Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(86)

Carrie sighed. “I don’t know if I want to see a shrink forever.”

Raylene risked giving her a hug. “Then you’ll try even harder to get well, won’t you?”

Carrie’s lips curved slightly. “I guess it is up to me, isn’t it?”

Raylene nodded. “Pretty much.” She hesitated, then said, “You know, I’d really love it if you’d come by sometime with Mandy and work in the garden with us. Every time I’m out there I feel as if I’m getting stronger. Maybe you’d find it healing, as well. Or maybe you’d just enjoy being there with us. I miss talking to you.”

Carrie looked surprised. “Really?”

“You’re a wonderful girl, and since you’re working at Wharton’s, I’ll bet you know everything that’s going on in town. You can keep me up to date on all the local gossip.”

Carrie brightened. “I could definitely do that.”

“Great.” She gave her a hug. “Now, how about it? Do you feel like going back in to dinner?”

“I guess,” Carrie said, though with obvious reluctance.

“Come on. It won’t be that bad. I promise not to say another word about your eating all night.”

“And you’ll tell Carter to back off when he starts trying to push dessert on me?”

Raylene nodded. “Mostly because if you’re not going to eat Dana Sue’s bread pudding, then I get your share.”

Carrie looked startled. “It’s that good?”

“It’s amazing,” she confirmed.

“Then maybe I’ll at least have a bite.”

Raylene gave her another squeeze. “Bet you’ll have two.”

To her relief, Carrie laughed. “I hope you and Carter get back together.”

“He actually told you we broke up?” Raylene asked.

“He said you dumped him,” Carrie said. “That’s why we’re here. He figured you’d never send me and Mandy away. He’d get a free pass to spend time with you, at least this once.”

“Your brother is a very sneaky man,” Raylene concluded.

“Tell me about it.”

Sneaky or not, Raylene couldn’t help admiring his tactics. His determination not to allow things between them to end was sweet. Annoying, but sweet.



Though the rest of the evening with Raylene and the girls had gone smoothly enough, Carter left with the distinct impression that he hadn’t succeeded in proving to Raylene that they could make their relationship work.

Unfortunately, for the next couple of weeks there was virtually no time to press whatever tiny advantage he might have gained that night. In addition to his regular shifts with the sheriff’s department, Carter had almost daily meetings with Tom as they prepared to make their budget proposal to the council for the new Serenity police department. Without adequate funding, it was simply impractical to move forward. He’d made that clear to Tom, who expressed confidence that they’d win the needed approval.

“This is Howard Lewis’s pet project,” Tom reminded him. “It’s going to pass. I guarantee we’ll have the funds in place, and you’ll have a fully operational department by the first of the year.”

Carter couldn’t deny the excitement he felt at the thought. Though dealing with all the paperwork and financial issues had been tedious, he’d loved the challenge of putting the proposal together. The only thing he worried about was whether or not he’d start to hate spending so much time in an office once things were up and running.

As if he’d read Carter’s mind, Tom studied him with a knowing expression. “You thinking about how you’ll miss being on the street?”

“As a matter of fact, I am. I got into police work to make a difference. I can’t do that from behind a desk.”

Tom grinned. “Well, here’s where the joy of a small department comes in. You’ll still be out there on the street. You saw how tight the scheduling is going to be with the staff we can afford. I imagine you’ll be backup most days and on the streets more than you ever imagined.”

Relieved, Carter nodded. “I hadn’t looked at it that way. That’ll be good.”

“To change the subject, what’s happening with Paul Hammond these days? Any word?”

“I checked this morning. His hearing was delayed. I’m not sure why, but it’s pushed any possibility for release into September at the earliest.”

“Doesn’t Raylene have an opportunity to speak at the parole hearing?” Tom asked, then winced. “But, of course, she can’t.”

“She is sending over a video. Helen arranged for it. At least she’ll be on record reminding the parole board what he’s done to her life. Helen’s asking the judge in the original case to issue a restraining order, so that will be in place the second he’s released.”

“Any chance it will have the desired effect?” Tom asked.

“I’m not taking any chances,” Carter said grimly.

“Then I’ll alert my people and the various utilities that the work we talked about may need to be pushed back until September.”

“Is that going to cause any problems?”

“Not a one. Everyone I spoke to is committed to providing extra eyes and ears on that street once he’s out. Hammond won’t slip into that neighborhood without us knowing about it.”