Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(57)

He stared at her. “That is the last thing you should have said. Now I really will envision you in every room. Maybe you should just buy it. If you have your own place and I can think about you there, maybe I won’t see you in every room of the houses you’re showing me.”

“Even I know that’s wishful thinking,” she said. Her tone turned brisk. “Come on, Walter, suck it up. Focus on Tommy and Libby. You want them to have a great place, don’t you? They have to be sick to death of visiting you at the Serenity Inn. There’s no room to play there, and this house has an amazing backyard. It even has an old tire swing hanging from a tree and room enough for Libby to practice T-ball.”

“Tommy’s the one—” he started to say, but she cut him off with a sharp look that reminded him a lot of both Sarah and Raylene.

“Haven’t you noticed yet that your daughter is determined to please you?” she asked with a touch of impatience. “Even I, without a single maternal bone in my body, can see she’s dying to get better at T-ball so you’ll notice her.”

All of her arguments—about Tommy and Libby and about the house—made sense. This place did sound ideal for his family. He stood up. “Let’s go,” he said grimly. “You’ll stay in the car.”

“If that’s what it takes,” she agreed.

What the heck! It might work.

At least until he got to the bedrooms.



When Carter stopped by Wharton’s for a burger in the middle of his shift, Grace was so busy, she barely spared him a glance, much less her usual chatty greeting.

“Cheeseburger, fries and regular iced tea?” she said as she passed by with an armload of meals for another table.

“That’ll do,” Carter said, relieved that he hadn’t had his heart set on something else. Clearly she was distracted and out of patience.

By the time she returned with his meal, the pace had settled down a bit and she took time to look him over.

“You look about worn out,” she said. “Busy day? I haven’t heard about any trouble.”

“And you would know, wouldn’t you?” he teased. “No, it’s been quiet. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Those sisters of yours probably give you quite a time, don’t they?” she said, squeezing into the booth opposite him, her expression compassionate. “Every teenager in town comes through here at one time or another during the week, so I know them all.”

Something in her voice suggested to Carter that there was more on her mind. “The girls haven’t given you any kind of a problem, have they?” He couldn’t help thinking about kids who turned to shoplifting as a cry for attention or just for a lark.

“Heavens, no! Not the way you mean,” she said, obviously guessing his meaning at once. “I have noticed that the older girl—Carrie, isn’t it?—she doesn’t eat much. I probably wouldn’t pay any attention, but after what happened with Annie all those years ago, I’m more alert to that kind of thing with the teenage girls who come in here regularly. Just thought you should know.”

“I appreciate you taking an interest,” Carter told her.

“You know, I could use some extra help in here this summer, if she’s looking for something to do to earn a little money. I could maybe keep an eye on her at the same time. Maybe she’ll open up to me.”

Carter regarded her with gratitude. “That’s a very generous offer, Grace. I appreciate it. I’ll mention it to Carrie.”

“You do that,” Grace said, standing up. “Now eat your burger before it gets cold. I have customers who are starting to look a little antsy. Better see what they need.”

Carter chewed his burger thoughtfully. He didn’t know yet just how serious Carrie’s problem might be, but it seemed if she was in trouble, they couldn’t be living in a better, more caring place. He doubted his sister would think much of all the well-meant meddling, but he did. It reassured him that he’d made the right decision moving here.



After having a houseful of people on the Fourth of July and an appointment with Dr. McDaniels the day before, the peace and quiet the next day were making Raylene a little stir-crazy. With Sarah, Travis and the kids all out of the house on an overnight trip to Myrtle Beach, the silence felt oppressive. Worse, she hadn’t heard a word from Carter. The fact that it mattered after all those rational arguments she’d given him for not moving their relationship to the next level really annoyed her.

On top of that, ever since she’d heard the news about Paul, she’d been jumpier than ever. He might not be out of prison yet, but he might as well be for the way her nerves were shot. The slightest noise rattled her.

Earlier she’d tried going to bed, but she hadn’t been able to settle down, so she’d pulled on an old robe and gone back into the living room. She’d turned on every light, fixed herself a glass of wine and found a book she hoped would be so dull it would knock her right out. None of that had worked either.

It was closing in on midnight when the doorbell rang, scaring her so badly she knocked over what was left of her wine.

She crossed the living room slowly, regretting that there was no peephole to indicate who was on the other side of the door.

“Who’s there?” she called out, trying not to let her voice shake.