Playing Dead in Dixie (29 page)
Read Playing Dead in Dixie Online
Authors: Paula Graves
"It's too late."
"You won't know that 'til you ask him for a second chance, now, will ya?"
Carly met her mother's gentle gaze, a strange sense of freedom unfurling inside her. She nodded, emotion tight in her throat.
Bridget smiled. "There, now. Was that so hard?"
Carly gave a watery laugh, wiping her cheeks. "Can I stay here tonight? I'd like to see Teresa and Lorna before I leave."
Her mother patted Carly's knee and went into the kitchen to make the calls.
WES CHECKED THE ADDRESS jotted on the back of Agent Phillips' business card, then looked at the brightly colored sign in front of the restored Victorian on a quiet street in Thorndale, Pennsylvania, a little town just outside Philadelphia. According to Agent Phillips, Carly's sister Lorna worked at the day care as a teacher.
It was all the help Phillips could give him. "She's already broken the lease on her old apartment. I wanted to update her on the case against Manning's associates, but she'd already left town."
She'd warned Wes that she wouldn't be staying in New Jersey for long. He just hoped she'd gotten in touch with her sister before she headed to the next new place on her list.
The police I.D. he showed to the day school's receptionist did little to ease the wariness in her eyes. When he mentioned he wanted to talk to Lorna, her alarm grew "Nothing's wrong, I hope?"
"No. Actually, I'm looking for her sister. I was hoping Miss Sandano might know where I can find her. Is she still here?" Parked across from the school, watching dozens of pre-school children erupt from inside the house at the end of the school day and line up in fidgeting rows until their parents claimed them, Wes had worried he'd arrived at the day care too late to catch up with Carly's sister.
"She's still in her classroom. I'll let her know you're waiting." The receptionist motioned toward a line of straight-backed chairs against the wall.
Wes sat down in one of them, tamping down the growing impatience roiling in his gut. Once he'd decided to chase after Carly, he found himself chafing at anything that made him wait. Talking Phillips into parting with any information about Carly had taken most of his skills of persuasion and every ounce of charm he possessed. He hoped Lorna Sandano would be an easier sell.
A couple of minutes later, a tall, dark-haired woman in her late twenties emerged from the back. She lacked Carly's stunning beauty, but she was quietly attractive, with her sister's quirky mouth and glossy black hair. She caught sight of Wes, her lips curving into a smile. "Wes Hollingsworth?"
He stood, extending his hand. "I'm a friend of your sister Carly."
Lorna chuckled softly. The sound reminded him of Carly's laugh. His stomach tightened. "She hit thirteen and suddenly, she wanted to be called Carly. Teresa and I made sure to call her Lottie twice as much as usual."
Wes smiled in return. "Do you know where I can find her?"
Lorna cocked her head, her smile broadening. "This is your lucky day, Mr. Hollingsworth. Got time for a little trip?"
CARLY JOINED HER MOTHER in the kitchen as she finished the call to Teresa. "Is she coming?"
"She'll be here around four-thirty. She didn't want to show up with grease under her nails." Bridget opened the cabinet over the breakfast bar. "I bought some ginger snaps at the grocery store yesterday. I know ya love them."
Carly smiled. "I'll get the milk."
They settled down at the kitchen table, the cookies between them. Carly gave into nostalgia and dipped her cookies in the creamy milk, savoring the spicy sweet flavor. "When's Lorna supposed to get here?" she asked her mother.
"Any time now. She said she was leaving right away."
Carly dunked another cookie, unable to suppress a delighted grin. It was good to be home, she realized. Why hadn't she seen how much she needed her family before now?
She stretched out her fingers impulsively, taking her mother's hand. "I'm sorry, Ma."
Bridget looked surprised. "Whatever for, Lottie girl?"
"For staying away so long."
"Your papa hurt us all. You no less than me, love."
"I shouldn't have blamed you for your misery. You didn't want to hurt so bad. You sure didn't mean for us kids to suffer with you. I know that now."
Bridget threaded her fingers through Carly's. "Maybe I should have stopped lettin' him come back to us. But I loved him, Lottie. We all did, didn't we?"
Carly nodded. "I forget that, sometimes."
Bridget squeezed her hand. "I do, too."
A car door shut outside. Bridget let go of Carly's hand and headed for the door to greet Lorna. Carly stayed in the kitchen and grabbed a glass to pour some milk for her sister.
She was bending over, replacing the carton of milk in the refrigerator, when she heard Wes's voice call her name. "Carly?"
She froze, her heart stumbling.
"Or are you going by Lottie again?"
She turned slowly, certain that she'd find him nothing but a figment of her imagination. But there he stood, big and solid and oh-so-sexy, in the doorway of her mother's kitchen.
She tried to think of a sassy retort, something that would save her from the sudden rush of emotion choking her, filling her lungs with a sweet ache. But she barely managed to squeak his name before she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her hot, tear-stained face against his throat.
He lifted her off her feet, crushing her tightly against him. He kissed her hair, her temple, the side of her neck, murmuring wordlessly in her ear.
"I've missed you so much," she whispered, pressing her lips against the curve of his jaw. "Please take me home."
He threaded his fingers through her hair, drawing her head back to look into her eyes. A lop-sided grin stretched across his beautiful mouth. "Well, damn. I came here to offer to be your rambling partner. I had visions of Vegas, baby."
She laughed softly, cradling his face between her trembling hands. "You can't leave Bangor behind and you know it."
He kissed her palm. "I'm willing to try."
She realized he wasn't kidding. Her heart filled to the point of bursting. "I love you."
She saw moisture well up in his eyes, catching her by surprise. He gave a watery little laugh as one teardrop spilled down his cheek. "Promise you won't tell J.B. you drove me to tears, okay?"
"How's he doing? And did Nate make it? He was still alive the last time I saw him, but it didn't look good."
"He's doing really good. It was touch and go for a while, but he's back home. So's Shannon."
"I really hate to interrupt this," Lorna said drily from the kitchen doorway, "but I can't get to the cookies."
Carly laughed and grabbed Wes's hand, moving him aside so her mother and sister could enter the kitchen. She led him to the table and sat him down adjacent to her so she could hold onto his hand.
She took a moment to introduce him to her mother and sister properly, although he'd already met Lorna, he explained, having gone to her for help finding Carly. "Phillips didn't want to give me any information about your family, but I talked him into at least giving me a place to start."
She twined her fingers through his. "Wes's the Chief of Police in Bangor, Ma. I know it's not quite a doctor—"
Bridget laughed. "Lottie's talked of nothin' but you and your town since she got here."
"Ma—"
"Like the man can't tell by now that you're crazy about him?" Bridget offered the plate of cookies to Wes. "Gingersnaps. They were always Lottie's favorites."
"I have a new favorite now," Carly admitted. "Ever had Mississippi Mud Cake?"
"Oh. My. God." Lorna's eyes widened. "I had some a couple of months ago at a restaurant in Lancaster."
"Women and chocolate," Wes murmured. He reached into his jacket pocket and laid something on the table in front of Carly. "Brought you something from Shannon."
Carly looked down at the little photo he'd put on in front of her. A squinty, red-faced newborn glared up at her. Carly's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Wes."
"Sarah Jane Burgess. Born last Tuesday at nine-thirty-four in the evening. Eight pounds, one ounce. Healthy as a horse."
"And I missed it." Her heart ached with regret.
"Lucky you. Bonnie was Shannon's birth partner. She says she still can't feel her fingers."
"And everybody's okay?"
"Everybody's fine." He squeezed her hand. "They all miss you, too."
Carly turned to her mother. "Ma, I know I said I'd stay tonight—"
Her mother smiled. "Go where your heart tells you, Lottie. We'll be waitin' when you're of a mind to visit again."
Carly turned to Wes. "My sister Teresa's on the way. I'd like to see her before we head out."
"Of course."
Bridget stood up and cleared her throat, tugging at Lorna's arm. "Lorna, I have something to show you in the back room."
Lorna dragged her gaze away from Wes and Carly. "What? Oh, yeah." She got up and followed her mother into the back of the house, leaving Carly alone with Wes in the kitchen.
She turned to him, taking his hands in hers. "I'm so sorry about leaving the way I did. I was stupid. I thought I was trying to avoid my mother's mistakes, but all I was doing was repeating my father's."
He lifted her hand to his lips. "I wondered if you'd finally figure that out."
"I want to be with you. I need it. I can't tell you how much I missed you." She tightened her grip on his hands, half-afraid he'd change his mind and realize he was better off without such a flighty woman in his life.
"You were everywhere I went," Wes admitted. "I couldn't go to Charlie's Diner without seeing you. Couldn't go to my father's house without remembering how you sassed him that first night." He smiled. "You should see J.B. now, Carly. He'd decided to go back and try therapy for his hand again."
"You're kidding!"
"No, I'm not." He touched her face, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. "We need you, Carly. I need you. I know this is probably pushing you past where you're ready to go, but I want you to marry me. And I should warn you, I'm not going to give up until you say yes."
"Yes."
He blinked. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that."
"I'm unpredictable, remember?" She laughed, sliding from her own seat to settle across his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think you like that about me."
"I think I love that about you." He drew her down for a long, sweet kiss.
Her heart danced, unshackled by the past and the doubts that had haunted her as long as she could remember. She didn't have to live her mother's life or follow her father's wandering footsteps. She was finally free to follow her heart.
All the way home.
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