Honeysuckle Summer (The Sweet Magnolias #7)(94)

“Tom’s idea,” he said succinctly. “The sheriff doesn’t have the extra manpower to put surveillance on your place 24–7. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”

“I’m neither blind nor stupid,” she told him, then touched his cheek in a gesture apparently meant to take the sting out of her words. “Thank you. Tom may have come up with the idea, but I know you’re the one who insisted there had to be a plan.”

Carter studied her flushed cheeks and bright eyes. “Not to change the subject, but about last night,” he began.

She cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about last night, Carter. It was wonderful.” She blushed as she met his gaze. “Amazing, in fact. Let’s not spoil what happened by trying to analyze it.”

He regarded her incredulously. “Since when does a woman not want to talk about intimacy?”

“Just consider me a rare breed of female. I’d like to let the experience speak for itself.”

He didn’t buy it for a second. “Is it that, or are you hoping to pretend it didn’t happen, or maybe that it didn’t mean anything?”

“There you go, discussing,” she said with exasperation. “Leave it alone, Carter. I mean it.”

He sighed and dropped the subject…for now. He knew, though, that they couldn’t avoid it forever. It was too important. And he could see by the fear in her eyes that she understood that, too.



Though little about Raylene’s life these days felt even remotely normal, Dr. McDaniels had insisted that they not put their sessions on hold.

“Not after that breakthrough we had about your mother possibly being agoraphobic, too,” she told Raylene when she called to say that she’d be over at the regular time. “We have some momentum going here. I don’t want to lose it.”

When she arrived promptly at one o’clock, she stood on the stoop for a minute looking up and down the block. “Busy street,” she noted.

“My unofficial watchdogs,” Raylene told her, and explained about Tom’s plan to be sure Paul didn’t slip into the neighborhood.

As they went inside, the psychologist studied her. “How are you feeling about his release?”

“Scared, angry,” Raylene said at once, then sighed. “Mostly scared.”

“That’s perfectly natural.”

Deciding she needed to make a preemptive strike, Raylene looked the doctor directly in the eye. “I don’t think it’s a good time for me to be trying to go outside. If I was terrified before, just imagine how I’ll react now that my fear is actually justified.”

Dr. McDaniels shook her head. “Actually, I think it’s exactly the right time. If you can face your fear and conquer it under these circumstances, think about how empowering that will feel.” She touched Raylene’s hand. “You don’t have to decide right this second. First, I have some news.”

There was an edge in her voice that told Raylene she might be better off not knowing what it was. Unfortunately, she also knew that wasn’t an option.

“What news?”

“I spoke to your mother at some length the other day. I finally caught her at home. She hadn’t been returning any of the messages I left for her.”

“She’s not coming,” Raylene guessed. She hadn’t really expected it, hadn’t even been sure she wanted her mother’s help, but she had to admit to feeling deflated now.

“No, I’m sorry,” Dr. McDaniels said sympathetically. “She says it would be too painful to come to Serenity, that living here was the most miserable time of her life.”

“She can’t even put that aside to help her daughter,” Raylene concluded, her tone flat. “Why am I not surprised? She’s probably still furious with me for creating the scandal that sent Paul to prison.”

“Actually, she didn’t even mention that,” Dr. McDaniels said.

“Did she know about his release?”

“She never mentioned Paul at all, and avoided talking about him when I brought him up. What she did say was that coming back here would stir up memories she’d worked too hard to put to rest. I tried to probe a little about those memories, but she refused to go there.”

“What about the agoraphobia? Did she admit to that?” Raylene asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes. She wouldn’t put a name to it, but she said she’d spent years locked away in the house because she hated being in Serenity. She said she’d had no desire to see anyone or to go anywhere.”

“Was it her interpretation that it was fear that kept her inside, or was she punishing my father?”

“She wouldn’t say anything more about that, either, but it almost doesn’t matter. The point is that she set an example that you’ve been unconsciously following.”

Raylene waited for some sense of relief or maybe even vindication, but all she felt was sorrow. “What a waste,” she murmured.

The psychologist’s gaze was penetrating. “Are you talking about your mother’s life now, or your own?”

Raylene thought about it. “Maybe both,” she admitted. “At least she got her life back. I wonder if she’s even thought for a second about the fact that she got it because of me and my decision to marry Paul. You could almost say she owes me.” She shrugged off the analysis. “Bottom line, she is the way she is. I can’t change that.”