Praise for the novels of New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author

SHERRYL WOODS

“Sherryl Woods writes emotionally satisfying novels about family, friendship and home. Truly feel-great reads!”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

“Woods…is noted for appealing character-driven stories that are often infused with the flavor and fragrance of the South.”

—Library Journal

“Sherryl Woods is a uniquely gifted writer whose deep understanding of human nature is woven into every page.”

—New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers

“Warm, complex, and satisfying.”

—Library Journal on Harbor Lights

“Sparks fly in a lively tale that is overflowing with family conflict and warmth and the possibility of rekindled love.”

—Library Journal on Flowers on Main

“Launching the Chesapeake Shores series, Woods (Welcome to Serenity) creates an engrossing…family drama.”

—Publishers Weekly on The Inn at Eagle Point

“Compulsively readable…Woods’s novel easily rises above hot-button topics to tell a universal tale of friendship’s redemptive power.”

—Publishers Weekly on Mending Fences

“Sweetly satisfying, clever characters and snappy, realistic dialogue…a delightful read.”

—Publishers Weekly on About That Man

Home in Carolina
Sherryl Woods

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Chapter One

Settled at her usual table near the kitchen of her mom’s restaurant, Annie Sullivan ate the last of her omelet and opened the local paper to the sports section. Even though she and major league pitcher Tyler Townsend, a hometown boy, had been apart for a long time now, it was a habit she hadn’t been able to break. She kept hoping that one day she’d see his name in print and it wouldn’t hurt. So far, though, that hadn’t happened.

Today, with the baseball season barely started in mid-April, she was expecting nothing more than a small jolt to her system from the local weekly. Instead, her jaw dropped at the headline at the top of the page: Star Braves Pitcher Ty Townsend on Injured Reserve. The article went on to report that after pitching just three games, the baseball sensation from Serenity would be out indefinitely following surgery two weeks ago for a potentially career-ending injury to his shoulder. He’d be doing rehab, possibly for months, and he’d be doing it right here in town. He was, in fact, already here.

Clutching the paper in a white-knuckled grip, Annie had to draw in several deep breaths before she could stand. Shouting for her mother, she headed straight for the restaurant kitchen, only to be intercepted by sous-chef Erik Whitney.

Regarding her with concern, Erik steadied her when she would have dashed right past him. “Hey, sweetheart, where’s the fire?” he asked.

“I need to see my mother,” she said, trying to wrench free of his grasp.

“She’s in her office. What’s wrong, Annie? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

Though she’d poured out her heart to Erik as a teenager, right this second she was incapable of speech. Instead, Annie simply handed him the paper.

Erik took one look at the headline and muttered a curse. “I knew this was going to happen,” he said.

Annie stared at him, her sense of betrayal deepening. “You knew about this? You knew Ty was back in town?”

Erik nodded. “Since the day before yesterday.”

“Mom, too?”

He nodded again.

Now it was Annie who uttered a curse, made a U-turn and headed back to the table to grab her purse. What had everyone been thinking, conspiring to keep something this huge from her? Especially her mom, who knew better than anyone the damage secrets, lies and betrayal could do.

Erik stuck with her. “Come on, Annie, don’t blame your mother for this. Go to her office. Talk to her,” he urged as she stormed past him through the kitchen. “She was just trying to protect you.”

At the door, she turned and asked angrily, “So I could be blindsided, instead? Ty had surgery two weeks ago, Erik! He’s been in town how long—a couple of days? A week? It’s not as if this happened yesterday.”

“I’m sure Dana Sue thought it wouldn’t make the paper here before she had a chance to tell you.”

“Forget the stupid newspaper. We’re talking about Serenity in an age of cell phones and the Internet,” Annie said incredulously. “Gossip spreads in minutes, and around here Ty’s big news. Heck, even you knew, and you’re not tapped into the grapevine. You all knew before one word of this hit the paper.”

“Helen’s tapped in and I’m married to her, to say nothing of working for your mom. Not much gets past the Sweet Magnolias. And in this case, they all knew what was going on the instant Maddie found out Ty had to have surgery.”

“Which begs the question,” Annie said bitterly. “Why didn’t anyone think I had a right to know?” A thought suddenly struck her. “That’s where Maddie went a couple of weeks ago, isn’t it? She went to be with Ty when he had his surgery.”

Erik nodded. “Look, it’s not about you deserving to know,” he said reasonably. “You’ve been pretty touchy about anything to do with Ty for quite a while now. Nobody’s known quite how to handle it.”

Okay, that was fair. In fact, Annie totally understood the dilemma. She and Ty had been together on a casual basis during her senior year in high school and for a couple of years after that. Since their mothers, Dana Sue and Maddie, were best friends, she and Ty had been friends forever, as well. The ties binding them had been tight on many levels.

And then it had all unraveled. Annie supposed the breakup had been as inevitable as the fact that they’d fallen in love in the first place. After all, a superstar professional athlete had beautiful women falling at his feet in every city. How was Annie, the quiet hometown girl struggling every day to beat an eating disorder, supposed to compete with that, especially when she was still in college?

The official disintegration of their relationship had dragged out over an entire year, partly because neither of them had known how to dash all those parental expectations that they’d marry and live happily ever after.

For months they’d seen the handwriting on the wall, but they’d both been in denial. When tensions had been running especially high, they’d tried to avoid coming back to Serenity at the same time. On the rare occasions when family get-togethers couldn’t be avoided, they’d tried to deal with the awkwardness with carefully orchestrated polite indifference. They’d both understood how a bitter split could potentially damage the lifelong friendship between their mothers, and they’d wanted to avoid inflicting that kind of collateral damage. At least they’d agreed on that much.

Of course, all of that was before the real damage had been done, before Ty’s infidelity had become public knowledge in the worst possible way. After that, all bets had been off. There’d been no more pretense that things had ended amicably.

Fortunately, neither her mom nor Ty’s had asked too many questions once the facts were out there. It went beyond sensitivity. Annie suspected Dana Sue and Maddie had made a pact years earlier to leave the two of them alone. Goodness knew, the Sweet Magnolias, as Dana Sue and Maddie and Helen had been known since high school, meddled in everyone else’s lives, but over the years they’d barely mentioned Ty in Annie’s presence or her to him. More recently, the silence had been deafening.

Annie supposed their current avoidance of the subject was part of the same old pattern, though she was in no mood to cut them any slack this time. Didn’t they think she’d care that Ty had sustained a serious injury? Didn’t they know what it would do to her for him to be right back here, in her face every single day? Couldn’t they at least have warned her?

As she started out the door, Erik tried once more to stop her.

“Wait!” he commanded. “Come on, Annie. If you won’t talk to your mother, talk to me. I swear I’ll just listen. You can rant and rave all you want.”

She regarded him with a bleak expression. “There’s nothing to say.” Ty had as much right to come home to Serenity as she did, even if it would turn her life upside down.

“Where are you going?”

She shook her head. She honestly didn’t know. Not to work, that was for sure. She worked at The Corner Spa, owned by her mom, Helen and Ty’s mom. Maddie, in fact, ran it. Annie didn’t want to face her right now, either. Though they both tried, it had been awkward between them ever since the breakup. Now it would be a thousand times worse. She wasn’t sure she could bear another of Maddie’s pitying looks.

Ironically, Annie worked at the spa as a sports injury therapist and personal trainer. Armed with her degree as a physical therapist and two years of experience at a sports injury facility in Charleston, she’d had the idea to add a physical therapy component to the spa’s services.

And while the spa was open only to women, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Ty intended to do his rehab there in the off-hours when no one else was around. He could be counting on his stepfather and former coach, Cal Maddox, to oversee his rehab, or even the spa’s other personal fitness instructor, Elliott Cruz, but Annie suspected that sooner or later someone was going to suggest she get involved. She was the one with the expertise in sports injuries, after all.

Just the thought of seeing Ty again was enough to make her want to throw up. It had been years since she’d won her battle with anorexia, and though she’d never been bulimic, right this second any thought of food made her nauseous. The little bit she’d already eaten churned in her stomach.

Even as the dark thoughts registered, Annie gasped. No way! she thought fiercely. She was not going to let Ty’s return send her back into the kind of self-destructive eating pattern that had nearly killed her. She was stronger than that. And he was a pig. In fact, that might have to become her mantra, one she repeated at least a dozen times a day.

“I am strong, and Tyler Townsend is a pig!” she said aloud, testing it.

Yes, indeed, that ought to keep her from backsliding. And if she felt herself slipping on either front, well, she could always take an extended vacation somewhere far away from Serenity until Ty’s shoulder had healed and he was back to his glamorous, self-indulgent lifestyle, the lifestyle he’d chosen over her.

Satisfied with her plan, she considered going to work, after all, but concluded it might be a bit too soon to test herself. Instead, she called the spa and asked Elliott to take any of her appointments he had time for and to cancel the rest.

“I’m taking a mental health day,” she informed him, falling back on an excuse she hadn’t used since high school.

“Ah, you heard about Ty,” he said, sounding sympathetic. “Anything I can do?”

“Has he been sneaking in there after hours?” she asked, hating the fact that there were virtually no secrets in this town except those kept from her.

“Just a couple of times,” he admitted. He hesitated, then added, “I’ve started working with him, but he’d do better with you.”

“Hell will freeze over before that happens,” she said heatedly.

“Think about it, Annie,” Elliott urged. “His career’s on the line, and he was once your friend.”

“He was more than a friend and he blew it,” she retorted, unyielding. “Will you deal with my appointments today or not?”

“Of course I will,” he said. “I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

Annie sighed. “I just wish I knew if I’m more hurt because Ty’s back or because everyone apparently conspired to keep it from me.”

“A little of both, I suspect,” Elliott said. “Do something totally spontaneous today, something a little crazy. Blow off some steam. You’ll feel better.”

Annie considered the suggestion, then dismissed it. The only thing that might make her feel marginally better would be having Elliott—or anyone else—agree to punch Ty’s face in. She smiled at the thought and suddenly knew exactly where she needed to go—to the one person who might actually do that for her.

Ten minutes later, she was sitting on a stool behind the counter at her dad’s hardware store on Main Street, while he waited on a customer. Ronnie Sullivan had a history of being quick-tempered and protective. This might work to her advantage today.

As soon as they were alone, her father surveyed her intently. “You don’t look so good, kid.”

“You could make me feel better,” she suggested.

“By punching Ty’s lights out?” he guessed, proving he, too, had been in on the town’s worst-kept secret. “I don’t think so.”

She sighed. “Why not? He deserves it.”

Ronnie laughed. “No question about it, but can you imagine the ruckus that would stir up between your mom and Maddie? They’d be forced to take sides, and so would Cal and I. Then Helen and Erik would be drawn into it, and eventually the entire town would likely follow suit. Pretty soon, everybody would have to wear buttons or ribbons to declare which side they’re on. Sorry, sweetie, it just wouldn’t be good for business, and in the end, you’d be consumed by guilt for stirring it all up.”

Despite herself, Annie chuckled at her dad’s logic. It was true: Serenity did have a tendency to take sides, and there was no way this feud between her and Ty would stay quiet for long, even without her dad beating Ty up for her. And, damn her soft heart, she would feel guilty about it.

“I guess I’ll just have to deal with this,” she said morosely.

Her dad pulled a stool up next to hers and studied her with a frown. “Is there anything else I can do to help?”

“You can tell me why men are such idiots,” she said. The question wasn’t rhetorical. She really wanted to know.

“Hormones and a lack of common sense,” Ronnie said at once. “Just look how I messed things up with your mom for no good reason. Weigh that against how long it took me to make things right. Idiocy definitely played a role in that.” He slanted a look at her. “You want to talk about what happened? I know it’s a touchy subject, but you’ve never said a word about how you felt when things blew up and all Ty’s dirty laundry was spread all over the tabloids.”

“I think my feelings are pretty obvious without dissecting them,” she told him.

“Sometimes talking does help.”

She shook her head. “Not likely.”

“Sweetie, I know how badly he hurt you, and if I really thought it would help, I would punch him.” He hesitated, then added, “I also know how important his friendship was to you for a long time before that. Do you really want to lose that, too?”

“I lost our friendship a long time ago,” she said mournfully. That, as much as anything else, was what had broken her heart. “I just have to face it, Dad. It’s over. Not just the relationship, but also the friendship. I’ll never be able to trust Ty again.”

“Your mom learned to trust me again,” he reminded her gently.

“Not the same,” she said.

Her dad was right about one thing, though. Cheating was something he and Ty had in common. The big difference was that Ronnie had recognized his mistake after one careless, irresponsible slip. Ty not only hadn’t acknowledged it, he’d compounded it by cheating over and over until he’d finally gotten caught. He had a three-year-old son as proof of his infidelity.

Annie might have been able to get past the cheating with enough time, but that precious little boy? No way. Any babies Ty had were supposed to be with her, not some gold digger who’d slept with Ty a couple of times, then dumped her kid with him in exchange for a big payoff when he wouldn’t marry her.

Oh, Annie knew all the gory details. Not because Ty had told her, but because they’d been tabloid fodder for weeks. Obviously if Ty was home, so was his little boy. Now everyone in Serenity who’d been living on Mars when the story first broke would know just how big a fool she’d been to give her heart to some hotshot sports superstar.

Worst of all, despite everything—the betrayal, the hurt, the humiliation—she still loved him. And that made her an even bigger idiot than he was.

“You need to call Annie,” Maddie told Ty after seeing the headline about his return in the Serenity newspaper. “It was crazy to think we could keep your being back here quiet for long.”

“Don’t you think Dana Sue probably filled her in?” he said, torn between dread and anticipation at the thought of speaking to Annie. Their relationship had ended really badly, and it had been all his fault. “Besides, Annie doesn’t want to talk to me. She made that plain three years ago.”

“When Trevor was born,” his mother guessed.

Ty nodded. He loved his son to pieces, but he knew that Annie would never in a million years get past the fact that he’d not only cheated, but fathered a child with someone else. There wasn’t an explanation in the world good enough to make her see past that one huge mistake.

Claiming that they hadn’t been exclusive certainly hadn’t worked. Reminding her of the countless times they’d talked about how reasonable it was to date others while she was still in college and he was on the road with the team had only backfired.

“That didn’t include getting another woman pregnant,” she’d retorted, her eyes filled with the kind of hurt he hadn’t seen since her mom had kicked her dad out for cheating when Annie was fourteen. “How am I supposed to forgive that?”

“I don’t know,” he’d told her, defeated. “I honestly don’t know.”

Truthfully, he still didn’t. But when he’d been injured, the one bright spot had been the chance to come back to Serenity and maybe take a stab at making things right with Annie. He could have done the rehab anywhere, had the best trainers in the world working with him, but he’d refused every option the team had proposed, packed up Trevor and come home. He wasn’t entirely sure why making amends to Annie was so important right now, but it was. One of the lessons he’d learned the hard way was that friendships were more valuable and lasting than casual sex. Too bad he’d had to lose his best friend before he’d figured it out.

Now that he was here, though, he had no idea what the next step should be. Maybe his mom was right. Maybe it just needed to start with a phone call.

“Does she ever mention me?” he asked, looking for some sign that Annie’s attitude had mellowed.

Maddie shook her head. “Certainly not to me. Can you blame her?”

“I suppose not.”

“I so wish things had turned out differently, Ty. You two—”

“Are over,” he said flatly. “Her decision.”

“If you honestly believe that, then why did you come back here?”

“I thought it would be good for Trevor to spend some time with his family.” That, at least, was true. His son needed more stability than he could get even from the most doting nanny and a dad who was on the road for days—sometimes weeks—at a time.

His mother studied him skeptically. “Really? And that thought only occurred to you after I mentioned that Annie had moved back home?” Before he could respond, she continued, “Because it certainly didn’t cross your mind during the off-season last year, or the year before that.”

“Coincidence,” he claimed.

“Oh, Ty,” she chided. “At least be honest with yourself. You’re here because of Annie. Why bother denying it, at least with me? Now, what are you going to do to make things right?”

He glanced across the table and saw the lingering disappointment in his mother’s expression. That was as hard to take as losing Annie. After the way his dad had cheated on his mom and the way Ty had hated him for it, surely he should have behaved more responsibly. Instead, he was apparently a chip off the old block, after all.

“I have no idea what I can do,” he admitted.

“Well, you need to come up with a plan. The two of you are bound to cross paths. Not only is this a very small town, but our families are connected. Dana Sue and I are friends. We’re in business together. Annie works for me, for heaven’s sake.”

Ty winced at the complicated mess he’d managed to create. “I’m sorry, Mom. If this is going to become some big thing between you and Dana Sue, I can go somewhere else for rehab. There are plenty of facilities in Atlanta.”

“No,” she said, backing down at once. “Having you back home is such an unexpected joy for me and for your brothers and sisters. It’s giving us a chance to spend time with Trevor, too.”

She drew herself up. “Dana Sue and I will figure out a way to deal with this,” she said confidently. “We’ve been friends a long time, and we’ve always known that something might come between you and Annie. That’s why we tried so hard to stay out of it.”

“How about you and Annie, though?” he asked worriedly, wishing he’d thought his decision through before disrupting everyone’s lives. Coming back had been selfish, he could see that now. “She’s been like another daughter to you, and you work together. It’s going to freak her out knowing I’m around. What if she quits just to avoid me?”

“Annie’s more mature than that,” Maddie said with certainty. “She’s a strong young woman. She’ll cope.”

“What if it, you know…?” He hesitated, then voiced his greatest fear, the one that had nagged at him since the day they’d parted. “What if she goes back to being anorexic?”

Maddie regarded him with dismay. “No, Ty! She won’t do that.”

“She could, Mom.” He shook his head. “What the hell was I thinking? The stress of Ronnie taking off is part of what triggered her eating disorder in the first place. She felt like her life was a mess, and food was the only thing she could control. Now, having me in her face could do the same thing. I’d never forgive myself if that happened.”

“It’s not going to happen,” Maddie said emphatically. “She was just a teenager when she got so sick. She’s twenty-three now. It’s been years. Believe me, Dana Sue and Ronnie know all the signs. Annie still sees Dr. McDaniels from time to time. They’ll be all over her if there’s even a hint that her anorexia is back. Besides, she didn’t fall apart when you two split up, so there’s no reason to think she will now just because you’re here in Serenity.”

“I suppose.” Still, he couldn’t help worrying about Annie. She’d never been half as tough as she’d wanted everyone to believe she was. He was one of the few who’d seen her vulnerability way before she’d been diagnosed with anorexia. She’d looked up to him, trusted him, talked to him…fallen in love with him.

Then he’d betrayed her. And for what? A string of casual flings that had meant nothing. He’d wanted to prove he was hot stuff. Hanging out with groupies had been a rite of passage into the big leagues. All the guys liked to unwind after the games. There were always eager women around.

Unfortunately, it had taken too long for him to realize just how empty and meaningless all that was. Compared to what he had with Annie—the real deal, he knew now—it was just sex and a few laughs with women who liked to brag they’d hooked up with a baseball player.

To his very deep regret, Trevor’s mom had barely stood out from the crowd. When they’d met after a road game in Cincinnati, she’d struck him as shy, with her big brown eyes and corn silk hair. She was quieter than most of the others, less aggressive. She’d actually been able to hold up her end of a conversation. Ironically, he’d seen a vulnerability in her that had reminded him of Annie.

The next time he’d been in Cincinnati, Ty had seen Dee-Dee again, spent three nights with her. On his third trip to town, she’d told him she was pregnant.

The news had hit him like one of his own fastballs in the gut, left him slack-jawed and sputtering. He realized he didn’t even know her last name.

Nor could he be sure the baby was his. He wanted proof, insisted on it, which set off their first huge fight. Dee-Dee, whose last name turned out to be Mitchell, was insulted he would even ask. He was appalled that she thought he was so stupid he wouldn’t.

Struggling with years of conditioning to take responsibility for his own actions, Ty had turned to a buddy on the team for advice.

“You in love with her?” Jimmy Falco had asked.

“No,” Ty admitted. “I barely know her.”

“Then you wait. You get a paternity test. If the kid turns out to be yours, you go from there.”

Dee-Dee had been furious when he’d told her the plan. She’d threatened to go to the tabloids if he didn’t marry her immediately. Despite all the potential for very public ugliness, Ty held firm. That was when he should have gone to Annie and confessed everything, but he’d waited. And, of course, the news had leaked out.

By the time Trevor was born, any faint feelings he might have had for Dee-Dee were dead and buried. The positive paternity test didn’t change that. In court, he acknowledged being the boy’s father, relinquished custody to Dee-Dee with visitation rights for himself, arranged to pay child support, and even agreed to a generous lumpsum payment to get Dee-Dee her own place, a two-bedroom condo in a very nice building.

Two months later, he’d opened the door to his hotel room on a road trip to Denver to find Trevor in a basket on the doorstep, and Dee-Dee nowhere in sight. In an instant, he took on the role of single dad.

Because of the prior arrangement and Dee-Dee’s disappearance, it had taken a year of wrangling in court to change their custody agreement so that he had sole custody. He’d struggled to balance parenthood with a physically demanding career that took him away from home too often. Finding a nanny he’d trusted had been a nightmare, but eventually he’d found Cassandra, an older woman who’d raised four children of her own and doted on Trevor as if he were one of her own grandchildren. To Ty’s amusement, she treated him as a son who’d gone astray and needed firm moral guidance. Cassandra had been a godsend for both of them.

In the meantime, the whole thing had played out in the tabloids. He imagined that Dee-Dee had gotten a pretty penny for the inside scoop, to say nothing of what she must have gotten for tipping off a photographer before she left the baby outside his hotel room.

And it had all hit the fan before he’d been able to work up the nerve to tell Annie about any of it. He’d been the worst kind of coward.

What Annie thought of him—what he thought of himself—didn’t matter, though, not as long as she didn’t fall back into her old anorexic eating pattern. He didn’t think he could handle that. Hurting her was bad enough. He’d never be able to live with destroying all the progress she’d made, the normal, healthy life she was leading.

Then, again, maybe he was exaggerating the pain he’d caused her. Maybe she’d made peace with what had happened, considered herself lucky to be rid of him. She could have moved on by now. It was certainly what he deserved, but the thought depressed him just the same.

Because Annie Sullivan had slipped into his heart about a million years ago, and she was still there…despite everything he’d done to show her otherwise.

Chapter Two

Helen Decatur-Whitney left the courtroom feeling triumphant. She barely resisted an urge to pump her fist in the air on the courthouse steps. Such gloating, she thought, might have been a bit unseemly.

Still, she couldn’t help savoring today’s victory. Her client had gotten everything she deserved from her weasel of an ex-husband. Helen had enjoyed the man’s shell-shocked expression as the judge had handed down his ruling.

A few years ago such a verdict wouldn’t have been worthy of note, because just about all her clients won, no matter how bitterly contested the divorce. Lately, though, ever since her marriage to Erik and the birth of her daughter, Sarah Beth, Helen had taken fewer and fewer cases. Her standing as the barracuda attorney of choice in the entire state of South Carolina was no longer assured, so today’s triumph was especially sweet. She was back!

As she had for years, she wanted to celebrate with her best friends, the Sweet Magnolias, with one of their margarita nights. This victory had been a long time in coming. For quite a while, Helen had feared she’d lost her edge to the complacency of marriage and motherhood. After today, she almost believed she could have it all.

First she punched in Dana Sue’s number on her cell phone. “My place, tonight at eight,” she announced. “We’re celebrating my courtroom comeback.”

“Eight o’clock on a Friday night?” Dana Sue asked incredulously. “Haven’t you heard? I run a very successful restaurant. We’re packed at that hour.”

“And my husband, your outstanding sous-chef, is perfectly capable of handling the last couple of hours on his own and closing up,” Helen reminded her. “When was the last time we all cut loose?”

“It’s been a while,” Dana Sue conceded. She paused, then asked, “Have you spoken to Maddie?”

There was a cautious note in Dana Sue’s voice Helen couldn’t quite read. “Not yet, why?”

“She might be avoiding me.”

Helen drew a blank. “Why? Did you two have words about something?” Over the years, there had been spats among the three of them, but they’d been healed almost before they’d begun.

“Ty and Annie,” Dana Sue said succinctly. “It all hit the wall today. Annie found out that Ty’s home. Erik saw her right after she found out, and he says she’s livid because none of us warned her. I called the spa earlier, and Elliott told me she called and took the day off. Now I can’t find her.”

Helen muttered an expletive she rarely used. “Ty and Annie’s issues have nothing to do with you and Maddie,” she said. Then amended, “Well, of course they do, because they’re your kids, but didn’t you resolve years ago to let them work out their own problems?”

“It’s harder to stick to that now that they so obviously have big-time issues,” Dana Sue said. “Ty came back here with a little boy, for goodness’ sake! How’s that for rubbing it in my daughter’s face that he cheated on her?”

“It stinks,” Helen agreed. “And if you want to torture Ty, I’ll help, but please, please don’t let it come between you and Maddie. You two are my best friends in the world. I don’t want to have to start tiptoeing around or seeing you separately because the two of you aren’t speaking.”

“Look, I know this isn’t Maddie’s fault,” Dana Sue acknowledged, then added with real heat in her voice, “but how are we supposed to pretend that her son didn’t rip out my daughter’s heart? Am I supposed to ignore that?”

“Don’t you think Maddie’s as upset about that as you are?” Helen suggested. “She loves Annie, too.” She thought about it for a minute, then said, “How about this? We’ll just declare the topic off limits. Or else I’ll negotiate a truce. I’m very good at negotiating things, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Dana Sue laughed at last, cutting through the tension. “As if you’d let us forget.”

Helen seized on the tiny opening. “Come on, sweetie, don’t say no. I want you there. It won’t be a celebration without you.”

“Okay, fine, but if things get tense, I’ll leave.”

“Let’s just cross that bridge when we come to it. I’ll see you at eight,” Helen said, determined to make sure her friends made peace before the night was out.

“I’ll bring the food,” Dana Sue said. “I’ll make a fresh batch of guacamole and steal some appetizers from the freezer here.”

“Can’t have margaritas without that killer guacamole,” Helen agreed.

After she’d disconnected the call, she dialed Maddie and repeated the invitation. When Maddie hesitated, Helen jumped in. “Dana Sue’s coming. The subject of Ty and Annie is off limits. We’re only going to talk about me.”

Like Dana Sue, Maddie laughed. “Not much new about that. Okay. I’m not convinced you can keep us from veering off onto the subject of our children, but I don’t want to miss out on watching you try. Should I tell Jeanette?”

“Absolutely,” Helen said. Jeanette, who was in charge of the day spa services at their business, had become an honorary Sweet Magnolia. Though she’d only been around for a few years now, she was definitely one of their own. “If you’ll invite her and maybe pick up some chips and cut veggies for Dana Sue’s guacamole, that’ll give me time to buy the biggest bottle of tequila at the liquor store and to spend time with my daughter before she goes to bed.”

“By the way, what are we celebrating?” Maddie asked.

“I took Henry Porter to the cleaners in court today, pun intended.” Porter ran a chain of dry cleaners in the region. He’d hoped to leave his wife of thirty years with next to nothing, even though she’d worked right alongside him building that chain from one little neighborhood shop to the dozen outlets they had now. Helen had seen it differently, as had the judge, especially after the testimony of the Porter children about how involved their mother had been in the business.

“Good for you,” Maddie said. “I hate men who minimize their wives’ contributions to their success.”

Maddie knew more than some about that, since she’d had just such a husband before divorcing physician Bill Townsend and winding up with the high school baseball coach, Cal Maddox, who was ten years younger. In Helen’s opinion, that particular revenge had been especially sweet.

“Well, we can toast to all the women who’ve been mistreated like that and emerged victorious,” Helen said.

“Sounds like fun to me,” Maddie said, then hesitated. “Helen, how did Dana Sue sound really? Is she very upset that Ty’s back? I know it’s awkward, and I feel awful for Annie, but I’m so happy to have him and Trevor here for a while.”

“I know you are, and I don’t think Dana Sue begrudges you this time with them. It’s just hard for her to see Annie so upset.”

Maddie sighed. “You should probably know that Annie didn’t show up for work today.”

“So I heard,” Helen admitted.

“Elliott said she’d just found out about Ty,” Maddie continued, her tone sympathetic. “She read it in the paper, of all things. I probably should have told her myself, but I thought Dana Sue would. This is so damn complicated. I have no idea what my son was thinking.”

“I doubt thinking was involved in this mess,” Helen said dryly. “If you want my advice, you need to enjoy having Ty around and stay out of his relationship with Annie. They’re adults now. And in case you’re wondering, I said pretty much the same thing to Dana Sue.”

“It’s just that I was so sure…” Maddie’s voice trailed off.

“They were so sweet together, I think we all thought they’d be together forever,” Helen admitted. “But it was never up to us.”

“I know. See you tonight.”

Helen hung up, relieved that her desire to celebrate her courtroom victory might give Maddie and Dana Sue the chance they needed to meet on neutral turf. For the first time in several years—since Sarah Beth’s birth, in fact—she felt like her old self again…in control and on top.

Helen’s feeling of euphoria lasted for just under two hours. She’d barely walked in the door and set down the tequila and other supplies she’d bought for tonight’s gathering, when a hospital in Florida called to let her know that her mother had been admitted with a broken hip. Clutching the phone, Helen sat down hard.

“She broke her hip,” she repeated, her tone dull. How many times had she heard of seniors whose health went on a downward spiral after an accident like this? Not that her mom was that old. Flo Decater was barely into her seventies and still active, so maybe this wasn’t so bad.

“How serious is it?” she asked with surprising hesitation for a woman who prided herself on being quick, knowledgeable and decisive in any emergency.

“The surgery went well,” the nurse said, her tone chipper. “But she is asking for you, and you should know she won’t be able to be on her own for a while once she’s released from the hospital. That means a rehab facility or nursing home or at-home care. You can discuss that when you see her.”

“But I…” Helen began, then stopped herself before she said that she didn’t have time to fly to Florida. She and her mother might not be close, but she owed her.

After her husband’s death when Helen was only ten, Flo had worked two jobs to see that Helen had everything she needed growing up. Flo had scrimped and saved to make college possible, hounded Helen to keep her grades up so she could win scholarships.

Now it was up to Helen to see that her mother was well cared for. In her mind, a condo by the water in Florida and monthly checks were adequate compensation, but clearly her mother now needed more. Helen couldn’t abandon her to figure all this out for herself.

“Tell her I’ll be there tomorrow,” she said eventually. After all, she was an expert at juggling. Her decisiveness kicked in. How long could it possibly take to make arrangements for her mother’s care? A day or two at most. The nanny could cover Sarah Beth’s needs, and Erik would be here to take up the slack. Helen’s secretary could reschedule her appointments. Even as the thoughts crossed her mind, Helen began making lists of what needed to be done. She had an entire page of notes, including the nurse’s recommendations of local rehab facilities, before she’d hung up the phone.

By the time the first of the Sweet Magnolias walked in the door, Helen had all of the arrangements made for a quick overnight trip to South Florida. Handling all the details kept her from actually thinking about what she’d find when she got there.

Thank heaven for margarita night, she thought, taking her first deep swallow of a very large, very tart drink. She was going to need alcohol and good friends to face what lay ahead, because she and her mother could fight over nothing faster than two cars going sixty could collide head-on.

Still upset by his conversation with his mother about Annie, Ty found himself heading for Cal’s office at the high school on Friday afternoon. Even before Cal had become his stepfather, he’d been Ty’s coach and mentor. Ty could talk to him about things he’d never say to his mom or even to his father. As a former big league player himself, Cal understood that world in ways that no one else around here could.

Ty was slouched down in a chair, idly rubbing his aching shoulder, when Cal eventually came in.

“Well, this is a surprise! What brings you by?” Cal asked, studying him intently. “You having trouble figuring out what to do with all this time on your hands?”

“Something like that,” Ty said.

“You could hang around here this afternoon, help me coach the pitchers.”

Ty shook his head. “I’d need to show ‘em what I’m talking about, and right now I throw balls like a girl.”

Cal gave him a commiserating look. “Rehab’s just started, Ty. It’ll get better.”

“It never did for you,” Ty said, referring to the fact that Cal’s own major league career had been ended by an injury.

“And my life turned out just fine,” Cal pointed out. “I love teaching. I love your mom and our family. I don’t have a single regret.”

“Oh, come on, Cal,” Ty scoffed. “You can’t tell me you weren’t depressed when you realized you were never going to play ball again.”

“True enough,” his stepfather admitted. “I was in a self-pitying funk, as a matter of fact, but then a very wise man came to visit me and told me that there were still plenty of worthwhile things I could do. He steered me toward teaching and coaching. In fact, he’s the one who brought me to Serenity.” He grinned. “Fortunately for you, you have me to tell you the same thing.”

“Gee, how reassuring,” Ty grumbled sourly.

Cal gave him a long, hard look. “You really are having a pity party for yourself today, aren’t you? Look, here’s the truth, Ty. There’s no reason to think our situations are alike. I had complications. You’re healing well. It’s just going to take time and determination. You lose the rest of this season, so what? You’ll be back stronger than ever next year.”

“Is that your medical opinion?” Ty inquired.

Cal came around his desk and perched on the corner. “Okay, what’s really got you down today? It’s got nothing to do with pitching, because we both know your prognosis looks good. What put you in this mood?” Cal gave him a knowing look when Ty remained silent. “Why did I even ask? This is about Annie. You came home thinking everything would fall into place just the way it was in the old days, and now you’re figuring out that if you want her back, you’re going to have to work for it.”

“I never expected it to be easy,” Ty insisted. “I know she hates my guts.”

“If she does, that’s probably a good thing,” Cal said.

“In what universe?”

“Hate’s the opposite of love, or so they say. If she had no feelings for you at all, that’s when you’d really need to worry. Have you called her?”

Ty shook his head.

“Stopped by the spa while she’s there?”

“No.”

“Dropped in over at Ronnie and Dana Sue’s?”

Ty regarded him incredulously. “You have to be kidding me! Dana Sue’d probably slap me silly with a cast-iron skillet. You weren’t here for the scene she made when she found out Ronnie had cheated on her. That is one scary woman.”

Cal chuckled. “She is feisty, no question about that. So, what, then? You’re waiting for Annie to make the first move? Good luck with that.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ty said glumly.

“Then what is your plan?”

“I don’t actually have a plan.” He thought about it, then murmured, “Flowers? I could send over a ton of daisies. Annie always loved daisies.”

“It would break the ice, at least. But I don’t think you can count on flowers doing the hard work for you. When it comes to courting a woman, you have to put yourself out there, take a few risks. Flowers are too easy.”

“In other words, she’s going to want to see me bleed.”

Cal bit back a smile. “In a manner of speaking. I think you owe her a little public groveling, don’t you?”

“Just for starters,” Ty conceded. Truthfully, he owed Annie that and a whole lot more. He stood up, feeling marginally better. “Thanks.”

“You coming by the field tonight? Ronnie and I could use some help coaching Little League. We have too many kids and too few coaches.”

“And give Ronnie a chance to beat me to a pulp? No, thanks.”

Cal chuckled. “You could always hold your little sister or your baby brother. Ronnie would never throw a punch at a man holding a kid.”

“I am not hiding behind a toddler who’s still in diapers,” Ty said, referring to Cole. “Or Trevor or Jessica Lynn, either, for that matter. That would be pathetic.”

“So is hiding out from Annie,” Cal said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Deal with her, Ty. At least you’ll know where you stand.”

Unfortunately, he already knew where he stood with Annie. And Cal was right about one things: flowers—even entire vanloads of them—weren’t going to fix things.

Annie shoved the plate of food aside, untouched. But a pointed glance from her mother had her pulling it back.

“I’m just not hungry right this second,” she grumbled, even as she ate several bites of Sullivan’s pot roast special only to wipe the look of concern from her mother’s face.

“You’re upset about Ty,” Dana Sue said. “I get that. And I’m really sorry I kept quiet about him being back here. I was just trying to find the right time to tell you.”

“I understand,” Annie said. Once she’d cooled down, she’d realized how impossible the whole situation was, especially for her mom and Maddie.

Her mother regarded her worriedly. “I just don’t want you to…”

“Stop eating,” Annie said, completing the unspoken thought. “Mom, it’s okay. Really. I ate breakfast this morning—ask Erik. I’d almost finished before I saw the article in the paper about Ty being back. I even had a bowl of soup at Wharton’s for lunch. You can ask Grace, if you want to.”

“I’m not going to spy on you,” Dana Sue said with a self-righteous display of indignation.

Annie raised a brow. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That was a long time ago,” her mother replied. “When you first got out of the hospital, yes, your dad and I kept a close eye on your eating habits. We had to.” Unspoken was the fact that Annie had lied so often, they hadn’t dared to trust anything she told them.

“You had your spies when I was away at college, too,” Annie reminded her without rancor. She’d understood why they’d done that, too, and since she’d had no intention of reverting to her old ways, she’d never voiced any objections to the frequent calls to the dorm counselors. Lately, though, she’d thought they were beyond all that. She’d worked hard, not only to stay healthy but also to regain her parents’ trust. It hurt to see that distrust back in her mother’s eyes, but on some level she understood it.

“I’m a mom. Sue me,” Dana Sue said blithely, not so much as blinking at the charge that she’d spied. “Let’s drop this for now. I have something important I need to ask you, and I want you to be totally honest. If this bothers you, you have to say so.”

Annie regarded her curiously, surprised by her somber tone. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m supposed to go to Helen’s tonight.”

“A Sweet Magnolias night,” Annie guessed. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Will it bother you if I hang out with Maddie?”

There was a tiny little twinge, but Annie stomped on it. Her mother was not being disloyal. “Mom, don’t be absurd,” she said, meaning it. “You guys have been friends forever. Just because Ty and I aren’t speaking doesn’t mean you and Maddie shouldn’t.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I am. Go.”

“You and I could do something instead, especially if you want to talk about all this. Or we could drive over to Charleston and see a movie. I’ve already cleared it with Erik to leave him in charge here at the restaurant, so I can take off now.”

“The last thing I want to talk about is Ty. That subject is dead. Over. Kaput.”

“Really?” her mom asked skeptically.

“Yes, really.”

“Then how about the movie?”

“So I can sit there for two hours and feel guilty for keeping you from spending the evening with your friends? No way.”

“Then what will you do tonight?”

Annie shrugged. She didn’t want to go home and sit in an empty house. Who knew what time her mother would get home, and her dad would probably stay late at the hardware store. “Maybe I’ll see if Dad wants to go to a movie or something. We haven’t hung out in a while.”

“Your dad’s planning to go to Little League batting practice, then go for pizza with Cal and the kids.” Dana Sue’s expression brightened. “You could go with him. He’ll have to help Katie keep an eye on Jessica Lynn and Cole while Cal’s coaching. I’m sure he’d love an extra pair of hands.”

Rather than dismissing the idea outright and giving her mother more to worry about, Annie said, “I’ll think about it. Maybe.”

Dana Sue clearly wasn’t fooled by the evasive answer. “Are you concerned you’ll run into Ty there?”

“Mom!”

“I’m just saying you don’t need to be. The past couple of nights he’s gone to the spa to work with Elliott. The way I hear it, he’s been there for hours. I’m sure that’s where he’ll be tonight, too.”

Rather than reassuring her as her mom had clearly intended, Dana Sue’s words only solidified Annie’s resolve to avoid the ball field at all costs. “Which means his son will probably be at the ball field with Cal,” Annie said. “No, thanks.”

Dana Sue looked crestfallen. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that. I still haven’t gotten used to the idea that Ty even has a son.”

“Yeah, well, it’s all I think about.” Despite her resolve not to let anyone see how much she still cared, Annie felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She stood up and announced, “I’m going for a walk.”

Seeing the immediate worry in Dana Sue’s eyes, she bent down and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Don’t start fretting, Mom. I’ll be fine. Have fun and watch those margaritas. Helen’s are lethal.”

Dana Sue laughed. “Don’t I know it.”

Annie left before her mom decided to suggest she tag along, as she had the last time the Sweet Magnolias had gotten together. She knew she’d be welcome, but it would be way too awkward being there with Maddie with the one subject on everyone’s mind suddenly taboo because of her presence.

It really was too bad, though, because a lethal margarita and the oblivion that was bound to follow sounded really good about now.

Chapter Three

The last place in all of Serenity—in all of the universe, for that matter—that Annie wanted to be was the local ball field by the high school. And yet, here she was, walking along the perimeter of the parking lot, far enough from the field itself not to be spotted by her dad or Cal, but close enough to maybe catch a glimpse of Ty’s little boy.

Though she’d seen plenty of images in the tabloids, Annie had never seen Trevor in person. She hadn’t wanted to, because then he’d be real, a flesh-and-blood preschooler, whose mere existence had torn her life apart. Tonight, though, after leaving Sullivan’s, she hadn’t been able to shake off the sudden yearning to see the little boy who might have been hers. Yes, she might have been the mother of a three-year-old, if things had turned out the way she’d always thought they would.

At first, as she skirted the field, Annie thought the trip was probably wasted. The area was crowded with kids of all ages. The sidelines and bleachers were jammed with families. She could smell hot dogs and popcorn, even from where she was standing on the opposite side of the street. The noise of all that cheering was deafening, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out Cal’s shout to his pitcher or her dad’s startled cry when a dark-haired boy darted away from him and headed straight for the street, apparently chasing one of the ducks from a nearby park. The loudly quacking duck was trying to get away from all the frenzy and back to his more peaceful habitat.

Seeing the child toddling straight toward danger, Annie’s protective instincts kicked in without a single thought, she made a mad dash into the street and gathered the boy up before he could get a half foot away from the curb.

“Duck!” he cried mournfully, pointing to his rapidly fleeing target.

“The duck’s going to find his family,” Annie assured him. “Ducks need their families just like we do.”

When she finally looked into the boy’s startled gaze, she saw Ty’s eyes. No question about it. Stunned, she set the child on his feet and hunkered down in front of him, suddenly shaking over how quickly the incident might have turned into a tragedy.

Before she could utter a word, her father was beside them, kneeling down. “You okay?” he murmured, the comment meant for her, since it was obvious that the boy was just fine beyond being startled to have been plucked up out of the street by a stranger.

Tears stung Annie’s eyes. “It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked her dad, her voice barely more than a choked whisper. “This is Trevor.”

The boy’s eyes brightened. “Me Trevor,” he confirmed. “Who are you?”

Completely captivated now and unable to look away, she said, “I’m Annie.”

“Annie’s my daughter,” Ronnie told him.

“And I know your daddy,” Annie said before she could stop herself.

“Daddy plays ball,” Trevor said with obvious pride. “But not now. He hurt.”

“That’s what I hear,” Annie said. Suddenly unable to bear it another minute, she stood up. “I have to go. Bye, Trevor. See you, Dad.”

“Annie!”

The worry in her father’s voice stopped her. She forced a smile. “It’s okay. Really.” She turned her gaze to Trevor. “No more running into the street, okay? You need to be very, very careful.”

“Trust me, he won’t get away from me again,” Ronnie said grimly. “I’d forgotten how fast these little guys could move. I blinked and he was gone. I thought he was fascinated by the ducks.”

“He was, so much so that he followed one when it tried to leave.”

Her dad flinched. “Maybe we should stick to playing on the swings, buddy. What do you think?”

“Swings go high, ‘kay?” Trevor said excitedly.

Ronnie looked a little sickened by that, but he nodded gamely. “We’ll see,” he promised.

“Dad, are you sure you have this under control?” Annie asked worriedly. It had been a long time since he’d had anyone Trevor’s age left in his care.

“Not a problem,” Ronnie insisted. “Katie and Kyle are around somewhere. They’re supposed to be babysitting their younger siblings and Trevor, but they have their hands full just with Jessica Lynn and Cole, so I said I’d watch Trevor. You go on. Enjoy your evening.”

“Yeah, sure,” Annie said, walking away.

She just wished she had the slightest idea how she was supposed to enjoy anything after that bittersweet moment with Ty’s son. Worse, how was she supposed to get that little boy out of her head now that she’d held him in her arms?

The mood at margarita night was way too somber. It was getting on Helen’s nerves. Everybody was walking on eggshells, trying too hard not to say the wrong thing. And no matter how innocuous the topic, Dana Sue and Maddie couldn’t see eye to eye. They’d argued over everything from the weather to the amount of tequila that was supposed to be in the margaritas. Jeanette and Helen had been left to referee.

“Okay, this isn’t working,” Helen announced after an hour. “Let’s just get it all out there. What are we going to do about Ty and Annie?”

“Nothing,” Maddie and Dana Sue said simultaneously.

“Well, that’s progress,” Helen said. “It’s the first thing the two of you have agreed on all night.”

“We’re not going to meddle in their lives,” Dana Sue added for good measure. “That’s final.”

“Are you sure about that?” Jeanette asked hesitantly. Although both Dana Sue and Maddie scowled at her, she refused to back down. “I mean, I know I haven’t been around all that long, but those two were so much in love. It’s just a shame to have them both back home and not even speaking to each other.”

“I agree,” Helen said. “Worse is what it’s doing to the two of you. I haven’t been to a party that felt this awkward since the first boy-girl party we had back in junior high.”

Maddie flushed guiltily. “I’m sorry. I’ll try harder.”

“Me, too,” Dana Sue promised. “I just get so darn mad when I think about what happened.”

“Do you think I don’t?” Maddie erupted with feeling. “I wanted to shake my son when I heard what he’d done, but what am I supposed to do? He’s my son, and that little boy is my grandson. I love them.”

“And you should have been able to celebrate having your first grandchild with us, your best friends,” Helen said. “Instead, we’ve all acted as if Trevor doesn’t exist. That’s just wrong. None of this is his fault, and it’s certainly not yours.”

“I agree,” Dana Sue said. “If I leave Annie out of it for just a minute, I can actually be happy for you, Maddie. Having a grandchild must be so amazing.”

Maddie reached out and squeezed her hand. “Do you think I don’t understand how you must feel? We were going to have grandkids together, you and me, because my son and your daughter were supposed to give them to us. I know we always vowed not to pressure them like that. Heck, we tried our best not to talk about it ourselves. We didn’t want them to know how much we were counting on it, but we were.”

“And now it will never happen,” Dana Sue said, her expression bleak.

“That is just so sad,” Jeanette commiserated. “I still think—”

“No,” Maddie said. “We cannot meddle. It will get even more complicated if we do.”

Dana Sue stood up, grabbed the pitcher of margaritas and poured herself another one. “Anyone else?”

Maddie held out her glass. “What the hell,” she murmured.

Dana Sue poured, then grinned. “Helen?”

“Make mine a double. I have to go see my mama tomorrow.”

“Oh, boy,” Dana Sue murmured, exchanging a look with Maddie. “You didn’t say anything about that earlier.”

“Because I didn’t even want to think about it,” Helen said, explaining about the call from the hospital.

“Maybe we should go down there with you,” Maddie said. “At least one of us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Helen said. “I can handle this. I’ll make a few calls, look at a couple of rehab places and get her settled. No big deal.”

“I don’t question your ability to cope with the details,” Maddie said gently. “It’s the compassion that concerns me. You tend to be the tiniest bit impatient, and Flo’s probably in pain and not at her best, either.”

Helen scowled at the too-accurate assessment. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Her frown deepened when she noted her still-empty glass. Dana Sue still hadn’t poured her another drink. “I’ll take that margarita now.”

“Don’t you need to go down there tomorrow with a clear head?” Dana Sue asked.

“I’d rather not,” Helen said, lifting the glass in a gesture that commanded Dana Sue to fill it to the brim.

“Flo’s going to be just fine,” Maddie said. “A broken hip will heal in no time.”

“At her age?” Helen asked skeptically. “What if it doesn’t? What if she can’t be on her own anymore?”

“Then you’ll deal with it,” Dana Sue said. “You can handle anything. We’re all in awe of you.”

“That was the old me,” Helen bemoaned. “The current me is still trying to figure out how to get a few more hours into the day. Way too many of them vanish without my having a clue where they went.”

Jeanette had been listening to the exchange in silence. She’d only recently resolved some of her own family issues. “What about bringing your mom back here to recuperate?” she asked eventually.

Helen stared at her in horror. “Bite your tongue.”

“Well, it just seems like it would be easier to keep an eye on things if she were right here in Serenity,” Jeanette persisted.

“Not going to happen,” Helen said sharply. “Her life’s in Florida now, and that’s where it’s going to stay.”

Maddie gave Jeanette a commiserating look. “Don’t mind Helen. She and her mother have issues. They get along best when there’s some distance between them.”

Unfortunately, since her reconciliation with her own parents, Jeanette wanted all of the world to follow suit. “If there are issues, what better way to fix them than to be right here together while she’s getting back on her feet?”

“Fortunately, my mother will side with me on this,” Helen said with confidence. “She was glad to see the last of Serenity.”

“But it’s her home,” Jeanette stressed.

“It’s the place where she nearly worked herself into an early grave,” Helen contradicted. “Now she’s living in style with every comfort she could possibly want.”

“You and her granddaughter aren’t there,” Jeanette replied, then frowned when Maddie scowled at her. “I’m just saying…” She sat back, looking chagrined. “Oh, never mind. It’s none of my business.”

She looked so upset by the possibility that she’d overstepped that Helen patted her hand. “It’s okay. You are not the first to think the Decatur women should be reunited in blissful harmony. I get the same thing from Erik all the time.” She grinned. “I also tell him to butt out.”

Jeanette laughed. “Well, in that case, I don’t feel so bad.”

“Have another margarita,” Dana Sue encouraged. “Then you won’t feel anything. I haven’t felt my feet for the past ten minutes.”

Maddie blinked. “Me, neither, come to think of it.”

Helen stared at the two of them. “Oh, sweet heaven, am I going to have your husbands over here yelling at me for sending you home damaged? I’d better make coffee.”

“I think it’ll take more than coffee to fix this,” Dana Sue said direly. “I’m going to take a little nap. Somebody call Ronnie and tell him we’re having a sleepover.”

“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.

“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.

Ty winced. “Yes, it was. Pretend you didn’t hear that, buddy, and whatever you do, don’t tell your grandma.”

Annie had to hide her amusement over Ty’s obvious fear that his son would tattle on him. She was in no mood to let him think she’d enjoyed anything about this encounter.

“I have to go to work. Bye, Trevor,” she said, pointedly excluding his father as she left without trying to track down her check. She’d pay Grace when she picked up her lunch later.

“Bye-bye,” Trevor called after her.

Ty merely watched her go. She could feel his knowing gaze on her all the way out the door, and sure enough, when she glanced back once she was on the street, he was still watching her. What bothered her the most, though, wasn’t that he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away, but that his expression was so undeniably sad. That was something she understood all too well.

“Well, that went better than I’d expected,” Grace Wharton said to Ty after Annie had gone. Miraculously, she’d emerged from the kitchen the second Annie was out of sight. He suspected Annie wouldn’t be pleased about that sudden reappearance after Grace’s timely absence.

“Thanks for calling to let me know she was here,” Ty told Grace. “I know everybody in town is on her side, you included, but all I want is a chance to make things right. The only way that’s going to happen is if we keep running into each other. Sooner or later I’ll chip away at all that anger. For a minute there, we had an actual conversation.”

“If you ask me, I think you’re being overly optimistic,” Grace told him. “I think it’s going to take a grand gesture, not two minutes in public with the two of you trying to be civil with each other.”

Ty shrugged. “I have to start somewhere.” He met Grace’s gaze. “You’ll let me know next time she’s in here?”

“As long as I don’t see any evidence that you’re making her miserable. If Annie’s upset, our deal is off. Like you said, much as I like you, I’m on her side.”

Ty nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Now, shall I bring this young man a pancake? And scrambled eggs with bacon and whole-wheat toast for you?” she asked.

“Thanks, Grace.”

She started away from the table, then came back. “Don’t you hurt that girl again,” she warned. “If this is just some game to occupy you while you’re doing rehab, stop it right now or, at the very least, leave me out of it.”

He couldn’t blame her for thinking the worst. Ty held her gaze. “It’s no game, Grace. I swear it.”

She studied him intently, then finally nodded. “Okay, then.”

Grace had barely walked away when Ronnie Sullivan slid into the booth opposite him. “What are you and Grace in cahoots about?” Ronnie demanded, even as Trevor scrambled into Ronnie’s lap, rubbed a hand over his shaved head, then gave it a little pat. “Did I hear right? Does it have something to do with my daughter?”

Ty groaned. “Where’d you come from?”

“I was grabbing a cup of coffee at the counter when I overheard just enough to send a chill down my spine.” He sipped from his take-out cup and said slowly, “Now, I’m not likely to take Grace apart limb by limb, but I can’t say the same where you’re concerned.” He leveled a threatening look into Ty’s eyes. “Clear enough?”

“Ronnie, I’m not the enemy,” Ty swore. “I’m trying to fix things with Annie. I miss her. You know how it was when you were trying to make things right with Dana Sue and nobody wanted to cut you any slack? Well, that’s how it is with me right now. I screwed up, and thanks to the tabloids, the whole world knows about it. I can’t change that, but maybe with time I can prove to Annie that it will never happen again.”

Ronnie’s gaze narrowed. “And that really matters to you? You care what Annie thinks of you?”

“Always have,” Ty declared.

“You had a damn strange way of showing it,” Ronnie said.

“Nobody knows that better than I do.”

Ronnie studied him intently, clearly trying to gauge whether or not Ty could be trusted. Eventually, like Grace, he seemed to like what he saw. He nodded. “Okay, then, I’ll give you a break for the time being. But if you make that girl cry or upset her in any way, all bets are off.”

“Seems perfectly reasonable to me,” Ty said, swallowing hard as he considered the certainty that Ronnie meant exactly what he’d said.

Ronnie’s gaze didn’t waver. “However, I can’t speak for Dana Sue. You understand that, right? She may not be inclined to be as generous.”

“Which is one reason I’m not stepping foot inside Sullivan’s until Annie and I make peace. I’ve seen your wife handle the knives in that kitchen, to say nothing of all those skillets,” Ty said with a shudder.

Ronnie chuckled. “Yeah, who knew a skillet could be used as a weapon of feminine destruction? I learned that one the hard way.”

Ty barely contained a grin. “I remember.”

Ronnie stood up with Trevor still in his arms, then set the boy back down in the booth. “For what it’s worth, if you really are the man you used to be, then I hope this works out. I’ll never forget the way you looked out for Annie when she was sick. You stood up to her then, got through to her in a way no one else had been able to. You were there for her when a lot of kids your age would have turned their backs. You banked a lot of points with me for doing that. That man is someone I’d trust with my daughter.”

Ty felt a knot form in his throat. “Thanks, Ronnie.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t beat the crap out of you if it turns out you’re not that man,” Ronnie said, then walked away as the warning hung in the air.

Grace returned and set their plates on the table. Based on her timing, it was evident she’d been waiting nearby for the confrontation to end.

Ty gave her a hopeful look. “I know you heard all that,” he said. “Do you think you could keep it to yourself? It won’t help my cause if Annie knows her father’s tried to put the fear of God into me. She’ll think that’s the only reason I’m on my best behavior around her.”

“Or maybe it’ll stir up her sympathy,” Grace said.

“I think we’d better go with my theory,” Ty told her. “Can we forget this scene ever happened?”

“I can keep my mouth shut,” Grace said indignantly, then shrugged. “Of course, there are other customers in here, and what they couldn’t hear, they’re likely to make up.”

Ty groaned at the accuracy of her assessment. “Just do whatever you can to keep this quiet, okay?”

He had an uphill battle ahead of him as it was. Proving to Annie that he could be trusted was going to be tricky enough without her wondering if he was being nice only because he was scared of her daddy.

Unlike her mom, who was still best friends with the women she’d grown up with, Annie hadn’t stayed in touch with the two girls she’d been closest to in high school. Because of the anorexia, she’d wanted to put those tough times, those awful memories, completely behind her. And since she, Sarah and Raylene had gone to different colleges, it hadn’t been all that difficult to break the ties without anyone’s feelings being hurt. That didn’t mean she didn’t remember them fondly. Like Ty, they’d stuck with her during her difficult recovery from her eating disorder.

The last Annie had heard, Raylene was married to a bright young orthopedic surgeon and living in Charleston. It was exactly the match her very socially connected grandparents in Charleston had hoped for when they’d arranged for her to attend a debutante ball. Annie had met Raylene’s husband, Paul Hammond, at a couple of professional gatherings, and he’d even recommended her to a few of his patients, but she and Raylene had rarely crossed paths during the brief time Annie had spent in Charleston after college. When they had, she’d noted that Raylene had looked every bit the young socialite, a role she’d come to late but adapted to nicely.

Sarah had been engaged by her junior year in college, and after graduation had moved to Alabama to be near her fiancé’s family. To Annie’s surprise, no wedding invitation had ever arrived in the mail. Nor did anyone in town seem to know if Sarah had actually gotten married. Her parents had moved away a few months ago, just before Annie’s return to Serenity.

When Elliott called from the front desk at the spa to tell Annie that her next client had arrived, she was stunned to find Sarah waiting for her. She was even more startled by the amount of weight her friend had gained and, even more shocking, her dull eyes and unkempt appearance.

“I’ll bet I’m the last person you expected to see,” Sarah said, forcing a smile that never reached her eyes.

Annie tried to hide her initial reaction. She held out her arms and embraced her. “You definitely are, but it’s a wonderful surprise. How are you?”

“How do I look?” Sarah asked, her tone bitter, then waved off her own question. “No, don’t tell me. I can’t take brutal honesty right now.”

Annie heard a note of near hysteria in Sarah’s voice that cut right through her. “Let’s grab a glass of tea,” she suggested. “It’s a beautiful morning. We can sit on the patio and catch up.”

“Given the shape I’m in, maybe we should start right in with the exercise. It’s going to take a while to fix me.”

“You don’t need to be fixed,” Annie said fiercely, trying to combat the note of defeat. “Maybe just a little fine-tuning.”

“You’re a liar, but thanks.”

“Just so you know, I always start out spending time with a client to see what her goals are, so this is just routine,” Annie assured her. Unsure what her old friend’s financial situation might be, she added, “You don’t pay for this session, okay?”

“Money’s not an issue,” Sarah assured her. “I just don’t have time to waste.”

Again, there was a note of hysteria that set off alarm bells.

“We can talk about why that is, too,” Annie told her, leading the way into the spa’s small café, which sold a variety of drinks, smoothies, salads and pastries. The food was supplied by Sullivan’s.

Annie ordered two iced teas, then ushered Sarah out to the patio, choosing a table in the shade of an old oak tree. Two other tables were occupied, but they had relative privacy to talk. “So, you’re obviously married now, since I didn’t recognize the last name when you made the appointment.”

“For the moment,” Sarah said, her expression grim. “Walter says if I don’t get a grip on my weight, he’s through with me.”

Annie stared at her with shock. “Your husband threatened to leave you if you don’t lose weight?”

Sarah nodded, tears gathering in her eyes. “He meant it, too. He’s already seen a lawyer. To tell you the truth, I think he’s been looking for an excuse, and I handed it to him when I gained weight during my pregnancies with our two kids. I kept an extra twenty pounds after each of them.”

Annie was startled. “You have two kids already? When did you get married?”

“The week after we graduated. I was already pregnant with our first. That’s Tommy. That’s why you didn’t get a wedding invitation—his family thought it would be best if we didn’t make a fuss. We had a very small ceremony.”

Annie felt awful for her. She remembered how they used to talk about their weddings. Of all of them—even including Raylene’s social ambitions—Sarah’s dream had been the most lavish.

“You’d hardly be the first bride to be pregnant when she walked down the aisle,” she said, indignant for Sarah.

“Not in their town,” Sarah said. “At least that’s what you’d think to hear them tell it. Me, I think the whole place is a hotbed of people sleeping with anyone they can get their hands on. The Prices think they own the whole stupid town, which I suppose they do, if you consider they own the cotton mill that keeps a lot of folks employed.” She waved her hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to talk about them. They’re hateful people.”

“Have you moved back here, then?”

“I’m staying at Mama and Daddy’s place for a few months, while I ‘get a grip,’ as Walter says. It’s akin to hiding me in a closet. Thank heaven, Mama and Daddy had the foresight to see something like this coming and kept the house just in case I ever needed a place to come home to.”

“And your kids?”

“Tommy and Libby are here with me, at least for now. If Walter really does divorce me, it’s going to get ugly. He’s going to fight to keep Tommy with him.”

Annie regarded her with shock, certain she’d misunderstood. “Only your son?”

“Have to have an heir, don’t you know,” Sarah said angrily. “The family barely acknowledges that Libby exists. Seems my second pregnancy was a worse embarrassment than the first, coming so quickly on the heels of Tommy’s birth.” She leaned close and confided in an exaggerated undertone, “It suggests we had s-e-x.”

Annie had contained herself as long as she could. “Somebody needs to tell Walter what he can do to himself. I recommend Helen.”

For the first time, Sarah’s smile appeared genuine. “I was hoping you’d say that. I want to get fit, but I’m doing it for me, not Walter, no matter what he thinks. Then I intend to hire a lawyer like Helen, stand up for myself and teach him a thing or two,” she said with more spirit. “I can’t do that when I feel like such a failure.”

“You’re not a failure. And if you’re as determined as it sounds, you’ll be back in shape in no time. I’ll see to it,” Annie promised.

Sarah leaned forward. “So, how do we start?”

“Any health problems I should know about? You’ve seen a doctor?”

“The only thing wrong with me is the extra weight I’m carrying.”

“Have you been doing any exercise at all?”

“Nothing beyond chasing a couple of kids night and day. Does that count?”

“It’s definitely a start,” Annie told her, thinking of how worn-out her dad had been after his brief babysitting stint.

“What’s next, then?” Sarah asked eagerly, her expression more animated than it had been since she’d first hugged Annie.

“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Annie told her, “literally. Let’s get inside and get you on the treadmill.”

At the doorway, Sarah paused and gave her an impish grin. “Who ever thought things would turn out like this? Me having an eating problem and you being the one who’s going to help me conquer it. Talk about the tables being turned.”

“I know,” Annie said. “But you know the best part? Every time you have the slightest doubt, all you have to do is look at me and remember the mess I was. That’s all the proof you’ll need that anything is possible.”

Sarah pulled her into an embrace. “It is so good to see you, Annie. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed having a friend who knows all my secrets going clear back to preschool.”

Ironically it was having Sarah know her secrets that had made Annie want to forget the old friendship, but right this second she regretted having let it slip away.

“Do you ever hear from Raylene?” she asked Sarah. The three of them had once been as inseparable as the Sweet Magnolias.

“You mean the hoity-toity princess?” Sarah said with a chuckle. “Not so much. She sends out fancy Christmas cards and even scrawls a note on them about how fabulous her life is, but we haven’t talked in years. You?”

“I ran into her a couple of times in Charleston, but we definitely weren’t traveling in the same social circles. I had some business contact with her husband, who seemed like an okay guy.”

“Was he gorgeous?” Sarah asked.

“Ordinary, actually, but he had a terrific sense of humor.”

“And he’s rich, of course, and has that pedigree her family wanted,” Sarah assessed. She grinned. “I’ve missed this so much, Annie. When I heard you were back in town, it made the prospect of being banished here a whole lot easier.”

To her surprise, Annie realized she understood just what Sarah meant. It was as if a piece of herself had just clicked back into place this morning. “I know, sweetie. I know just what you mean.”

For the first time in her life, she understood why her mom, Maddie and Helen had stayed so close over all these years. Friends like these, who stuck together through thick and thin, were worth their weight in gold. It was about time she appreciated that for the blessing it was.

Chapter Five

It had been nearly a year since Helen had seen her mother, and she was shocked by the changes. Flo Decatur looked old and frail, asleep in her hospital bed, her complexion ashen, her gray hair badly in need of a perm. She was only seventy-two, but years of hard work and smoking had clearly taken a toll.

She moaned softly, then opened her eyes. Her expression brightened when she saw Helen.

“You came,” she said in a way that suggested she hadn’t believed Helen would take the time.

“Of course I came,” Helen said briskly, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. “I had to see for myself just how much trouble you’ve gotten yourself into. How did it happen, Mom? How’d you break your hip?”

“Believe it or not, I was taking a class in line dancing at the community center,” Flo said, then added wryly, “I thought it would be good exercise. At my age you’ll try anything to keep your parts working.” She patted her hip. “I guess this one was already shot.”

Helen smiled at the image of her mother taking any kind of dance class, much less one involving country music. She’d always claimed to hate all those love-gone-wrong songs. She said she’d lived it, and it wasn’t worth glorifying. She’d also always had two left feet, or so she’d said. It appeared she might have been right.

“So, what happened?”

“Tripped over my own feet, if you must know,” Flo said, her expression chagrined at the admission of clumsiness. “Down I went. Took two other people with me.”

“Were they hurt, too?”

“Nope. They both had a few extra pounds on them. They bounced,” she joked, then coughed so hard, Helen handed her a cup of water. When she’d taken a sip, Flo regarded Helen intently. “Did they tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I can’t go back to my apartment.”

She didn’t sound as dismayed by that as Helen had expected. Still, Helen sought to reassure her. “The nurse mentioned you’d need some rehab, then maybe some help at home. Don’t worry about that. We’ll work it out, Mom. The nurse has already suggested a couple of places, and I’ll talk to the social worker and get some more recommendations. I’ll make sure you’re set up someplace really nice.”

Flo was shaking her head before the words were out of Helen’s mouth. “I’m not going into a nursing home,” she said flatly. “That’ll be the beginning of the end, and you know it.”

“I didn’t say anything about a nursing home,” Helen argued. “I’m sure there are some great rehabilitation centers around, places dedicated to getting you back on your feet and back home. The minute they say it’s okay for you to be back in your condo, I’ll arrange for someone to come in and help you.”

Her mother’s jaw set. “No.”

“Well, what then?” Helen asked, trying to hang on to her patience. “You can’t go directly back to your place. There’s no way you can manage on your own right now. The doctors won’t allow it, anyway.”

Her mother’s gaze locked with hers. “I want to come home with you.”

Helen regarded Flo with alarm. That was out of the question. They’d kill each other in a week. Besides, she was barely coping with a husband, a toddler and a nanny in the house. Adding her mother to the mix simply couldn’t happen, not when she was finally getting back some real balance between family and career. Just the thought of it made her palms sweat.

And yet, if this was what Flo really wanted, did she have a choice?

“Wouldn’t you be happier right here? You have friends here,” Helen said, a desperate note in her voice. “I’m sure they’re all anxious to have you back on your feet.”

“I have friends here, but I have family in Serenity,” her mother declared, her gaze not wavering, her tone stubborn.

Her argument mirrored so closely what Jeanette had said that it gave Helen pause. “Why?” she asked, bewildered by the sudden change in attitude from the time when Flo had been eager to leave Serenity.

“I want to spend some time with my granddaughter,” Flo said, her expression wistful. “She’s growing up so fast, and I’m missing it.”

“That doesn’t solve the problem of rehab, Mom. Maybe once you’re back on your feet, you could come for a visit.”

Her mother shook her head. “I want to come home permanently.” She frowned at Helen. “Oh, don’t look at me as if I’ve invited myself to stay with you forever. As soon as I’m back on my feet, I’ll get my own place.”

Helen was still bewildered by her mother’s determination. “I thought you loved your apartment here,” she said. Helen had spent a fortune buying and furnishing the place for her mother, trying to make her golden years easier than the early years of her life had been. Helen had spared no expense, either with the location or the furnishings. Her monthly checks to help out with expenses were generous, as well.

“It’s a lovely apartment and I appreciate you wanting me to have it, but I miss home, Helen. This accident was the final straw. If it had happened in Serenity, you wouldn’t have had to disrupt your life to fly all the way down here. I’ve made up my mind—I’m coming home. If you don’t want me underfoot at your place or you don’t have the room, then find a rehab facility up there. What was that one place called? Sunset Manor?”

Helen stared at her in horror. “Mom, you can’t go there, even temporarily. That place was a dump ten years ago when we visited your coworker there.”

“Surely by now there’s another alternative,” Flo said. There was no mistaking the intractable note in her voice or the determined glint in her eyes.

“I’ll have to discuss this with Erik,” Helen said, more to buy time than out of any conviction that he’d say no. In fact, he’d seemed to get along with her mother better than she did on the few occasions when they’d met.

“Of course,” her mother said, sounding meek now that she was well on her way to victory.

“And it would just be until you’re back on your feet and we’ve found you your own place.” Helen wanted to be very sure they were on the same page about that.

“Absolutely.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t sell your condo just yet, though. You could change your mind.”

“Sell it,” her mother said emphatically. “In fact, hand me my purse. It’s in that cabinet.”

Helen retrieved it for her. Her mother reached inside and whipped out a business card.

“Here’s the Realtor I’ve been talking to. Call her. Tell her to get the ball rolling.”

Helen regarded her with dismay. “You were already planning to sell and move home? Without even discussing it with me?”

“I knew you’d try to talk me out of it,” her mother replied succinctly. Her expression brightened and even her color improved. “Now you can see how it’s all working out for the best.”

Helen merely stared at her. If the idea hadn’t been so completely crazy, she might actually wonder if her mother weren’t happy about her broken hip. The next thing she knew Flo would be calling it a blessing in disguise.

Resigned, she sighed. “I guess I’d better start making calls. I’ll be back a little later.”

“Take your time,” Flo said cheerily. “I’m not going anywhere, at least not until you take me.”

Outside her mother’s room, Helen leaned against the wall and drew in several deep, calming breaths. She, the barracuda attorney, the master negotiator, had just been outmaneuvered by a wisp of a woman who couldn’t even get out of bed.

As Helen had anticipated, when she called home later that day, Erik was no help at all. If he’d voiced even one objection, she could have seized on it and told her mother no, then gone on a hunt for a rehab facility even if it turned out to be miles and miles from Serenity. In fact, Charleston would have been ideal.

Instead, Erik thought it was a great idea to have Flo living with them for a while. “It’ll be wonderful for our daughter to get to spend some real quality time with her grandmother. Extended family is important for kids.”

“Why don’t we just have your family move in, too?” Helen grumbled under her breath.

Erik chuckled. “Careful what you wish for,” he warned. “You’ll start giving me ideas.”

“Erik, you have no idea what Flo is like. She’s disorganized and unreliable.”

“All I know is that she raised an amazing daughter all on her own, so she can’t be all bad. Besides, she raves about my cooking.”

“How much adulation can you possibly need?” Helen inquired testily. “Your cooking gets rave reviews in magazines and newspapers all over the state. Why on earth do you need to bask in a few words of praise from my mother?”

Erik hesitated, then said, “Look, if you really don’t want to do this, why don’t you find a good facility for her.”

“Thank you!”

“Hold on,” he said. “Let me finish. You can do that, but it seems ridiculous to spend that kind of money when we have room for her here, and this is where she wants to be. It’s not going to be forever.”

Helen tried another approach. “She’ll need help, Erik. I can’t stay home from work now when I’m just getting back on track with my law practice.”

“We’ll hire a caregiver, a physical therapist, whatever she needs. I’ll make some calls today, get some people lined up.”

“What about moving her back to Serenity? I can’t spend days down here packing up her apartment.”

“It’s not likely to sell overnight, and she won’t need her furniture until we’ve found her a house or apartment here. Leave everything there. When the time comes, we’ll get movers to do the packing. I’ll even go down to supervise. You won’t have to lift a finger.”

“You have an answer for everything,” she groused.

“The same answers you would have if you weren’t so resistant to this whole idea.”

“Well, when our house is chaotic, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said.

“Nope, I definitely won’t be able to say that,” he replied so cheerfully Helen wanted to throttle him. “I love you. Talk to you later.”

“Hold it,” she commanded before he could hang up. “How am I supposed to get her up there? I doubt she’s able to maneuver well enough to fly.”

“Rent a car and let her rest in the backseat while you drive.”

The thought of listening to Flo criticize her driving for hours on end set Helen’s teeth on edge, but it was a reasonable alternative.

“Okay, fine,” she said glumly. “I’ll see you tomorrow night unless I deliberately drive off the road and drown us both in a swamp en route.”

“You won’t do that,” Erik said confidently.

“Don’t be too sure. She can get on my last nerve faster than a flea can pester a dog.”

“You have me and our baby girl to get home to,” he reminded her. “Put our picture up on the visor and glance at it whenever you’re trying to recall why you need to live.”

She smiled despite her sour mood. “That ought to do it,” she conceded. “I do love you, you know.”

“I know.”

“Even if you are a pain.”

“I prefer to think of myself as sane and reasonable.”

“And I’m not?”

“No comment, Counselor. See you tomorrow. Let me know what you need me to do on this end.”

Helen sighed and hung up. Obviously this move of her mother’s was going to happen whether she liked it or not. She might as well get with the program and make the best of it.

Ty was icing down his shoulder after his workout at The Corner Spa, when his cell phone rang. It was nearly ten at night. At this hour, a call was never good. He glanced at caller ID and saw it was his attorney, Jay Wrigley. That was even worse.

“Hey, Jay, what’s up?” he asked.

“We’ve got a problem, Ty,” he said.

Since his tone was ominous and Jay never over-reacted, Ty braced himself. “Is it my contract? Is the team balking at paying my salary because of my being on injured reserve?”

“No, those terms in the contract are airtight. It’s nothing like that.”

“What, then?”

“I had a call tonight from Dee-Dee.”

Ty sank down on a bench at the mention of Trevor’s mother. “What the hell did she want?”

It was the first time Dee-Dee had made contact since they’d finalized the custody agreement nearly two years ago. Even then, she’d sent the notarized papers by courier. She’d claimed that seeing Ty or Trevor would shake her resolve to do the right thing and let Ty raise their son.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” Jay said. “But I thought you ought to know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know what she wanted? She didn’t call just to chat, I’m sure of that.”

“I’m telling you, she never said. She rambled on about thinking about Trevor and missing him, but she didn’t ask about locating you. Look, I wouldn’t even have bothered you about this, but it was just so out of the blue after all this time, I thought you should know.”

“Was she drunk?”

“I don’t know her well enough to say. Actually, she sounded kind of sad, like a mom who was missing her little boy.”

Ty closed his eyes against the tide of fear washing over him. “Is there something we need to do?”

“She didn’t ask for anything. She didn’t make any threats or demands. There’s nothing to do. You might want to give Tom Bristol a heads-up about the call,” he said, referring to the family court lawyer who’d handled the custody case for Ty. “What do you want me to do if she asks to get in touch with you or to see Trevor?”

“Tell her no way,” Ty said fiercely, knowing he probably sounded hardhearted, but he was protecting his son. Trevor rarely asked about his mother. So far, when he had, he’d seemed satisfied with Ty’s explanation that she was living in another state. If Dee-Dee suddenly appeared, who knew what the emotional impact would be? He wasn’t ready to find out, especially if this was just some whim on her part.

To be sure Jay knew he’d meant what he said, he added, “After the way she abandoned him, I don’t want Dee-Dee anywhere near Trevor, not unless there’s proof that she’s changed. I can’t have her waltzing back into his life, playing mommy while it suits her and then taking off again. If the time comes that it seems like it’s in Trevor’s best interests for them to have a relationship, I’ll consider it. In the meantime, though, everybody needs to keep in mind that she abandoned that little baby on my doorstep, Jay. Maybe it was an act of kindness or one of desperation, I don’t know. But I do know I don’t want anybody to ever forget that she was capable of something so reckless.”

“Got it,” Jay said. “I’ll keep you posted if I hear from her again.”

“Yeah, do that,” Ty said. He clicked the phone shut and barely resisted the urge to throw it across the room, which was a good thing because it might well have hit Annie, who’d just walked in the door. She caught sight of him and stopped in her tracks, her expression immediately wary, either because of his expression or merely his presence.

“I thought you’d be gone by now,” she murmured, already backing toward the door. “I saw the lights on and thought you and Elliott had just forgotten to turn them off.”

“I was getting ready to leave when I got a call I had to take.”

She started to turn to leave. “Good night, then. You can cut off the lights on your way out.”

Jay’s call had left Ty feeling restless and out of sorts. He didn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts in turmoil. “Annie, don’t go,” he pleaded.

She regarded him with a torn expression. Though she was obviously still poised to flee, she’d clearly heard something in his voice that had stopped her.

“The call, was it bad news?” she asked hesitantly. Years ago she would have pestered him till he told her the problem, but now it was clear she wasn’t sure if she wanted to get involved.

Ty knew better than to tell her about Dee-Dee’s sudden, unexplained reappearance. “My attorney just wanted to alert me to a potential problem.”

“Then why did you want me to stay?”

He quickly came up with an excuse that would ring true. “Because most of my conversations these days are either about which superhero T-shirt Trevor wants to put on or how badly I’ve screwed things up with you. Since I doubt you’ll want to discuss either of those topics, I was hoping we could talk about…oh, anything else.” He met her gaze. “Maybe the weather,” he suggested hopefully.

“It’s South Carolina in the spring. It’s already hot and humid,” she said wryly. “Can I go now?”

“You can, but I hope you won’t.”

She hesitated for what felt like an eternity, then sat down on the bench of a weight machine halfway across the room. “How does it feel being home again?” she asked eventually.

“Weird,” he admitted. “How about you?”

“Definitely weird. My parents don’t quite know how to treat me. I’m too old for rules and curfews, yet I’m under their roof. I can hardly wait to save enough to buy my own place.”

He took heart from the fact that she’d willingly strung more than a couple of sentences together. “Then you’re planning to stay here?”

“Of course. Why else would I move back?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure.”

“It certainly wasn’t because you’re here,” she said, bristling.

Ty grinned. “I know that, Annie,” he said with exaggerated patience. “You got here months before I did, so unless you had some premonition that I was going to injure my shoulder, the two of us being here at the same time is coincidence.” Okay, maybe on his part it had been calculated to take advantage of a situation, but she didn’t need to know that. He held her gaze, then added, “By the way, if you did have a premonition, I wish you’d warned me about it. This hurts like hell.” He removed the ice pack and rubbed his shoulder.

“Try the hot tub,” she said grudgingly.

“Only if you’ll join me,” he taunted, just to see if he could put a blush of pink in her cheeks. It worked.

She stood up at once, her face flushed. “Only after hell’s frozen over,” she said. “I have to go.”

“Plans for the rest of the evening?” he inquired innocently. Annie had never been a late-night person, and it was now going on eleven o’clock. There was no place she needed to be except away from him.

“Yes,” she said, looking directly into his eyes and lying through her teeth. “Big plans, as a matter of fact.”

Ty laughed. “Sleep well, Annie.”

“I’m not going home to sleep,” she insisted indignantly. “I’m—”

Before she could utter a blatant lie, Ty crossed the room and touched a finger to her lips. “Don’t,” he said quietly. “Whatever happens between us from here on out, let’s keep things honest and real.”

She swallowed hard, proving to him that she was affected by his nearness, but then that stubborn chin of hers jutted up.

“That would be a refreshing change,” she said, then whirled on her heel and left him standing there.

Even though Annie had just put him squarely in his place, Ty laughed. From where he stood, it seemed as if she was working her way back to the feisty, indomitable woman he’d loved and lost. Getting her back again was going to be an absolutely fascinating challenge.

Of all the nerve! How dare Tyler Townsend stand right there in her workplace and taunt her like that? How dare he touch her, even if it had been nothing more than a faint brush of a finger across her lips?

A little voice in her head suggested she was lucky he hadn’t kissed her instead, and made a liar out of all of her declarations that he meant nothing to her.

It was hours later, after a sleepless night, and she was still seething as she slammed pots and pans around in the kitchen at Sullivan’s. At all the noise, her mother came dashing in.

“What on earth are you doing in here? You’re not trying to cook, are you?”

Annie scowled at her. “I can cook.”

“Not in the restaurant kitchen, you can’t. If you want to burn things or ruin pots and pans, do it at home.”

“If I’d done that, Dad would have wanted to know why I was making such a racket.”

“Believe me, I want to know why you’re making such a racket,” Dana Sue said, studying her expectantly.

Warned away from the expensive and satisfyingly noisy pots and pans, Annie grabbed a stool and sat on it. “Ty,” she said succinctly.

Her mom froze in midstride on her way to the walk-in pantry. “What did Ty do?”

Annie thought back to the incident in the spa and sighed. “Nothing, really. His mere existence is a thorn in my side.”

Her mother chuckled. “I see.”

“Do not laugh at me. None of this is even remotely amusing.”

Dana Sue sobered at once. “I know that.” She went into the pantry and emerged with various ingredients that looked promising. Annie’s mouth watered at the prospect of her mother’s justifiably famous French toast.

“You could take some time off, maybe get away for a while, if having Ty around is going to be too hard for you,” her mom continued. “Maddie wouldn’t object.”

Indignant and alarmed, Annie stared at her mother. “And you know that how? Have the two of you been discussing how to be supportive of poor little Annie?”

“Absolutely not,” Dana Sue claimed, breaking eggs in a bowl and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, barely a whiff of almond extract and a dash of cream before slipping thick slices of French bread into it to soak. “I just know that she would understand if you need a break. She’s sensitive to the situation.”

“Which means you did discuss it,” Annie said in disgust. “Margarita night must have been a real blast.”

“To be honest, I don’t remember that much about it,” her mom admitted, looking chagrined. “Helen apparently overdid it with the tequila. She was a little stressed out.”

“Helen was stressed out? Why?” Annie regarded her mother with dismay, distracted for the moment from her own turmoil. “She and Erik aren’t in trouble, are they?”

Dana Sue forked the bread slices into a skillet in which butter sizzled. “No way. This was about her mom. Flo broke her hip. Helen’s in Florida now. I had a call from Erik last night that she’s driving her mother back up here today.”

“Flo’s coming home with Helen?” Annie asked, stunned. “Oh, brother, how’d that happen?”

“Flo asked, then Erik encouraged it. I gather she wants to move home. For now, that means into Helen’s place.”

“Yikes!”

“That was pretty much my reaction,” Dana Sue said, setting two plates with golden slices of French toast in front of them, along with a pot of strawberry jam and a small pitcher of warm maple syrup. “Something tells me if things don’t go well, Erik is going to spend the next few weeks hiding out right here.”

“He’d be better off in another state.”

“Enough of that. Let’s get back to Ty,” Dana Sue said.

“I’d rather not,” Annie said. She concentrated on her favorite comfort food, hoping if she didn’t make eye contact, her mother would drop the subject.

Dana Sue persisted. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Not unless you know how to deaden the pain in my heart every time I see him,” Annie said wistfully.

“Afraid not, kiddo. There’s never been a cure invented for that particular kind of pain.”

“What about margaritas?”

“Based on recent experience, I can tell you for certain that whatever temporary escape they might provide is nothing compared to the pain they leave behind.”

“Too bad,” Annie said. “Maybe you should put the Sweet Magnolias to work on a cure for the lovesick blues. You guys could make a fortune.”

“I’ll mention it next time we get together. We are pretty inventive.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Eventually Annie faced her mother. “I still love him,” she admitted. “I don’t want to, but I do.”

“I know, sweetie.”

“Am I supposed to forgive him and give him another chance after what he did?”

“Only you can decide that,” Dana Sue said.

“How did you decide it was time to take Dad back?”

“He convinced me I could trust him again.”

“Just by coming back when I was in the hospital, and then not giving up even after you kept pushing him away?”

Dana Sue’s expression turned thoughtful. “That was part of it, but mostly I took a leap of faith. I think that’s all any of us can do once we’ve been betrayed. It’s a question of looking at the evidence that someone’s changed, evaluating whether you’re happier with them than without them, then taking that leap.”

“Sounds scary.”

“It is.”

Annie sighed. “I don’t think I’m there yet.”

“You don’t need to be. You’ll get there when it feels right.”

“What if Ty’s healed and gone by then? What if he’s given up on me?”

“If you believe with everything in you that you’re meant to be, then you go after him.”

Annie stared at her. “Pride be damned?”

Dana Sue nodded. “Pride be damned. Look at your dad. Once he came back to town, remember how hard he fought to get back into my life, back into both our lives? I kept pushing him away, but he never gave up. You’ve got our stubborn genes. You’re strong enough to get whatever you really want.”

She covered Annie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Meantime, make sure Ty does his fair share of groveling. You’ll feel better for that, no matter what.”

Annie chuckled. “You know, I think I will.”

Chapter Six

When Ty got up on Saturday morning, he pulled on a pair of cutoff jeans and wandered toward the kitchen in search of his son. Usually by now Trevor had crawled into bed with him to wake him for the trip to Wharton’s for breakfast. Ty made it as far as the living room before stopping in his tracks.

There, lined up on the sofa, were his fourteen-year-old sister, Katie, and four of her friends. Judging from their rapt, slack-jawed gazes and sudden silence when they saw him, they’d been waiting for him.

“Good morning, girls,” he said, regretting that he hadn’t grabbed a T-shirt and maybe a decent pair of pants. “Katie, I didn’t know you had company.”

“Mom said I could invite some friends over,” she said with a touch of defiance.

“Any particular occasion?”

The girls giggled, their cheeks turning bright pink. Katie frowned at them. “You’re acting crazy,” she scolded them. “I told you it was okay to come over, but only if you didn’t act all weird. He’s just my brother.”

“He’s Ty Townsend!” one girl corrected in an awe-struck voice. “And he’s right here, and he’s not wearing a shirt!”

Ty bit back a groan. “Katie, I think maybe you should offer your friends something to drink. They seem a little overheated. Where’s Trevor, by the way?”

“Cal took him, Jessica Lynn and Cole for a walk. He said for you to meet them at Wharton’s.”

“Okay, then. Nice meeting you, girls,” he said. He left to a chorus of more giggles as he went back to his room to shower and dress.

When he emerged, the girls were gone, except for Katie, who hurriedly stuffed something behind her. He regarded her suspiciously. “What was that?”

“What?” she asked, all innocence.

“You put something behind the cushion,” he said, crossing the room in a few quick strides and yanking away the cushion before she could stop him. Five-dollar bills scattered. Ty stared at the money in shock. “You charged them to meet me?” he asked incredulously. “What? Five dollars apiece?”

Katie’s face flamed. “Ten, because you weren’t wearing a shirt. We’d agreed they’d pay extra if you weren’t.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t let them peek in my room while I was sleeping. They might have gotten quite an eyeful.”

“That would have been rude and an invasion of your privacy,” Katie said indignantly. “I would never do that.”

Ty wanted to be furious with her, but she sounded so solemn about the boundaries she’d set, he couldn’t seem to muster the energy to yell. “You do know that even this was wrong?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m your brother, not a sideshow at the circus. And what if one of those girls had snapped a picture with a cell phone and sold it to a tabloid or something?”

Katie rolled her eyes. “They don’t know people who work at tabloids.”

“I think you’re missing the point. You don’t let people into the house to ogle your brother. It’s inappropriate.”

“People pay to see you pitch,” she argued.

“This is hardly the same thing.”

“You’re famous. I’m your sister. I should be able to cash in on that.”

“If you’re that desperate for money, I’ll find some chores you can do. You can mail pictures to my fans for me.”

“That’s no fun. This makes me kinda famous, too. The kids like me better ‘cause I’m your sister.”

She sounded so woebegone that Ty sank down beside her on the sofa. “I can’t believe you don’t have plenty of friends without doing something like this. You’re pretty and smart and funny.”

“I have braces and I’m too smart,” she countered.

“The braces will only be on a few more months, and there’s no such thing as too smart,” Ty told her.

“There is if you like Dougie Johnson. He calls me Brainiac—and he doesn’t mean it in a good way.”

“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.”

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