“Don’t talk about your father that way,” she admonished Lexie now, albeit halfheartedly. She didn’t want her children to start hating their father, but she wasn’t quite prepared to sing his praises, either. Every single day felt like a balancing act between her own ragged emotions and her children’s needs. No matter how upbeat she pretended to be, lately it seemed she wasn’t fooling anyone.
Lexie’s eyes filled with tears, though it was impossible to tell if she was reacting to Lynn’s stern admonition or to her own panic. “It’s really bad, isn’t it?”
“Bad enough,” Lynn admitted carefully. She gave Lexie’s hand a squeeze. “But this is a temporary blip, sweetheart. It will get sorted out. I promise.”
“Are we going to have to move?” Lexie asked, giving voice to what was obviously her greatest fear.
Lynn wasn’t one to sugarcoat bad news, though she’d hoped to have a plan in place before revealing the sad truth. “More than likely,” she said quietly.
Though she’d been counting on Helen Decatur-Whitney, who was fierce when it came to getting the best possible settlement for her clients, she also knew that even Helen couldn’t work miracles. Still, she tried to reassure her daughter. “Hopefully, Helen will be able to work this out in court before it comes to that, but I won’t lie to you—giving up the house is a real possibility.”
“But I love it here,” Lexie protested with a sniff. “It’s a great house and my best friend lives right next door.” Then, apparently seeing something in Lynn’s face, she squared her shoulders. “But it’ll be okay.” She gave her mother a plaintive look that nearly shredded what was left of Lynn’s heart. “Won’t it?”
“As long as you, Jeremy and I are together, it will be okay,” she vowed.
She would do everything in her power to see that it was. Right now, though, with unpaid bills and little money, she was feeling pretty darn powerless. For a woman who’d always felt confident and in control, that was a new sensation, one she didn’t much like. Just one more thing to lay at Ed’s feet when she was doling out blame.
* * *
Contractor Mitch Franklin had been working on a new addition for Raylene and Carter Rollins for a few weeks now. He’d started in late fall, taken only a brief break during the holidays, and was hoping to have every interior detail finished for them in time for the annual Memorial Day party the couple hosted for all their friends. Normally, winters in Serenity tended to be mild with only a few days when the weather was too bad for construction, but this year had been a nasty exception with bitter cold and more snow and ice storms than he could remember in a lifetime here in South Carolina. While the snow and ice seldom lasted, he was still further behind schedule than he liked.
With various other jobs he was finishing up—mostly interior work—Mitch was proud that he’d kept his crew working enough to put paychecks in their pockets. Now, though, the crunch was on to get this addition built. To keep costs in check he had his men working the usual number of hours, but he’d gotten into the habit of putting in a lot of overtime. He had a reputation for bringing his jobs in on time and he didn’t want this to be an exception.
Of course, there were other things motivating him, as well. For one thing, Raylene was an amazing cook, who usually invited him to join the family for a meal if he was still hanging around at dinnertime. For another, his home felt way too empty without his wife, who’d been killed by a drunk driver a year ago. It had been bad enough with his two boys away at school, but with Amy gone, too, he could barely stand to be in his house even to sleep. The bed he’d shared with his wife for twenty-two years was way too cold and lonely.
His sons were exactly where they needed to be, in college and living their lives, but he was at loose ends way more than he liked. Raylene, Carter and Carter’s younger sisters were filling a huge, gaping hole in Mitch’s life. He suspected that Raylene understood that.
He looked up when Raylene wandered into the midst of what would eventually be a new family room with soaring windows and a spectacular stonework fireplace.
“Thought I told you not to come in here without a hard hat,” he scolded pointlessly. To his everlasting dismay, she did whatever she liked. She’d been that way as far back as he could remember, though it seemed she’d gone a little crazy now that she’d recovered from her agoraphobia and was getting out of the house and around town again. Seemed to him that she’d gotten a little reckless.
“I can’t help sneaking in every chance I get,” she said, looking around, her expression filled with delight. “You’re making such incredible progress, Mitch, and it really is going to be amazing. I usually don’t like to rush the seasons, but I can hardly wait for Memorial Day to have everyone over.”
Mitch wasn’t used to people who threw parties at the drop of a hat, but he’d noticed that Raylene and her husband, Police Chief Carter Rollins, and their friends looked for any excuse to get together.
“You talking about that Sweet Magnolia crew you hang out with?” he asked. “Didn’t you have them all poking around in here right before the holidays, some kind of celebration when that bullying situation at the high school was resolved?”
“What can I say? That seems like eons ago and we’re a curious bunch. Maybe it’s time I invite them over for another sneak peek. They couldn’t really tell what was
