Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(102)

“And yet you’re still willing to waste more,” he said. “You’re throwing away what I know we could have.”

“I’m not throwing it away,” she argued. “I’m just not ready for it now, and I can’t ask you to wait.”

“So, what? Me telling you I love you, being here for you, is going to put some kind of pressure on you?”

“Yes,” she said, near tears. The selfish part of her wanted to seize what he was offering, but the unselfish side knew it was only fair to let him go.

Seeing the dismay in his eyes, she tried to explain. “It’s been so long since I’ve even thought I could have a life again. I need time, Carter, time to figure out all the possibilities that might be out there for me. And you need to think about whether you’ll feel the same way about me if it turns out that I’m not recovered after all.”

He looked deeply into her eyes. His were filled with hurt and confusion, but he gave her a curt nod, accepting the finality of her decision. “You want time, Raylene, you’ve got it,” he said.

Then, his back stiff with pride, he turned and walked away.



Carter wasn’t entirely surprised when his sisters cornered him a few days after the party and demanded to know why they weren’t spending time with Raylene or, more specifically, why he wasn’t, now that the danger of her ex-husband showing up was past.

“You never go over there anymore,” Carrie complained. “You just sit around here and watch me eat. Even though Dr. McDaniels has told you herself that I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do, you act like you don’t trust me.”

“I do trust you,” he said. Mostly, anyway. He could tell she’d put on a few pounds, and meals were certainly less stressful. Not only had she started baking again, she’d even fixed a few dinners and eaten her share. That didn’t mean his worry had evaporated.

“Then prove it,” Carrie challenged. “Have dinner with Raylene. Take her someplace special.”

He shook his head. “I’m giving her space. It’s what she wanted. She’s probably right. It’s for the best.”

“I don’t believe you,” Carrie declared. “And it’s not best for us. She actually gets us. We like her. Now we can’t go over there, either, if the two of you are fighting. We’d feel disloyal to you.”

“We’re not fighting,” he said wearily. We just aren’t speaking.

Carrie gave him a piercing look. “Was she just some project for you, so you could feel like a big hero or something?”

He regarded her with shock. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Well, what are we supposed to think?” Mandy chimed in. “You’re moping around here like you’ve lost your best friend. It’s depressing.”

“Well, this is the way it is,” Carter told them. “Deal with it.”

Unfortunately, judging from the defiant expressions on their faces as they stomped out of the house, they weren’t going to deal with it quite the way he’d envisioned.



Raylene opened the front door to find Carrie and Mandy on the doorstep. Her mood brightened at the sight of them.

“Come in,” she said eagerly. “What brings you by?”

“We want you to stop fighting with Carter,” Carrie said at once in her familiar, blunt way. “He’s miserable, and if you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look so hot either.”

Raylene bought herself some time by going into the kitchen and pouring the girls glasses of lemonade and bringing out the oatmeal-raisin cookies she’d baked that morning. To her relief, Carrie grabbed one as eagerly as Mandy did.

“Well, aren’t you going to say something?” Mandy finally challenged, even as she devoured her second cookie.

“I don’t know what to say,” Raylene admitted. “Things between your brother and me are very complicated.”

“It seems pretty simple to me,” Carrie said. “He loves you. You love him. You work it out. At least that’s how I thought it was supposed to work. You can’t solve anything if you’re not even talking.”

Raylene tried to make them understand. “Look, you know about this panic thing, right? We’ve talked about it before. It hasn’t just vanished overnight.”

“But I thought you were better,” Carrie said, her eyes filled with concern. “Aren’t you?”

“Actually, I’ve made some improvement,” Raylene admitted. “Quite a bit, in fact. But there will be setbacks. And once I do get completely well, I have to figure out what I want. There will be options I never even considered a few weeks or months ago.”

“Why can’t Carter be one of those options?” Mandy asked, then added earnestly, “He’s a really good guy. You won’t do any better.”

“Carter’s an amazing man,” Raylene agreed. “He needs to move on with someone who’s ready for a relationship.”

“Come on,” Carrie protested. “He can’t just move on and pick somebody else like he’s choosing a cantaloupe. That’s not how it works. He’s in love with you.”

Raylene regarded her with envy. It must be wonderful to be on the threshold of becoming a young adult, when anything seemed possible and love conquered everything. “Sometimes love’s just not enough.”