Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(64)

“What signs?” Carrie asked.

“He was controlling and extremely jealous. I was so naive, I thought that showed how much he loved me.”

Carrie fell silent, but Mandy had tears in her eyes when she asked, “He’s not ever going to hit you again, is he?”

“No,” Raylene said adamantly.

“Carter won’t let him, that’s for sure,” Mandy declared.

“No, he won’t,” Raylene agreed. Her faith was as strong as Mandy’s when it came to that. “Now, why don’t you go check out the garden and see how bad the weeds have gotten.”

“Okay,” Mandy said eagerly.

After she’d gone, Carrie finally met Raylene’s gaze. “He’s the reason you don’t go outside, isn’t he? Your ex-husband, I mean. You’re scared he’ll come back?”

Raylene nodded. “That’s certainly part of the problem.” She saw no reason to mention that he was in prison now, but about to be released.

“Do you think you’ll ever stop being afraid?”

“I’m working on it,” she told her.

Carrie hesitated, then said, “I get scared sometimes, too.”

“Of what?”

“That something will happen to Carter. If it did, what would happen to me and Mandy?”

“Your brother’s not going to let anything happen that would take him away from you,” Raylene said, trying to reassure her.

Unfortunately, they both knew that fate sometimes overrode the very best of intentions, which was all the more reason for his sisters to know there were other people in their lives they could count on.

Raylene met Carrie’s worried gaze. “Did Carter mention I might have a job for you?”

She nodded.

“It’s not much, but I could really use some help to maintain the garden.”

“Mandy and I are willing to help with that for free,” Carrie said at once.

“But this would be more than that,” Raylene explained. “The psychologist wants me to spend more time outside. I was thinking that would be easier if someone were here with me.”

Carrie looked puzzled. “You want to hire me to be like a companion or something?”

“I’m not sure I have an actual job description, but the hours would be flexible, so you could still spend time with your friends.”

“And it would help you to get better?”

“I hope so.”

Carrie’s expression turned thoughtful. “That would make my brother happy, and it would be cool if you could go shopping with me and Mandy sometime or out to dinner with all of us.”

“Let’s be careful not to make the goals too ambitious,” Raylene cautioned.

“Still, helping you would be doing something that really matters,” Carrie said. “That’s way better than just waiting on tables.”

“You might earn more at Wharton’s,” Raylene said.

Carrie looked out the window, then turned back to her. “But I like it here. I’ll take the job.”

Raylene smiled. “I’m glad. How about starting tomorrow?” she suggested, then added impulsively, “You can come over when Dr. McDaniels is here, so you’ll know what she’s expecting from me.”

Carrie stilled. “You want me to be here when the shrink comes?”

Raylene could hear the distrust in her voice and backed down at once. “I thought it might be helpful,” she said, “but it’s fine if you’d rather start another time.”

Carrie immediately looked relieved. “What time does she leave?”

“Around two o’clock.”

“I’ll be here at two-thirty.”

“Perfect,” Raylene said, grateful that she’d dodged an inadvertent complication. But Carrie’s skittishness when it came to the psychologist told her just how frightened the girl really was that her eating habits weren’t normal and that someone with expertise might call her on it.



Carter’s impromptu meeting with Tom McDonald to discuss the new Serenity police department took most of the afternoon. He’d actually stopped by the town manager’s office just to check on his progress with finding ways to put some Public Works employees on the scene in Raylene’s neighborhood, but the conversation had evolved into a planning session.

“I’d like to take a proposal to the council by the end of the month. Do you think you can have something ready in writing by then?” Tom asked.

“I can, but don’t you think you need to work out the parameters for the chief’s job and decide if I’m the right man to fill it first?”

“Let me tell you something about the politics around here. Howard may not technically be a strong mayor in terms of the way Serenity’s government is set up, but he usually gets his way. He wants you for the job, so you can consider it yours. You have my backing, too. The council approved the position and the salary at their last meeting.”

He jotted down a figure and passed it to Carter. “It’s probably not what you’re worth, but it’s more than you’ll make as a deputy with the sheriff’s department.”

“It seems fair,” Carter said. And the three-year contract would give him both the kind of job security and regular hours that mattered to him. Starting a department from scratch would be challenging, too.