Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(36)

“Does she know that sick SOB is getting out of jail in the not-too-distant future?”

Travis sat up straighter, his jaw set angrily. “How soon?”

“Hard to say. I’ll check that out in the morning, but I’d say by the end of summer at the latest.”

“Damn!”

“My sentiment exactly,” Carter said. “Do you think she knows?”

Travis shook his head. “I know she doesn’t. Anytime he’s mentioned, which isn’t all that often, all she says is how thankful she is he’s locked up.”

“We need to prepare her,” Carter said. “And we need to figure out how to protect her in case he comes out of prison with a chip on his shoulder.”

Travis frowned. “You’re really worried about this, aren’t you? You don’t think he’ll have sense enough to stay the hell away? No man in his right mind would come out of jail and then do something likely to land him right back behind bars.”

Carter lifted a brow. “He didn’t have sense enough not to beat her in the first place, did he? Men like that rarely learn their lesson behind bars. They just come out angrier than ever.”

“Okay, what can I do?”

“For now just alert Sarah to what’s going on. I’ll dig around, see what kind of timetable we’re looking at. Then we can decide how to break the news to Raylene. Sarah might have some ideas about that.”

“What about protection? Do you have a plan for that?” Travis asked.

“Leave that to me,” Carter said, his tone grim. Because if Paul Hammond wanted to get to Raylene, he’d have to go through Carter first.



Raylene opened the door late one afternoon to find Carrie on her doorstep, her expression uncertain.

“Is it okay that I’m here?”

“Of course it is. Did you come by for a cooking lesson?”

The teen shook her head. “I just wanted to visit, if it’s okay.”

“Come on in the kitchen. I’ll get us something to drink. Would you like some cookies?”

“Just some water,” Carrie said.

“I thought all kids were starving by the time they got out of school,” Raylene said.

Carrie shrugged. “Not me.”

Raylene regarded her quizzically, not really clear why Carrie had dropped in. She had a feeling, though, that it would come out when the girl was ready to talk and not before.

“It’s such a nice day, it would be great to sit outside and have our drinks, but you know I can’t do that, right?” she asked instead.

Carrie nodded. “How long have you been this way?”

“A couple of years now.”

“And you can’t go out at all? What if you get sick and need to see a doctor?”

“Thankfully I haven’t had to find out,” Raylene said. “And my psychologist comes here.” She studied the teen. “You knew I was seeing someone about the panic disorder, didn’t you?”

“Carter told me.” She hesitated, then asked, “Is it hard? I mean, telling someone everything that’s going on in your head?”

“Sometimes,” Raylene admitted. “But it’s the only way she can help me.”

“I don’t know if I could do that,” Carrie said. “You know, just spill my guts to a stranger.”

Raylene bit back a smile. “Actually a lot of people find it easier to talk to a complete stranger. They don’t judge you. Besides, Dr. McDaniels is trained to listen and to ask the right kinds of questions. Sometimes I find myself saying things before I even realize they were on my mind.”

“I wish I had someone I could talk to like that,” Carrie said wistfully. “Carter tries, but he’s a guy.”

“If something’s bothering you, you could talk to me,” Raylene suggested.

For a split second Carrie looked hopeful, but then her face fell. “But you’d have to tell Carter.”

“I would if it was something serious,” she conceded. “But I’d do my best to keep whatever you say strictly confidential.”

“But a shrink, somebody I pay, they’d have to keep it to themselves, right?”

“I’m not sure,” Raylene admitted. “Carter’s your guardian. In that case, even a psychologist might have to tell him if it was something he needed to know.” She reached across the table and covered Carrie’s tightly clenched fist. “What’s this about, sweetie? Whatever it is, don’t keep it bottled up inside. If you don’t want to tell me or Carter, then I can arrange for you to see Dr. McDaniels.”

“But Carter would have to know that, too,” Carrie said, sounding defeated. Suddenly she started to cry. “Everything’s such a mess, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Raylene gathered the teen into her arms and held her. “Whatever’s going on, I know it must seem overwhelming, but there’s not a problem in the world that can’t be solved. You just have to ask for help. You know your brother would do anything he possibly can to make sure you’re happy.”

“I know,” she said with a sniff. She took the tissue Raylene held out to her and wiped her nose. “But he’s trying so hard to take care of me and Mandy. He even gave up his job to move here because he thought it would be better for us to grow up in a small town.”