Honeysuckle Summer

“Carter Rollins,” Raylene said, her voice tight.

Sarah frowned. “Okay, let me see if I can figure this out. Carter Rollins made what seems to me to be an incredibly sweet gesture, and somehow that’s annoyed you.”

“It’s not the gesture that annoyed me,” Raylene insisted. “It’s what he wants in return.”

“Which is?”

“Me,” Raylene said, still not able to get over her shock that a man as sexy and appealing as Carter would want someone with her emotional baggage. “He obviously has some knight-in-shining-armor complex or something.”

“He’s a cop. Don’t they all want to save the world?”

“Well, I don’t want to be his project.”

“But you do want him,” Sarah guessed. “I can see it in your eyes. The guy turns you on.”

Sarah was the second person to suggest such a thing. Even Walter had figured it out, and he hadn’t even had to see her face to do it. Obviously there was no point in faking a denial. “Well, if you weren’t madly in love with Travis, Carter would probably turn you on, too. He’d turn on any woman with a functioning libido.”

“But your libido has been in hibernation,” Sarah said, fighting a grin. “Is that what you find so annoying? You’re suddenly faced with the fact that you’re still alive?”

Raylene scowled at her, but Sarah merely waited her out. “Okay, yes,” she said finally. “I don’t want to feel anything for him or anyone else because there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. No man is ever going to want to be tied to a woman who can’t leave the house.”

“If I recall, most bedrooms are inside houses,” Sarah teased.

“You know what I mean,” Raylene said. “My situation isn’t normal. It may never be normal.”

“Didn’t you tell me after your second appointment with Dr. McDaniels yesterday that she’s optimistic?”

“Of course she’s optimistic. Do you think she’s going to come in here, throw up her hands and tell me I’m beyond hope? Shrinks don’t like to admit defeat.”

“Or maybe she really believes you’re going to get better,” Sarah countered. Her gaze narrowed. “Or did I miss something? Did something happen on Friday to leave you sounding so discouraged? Now that I think about it, you’ve been in this weird mood ever since that session.”

“I’m just facing reality,” Raylene said.

“Meaning?”

“The medication didn’t do a thing to help. I felt so good, too. I was calm and relaxed. Dr. McDaniels had this really soothing tone that helped me. I was so ready to walk out of the house. I just knew I could do it.” She sighed. “And then, the second I tried to step outside, I nearly came unglued. It was bizarre. I had absolutely no control over it. Talk about a reality check.”

“Gee, and you’d been on the medication and in treatment for how long? Two whole days? I’m shocked,” Sarah said with exaggerated disbelief.

“It’s not funny,” Raylene said. “There should have been some sign of change.”

“Was Dr. McDaniels expecting a miraculous change?” Sarah asked.

“No.”

“What exactly did she say?”

“Not to be discouraged, that it could take a while for the medication to kick in, that I might need a stronger dose or a different medication, blah-blah-blah.”

“Oh, sweetie, I know it must have been frustrating, but she’s right. You’ve been suffering with this disorder, phobia or whatever it is for a couple of years now. It’s not going to vanish overnight.”

“It might never go away,” Raylene said. “I need to accept that.”

“Don’t you dare give in to such a defeatist attitude!” Sarah said heatedly. “I will not allow you to give up, especially after just two sessions with Dr. McDaniels. Do I have to call the rest of the Sweet Magnolias and stage an intervention? Because I will, if that’s what you need. You are better than this, Raylene Hammond. You are not a quitter. And, frankly, if a man as sexy as you seem to think Carter Rollins is suddenly wants to hang around, I’d think that would be motivation enough to keep you fighting to get better.”

“I never said I was going to quit,” Raylene said. “You don’t need to resort to an intervention. I just said I need to accept reality.”

“Accepting is barely one step away from giving up,” Sarah said, obviously still agitated. “Not an option, is that clear?”

Raylene regarded her with amusement. “If Walter could only see you now. You’re definitely not the meek little woman who let him and his parents get away with bullying her.”

Sarah blinked at the comment. “You know, you’re right. I have changed. And while we’re on the subject of Walter, what’s this I hear about you trying to fix him up with Rory Sue? The word is out the two of them were at Rosalina’s the other night.”

Relieved to have the focus off her mental state and off Carter, Raylene merely grinned. “I thought it might be fun.”

“Are you crazy? Rory Sue and Walter?” She shook her head. “If he ever took her home to Alabama, both his parents would wind up in the cardiac-care unit of the local hospital.”

“Like I said, fun,” Raylene repeated. “You can’t possibly expect me to believe you actually care about what those two awful people think.”

“No, but I don’t necessarily want them dead.”

“Well, their state of mind and health are no longer your concern, and Walter’s life needs shaking up. It’s time he stops pining for what he lost when the two of you got divorced.”

“Walter has hardly been pining for me.”

“Of course he has. He just knows he doesn’t stand a chance now that you have Travis in your life, though frankly, the fact that you haven’t set a wedding date yet must be giving him hope.”

Sarah regarded her indignantly. “You know perfectly well that there are a lot of reasons we haven’t set a date yet. Getting the station up and running has been a lot of work. With such a small staff, we couldn’t both be gone for even a brief honeymoon, and we agreed we want a big wedding. That takes time to plan. And then there are my folks. My dad’s health hasn’t been good, so he hasn’t been up to traveling.”

“Okay, I get it,” Raylene said. “But does Walter?”

“He certainly ought to by now,” Sarah said. “The two of us were always a terrible match, anyway.”

“True enough,” Raylene said. “He fed your insecurities. Not intentionally, maybe. It’s just the way things were as long as you were living under his parents’ thumb.”

“Let’s get back to Rory Sue,” Sarah said, once again looking bewildered. “Seriously? You honestly think those two belong together?”

“They’ll have to figure that out for themselves,” Raylene said. “But I do think she’s self-confident enough to give him a run for his money. Walter needs a challenge.”

“Meaning I’m a wimp,” Sarah said, looking disgruntled.

“You were a wimp,” Raylene concurred without hesitation. “And now you’re not. You are the woman you were meant to be—strong, confident, comfortable in your own skin. Watching the transformation has been amazing. You’re amazing!”

Sarah’s expression brightened at her words, but then Raylene realized the change had nothing to do with her. Travis opened the kitchen door and at the sight of him, Sarah practically glowed with happiness. It was that way whenever he dropped by, which was most nights and weekends. For a man who lived blocks away, he was underfoot a lot.

“Hey,” he said in his low, sexy drawl, his gaze on his fiancée. Raylene might as well not have been in the room.

“Hey,” Sarah said, equally oblivious to the fact that they had company.