the social connections she had taken for granted in Macon and Atlanta—being a doctor’s wife—she was home in Cedar Springs but felt much like a fish out of water. She had her sisters, of course, but had yet to make many new friends.

      Lovie had already tried to set her up with a radiologist who was the son of one of her church members.

      That hadn’t gone well, but Summer suspected he would be just the first of many eligible men her mother sent her way. Lovie Darling gathered business cards of single professional men the way some women collected recipes. She then parceled the business cards out to her daughters, none too subtly suggesting that she wanted her four daughters married and producing grandchildren for her to spoil.

      And now, less than two weeks since the radiologist debacle, she was going out on a date with a man she had just met—a man who was not a whit like her father or her husband.

      What was she thinking?

      Her cell phone rang as if to answer the question.

      “Hello, this is Summer Spencer.”

      “You know, you don’t have to announce who you are. What if it’s someone on the other end that you don’t ever want to talk to?”

      Summer smiled. She left her closet and moved back into the bedroom where she settled on a chaise near the large bay window.

      “That, little sister, is because, unlike you, I do not live a life that requires me to be in hiding from some people.”

      “Hey, I resent that,” Autumn declared. “I do not hide. I just don’t feel like being bothered with some folks sometimes.”

      “Is that why you let my call go to voice mail?”

      “You wound me, Summer. I did no such thing. I was actually in the shower. Just finished racquetball and tried out a Zumba class a friend was teaching.”

      Summer shook her head. “You make me tired just listening to you.”

      “There’s a half marathon coming up in six weeks. It’s gonna be down in Fayetteville. Lots of cute soldiers from Fort Bragg will be running in it. I can fast-track train you and get you ready to join me.”

      “I think all of that physical activity has cut off the oxygen to your brain. Sweat and I do not go together.”

      Autumn laughed.

      Summer heard the chirp of Autumn’s car door as the electronic lock disengaged.

      “Where are you headed?”

      “I was gonna grab a bite to eat, then crash.”

      “I have quiche.”

      “You have any of that raspberry cheesecake that you made for Spring left?”

      “I didn’t make it specifically for her, I just made it.”

      “Whatever. She got first cut and that’s just wrong.”

      “A big slice will be waiting for you.”

      Autumn let out a triumphant whoop. “Hah! Guilt trip works every time.”

      Summer laughed at her sister’s antics. “See you in a bit. And, Autumn?”

      “Yeah?”

      “Drive carefully, please. No texting while driving.”

      “Bye, worrywart. Oh, hey! Summer!”

      Summer held the phone away from her ear. “What?”

      “I want to hear about this fire chief that you’ve been making googly eyes at.”

      Googly eyes?

      Summer was pretty sure she had not made googly eyes with anyone since Jason Weathersby in third grade.

      “Well, uh, that is sort of why I called you, Autumn,” she confessed. “I have a date with that fire chief.”

      The cheer that came over the phone line really may have damaged Summer’s ears.

      Chapter Five

      Cameron could not believe she had changed her mind, but he was sure glad of it. While he’d teased Summer Spencer about not needing to know the reason why, he was a bit curious. He had enjoyed watching her interact with the homeless and indigent who flocked to Manna at Common Ground. On at least a couple of occasions throughout the evening, he’d caught her looking at him.

      He wondered what she saw. Although he had his father’s blond hair and blue eyes, he knew he was not considered classically handsome. Cameron was a battle-scarred army veteran who had caught more than his share of bad burns while fighting fires, first during his enlistment and then as a civilian.

      The buddies he’d summoned to help out at Manna, on the other hand, had the good looks that seemed to attract women.

      In between cooking and serving, he had managed to keep an eye on the pretty blonde who had captivated him

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