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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.