Home in Carolina

by Sherryl Woods

  “Then Dougie Johnson is an idiot and not good enough for you,” Ty declared emphatically.

  “But he’s sooo cute,” Katie said plaintively. “I’ve liked him since second grade.”

  Ty hid a smile. “Then it’s time you met someone new. Why don’t you come with me to the ball field today? I’ll bet there’s someone on one of the teams who’s cuter and smarter than Dougie Johnson and who’ll think you’re awesome.”

  She hesitated, her expression thoughtful. Eventually, she said, “There is this one guy who plays on Tom’s team. He’s at least fifteen and way cuter than Dougie. I asked Jeanette at the spa—she’s married to Tom now—if she could find out if he had a girlfriend, and she told me he doesn’t. I’ll bet if he finds out I’m your sister, he’ll pay attention to me.”

  At last, a way to use his fame for good, Ty thought with amusement. He’d be his little sister’s teenage boy magnet. Of course, if one of the little punks even looked at her cross-eyed, Ty would be forced to beat the daylights out of him, but he’d cross that bridge later.

  “Let’s go hook up with Cal and the little guys,” he said. “Then we’ll put this operation into action.”

  Katie grinned at him. “You’re the best big brother ever.”

  He waved the fistful of money under her nose. “Let’s not tell Mom why you think so,” he warned. “You need to give this money back, okay? Promise me.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “If you want me to find you a cool guy, you do.”

  “Okay,” she said grudgingly. “But this guy better be worth it. I was saving up for a new iPod. I lost my old one, and Mom says I have to replace it myself so I’ll learn to be more responsible.”

  Ty draped an arm across her shoulders. “Growing up and being responsible sucks, doesn’t it?”

  Katie sighed dramatically. “You’re telling me.”

  Annie was working with one of her regulars when Sarah came in, twenty minutes early for her appointment.

  “You must be really eager to get started,” Annie said, surprised not just by the early arrival, but also by the spark of excitement in Sarah’s eyes.

  “Forget the workout. I heard something this morning, and I couldn’t wait to get in here to tell you. It’s going to make your day.” She grinned at Annie’s client. “I’m sorry to interrupt your session, but could I borrow her for just one minute?”

  “If it means I can stop this torture while she’s gone, take your time,” Marijo Butler said.

  Annie gave her a stern look. “Just for that, do ten more reps while I’m gone.”

  She walked to the side of the room with Sarah. “What’s this about?”

  “Ty,” Sarah said, then held up her hand when Annie would have turned right around and walked away. “I know he’s bound to be a sore subject with you, but this will cheer you up. It was the hot news at Wharton’s this morning.”

  She described how Katie had been selling admission to her friends to catch a glimpse of Ty. “So the word is already all over Wharton’s, and then he and Katie walk in to join Cal Maddox. The whole place erupts with wolf whistles and catcalls. Ty about died right on the spot.”

  Despite herself, Annie couldn’t help chuckling. Served him right.

  “I swear I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody so embarrassed in my whole life, except maybe you after you passed out in his arms while you were dancing at his mom’s wedding to Coach Maddox.”

  Annie flinched. “I’d really rather not think about that,” she said. It was a memory she’d tried to bury, though Dr. McDaniels dragged it out every once in a while as a reminder of when she should have realized just how bad her eating disorder had gotten.

  Sarah regarded her intently. “But the story was worth it, wasn’t it? You’re not mad at me for mentioning Ty?”

  “I’m not mad.”

  “One of these days we’re going to have to sit down so you can tell me how things between the two of you got to be such a mess. I saw the tabloids in the supermarket a few years back and couldn’t believe my eyes. What on earth was that man thinking?”

  “We’ll have to wait till I figure that out myself,” Annie said. “Now, since you’re here early, there’s no point in wasting time. Go spend the extra few minutes on the treadmill until I can get to you.”

  Sarah looked distraught. “You are mad at me, aren’t you?”

  “No, I’m being a good friend by making you do what you came to me for. You did hire me to see that you had a hard workout, right?”

  “Something I could come to regret,” Sarah grumbled, but she dutifully went off and climbed onto a treadmill, leaving Annie to gloat quietly to herself over the scene Sarah had described in Wharton’s.

  Then she thought of sweet little Katie doing such a thing in the first place and her smile spread. Maybe she wasn’t going to have to do a thing to humiliate Ty and have her revenge for the pain he’d caused her. At this rate, his family might make him suffer quite nicely without her help.

  Because she couldn’t help herself, Annie lingered at the spa after closing to see if Ty would show up for his workout. She was still in her office when Elliott walked in.

  “You know Ty’s going to be here soon, right?”

  She grinned. “I’m counting on it.”

  Elliott looked taken aback for an instant, then chuckled. “Oh, you heard about the teen version of show-and-tell, didn’t you?”

  Annie nodded. “I hear it’s the talk of the town.”

  “And you intend to rub it in,” he guessed.

  “Just a little.”

  “As long as you’re hanging out, anyway, you could take over his session and I could get home to Karen,” Elliott suggested slyly. “I hate having a wife I hardly ever see.”

  “Don’t pull that pitiful act with me. I happen to know that Karen works at the restaurant on Saturday nights, anyway, so you’re not missing out on alone time with her.”

  Elliott sighed dramatically. “What was I thinking, trying to put one over on her boss’s daughter?”

  “I think you were just trying to throw me together with Ty,” she told him. “And it’s not going to work. All I want is a few minutes of gloating time, and then I’m out of here.”

  Just then Ty appeared in the doorway. Clearly he’d overheard her remark, because there was a telltale blush on his cheeks. “I gather you heard.”

  “I did. You’re now the poster boy for the young teen girls in Serenity. How does it feel?”

  “Ridiculous,” he muttered.

  “How much older do they need to be before it feels terrific?” she asked, unable to keep the bitter note out of her voice. “How old is the average major league groupie, anyway?”

  Elliott backed out of the room. “That’s my cue to leave. Ty, I’m ready when you are.”

  “Five minutes,” Ty replied tightly, his gaze never leaving Annie.

  When Elliott was gone, he shut the door, then locked it for good measure. Annie began to get the idea that she might have pushed him too far.

  “A lock won’t keep Elliott out if I scream,” she warned.

  Ty just stared at her and shook his head, looking hurt and bemused. “What is wrong with you? You know that the women I was involved with were just that, women. You also know I would never lay a hand on you in anger. I get that you’re mad at me, but you’re crossing a line, Annie.”

  She knew she was on shaky ground, but she stood up and stared him down, anyway. “You’re the one who crossed a line. You don’t get to act all self-righteous now.”

  “I do if you’re going to hint around that there was anything improper in what I did. I betrayed you, Annie. I cheated on you. I have no defense for that, but it wasn’t ugly and you know it. You know me better than that.”

  She flinched under his furious gaze. “Yes, I do,” she admitted, deflated. “I’m sorry. That was a low blow. I could hear the words coming out of my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to stop them.”

  “How about this? How about I blow
off my workout with Elliott and you and I go someplace and have this out once and for all. You can yell at me, call me names, make all the outrageous accusations that will make you feel better, and maybe then we can finally move on.”

  She was shaking her head before he finished. “I won’t let it be that easy for you.”

  “You want me to pay?”

  She nodded. “I’m not sure what that says about me, but I do. I want you to hurt the way I hurt.”

  He met her gaze, his expression weary. “Believe me, Annie, not a day goes by when I don’t feel that kind of pain. I know what I cost you, what I cost us. And I know there’s nobody to blame but myself. I’ll have to live with that the rest of my life.”

  He was close enough to touch her cheek, a quick brush of his fingertip that left a trail of fire and a sea of longing. “Let me know if you ever change your mind and want to have that talk.”

  Then, before she could respond, he walked out, not just out of her office, but out of the spa.

  Elliott walked in and found her still standing there, tears tracking down her cheeks.

  “What the hell did he do to you?”

  “Nothing.”

  “It wasn’t nothing. You’re crying.”

  “Because I didn’t think it was possible for things to get any worse between us,” she whispered. “And now they are.”

  And for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine how they’d ever be right again.

  “Helen, I’m not made of spun glass. You can drive a little faster,” Flo commented from the backseat of the rental car as they crossed the Florida-Georgia border. “Otherwise it’ll be midsummer by the time we get home.”

  “Mother, I’m driving the speed limit,” Helen replied, gritting her teeth against the desire to say a whole lot more.

  “Nobody drives the speed limit,” Flo scoffed. “There’s a five-mile-an-hour cushion before the cops will stop you.”

  “Not in Georgia. These cops have a reputation for strictly enforcing the law. Why are we even arguing about this? I’m the one behind the wheel.”

  “I just thought you’d be more anxious to get home,” Flo retorted.

  “I am anxious, but I’d like to get there in one piece. Why don’t you rest for a while? Close your eyes. I’ll wake you when it’s time to stop for lunch.”

  “We’ll have to do a drive-through,” her mother said. “I don’t know if I can get out of the car.”

  “Sooner or later, you’re going to need to use a restroom. We’ll have to go inside then, so we might as well go to a regular restaurant.”

  “Then how about Cracker Barrel?” Flo suggested at once. “I like that place. I can do a little shopping, maybe find something for Sarah Beth. They have real cute things in the gift shop.”

  “I’ll watch for a sign,” Helen conceded. Maybe she could rent a book on tape and play it loudly enough to drown out her mother’s complaints about her driving.

  Getting ready for the trip had taken a day longer than she’d originally planned. Her mother had insisted on going home at least overnight, so she could supervise the packing of the things she’d need right away in Serenity. A friend had helped Flo pack up clothes, while Helen had made sure all the bills and business papers were boxed up for the trip. The back of their small SUV rental was jammed with suitcases and cartons.

  Loading the car had been a breeze compared to getting Flo herself settled comfortably. In the backseat, she was surrounded by pillows and covered with a blanket, since she claimed Helen kept the car much too cold. By the time they’d gone twenty miles, she’d grumbled about the temperature, the speed, the bumpiness of the highway, the boring scenery and Helen’s refusal to stay in the left lane.

  For a moment, though, there was blessed silence from the back. Helen dared to hope that they could cover another hundred miles before her mother woke and started in again. She’d like to have lunch north of Savannah. From there it would only be another couple of hours before she’d be in Serenity. Erik, with his seemingly endless amount of patience, could take over.

  “I keep thinking I’ve left something important behind,” her mother said, destroying the rare moment of quiet.

  “Such as?”

  “Well, if I knew that, it wouldn’t keep nagging at me,” Flo said. “It’s not as if I can make a quick trip around the corner to get it.”

  “If you left anything important behind, you can send your friend Betty over to get it. She has the key.”

  “True,” Flo said, “but I don’t know as I want her digging around in my things.”

  Helen rolled her eyes. “Then why’d you give her a key?”

  “Someone needed to have one for emergencies, and she lives closest.”

  “She seemed nice to me. I’m sure she’s perfectly trustworthy.”

  “Of course she is,” Flo said. “She’s just nosy. She’ll use any excuse to go poking around in things that are none of her business.”

  “Mom, we have all of your important papers with us. We have your jewelry, most of your clothes and personal things, even a bunch of knickknacks. What could she possibly discover, a box of condoms in your nightstand?”

  “Helen Decatur-Whitney, that is not amusing.”

  Helen bit the inside of her lip. She thought it had been at least a little bit funny.

  “My relationship with Frank Rogers is not a laughing matter,” Flo added for good measure, which pretty much wiped the beginnings of a smile right off Helen’s face.

  “Frank Rogers?” she repeated in a choked voice. Her mother had been having an affair? Why hadn’t she known about that? “You were involved with a man down there?”

  “I don’t know why you sound so shocked,” Flo said. “It wasn’t serious, for goodness’ sake. If it had been, would I be moving back home?”

  Condoms? A fling with a man named Frank? Helen could barely concentrate on the highway. She now had way too much information about her mother’s life, to say nothing of images that no daughter ought to have of her seventy-two-year-old mother. She needed to get off I–95 and go somewhere she could scream.

  Thankfully there was a sign for a Cracker Barrel at the next exit. Even though she’d hoped to drive a little farther before stopping, she took the exit ramp, followed the signs and found a parking spot that wasn’t too far from the front door.

  “Come on, Mother, let’s have lunch.”

  “I’m not hungry yet.”

  “Well, I am. You can have a cup of coffee and use the restroom.”

  “I don’t need to,” her mother protested.

  “Fine, then just wait for me in the car,” Helen said. She was about to slam the door and walk away, when her mother heaved a sigh and emerged from the car, then wrestled with the walker she’d been told to use.

  Helen assisted her inside, got her settled at a table, gave the waitress an order for a huge breakfast she’d never be able to eat, then excused herself and practically ran back to the parking lot with her cell phone in hand.

  She considered calling Erik, but given his recent tendency to support her mother, she opted for calling Maddie instead.

  “My mother was having a fling with some man named Frank,” she announced the second Maddie answered.

  “Okay,” Maddie said slowly. “Did I need to know that?”

  “I didn’t need to know that,” Helen said. “I’m in hell.”

  “Where are you actually?”

  “Somewhere south of Savannah and north of Jacksonville. We stopped for lunch.”

  “At eleven in the morning?”

  “I had to get out of that car,” Helen said.

  “Where’s Flo now?”

  “Inside. I have to get back before our food comes, but I needed moral support.”

  “Always,” Maddie said, though she didn’t seem to be doing a very good job of hiding her amusement. “Having Flo back home may turn out to be more interesting than any of us thought. Is Frank going to be your new daddy?”

  “You are so not funny,”
Helen said.

  Maddie tried unsuccessfully to choke back a laugh. “Sorry,” she murmured. “You might want to prepare yourself, though. Your mother seems to be full of surprises.”

  “I knew this was going to be hard. I didn’t expect anything like this,” Helen said. “Maddie, what am I going to do?”

  “I don’t think there’s anything you can do. She’s a grown woman.” Maddie hesitated, then added, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think it’s kind of sweet.”

  “Having a boyfriend is kind of sweet,” Helen corrected. “Having condoms beside her bed, not so sweet! That image will be burned into my brain through eternity.”

  “Sweetie, Frank is in Florida. He’s been left behind. Once she’s here, she won’t even be able to leave the house for a while, so I doubt you’ll have to worry about her meeting anyone new. No one will be heating up the sheets in your guest room.”

  Helen considered that. A sigh of relief washed over her. “True. Thank you. I’d better get back inside.”

  “It’s going to be fine, you know. It really is.”

  “Tell me you’d feel that way if Paula suddenly announced she was moving in with you and Cal,” Helen challenged, referring to Maddie’s artist mother whose eccentricities drove Maddie mad.

  “Point taken. Drive safely. I’ll stop by tomorrow unless you want help tonight getting your mom settled.”

  “No, tomorrow’s good. Thanks again for dragging me off the ledge.”

  “Anytime,” Maddie said.

  Feeling marginally better, Helen went back inside to find that her eggs, bacon, biscuits, potatoes and sausage gravy had all been served. She stuffed down every bite, along with her feelings.

  7

  Annie stood outside Sarah’s house—a small white bungalow with a lawn that needed tending—and suddenly felt like she was a kid again. She was just blocks from her own home, where she’d been living with her parents since coming back to Serenity.

  How many times had she hung out here, listening to music, giggling over boys, crying when her mom had kicked her dad out and he’d left town? This was where she’d first voiced her dreams of a future with Ty. She’d been so crazy about him. Still was, if she were to be totally honest.