Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(68)

“I know. I can’t wait until I can take them to pick out whatever they want for their rooms.”

“Is Rory Sue going to help with that?” she asked.

“Probably. She does know where the best stores are.”

“Really?” she said, amused. “And you haven’t been in every furniture store in the region to sell advertising for the radio station?”

He frowned at the question. “What’s your point?”

“She’s becoming every bit as involved in your life as Carter and his family are in mine. I’d say the danger signs are posted for both of us.”

But as clear as she was on the dangers that lay ahead, she wondered if she, any more than Walter, would heed them.



Carter drove up just as Walter was leaving. He exited his sheriff’s cruiser with a take-out bag in hand.

“I came with dinner,” he told Raylene. “Can I stay? I figured you deserved a respite from cooking after dealing with my sisters today.”

“Your timing’s great. I was going to start cooking any minute,” she said, aware that the mere sight of him had stirred up her senses. Given the conversation she’d just had with Walter, it was disturbing. Maybe she really should think things through carefully before she allowed herself to get any more involved in his life. He and his sisters represented the unattained dream she’d envisioned for herself, a ready-made family. She finally dared to meet his gaze.

“I hope Sarah and Travis like Chinese food,” he said. “I brought enough for them, too.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” she said. “Travis will probably just grab a quick bite. He has his show to do tonight.”

“Then maybe we should leave everything in the to-go containers. He can take whatever he wants with him.”

“Perfect,” she said, then studied him. “Aren’t you still on duty? Can you really take a break?”

“Dispatch can reach me.” He patted the radio and cell phone at his hip. “And I gave Gayle this number, too. It’s fine. I have some news I wanted to share.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “And I just wanted to see you, make sure you survived an entire day with Carrie and Mandy.”

Raylene sighed. “We do need to talk about that,” she admitted. “Let’s go in the kitchen. We have a little while before Sarah and Travis will be here.”

Carter frowned as he followed her. “Was there a problem? They didn’t bug you about me staying over here last night, did they?”

“That wasn’t the problem.” She told him about the discussion she’d had with Carrie. “She got extremely defensive. I might have made matters worse by pushing so hard. She’d agreed to take the job here, but now I’m not so sure she’ll be back.”

Carter sighed. “I’m glad you spoke up. I’ve been on her case lately, too. She needs to know we’re paying attention.”

“But she must have felt as if we were all ganging up on her. Mandy chimed in, as well. I’m not sure all that pressure at once is good.”

“Isn’t that exactly the way those interventions work?” he said.

“But those are usually handled by professionals,” Raylene said. “A psychologist would have known what to do when Carrie fought back. They might have been able to stop her from taking off.”

Carter’s expression turned grim. “She left?”

Raylene nodded. “Mandy went after her. I should have done it. That’s what a responsible adult would have done.”

“Come on. There were extenuating circumstances,” he said. “To say nothing of the fact that helping my sister is my job, not yours.”

“But you don’t upset a kid and then let another kid deal with the fallout,” she said with self-derision. “I tried calling earlier, but Carrie wouldn’t take my call. Mandy said she’d shut herself in her room.”

Carter muttered a curse and immediately stood up. “I’d better get over there and check on things. A rain check on dinner, okay? I guess that news of mine will have to wait, too.”

“Do you want to take the Chinese food home with you? The girls would probably like it.”

“I don’t think walking in the door with food right now is a good idea.” He gave her a frustrated look. “What’s it going to take to fix this? I’m at a loss.”

“Do you want to talk to Dr. McDaniels? I’m sure she’d be happy to give you some ideas. She’ll be here tomorrow at one. You could drop by, say, around one-thirty.”

He nodded. “I might do that.” He leaned down and kissed her again, just a quick brush of his lips across hers. “Thanks for caring.”

He paused in the doorway. “It means the world to me that you care about what’s going on with Carrie. The past couple of years have been tough. I’ve been totally out of my depth with everything that’s happened since my folks died.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Who knows? Maybe with a little help from you I’ll figure out this parenthood thing, after all.”



When Dr. McDaniels arrived for their session, Raylene immediately filled her in on what had been going on with Carrie. “I told Carter he could stop by to speak with you, if that’s okay. He’ll be here at one-thirty.”