Raylene watched without comment as Carrie picked at her meal. She’d been surprised earlier when Carter and the girls had appeared at the door carrying an elaborate take-out meal from Sullivan’s.
“Dana Sue said we have all your favorites,” he’d said, giving her an appealing grin. “Will that get us in?”
Despite all her best intentions to keep some distance between them, she seemed to be incapable of turning him away, especially with Carrie and Mandy looking on. This was, after all, what she’d been hoping for, a chance to make amends with Carrie. She’d let them in.
With Carter overseeing the transfer of the food from take-out containers to plates, she and the girls had set the table.
“Carter misses you,” Mandy confided, then got an elbow in the ribs from her big sister.
“You’re not supposed to say stuff like that,” Carrie told her. “It’s like giving information to the enemy or something.”
Mandy had looked confused. “But Raylene’s not the enemy. She’s Carter’s girlfriend. At least he wants her to be, and we’re supposed to be helping. Isn’t that the whole point of being here?”
Thoroughly embarrassed and unwilling to be the center of an argument between the sisters, Raylene had ended the discussion by telling them to go in the kitchen and help Carter with the food. “I’ll finish up in here.”
Now they were all seated around the dining-room table making stilted conversation. And she couldn’t seem to keep herself from watching the way Carrie pushed her food around on her plate. Despite the teen’s sessions with Dr. McDaniels, it seemed she was still exhibiting textbook anorexic behavior. Very little of that food was making its way into her mouth. Carter, however, seemed to be oblivious to it.
Torn between ignoring the behavior and trying to make him see that Carrie was still in trouble, she finally opted for what she hoped would be a bit of subtle probing that might also catch his attention. Even as she spoke, she knew she was testing the very tentative truce established between her and Carrie. She felt she had no choice. It was more important to act responsibly than to be the good guy.
“Carrie, don’t you like meat loaf?” Raylene asked. “Sullivan’s has a reputation for making the best in the entire region. It’s always been my favorite comfort food, along with their garlic mashed potatoes.”
“It’s okay,” Carrie said with a shrug. “I’m just not hungry.”
She shot a look at Carter that Raylene couldn’t interpret.
Unwilling to let the subject go, she tried another approach, trying to reach the girl on some level. “You’d probably rather be out with your friends on a Saturday night,” she suggested.
“It’s not that,” Mandy piped up as if to make up for her sister’s lack of responsiveness. “Carrie doesn’t like to eat in front of people. She’s self-conscious.”
Carrie’s head snapped around as she glared at her little sister. “You and Carter promised we wouldn’t talk about my eating tonight,” she said, her voice shrill. “You promised! I should have known you wouldn’t keep your promise.”
Mandy turned pale, her expression miserable. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want Raylene to think you were being rude.”
“Raylene knows what’s going on,” Carrie said. “It’s practically because of her that I have to see a shrink.”
“Hold on,” Carter said, scowling at her. “You know that’s not true. You’re in therapy because it’s what you need right now.”
Carrie looked to be near tears. Obviously frustrated at hearing her brother deflect any blame from Raylene, she whirled on Mandy. “I’m sick of you criticizing what I eat. Maybe you should consider sticking to a few carrots and lettuce leaves before you blow up like a blimp,” Carrie said, casting a meaningful look at the two slices of meat loaf and the mound of mashed potatoes on Mandy’s plate.
When Carter opened his mouth to scold her, Carrie snapped, “Oh, forget it. I am so out of here.”
She stood up and ran from the room. Carter turned to Raylene with an apologetic look. “I need to go after her.”
Raylene felt the salty sting of tears in her eyes. “This is my fault. I’ll go.”
He hesitated. “But—”
“She’s still in the house,” Raylene told him. “I didn’t hear the door. If she’s gone, I’ll tell you, and you can go after her.”
She found Carrie in the living room, huddled in a corner of the sofa, tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry,” Raylene said, sitting down beside her. “I pushed you, and I shouldn’t have. I know this is a sensitive topic and that you’re getting help. I should have left it alone.”
Carrie seemed surprised by her admission. “Why didn’t you?” she asked.
“I told you before about Annie. What I didn’t tell you was how many times I saw her do exactly what you were doing tonight, just pushing her food around, pretending to eat, and I did nothing. The night she collapsed, I felt as if it was all my fault for not doing more to make sure someone knew she was in trouble. Sarah felt the same way. So did Ty and the rest of her friends. I can’t begin to tell you how scary it was for all of us sitting at the hospital waiting to hear whether she was going to be okay.”
“So when you see me not eating, it pushes all those buttons,” Carrie concluded, looking less angry. “I guess I can see why.”
“It would break my heart if something happened to you,” Raylene told her honestly. “Especially if I could have prevented it.”
“But Carter knows. And I’m seeing Dr. McDaniels. I get that what I’ve been doing is wrong. I’ve even figured out why it was happening and I’m really trying to fix it.” She regarded Raylene with an earnest expression. “Honest.”
“I know that, and I am so proud of you for trying.”
Carrie looked away. “It’s really hard,” she said in a small voice. “Harder than I ever thought it would be. And I hate that everyone’s watching me all the time.”
“Annie hated that, too, but it all gets easier. You’ll see. And once the eating pattern really starts to change, the trust will come back. People won’t watch as much.”
“I don’t know,” Carrie said skeptically. “I saw how Dana Sue watched Annie at the barbecue, even after all this time.”
“I suppose it’s a worry that never entirely goes away, but that feeling that you’re under a microscope will get better. I promise. And you’ll start to feel like your old self, the way you did before your parents died.”
“You think so?” she asked, a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes.
“You’ve been around Annie,” Raylene said. “What do you think? Doesn’t she seem perfectly fine now?”
Carrie nodded. “She seems okay.”
“She is okay. It’s still a struggle for her from time to time, but that’s why she sees Dr. McDaniels whenever she feels herself slipping. She’s smart enough to recognize the signs and ask for the help she needs.”
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.”
Carter wished he felt as if those efforts would be enough. The days would be covered, but nights were something else. Travis had promised to be in the house most nights after he got off the air at the radio station. Walter would hang around as often as possible, too. And Carter planned to be on the street out front.
But he knew better than most that someone determined to wreak havoc could often find a way to do it, despite all the well-intentioned efforts in the world.
* * *
Raylene started shaking when Helen told her that the parole board had granted Paul’s release. It was mid-September, and his release date was scheduled for the end of the month.
“I’m so sorry,” Helen said, her frustration plain. She’d never liked losing, especially when it was something this important. “We did everything possible to convince them to hold him longer. I even asked for another delay, but his lawyer fought me. Carter testified that Paul still represented a threat to you, but Paul was good. I’ll give him that. He made a compelling case that he’d learned his lesson and reformed. He said all the right words. And sitting up there in his Armani suit, he looked every inch the perfect gentleman. He managed to get a few respected character witnesses to testify on his behalf, too, and that went a long way to convincing the parole panel to let him go.”
“Yeah, he’s very good at getting the world to see what he wants them to see,” Raylene said. “And the good-old-boys’ network is still alive and thriving. I imagine his daddy was able to find plenty of cronies willing to step up for his golden boy.”
“I tried my best to provoke him into showing his true colors, but he was cool, calm and collected,” Helen said. “Heck, even I would have had a hard time turning him down after hearing all he did to help his fellow inmates. It was quite a performance. I would have been ready to nominate him for sainthood myself, if I didn’t know what a violent bully is hidden beneath that smooth facade.”
Raylene gave her a resigned look. “Thanks for trying. I’m ready for him.”
Helen immediately looked alarmed. “Meaning what?”
“Don’t worry about me, that’s all.”
“Raylene, you didn’t get your hands on a gun the way you were talking about, did you?”
“Stop,” Raylene said. “Don’t ask questions, especially when you don’t really want to know the answers.”
It had been surprisingly easy to get the gun that was now locked away in a metal box on the top shelf in her closet. There were plenty of unscrupulous dealers on the Internet who didn’t care about the law. Even if that gun was never loaded or out of the box, she felt better knowing she had it. It evened the playing field between her and Paul, at least a little. He’d never expect her to fight back, any more than he’d expected her to turn him in, in the first place.
“Does Carter know about this?” Helen asked, looking distraught as she drew her own conclusions from Raylene’s evasiveness.
“Of course not,” she said. “If he knew anything, he’d have to arrest me, more than likely. I don’t want him to be in that position. You, either, so leave it alone, Helen. I have to handle this my way.”
“Raylene, do you even know how to fire a gun?”
Raylene forced the most innocent expression she could manage. “Who said anything about a gun? Certainly not me.”
Helen regarded her with frustration. “This is nuts. And what about the kids? What if they find it, Tommy especially? Have you even considered the danger you’re putting them in?”
“Which is exactly why I’ve told Sarah they need to move over and stay with Travis the second Paul’s released. I begged her to move up the wedding, too, but she’s determined not to do that until her father can be here.”
“Carter’s counting on Travis staying here,” Helen protested.
“Well, he won’t be,” Raylene said stubbornly. “He needs to look out for Sarah, Tommy and Libby. I want them all where they’ll be safe. I’m not his problem.”
“But you are his friend,” Helen said, then waved off her own argument. “Okay, forget Travis. I suppose we can get Ronnie, Cal and Erik to alternate nights staying here. It goes without saying that Carter will be nearby.”
Raylene was horrified by the idea of putting her friends in harm’s way. “Absolutely not. This is my responsibility.”
“Not in this town,” Helen said. “And not when you’re a Sweet Magnolia. Your problem is our problem, and that’s just the way it is. Deal with it. Heck, if it comes down to it, I spent my share of hours on a shooting range. I’ll take a turn staying here.”
Now it was Raylene’s turn to be horrified. “Helen, do I need to remind you that you have a daughter? You are not risking your life for me. Period. I suppose I can’t stop a bunch of stubborn, macho men from feeling the need to protect me, but I draw the line at you sitting here holding a weapon.”
“But I’m highly motivated,” Helen protested. “Men like Paul Hammond need to be taken down. The court system did a lousy job in his case, and I hate when that happens.”
“But you know better than most that you don’t get to go all vigilante because of it,” Raylene argued. “No, you are not taking one minute of guard duty over here. This is my fight. I don’t want to involve anyone else.”
“Well, you’ll have to fight that out with Carter,” Helen said, then grinned. “Good luck with that, by the way.”
Raylene grimaced. She knew the conversation wasn’t going to go even half as smoothly as her attempt to break up with him, and that had pretty much been a waste of breath.
* * *
Rory Sue flipped her hair back in a gesture that was all female. Usually she did it just to drive Walter wild, but today she was clearly exasperated and probably just trying to get her windblown hair out of her face.
“Please say that again,” she demanded, frowning at Walter. “Surely I can’t have heard you correctly.”
“I’m going to be hanging out at Raylene’s for the next couple of weeks,” he repeated patiently. He’d explained before about the impending release of Raylene’s ex-husband, but only after Raylene had put her foot down about Sarah and the kids moving over to stay with Travis had he decided it was up to him to stay at the house to protect her. Carter had his own family to watch over.
Unfortunately, Rory Sue didn’t seem to be taking the news any better than Raylene had.
“No way,” she said emphatically. “No boyfriend of mine is going to live with another woman.”
“While I suppose I should be flattered by the show of jealousy, you know perfectly well you have nothing to worry about,” Walter said. “Raylene and I are just friends.”
She held his gaze as if trying to decide whether to debate the point, then nodded. “Okay, then neither of you will mind if I move in there with you,” she said decisively.
“Absolutely not,” Walter said. “I can’t be worrying about two of you if that nutcase shows up.”
“You won’t have to worry about me,” Rory Sue said. “I’ll bring along Granddad’s shotgun.”
Walter groaned. “Your grandfather has a shotgun?”
“Well, of course he does. He hunts. He started taking me with him when I was around ten. I was a little freaked by the idea of him killing Bambi, but I can handle a shotgun just about as well as he can.”
Despite her boastful claim, he still thought it was a bad idea. He shook his head.
“Carter will never go for it,” he told her. “He doesn’t want to involve any more civilians than absolutely necessary.”
“Well, if you’re staying there, then my staying there is absolutely necessary,” she said, her chin set defiantly.
“Why?” he asked. He had the feeling it went beyond jealousy.
She looked as if she couldn’t believe he even needed to ask. “Because the thought of losing you to some creep like Raylene’s ex-husband is simply unacceptable.”
He smiled at that. No one had ever worried about him like that. Other than maybe his mother, but she’d been a little overzealous on that score. “Rory Sue, believe it or not, I can take care of myself. Want to go to the gun range so I can prove it? If I win, you give up this crazy idea, okay?”
“You actually think you’re a better shot than I am?” she asked incredulously.
“Honey, I hate to burst your liberated bubble, but I know I am.”
An hour later, he’d proved it.
“Well, damn,” she murmured as she studied his target with several clean shots directly through the heart or close enough to do serious damage.
“Sorry.”
She grinned at him. “Don’t be. I’m still not letting you go to Raylene’s alone, though.”
“Raylene—”
“Sorry. My decision’s final,” she said. “Now, all of this has made me a little hot. Let’s go back to your place.”
“My place still doesn’t have any furniture,” he reminded her. They’d closed on it earlier in the day. He’d originally planned to have furniture delivered on Saturday, but given this business with Raylene, he’d put it off.
“It has a bed,” she told him with a grin. “I had it delivered right after the closing. I went by and put brand-new sheets on it myself.”
Yet again she’d caught him off guard. “Well, now, aren’t you efficient?”
She winked at him as she sashayed past. “I certainly aim to please.”
That, of course, was part of the problem, Walter thought, even as he followed her from the gun range. She pleased him in ways he’d never imagined. Part of it was the fact that she was never predictable. He’d spent so much of his life doing exactly what was expected of him. Discovering that he could be spontaneous had been a revelation to him.
But that cautious side of his nature that still overwhelmed him from time to time warned that it might be hard to live with unpredictability over the long haul.
Still, as he cast an appreciative glance over the woman seated next to him, that was a worry for another day. Tonight, spontaneity held a lot of allure.