April huffed and flounced away.

“You’ve decided to move to Charlotte?”Melanie asked, her heart racing. Carter really was leaving and without her. Not that she’d thought he take her with him. She’d actually had thought he might stay here, because of her.

Dark green eyes swung back to her. “I—”

“How did she know and not me?”

“April must have overheard my conversation with Jake on Friday night.”

Melanie’s eyes widened. “She followed us to Charlotte?”

“Apparently, but she does live there. I’d planned on talking to you about that Saturday night, but we got a little sidetracked.” He drilled his fingers on the table. “Now the cat’s out of the bag, I—”

“That’s great news. I know you’ve missed it. And your friends. Holland Springs can’t compare, I bet. That’s just great.” Oh God, now she sounded like a rambling fool, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Charlotte will be great for you and your business.” Could she stop saying everything was great, because it wasn’t and someone had taken her fork so she couldn’t stab herself in the hand. Everything was horrible and heart-breaking, and everything she knew it would be.

Confusion filled his sexy eyes. “It will?”

She shot to her feet, overturning her chair. “I need to go home.” Could this get more humiliating? Bending down to right it, Carter stopped her with a hand on her elbow.

“I’ll get it,” he said, picking up the chair and sliding it under the table.

Moving to the window, she wavered between looking out of it and escaping through it. Only April seeing her leave so undignified made her keep her feet firmly in the dining room.

Carter joined her. “Let’s go for a ride, clear our heads and—”

“No,” she said as tears gathered in her throat. “I’ll ride with my dad, assuming he’s fit to drive. If not, I’ll drive.” She would be good at it, too, because Carter had been the one to help learn to drive stick again. Another slice to the heart.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he bent his knees a bit to look her in the eyes. “Guess tonight wouldn’t be the best night to come by, with your dad and all. How about tomorrow?”

There was no reason at all to string this along. He only wanted to do the right thing by letting her down gently. Look at what April had said and done, and not one time had he embarrassed his ex or even called her names. He never resorted to that, only stuck with the truth of the situation and let it speak for him.

God, he was so perfect for her, for any woman that longed for a real man.

“No, I’ll be busy,” she whispered.

A grin kicked up the corners of his mouth. “Jack needs his best waitress, huh?”

“No, Carter.” She glanced away, her shoulders beginning to shake. “I think it’s best if you don’t come by at all. Ever.”

His arms came around her then. “Don’t do this, Melanie.”

“There’s no this, no us.” She shrugged out of his hold. “Never was.”

“So that’s it?” He clenched his hands at his side. “After this weekend, after—”

“What did you expect?”she asked, then took a deep breath. “I’m not the kind of girl that gets taken home to meet the parents.” Even though Carter had done exactly that. “Girls like me get taken to bars, the beach and occasionally a chain restaurant for a special dinner. Girls like me never get Prince Charming, because his car never ever stops at the town’s trailer park.” Even though Carter had come to her house more times than she could count. “He never comes to where we work and sweeps us off of our feet like in that Richard Gere movie. But our dumbasses keep waiting for him to show up anyway.”

“Besides, you said my lie by omission was a deal breaker for you,” she added.

For long minutes, it seemed, he stared at her, like she’d grown another head. “You’re right.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I am?”

“Yet at the same time, so completely wrong.” He turned away from her, hands clenching into tight fists. There was a tic in his jaw. “Go home Melanie. I’ll text you later this week—maybe you’ll be in a better frame of mind and willing to listen to me.”

She stared at him. At his strong back and broad shoulders. At his clothes that cost more than what she made in tips in a month. Then she took a good look at his parents’ house, the house he’d grown up in. Everything belonged to them. No one would be banging on their door in the middle of the night, evicting them. It personified security.

It screamed for her to get out. They were from two very different worlds and no matter how many times their paths crossed, it wouldn’t change things.

Her little impromptu speech had made sure of it. She’d accused him of being some hypocritical, rich frat-boy type who, when he had nothing better to do, slummed with her while no one was looking.

“Good bye, Carter,” she said, walking out of the dining room and to the front door. She passed April and Leah along the way, huddled in the family room and whispering.

Zoe intercepted her at the door, green eyes so like her brother’s. A fresh wave of tears threatened to fall. “Where are you going?”

Back to where she belonged. “Home.”

“Why?” Zoe asked and Melanie knew her best friend wouldn’t stop until she got an answer that made sense. Only problem: Nothing made sense to Melanie.

Not anymore.

“I can’t stay here. Carter’s moving to Charlotte for good. Oh but he’ll visit for holidays.” Melanie wiped under her eye with a knuckle. “Who knows when you’ll move again, too?”

“Never again. Memaw’s old house needs so much work, and I don’t know where to start,” Zoe said, her eyes watery. “Besides, I can’t leave you. You’re my best friend.”

Melanie hugged her tight. Sniffing, Melanie let go of Zoe and put her hand on the door knob. She could hear her dad pleading with Raylene to talk to him. “I think I’m going to take my Aunt Bethany up on her offer to come work for her at the Crab Shack. Just last week, she said it wasn’t healthy for me to keep living with Louis, that I needed to spread my wings and maybe even try for college again.”

“Two hours isn’t that far away,” Zoe said with a sad smile, then her expression turned fierce. “But I’m still going to give my jerk of a brother a piece of my mind.”

Trust her best friend to take her side, no matter what. “Don’t go too hard on him. I’m the one who ended whatever it was we had.”

Zoe blinked. “Why would you do that?”

“Because…” Carter appeared in her line of vision and she swallowed. “I really need to go. Text me later, okay?”

Glancing over her shoulder, a knowing look covered Zoe’s face as she turned back. “Got it. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” Melanie promised, panic setting in as Carter began to walk their way. She wrenched open the door and flew outside, stopping by her dad. “It’s time to leave, Louis.”

“Not until Raylene talks to me,” he said, dropping to his knees beside the car that Raylene currently occupied with her husband. Louis’ truck was parked in the way, making it impossible for them to back out.

White hot fury rose inside of Melanie, roaring like a tornado about to do major damage to everything in its path. She grabbed Louis by the arm, pulling him up. “You’re making a scene and embarrassing yourself.”

“No I’m not. I’m a man in love, fighting for my woman.” Oh my God, her dad was drunk off his ass. Looking around she saw Carter standing on the porch, his arms crossed as he stared at them. Fury gave way to mortification. Her body ran hot then cold and back to boiling as her cheeks heated.

“I’ve had about all I can take today,” she said, her voice not as firm as she wanted it to be. “Please.”

That seemed to wake Louis up. He blinked and ran a hand through his wild hair. “Sorry, sugar.” He held out his hand. For a moment, she looked at it. Louis had stolen from her and his choices made her cringe and want to hide, but he was still her daddy. And he’d always taken care of her the best way he knew how.

She took his hand and squeezed, smiling up at him.

“Ready to go home, hummingbird?” he asked.

“Yep, I’ll drive.”

Louis stumbled. “You can drive stick again?”

“Carter taught me how.”

Her dad grunted. “Isn’t that something?” She had thought so. Still did if she was being honest.

Together they walked to his truck and got in. As she drove down the long dirt road, Melanie couldn’t help but feel that she’d left of piece of her heart behind.

Who was she kidding? She’d given Carter her whole heart years ago.

Chapter Seventeen

For a long time, Carter stood on the front porch, staring after tail lights that he could no longer see.

She’d left him, not even given him time to explain. Yes, he’d been mad, but mostly at the morons for screwing up a marriage and bringing everyone else into their misery. The rest of his fury had been divided between her not trusting him with the truth and him not being trustworthy enough for her to confide in.

April Billingsworth didn’t deserve to have an emotional response from him. Or a conversational one. She sure as hell didn’t deserve to be in the same room, breathing the same air as Melanie either. But honestly, if he said all that, he’d only look like a jerk. Besides, Melanie could take care of herself, with that sassy mouth of hers.

A sassy mouth that he wasn’t too sure would be kissing him anytime soon.

“Coming inside?” Zoe asked from the doorway.

Hell, no. “Not while April’s still here,” he said.

Zoe grinned, all mischievous and knowing. There was the sister he’d missed seeing. “I think she’s worn out her welcome.”

“The only woman who’s ever measured up to our mother’s standard—fat chance of that happening.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t hear the little talk momma had with April.” Zoe laughed. “It wasn’t pretty at all.”

“She’s not upset at the lack of a grandchild?” He did not relish the thought of having that kind of talk with his mother.

“She’s more upset at being taken advantage of by April,” Zoe said. “But momma said would pray for April—bless her lying heart.”

Suddenly, the door opened and April came storming out, suitcase in hand and cursing a mile a minute. Not bothering to say good-bye to him (which suited Carter just fine) or Zoe, she got in her BMW and squalled tires.

“Oh man, I didn’t get to do the obligatory ‘Y’all come back now’.” He thumped his chest with his fist. “Hurts so bad.”

His sister snorted, then joined him at the porch railing and leaned against his shoulder. “So…”

“So,” he echoed, waiting for her to bless him out.

“You’re an asshat, Carter.”

“That I am,” he agreed.

“And you need to go after Melanie, but not right now. Give her time—”

“Told her I’d be texting her later this week.”

Zoe sighed. “Please don’t say that you also told her she needed to be in a better frame of mind and willing to actually listen to you?”

Ears growing hot, he gripped the railing. “My lips are sealed.”

“Good Lord, Carter. How could you?”

“You were there when I said that my mouth gets in gear before my brain does.” He sliced his hands through the air. “But I actually thought I was being nice and for lack of a better word, thoughtful.”

She slapped a hand over her eyes. “How can men be so clueless when it comes to a woman’s heart?”

“If I had Melanie’s heart, I’d treat it like the treasure it is.”

“Now that was poetic.” Turning to face his sister, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “Quick. Write it down before you forget it. She needs to hear that from you.”

He tapped his head. “Don’t need to.” But it wasn’t in his brain. The words were written on his heart, signed and ready to be delivered to Melanie.

Of course, whether or not she threw it out with the junk mail was a whole other matter.

***

Carter followed his sister inside, stopping in the kitchen while she went upstairs. His dad stood at the sink, rinsing dishes and placing them in the dishwasher.

Sidling up to him, Carter said, “You rinse and I’ll load.”

Wordlessly, Lawton began handing Carter dishes. They worked in companionable silence, lapsing into a familiar rhythm that gave Carter much needed breathing time. And thinking time.

“Is this going to be a usual Sunday event?” his dad asked, drying his hands.

Carter grunted, then closed the dishwasher. “I hope to God it’s not.”

“Meant this, not what happened earlier.” Lawton leaned against the counter, arms crossing over his chest. “You haven’t been around much lately.”

“Yeah, well, some of the houseguests you’ve been having lately—”

“Way before then,” his dad said. “Look, it’s a good thing that you’re your own man, making your own decisions, and I’m mighty proud of you.” Carter braced for the ‘but’. There always was one after any kind of compliment Lawton doled out. It gave balance and didn’t let any of them get too big for their britches, his dad would say. “Sometimes you need to remember who’s on the receiving end. Your momma’s not perfect but she means well...and there’s no changing her.”