Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(78)

Because Carrie’s recovery was at such a critical stage, Carter knew he needed to monitor every meal. He couldn’t rely on Mandy to do it. He didn’t want her in the position of becoming a tattletale against her sister. Even though Carrie now seemed to grasp that the program was meant to help her, she still had more than a few moments when she rebelled angrily against being watched so closely.

After taking a couple of days off so he could keep a closer eye on his sister, he finally managed to make a quick stop at Raylene’s to fill her in on what was going on. “If I don’t get by here as much, it’s not because I don’t want to,” he assured her.

“It’s just that right now Carrie needs you,” she said, her voice filled with understanding, though her expression had turned bleak as he talked. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

“I think we need to handle this as a family,” he said, and watched as a light died in Raylene’s eyes.

“Of course,” she murmured.

He knew at once that he should have chosen his words more carefully, but he didn’t have time now to explain. Even as they sat there, he could feel her pulling away from him without moving an inch. Frustrated and torn, he struggled with the decision that had brought him over here.

“Let me explain. Carrie’s in a real crisis, Raylene. It’s even worse than I thought.” When Carrie had even hinted that she wanted to die, it had terrified him. He felt he had to be there every minute until he knew with a hundred percent certainty that she was on a path to a full recovery and not sinking into a despair that could take her away from him forever.

“Carter, believe me, I get that,” she said.

“I’ll call you so much, you’ll probably get sick of hearing from me,” he promised, knowing it was small consolation for the visits that they’d both come to count on.

She regarded him doubtfully.

Aware that he was running out right when he needed to stay and reassure her that this was only temporary, he glanced at his watch and knew he had no choice. He was on duty in a half hour.

“Look, I have to run, but I’ll speak to you later.” He kissed her thoroughly, well aware that there was a hint of sadness and desperation in the way she kissed him back. He looked into her eyes. “This isn’t forever.”

“I know,” she said, but she didn’t look as if she believed it. “It’s probably for the best.”

He stopped in midstride and turned to face her. “What does that mean?”

“Carrie has a hard road ahead of her. Naturally she deserves your attention. You don’t need the kind of complication that I’d bring into your life. Maybe we should just admit that and move on.”

He stared at her incredulously. “You want to break up?”

“Oh, Carter,” she said sorrowfully. “We’ve never really been together.”

“Hold on a minute! Why are you saying this now? What’s happened?” He raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “Dammit, I know I’ve said this all wrong.” He glanced at his watch again and muttered another curse. “I can’t argue with you about this now, but I will be back. You and me, we are not over!”

But as he looked back, he saw that his words had had absolutely no impact. She looked resigned to the idea that their relationship had come to an end. If he’d had even one more minute to spare, he would have gone back and tried to reason with her, but there was no time.

And, if he were being truthful, there was also very little hope that he would succeed.



“You broke up with Carter,” Sarah echoed, a stunned note in her voice.

Raylene nodded. “It was for the best. He can’t deal with me and my issues right now. He has to focus on his sister.”

“Ever heard of multitasking?” Sarah demanded. “In today’s world, most of us can do it. I bet Carter is an excellent multitasker. Look how well he’s handling being a deputy and working with Tom to get the Serenity police force to become a reality.”

“This is different,” Raylene said stubbornly. “Besides, those are just two more critical things besides Carrie that he has on his plate. He doesn’t need one more. And I need to focus on my own recovery. After that…” She shrugged.

“After that what?”

“Maybe we can try again,” Raylene said.

“I don’t get it. You’re getting better. You’re out in the yard almost every day now. You and Mandy are getting close. Think what this will do to her.”

“She’ll still be welcome here anytime.”

“And do you honestly think she’ll want to come if she finds out you’ve dumped her brother? You’ve become a real support system for her, and now you’re letting her down.”

Raylene hadn’t looked at it that way. In fact, she hadn’t really thought about anything other than the overwhelmed expression on Carter’s face when he’d stopped by. She’d thought letting him off the hook was an unselfish gesture. And he was the one who’d turned down her offer of help, who’d said they needed to handle it as a family. He’d shut her out.

“You really think I’ve made a mistake, don’t you?” she asked Sarah.

“Oh, yeah. You have this perfectly wonderful, caring man in your life and you blow him off and somehow twist that around so you’re doing him a favor? I don’t think so. And if you don’t believe me, let’s get the Sweet Magnolias over here and see what they have to say.”