Home In Carolina

“I can’t sleep over,” Maddie grumbled. “I have children.”

“Who probably shouldn’t see you in your current state,” Helen said. “I’ll call Cal, too. Jeanette, are you staying? Should I call Tom?”

“Well, I’m certainly not going to leave you three here to have all the fun,” Jeanette said. “But I’ll call Tom myself.” She fumbled in her purse, but apparently couldn’t find her phone. “I know I have a cell phone.” She stared at her purse accusingly. “Where’s it hiding?”

“Never mind. I’ll call,” Helen said.

It had been a long time since she’d thrown a party that no one left before dawn. After a shaky start, this was starting to show signs of being one of the best margarita nights ever.

Ty’s workout at The Corner Spa had only lasted an hour tonight. Every move he’d made, every weight he’d tried to lift, had sent pain radiating down his arm and across his shoulder and back. He knew he’d been pressing it by starting rehab so soon after the surgery and trying to do more than the doctors had recommended. It was just so blasted frustrating to be barely weeks into what had promised to be the best season of his career, only to be sidelined by an injury.

Eventually Elliott had called a halt. “You need to ease up on yourself before you do more harm than good.”

“One more set,” Ty pleaded.

Elliott blocked his way when he would have picked up the weights. “Not tonight. Listen to me, Ty. I know you’re anxious to get back on the field, but if you try to do too much, you’ll have a setback. You’ve done an okay job of trying to hide the fact that you’re in pain, but it’s not working, pal.”

Ty knew he was right, but it grated. “Okay, whatever.”

“Have you given any more thought to asking Annie for help?” Elliott asked.

“We both know I can’t do that. She wouldn’t even consider it, anyway.”

“She might,” Elliott said.

Ty regarded him curiously. “Have you discussed it with her?”

“As a matter of fact, I mentioned it to her earlier today.”

For a moment Ty felt something akin to hope. “Did she say she’d do it?”

“Actually she said no,” Elliott admitted. “But I think that’s because I was the one asking. If you talked to her…” He met Ty’s gaze. “The two of you were close once. I honestly don’t think she could turn you down. It goes against everything she believes about helping people recover from injuries. She thinks of it as a mission. She’d never turn her back on you, not if you explain what the stakes are for you.”

Ty shook his head. “I won’t put her in that position,” he said. “It’s not fair.” No matter how quickly he wanted to get back on the ball field, he wouldn’t use the kind of manipulation Elliott was suggesting to speed up the process of his recovery. Besides, realistically, what could Annie do that Elliott wasn’t already doing? If there came a time when he needed more skilled help with his rehab, he could always bring in another trainer. The team would send someone the instant he asked.

“Let’s just keep things the way they are,” he told Elliott. “Unless I’m cutting into too much of your free time.”

“Absolutely not. I’m happy to help. After everything your mother did to help Karen when her life was a mess, helping you out is the least I can do. Karen and I found each other back then.”

“Same time tomorrow, then?” Ty asked, relieved.

“You got it. Meantime, cut yourself some slack. Relax, okay? Take the rest of the night off.”

Unfortunately Ty was too edgy to relax. And since his workout had been curtailed and Trevor was with Ty’s siblings and Cal at the ball field or the town’s favorite pizza place, he decided to burn off some of his energy and his frustrations by running. At least he could stay in shape that way.

He debated heading for the track at the high school, but he didn’t want to take a chance that Little League practice might still be going on. The kids treated him like some kind of hero. That made him feel like such a fraud. He might be an excellent ballplayer, but he’d failed at the one thing that really mattered…being a good man.

Instead, to avoid an uncomfortable encounter with some pint-size fans, Ty drove over to the path around the lake. In early spring the park was filled with huge bushes of pink, purple and white azaleas in full bloom. The riot of color and balmy evenings drew quite a few people, but it was late enough now that most people had finished their evening strolls, and he could be alone with his thoughts.

He was on his second lap, panting hard and testing his limits, when he saw her. Annie was sitting by herself on a bench, mostly in the shadows. If a breeze hadn’t stirred the leaves, allowing a shaft of moonlight to fall on her, he might not have noticed her.

The fact that she was out here alone in a secluded area infuriated him. She ought to know better. Serenity might be comparatively safe, but a woman out unaccompanied after dark was still putting herself into the position of becoming a target for some predator.

He crossed the grass to stand over her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

At the sound of his voice, Annie blinked hard and stared up at him with unmistakable dismay. “Go away, Ty.”

He stood his ground. “Not a chance. Are you crazy, sitting out here all alone at this hour, practically asking some nutcase to assault you?”

“It’s not the middle of the night, for heaven’s sake. It’s barely nine o’clock. And this is Serenity. I’m perfectly safe.”

“Really? Did you even hear me coming? Did you notice you weren’t alone? Geez, Annie, I could have attacked you and you wouldn’t have seen it coming.”

She scowled at him. “You don’t get to worry about me.”

“Well, I do, especially when I see you doing something stupid.”

That brought her immediately to her feet, her cheeks flushed with anger. He knew her well enough to guess she was mostly furious because she knew he was right. She seemed to be having a hard time finding the right words to tell him off, again because she knew she was the one in the wrong.

Out of the shadows now, he could see the tracks of dried tears on her cheeks. Before he could ask about that, she pulled herself together and—right or wrong—got right up in his face.

“Stupid! You’re calling me stupid?” she said, poking a finger into his stomach. “Boy, that takes some gall. Then, again, you know all about stupid, don’t you, Tyler Townsend? You mastered it several years ago. Too bad there wasn’t anyone around to save you from yourself.”

In some ways, her fury was better than the anguish in her eyes when he’d told her about the baby. He’d known back then not only how he’d disappointed her, but how much he’d hurt her. He’d rather have her fighting mad any day. At least she was displaying some real spirit, instead of staring at him with the defeated expression he’d seen on her face when he’d first approached.

“I wish there had been,” he said softly. “I wish someone had sat me down and told me I was behaving like a jerk.”

“Well, maybe it’s three years too late, but I’m happy to help out,” she said. “You’re a jerk, Ty. An idiot. A pig.”

“There’s nothing you can call me that I haven’t called myself.”

“Good, then it’s unanimous.”

“I don’t suppose it would help if I said again that I’m sorry.”

“It didn’t help then and it doesn’t help now,” she retorted without hesitation.

Ignoring her temper and her dismissal of his apology, he drank in the sight of her. To his eyes she looked too thin, but not in that awful way she had when she’d been anorexic. Her hair, which had been dull and brittle back then, shone now. Her eyes sparkled, though that was probably because she was angry with him. Her mouth…well, it was probably better if he didn’t focus on her mouth. He might make the mistake of trying to kiss her.

“I’ve missed you,” he said quietly.

She stared at him for a heartbeat, and for one tiny instant he felt hopeful. There was no mistaking the emotion in her eyes, the hint of longing, but then her expression hardened and her voice turned cold.

“I met your son tonight,” she said. “He looks just like you.”

Ty had no idea how to respond. Obviously encountering Trevor had upset her. How could it not? Maybe that explained the tears. Guilt washed over him for about the millionth time.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. It was all he could think of to say.