Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(21)
Tommy immediately raced for the kitchen door, but Libby hung back. Rebuffed once too often by her own father, whose entire focus seemed to be on her big brother, she’d only recently begun to feel more comfortable around men. Thankfully, Walter himself was responsible for the change. He’d finally realized what a treasure she was and started giving her a fair share of his attention. That, plus undisguised adoration from Travis, had been a huge boost to Libby’s confidence, but she still hung back around other men until she was sure of her welcome.
Raylene pulled a chair over to the doorway and lifted Libby into her lap. “You and I get to supervise,” she told her, loudly enough to be overheard by Carter. He cast a grin in her direction.
“Oh, great! Now I have two women bossing me around,” he grumbled with mock dismay. “Tommy, you’re going to have to help me stand up to them.”
“Okay,” Tommy agreed at once, eager to please. “What do we do?”
Carter shrugged. “Beats me.” He turned to Raylene. “Any ideas?”
For the next two hours, he and Tommy dug where she told them to and trimmed the yard with tall sunflowers and vibrant hollyhocks, patches of bright impatiens in partially shaded areas and even two fragrant rosebushes for either side of the kitchen doorway. The result was a far cry from the carefully tended garden at her home in Charleston, but it was bright and cheery and brought a smile to her face. Looking at the results, she had to blink back tears.
Standing in front of her, Carter seemed shaken by her display of emotion. “This was supposed to be a good thing.”
“It’s a wonderful thing,” she said, impulsively reaching out to give his hand a squeeze. “Thank you. It was wonderful of you to think of doing this. Even if I can’t take a single step outside, I’ll be able to smell the roses from right here.”
“No big deal,” he insisted, looking uncomfortable with her gratitude.
“Now, what can I do in return? Of course, I want to pay you for the plants.”
“Absolutely not,” he said indignantly. “I told you I bought too many.”
“I can believe you bought too many flats of annuals, but extra rosebushes? I doubt that.”
“Really, no. I can’t take your money. It was my pleasure.”
“It was more like a backbreaking couple of hours.”
“I enjoyed every minute,” he said, meeting her gaze with a steady look. “Really.”
Raylene shuddered under the intensity of that gaze. “Okay, then, what advice do you need for your garden?”
“Actually, you’ve already helped out. I’ll just try to re-create what we’ve done here.” He frowned. “Of course, we don’t have much shade.”
“Then you’re really going to have to keep an eye on the impatiens. They need a lot of water if they’re in bright sunlight. Otherwise they’ll wilt. And the sunflowers and hollyhocks will do best either against a fence or with stakes. Once they’re in full bloom, they’ll tend to fall over without some kind of support.”
“Got it,” he said. He gave her an appealing look. “Maybe one of these days, when you know me better and feel safe with me, you’ll come over and take a look and see if there’s any other advice I need to follow.”
She regarded him with frustration. “It doesn’t work that way, Carter. I’m plenty comfortable with Sarah and Annie, but I can’t leave here with them, either. Don’t take it personally.”
He backed down at once. “You’re right,” he said, looking flustered. “I’m sorry. I don’t totally understand how something like this works. Worse, I’m the kind of guy who automatically wants to make things better. I shouldn’t have pushed.”
“It’s okay,” she said, not wanting to ruin his lovely gesture. “But I do think you should go now. I need to fix the kids a snack and then get started on supper before Sarah and Travis get home. They were doing some kind of remote for the radio station today.”
“And they’re not back yet? Where’s the sitter?” His worried expression was far more telling than the simple question.
Under other circumstances, she would have found his attitude insulting, but she understood why he was concerned. It just grated that it had to be that way. “She came back a while ago. Want me to call her in here so you can see for yourself that the kids are in good hands?”
He winced at her sarcasm. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said with a resigned sigh. “I understand why you felt the need to ask. I really do.”
“Okay, then, I’ll see you soon. Maybe next time I drop by, I’ll bring the girls over. Would that be okay? I know Mandy would love to see the garden. She’s not going to believe I actually pulled off an actual flower garden. Up until this year I’ve stuck to vegetables.”
Raylene regarded him with a penetrating look. “Carter, what’s going on here? Are you still trying to make up for accusing me of being negligent with the kids? Or am I your pet charity case?”
He looked annoyed by the question. He took a step closer, but something in her expression must have warned him away, because he immediately backed off. Oddly, she felt suddenly bereft, as if she’d missed an important opportunity to feel alive again.
Holding her gaze, he said quietly, “If you don’t see what’s going on here, then I’ll have to figure out some way to make it plain.” For the second time he looked deep into her eyes, his gaze steady. “I like you. I enjoy your company. And one of these days, I have a hunch I’m going to kiss you, Raylene.” He grinned. “By then, you’re going to be ready for it.”