The Family Plan (The McClouds of Mississippi 1)

Still trying to read her ex

pression, he replied, “She complained of feeling badly when she woke up. She’s been getting worse all morning.”

“Have you given her anything?”

“Like what?”

“A pain reliever or fever reducer? Children’s acetaminophen, perhaps. Not aspirin—never give a young child aspirin, especially for flu-like symptoms.”

“I, uh, don’t have anything except aspirin. No children’s medicines.”

She sighed. “Of course you don’t. She’s only lived with you for a month now. Why should I think you would have stocked necessities for her?”

Wincing, he watched her dig into the tote bag again and pull out a new bottle of bright pink liquid with a measured dispenser cup attached to the lid. When had his mother turned into Mary Poppins? he wondered with a glance at the bulging bag.

He still couldn’t believe she was actually here.

The thermometer beeped and Lenore removed it from Isabelle’s mouth. “A hundred and two. Not dangerously high for a child. Nathan, read the directions on that bottle and measure out the appropriate amount for a three-year-old. I believe it’s a teaspoon.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Isabelle, have you had anything to eat or drink today?”

Watching her caretaker with trusting, heavy-lidded eyes, Isabelle shook her head. “A little juice this morning, but not much. I wasn’t hungry.”

Lenore gave Nathan another chiding look before turning to his partner. “Caitlin, dear, perhaps you could see if there’s a can of soup in Nathan’s pantry? Chicken noodle would be good, anything thin and brothy. And she needs liquids or she’ll dehydrate. Water, first, and then perhaps some fruit juice or Kool-Aid.”

Looking as if she, too, were tempted to say, “Yes, ma’am,” Caitlin merely nodded and headed for the kitchen.

Nathan handed his mother the dispenser cup of children’s medicine. She offered it to Isabelle. “This will make you feel better.”

Isabelle looked doubtfully at the concoction. “Does it taste yucky?”

“I believe it’s cherry flavored. Drink it up, Isabelle, so you can start to feel better.”

Nathan wasn’t surprised when his little sister obediently swallowed the medicine, though she made a face at the taste. When Lenore McCloud spoke in that tone, children and adults tended to respond.

Lenore took the empty cup with satisfaction. “Very good. You should feel better soon. I want you to eat some soup when Miss Caitlin has it ready, all right?”

“’Kay.” Isabelle yawned and laid her head on the couch again, looking as if she had used up all her energy.

Nathan frowned, worried about Isabelle’s uncharacteristic listlessness. “You don’t think we need to call a doctor?” he asked in mother in a stage whisper.

“No doctor!” Isabelle insisted. Though Nathan had seen his little sister pout and be cross, he’d never seen her as close to a tantrum as she seemed to be at that moment.

“No doctor for now,” Lenore agreed, resting a calming hand on the child’s back. “I think you’ll feel better once the medicine starts to work.”

Isabelle subsided into the cushions. Her lower lip still protruded, but she looked somewhat appeased.

Lenore motioned toward the hallway. “We’ll be right outside the door if you need us, Isabelle. I have to tell Nathan a few things. You can rest here until your lunch is ready.”

Her eyes closed, Isabelle nodded.

Nathan followed his mother into the hallway, keeping his voice low so Isabelle wouldn’t hear them. “You really think she’s going to be okay?”

“I think she’ll be fine. It’s just a bug. Nothing serious. I heard at church this morning that quite a few local school-children are down with it. Frankly, I’m surprised that you and Caitlin both overreacted this much. Two professional adults should be able to handle a case of childhood sniffles without panicking.”

Resisting an impulse to hang his head, Nathan cleared his throat. “It’s not as if either of us has had any experience with this sort of thing. She seemed so sick that we got scared. I really wanted to take her to the doctor, but she got so upset, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. She got it in her head somehow that doctors were responsible for taking her aunt Barbara away from her, and she’s afraid a doctor will take her away from me.”