Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(71)

When he went into the kitchen, he found her sitting at the table, her cheeks tracked with dried tears, her gaze distant.

“You doing okay?” he asked, though he could see that she wasn’t.

She merely shrugged.

“I had a good talk with Dr. McDaniels. She’s terrific. I’m going to take Carrie to see her tomorrow.”

A flicker of interest stirred in her expression before she shut down again. “I’m sure that will help.”

“Raylene, about what happened earlier—”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “It was humiliating.”

“No,” he said adamantly. “It was brave. Every time you step outside, you’re fighting a fear I can’t even begin to imagine.”

“You face down worse fears every day when you go to work,” she said. “I’m practically scared of my own shadow. It’s crazy. I’m crazy.”

“Don’t you dare say that,” he said furiously. “You have a treatable panic disorder. You’re going to get better.”

She regarded him with a bleak expression. “What if I don’t? What if this is the rest of my life, shut up in this house?”

“Then we’ll deal with it,” he said.

“Not we,” she said adamantly. “It’s my problem.”

“Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. You and me, we’re friends, no matter what else happens. Friends stick together. If you have a problem, I’m right here with you.”

“But you have Carrie to worry about,” she protested. “You don’t need to take on my situation, too.”

He held her gaze. “Yes, I do,” he said solemnly.

There was a faint flicker of hope in her eyes, but it faded. “But, Carter—”

“No arguments,” he said. “I’m not walking away from you. You can push all you like, but I’m staying.”

A smile touched her lips. “Maybe,” she began softly, “maybe you’re the crazy one.”

He grinned. “Could be, but that’s just the way it is.”

He stood up. “I need to get to work. Are you going to be okay?”

“Laurie and the kids will be back soon, and I think Sarah’s coming home early. I’ll be fine.”

He leaned down and touched his lips to hers. This time, though, a casual kiss wasn’t enough. He lingered and when she didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss, tasting and savoring until he heard a low moan in the back of her throat.

He pulled away, then met her gaze. “That’s worth fighting for, don’t you think?”

She touched her fingers to her lips, which had curved finally into a full-fledged smile. “It just might be.”

He left then, feeling more optimistic than he had in weeks, not just about his sister’s future, but his own.





16




Raylene had a bad night wondering if she was ever going to get better. Nothing Dr. McDaniels, Carter or even Sarah had said to her had reassured her that she was making real progress. For every step forward she’d taken, literally, it seemed she’d taken another one back. She tossed and turned most of the night and eventually wandered into the kitchen well before dawn, probably looking as frazzled and out of sorts as she felt. Sarah was already there having coffee before heading to the radio station.

“You look like hell,” Sarah commented cheerfully. When Raylene merely scowled and poured herself a cup of coffee, Sarah winced. “Okay, definitely not in a good mood.”

“Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep.”

“Because of what we talked about last night, the way your session with Dr. McDaniels went?”

Raylene nodded. “But, please, leave it alone. I don’t feel like rehashing it this morning.”

Sarah opened her mouth, then shut it again.

Raylene smiled. “Thank you.”

“If I didn’t have to get to work, I’d make you talk about this some more.”

“Go. Entertain. Laugh. Have a good day.”

Sarah paused. “You will be okay, right? Should I send someone over to cheer you up?”

“No,” Raylene said firmly. She needed to work through this on her own. She’d felt a few glorious glimmers of hope about the future recently. She had to figure out how to cling to those, rather than sinking into despair over her failures.

But despite what she’d told Sarah about wanting to be alone with her thoughts, a few hours later she opened the door and found Carter on the doorstep. She had a feeling his arrival wasn’t a coincidence.

“Sarah called me earlier,” he said. “She said you might be over here freaking out. What’s that about?”

“Just more of the same old, same old,” she said, dismissing it. “Do you have time for something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Tell me about Carrie. Did she have her session with Dr. McDaniels this morning?” Though she was genuinely interested, she hoped asking about Carrie would redirect the conversation away from her. “How did Carrie react when you told her she had an appointment to see a shrink?”

Carter rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you can imagine. First, she threw a tantrum and refused to go. Then, when I didn’t budge, she turned on the waterworks and pleaded with me not to make her go.”