Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(45)

“He hates cold weather,” she said automatically.

Carter frowned at the glib comment. “My point is that we need to know if he has a plan for the rest of his life. We can go from there.”

Raylene nodded reluctantly. “But we’re not ruling out the gun.”

“Not entirely,” he agreed, though with obvious reluctance.

She met his gaze. “Thank you for giving me some time to get used to the idea that he’s going to be free. Now I have time to figure out what’s best.”

Carter regarded her with alarm. “But you won’t do anything hasty, right? Promise me, we’ll work this out together. Please don’t make me regret telling you.”

Ironically the panic she’d felt outside earlier, the fear she’d felt when Carter had told her the news, all of that had faded now. What she was left with was a cold emptiness inside, and the kind of grim determination she’d never expected to experience. Paul Hammond wouldn’t terrorize her again, not ever. No matter what she had to do to stop him.



Carter walked away from Raylene with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’d seen something in her eyes that had terrified him. Though he admired her for wanting to face down her ex-husband, he knew without a doubt that such a confrontation was bound to turn out badly. She was no match for a bully who’d likely let his resentment fester during a jail term.

Once again, he contacted Travis and filled him in. “I didn’t like what I heard in her voice. If I don’t take the initiative here and deal with Hammond myself, there’s no telling what Raylene might do.”

“How can I help?”

“I can circulate the word with all the deputies in the area, but as thin as we’re spread, it’s going to take more men to make sure Hammond doesn’t get near her again.”

“I’ll make some calls,” Travis said at once. “How about I get Cal Maddox, Ronnie Sullivan, Erik Whitney and my cousin Tom over to my place later tonight? I’m sure we can put together a plan to keep her safe.”

“That would be great. Around eight?”

“Make it nine. Erik works at Sullivan’s, but he should be able to break free by then.”

“Aren’t you on the air tonight?”

“I’ll ask Bill to stick around and cover for me.”

“Look, Travis, I don’t know what your timetable is for the wedding, but you might think about having Sarah and the kids move in with you sooner rather than later, at least until this is resolved,” Carter told him. “I’m going to do anything I can think of to make sure Paul Hammond never sets foot in Serenity, but you don’t want to take any chances that they could get in his way.”

“Done,” Travis said at once. “But that will leave Raylene there all alone. She’ll be a sitting duck.”

“She wants a damn gun,” Carter said, still shuddering at the thought.

“I suppose I can understand that,” Travis said. “She should be able to protect herself.”

“Come on. You know Raylene as well as I do. If she even shot the man in the toe, she’d be riddled with guilt forever.”

“You have a point. Okay, we’ll thrash all this out tonight.”

“Thanks, Travis. I owe you.”

Once he’d gotten off the phone with Travis, Carter radioed the sheriff and told him what was going on. “Can you free me to take a trip to the prison? Shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.”

“I’ll cover for you myself,” the sheriff promised. “Tell that SOB to stay the hell out of my county, you hear.”

“That’s the plan,” Carter confirmed.

But two hours later, he walked away from the prison with a certainty that Paul Hammond wasn’t going to make things easy. He was still seething with barely contained anger at the woman he blamed for ruining his career and putting him behind bars.

And there wasn’t a doubt in Carter’s mind that given half a chance, he’d want to finish the job he’d started the last time he’d beaten her. Behind the smooth facade, Carter had seen a man who was coldly calculating revenge.



Raylene had the local paper spread out on the kitchen table and was circling ads for places for rent when Sarah came home from work.

“What are you doing?” Sarah demanded, looking over her shoulder.

“Finding my own place to live,” Raylene told her,

Sarah sat down at the kitchen table and regarded her with dismay. “What brought this on? I thought you planned to buy this house from me once Travis and I are married. I’ve been counting on that.”

“I still want to do that, but I can’t stay here right now.” She filled Sarah in on the news Carter had shared about Paul’s impending release from prison. It was six to eight weeks away, but she explained that she had to start making her plans now. “I won’t stay here and risk putting you and the kids in danger.”

“But you said Carter’s going to deal with him,” Sarah said. “I can’t imagine he’ll set foot in Serenity once Carter has a come-to-Jesus talk with him.”

“I’m not taking any chances,” Raylene argued, her jaw set stubbornly.

“Let’s think this through,” Sarah pleaded. “We’ll get everybody together and talk about what’s best.”