Home In Carolina

“For what? You weren’t there. It’s a small town. I was bound to see him sooner or later. I have to tell you, I’d hoped it would be later. Maybe in some other lifetime.”

Ty raked his fingers through his hair. “I knew this was a mistake. I never should have come back here. It wasn’t fair to you. I guess I’d just hoped…” He cut himself off when he caught the faint flicker of guilt in her eyes. “Don’t you dare feel guilty,” he said. “I’m the one who messed things up. It’s my fault you’re bumping into my son. Hell, it’s my fault that I have a son.”

She met his gaze. “It shouldn’t matter,” she said wistfully. “I don’t want it to matter.”

He ached to take her in his arms, to tell her what she wanted to hear, that he would go, but he couldn’t do any of that. She wouldn’t thank him for the touch, the sympathy or the offer.

Instead, he asked, “What can I do to make things easier for you?”

“Nothing,” she said immediately. “I need to go.” She tried to brush past him.

“Annie, no,” he protested, reaching for her hand. “Can’t you stay here a few minutes, maybe talk things out? We used to be able to deal with anything that came our way. Nobody understood me better than you. The reverse was true, too. I always got you in ways nobody else did.”

“Not anymore,” she said fiercely, jerking her hand free. She gave him a look that would have wilted a man with a lesser ego. “Besides, haven’t you heard?” she said wryly. “The lake’s no place for a woman at this time of night. The only people around are nutcases.”

With that, she turned and walked away, spine rigid, shoulders stiff.

This time he didn’t try to stop her. He waited until she was out of sight, then released a pent-up sigh. That certainly hadn’t gone the way he’d wished his first encounter with her would go.

Then, again, he thought optimistically, she hadn’t hit him with anything or walked off without saying a word, so maybe there was hope for the future, after all.

Chapter Four

Annie had a jam-packed schedule of clients on Saturdays. Most were regulars, but one or two new people showed up each week. As tempted as she was to take another day off, she knew it would be unfair to all of them. It would also be cowardly.

Sooner or later she was going to have to face people, even knowing that a lot of those people were going to bring up Ty’s return to Serenity just to gauge her reaction. As for facing Maddie, she couldn’t put that off forever, either. At least on Saturday Maddie didn’t hang around as long. She popped in to check on things, then spent the rest of the day with her family. Chances were, if Annie was careful she could avoid bumping into Maddie until at least Monday.

Despite giving herself a stern pep talk, Annie got her first taste of how bad the day was likely to be when she stopped by Wharton’s for breakfast. She rarely ate her morning meal in the old-fashioned drugstore on Main Street with its booths and soda fountain, because it was always crowded and the coffee was better at her mom’s restaurant. Today, however, the doors at Sullivan’s had been locked tight, and there’d been no sign of her mom or Erik. She’d have to find out what that was about later.

In Wharton’s, where half the town hung out at some point during the day, she slid into a booth and buried her face in a menu. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to discourage the locals from staring and whispering or to prevent Grace Wharton from squeezing her ample body onto the seat opposite Annie.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk about Ty,” the older woman said, then went right ahead and did it, anyway. “I thought you ought to know that everyone in town is on your side in this. The way that boy treated you is a crying shame. His mama taught him better than that. Of course, his daddy’s example…” Her voice trailed off in obvious embarrassment at the mention of Bill Townsend’s sleazy affair with his nurse and its resulting pregnancy.

Despite the slip about Ty’s father, the genuine sympathy Annie heard in Grace’s voice, to say nothing of her indignation on Annie’s behalf, brought tears to Annie’s eyes. “Thanks, Grace,” she murmured, not looking up. “But could we not talk about this, please?”

“Of course,” Grace said, immediately apologetic. “I know the whole situation is upsetting, but I wanted you to know how people around here feel. You’re a strong young woman. You’ll get through this.”

“Thanks.”

“And with a little time, maybe the two of you will be able to work things out,” Grace added, regarding her hopefully.

“Not a chance,” Annie said flatly.

Grace seemed taken aback by Annie’s fierce declaration. “Well, then, just so you know, he’s been coming in here around this time of the morning for breakfast, and he usually has his son with him.”

Annie fought a sudden desire to bolt. Before she could weigh her options, though, Grace added, “If he comes while you’re here this morning, I’ll send him away. It’s the least I can do.”

Annie bit back a groan at the thought of the gossip that would stir up. “No, don’t do that, please, Grace. Just bring me a bowl of oatmeal with some milk and honey. With any luck, I can eat and be gone before he gets here.”

Grace looked vaguely smug, though Annie had no idea why.

“Are you sure?” Grace continued, her tone solicitous. “I’ll be happy to stop him at the door.”

Annie knew she meant it, too, but then word would be all over town by lunchtime that Ty had been banished from Wharton’s because of her. She thought back to what her dad had said about the town taking sides. Here was the first taste of what that would be like.

“No, just hurry with the oatmeal, okay?”

Grace patted her hand. “Whatever you say, dear.”

She scurried away and returned in less than a minute with Annie’s food. “Now, you take your time. I’ll be on the lookout. I’ll let you know if Ty’s heading this way. You can even scoot out the back door, if you want.”

“Thanks, Grace. Leave my check, okay?”

“It’s by the register. I’ll get it for you in a sec,” Grace promised. “Or you can just pay me next time you come in.”

Despite Grace’s offer of a warning, Annie practically gulped down the piping-hot oatmeal, burning her tongue in the process. Just one more thing she could blame on Ty, she thought bitterly.

Just then she looked up to find him standing beside her table, wearing snug, faded jeans and an old Duke T-shirt that fit him like a glove, emphasizing every muscle in his well-toned body. His dark hair was rumpled, and he held Trevor in his arms, the boy still wearing his pj’s from the looks of it.

So much for the early warning system, Annie thought in despair. Where the devil was Grace now? And why did Ty and Trevor’s sudden appearance, looking as if they’d rushed over here, immediately stir her suspicions?

“Hi, Annie,” Trevor said, his tone chipper. “Are me and Daddy gonna eat with you?”

She looked around desperately for Grace, but the woman was suddenly nowhere to be found. Nor was Annie’s check.

“It’s okay,” Ty said, his expression somber. “No need to make up excuses. We just stopped to say hello. We won’t interrupt you.”

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, he’d innocently managed to put her on the defensive. Annie was sure he was trying to make things easier, but instead he made her feel guilty because she was incapable of pretending things between them were fine. If they’d been nothing more than old friends, an invitation to join her would have come naturally. Instead, the expected polite words lodged in her throat.

“I was just leaving,” she finally managed to say, scrambling to dig money out of her purse. She found herself rambling on, to Ty’s obvious amusement. “I usually don’t eat here, but no one’s around at Sullivan’s to feed me. I suppose I should have just grabbed a muffin at the spa.”

Ty grinned, reminding her of the boy he’d been when she’d first fallen wildly in love with him. Back then she would have done just about anything to coax that beguiling smile out of him.

“Apparently margarita night got out of hand,” he explained. “Your mom and mine spent the night at Helen’s. The way I heard it from Cal, Erik’s trying to cope with a whole houseful of women with hangovers.”

Despite herself, Annie chuckled. “I’m not surprised. Have you ever had one of Helen’s margaritas? They could knock a linebacker down for the count.”

“They’ve never offered me one. It sounds as if you have personal experience, though.”

She nodded and surprised herself by continuing to exchange small talk rather than bolting for the door as she’d planned. “They invited me to a margarita night right after I got back to town. They said it was time the next generation of Sweet Magnolias was indoctrinated into one of their rituals. It took me at least a day to recover, and I was careful. I only had two.”

“But you stayed away last night,” he said, studying her. “Was that because of me, because you thought it would be more awkward between your mom and mine if you were there as a reminder that I messed things up between us?”

“Not everything is about you,” she said, because she didn’t want him to get the idea that he had that much influence over her life, her moods or anything else these days. To reveal that he did after all this time would be pathetic.

“Dammit, that is why,” he said as Trevor’s eyes widened.

“Bad word, Daddy,” his son announced.