Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(38)

Every time he handled a call like that, he felt an urgent need to rush home and check on Carrie and Mandy. He knew they were both sick of his lectures about driving too fast, but he felt the lesson had to be repeated if it was ever to sink in. Thankfully, neither of them had a license yet, but it was only a matter of time.

After facing the boy’s parents to tell them what had happened, he went back to the station where he found a voice-mail message from the prison saying that Paul Hammond’s release was tentatively scheduled for August. There seemed to be little chance that it would be postponed. He’d been a model citizen, the caller reported, using his time in prison to provide medical care for other inmates. As Carter saw it, that could be good news or bad. If it proved he’d learned his lesson, great, but it was just as likely that he’d simply manipulated the system to look favorably on an earlier release.

By the time Carter finally wrapped up for the day and walked into the house, all he wanted to do was take a hot shower, order in some food and relax. Instead, he found Carrie and Mandy in the middle of an argument that escalated into tears and doors slamming. Just what he needed.

Sighing, he followed Mandy to her room and tapped on the door. “Go away,” she mumbled tearfully.

“Not an option,” he said, and walked in.

She sat up and made room for him on the side of her bed. “I thought you were Carrie.”

“My hair’s shorter,” he joked.

That drew a faint smile.

“So what’s going on with you two?” he asked.

“She’s just being a pain, that’s all,” Mandy said, snuggling against his side and leaning her head on his shoulder. “Raylene left a message about having lasagna for us, so I rode my bike over to get it, and Carrie freaked out.”

“Why?”

Mandy shrugged. “I have no idea. Anyway, she said she wouldn’t eat it if it were the last meal on earth. Like I care whether she eats or not.” She regarded him hopefully. “You and me, we can have it, though, right? It looks really good. Raylene says it just needs to be heated in the oven for a half hour or so. I can do that, while you change. She even gave me garlic bread to go with it.”

“Sounds good to me. You go and do that. I’ll see if I can figure out what’s going on with Carrie.”

“It’s a waste of time, if you ask me,” Mandy said.

“Trying to keep the two of you happy is never a waste of my time,” Carter chided. It was just a challenge.

He crossed the hall and tapped on Carrie’s door. She didn’t even bother to answer. He opened it and walked in to find her with her face buried in a pillow and her shoulders still shaking with sobs. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Go away,” she said, her voice muffled.

“You know that never works with me,” he chided. “What’s going on? Why were you and Mandy fighting about lasagna, of all things?”

“It wasn’t about lasagna,” Carrie said, sitting up and turning to him with an indignant expression. “Is that what she told you?”

“What’s your version?”

“It was about her sneaking off to Raylene’s house just to check up on me.”

Carter frowned. “To check up on you? Were you over there?”

She flushed at the question. Apparently she hadn’t realized how revealing her comment had been. “I stopped by,” she said defensively. “But I’m sure she told you that.”

“She who? Mandy? She didn’t mention it.”

“No, Raylene,” Carrie said impatiently. “She probably told you every word I said.”

“I haven’t spoken to Raylene all day, but something tells me I need to.”

Carrie flushed and grabbed his arm. “No, don’t,” she pleaded. “She promised she wouldn’t tell you anything, and I guess she didn’t. I’m sorry I accused her of being a blabbermouth.”

Carter regarded her with bewilderment. “Carrie, what’s going on? What did you and Raylene talk about?”

“Just stuff,” she said evasively. “She told me to tell you, so it’s not like she’s going behind your back or keeping stuff from you.”

“What is it she thinks you should tell me?”

She hesitated, her expression miserable. “That my life sucks,” she admitted in a small voice. She gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Carter. Really, really sorry. I know you didn’t want to wind up stuck with me and Mandy, and I know you’re trying, but I hate everything about this boring town and the people here and my whole, stupid life.”

Carter felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He’d known she wasn’t happy about the move, but he’d figured she would adjust. Teenagers had a tendency to overdramatize everything, so he probably hadn’t taken her frequent complaints seriously enough.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “How can we make this better for you?”

She looked at him hopefully. “Move back to Columbia,” she suggested.

He shook his head. “Other than that.”

“You won’t even consider it?”

“No, this is our home now. I’m going to start a police department for Serenity. I’ve made a commitment to the town, and I take that seriously.”