It was a lot like the jobs she did. She’d come into a place, look at the bare bones, and find ways to improve things.

She liked that he was always thinking ahead, of the next step, the next project. He kept busy, didn’t just sit around doing nothing but drinking beer and being lazy. Carter definitely wasn’t a lazy guy. She admired that about him.

Of course, even back when they were teenagers, he’d had a lot of dreams, had plans for the future. They’d been different plans back then, and his present hadn’t quite matched up with what they’d talked about in the past.

But whose life ever did? Hers sure hadn’t.

Then again, look at them now, cuddling together on the sofa, much like what they’d used to do when they were younger.

She never thought this would happen again, that she’d feel so comfortable with Carter, or that she and Carter would ever—

So maybe things hadn’t changed as much as she thought.

She pushed the blanket off. “I should go.”

He gave her a confused look. “You don’t want to stay tonight?”

She grabbed her tennis shoes. “I don’t think so. I have to be there for Mom in the morning. You know, just in case she’s unsteady.”

Carter ran his hands through his hair. “Oh, right. Sure.”

She grabbed her purse and keys and headed for the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Molly.”

She turned, and he pulled her into his arms, giving her a deep, lasting kiss that only added to her confusion.

“I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay. Good night.”

She was out the door in a hurry, without once looking behind her.

Her heart pounded the entire way home.

Chapter 26

IT WAS THANKSGIVING week, and Molly had a million things to do. She had sat with Mom going over the menu and been to the grocery store.

Molly and Emma had already decided it was going to take an act of Congress to keep their mother out of the kitchen, especially since everyone was going to come over to their parents’ house for Thanksgiving this year. Emma offered to host at her and Luke’s place, but having Mom travel too much wasn’t a good idea. Plus, if she got tired, it was easier for her to just go to her room so she could rest.

Molly had been invited to Carter’s parents’ house as well, but there was no way she could juggle it all, which was too bad. She’d always liked Amanda and Robert Richards. They were great people, and she’d spent a lot of time at their house when she’d been dating Carter.

In fact, one of these days she had to stop by and say hello to them again.

Just not this week.

“Are you sure we can’t just go to Megan’s bakery and buy some pies?”

Her mother gave her a look of horror. “One does not buy pies to serve during Thanksgiving, Molly. One makes them.”

“Why not? I buy them all the time. Megan makes great pie.”

“Yes, she does. And she’ll sell a lot of them this week to people who don’t cook. But we can cook.”

Molly pored over the list of to-dos. “We can do a lot of things. And you will not be making your homemade crust this week.”

As her mother opened her mouth to object, Molly waved her pen in her mom’s direction. “No. Too much work, too hard on your arm. No homemade crust. I’ve already bought ready-made crust. It’s in the freezer, and your pies will still be awesome. Emma and I will see to that.”

Her mother looked crushed, which made Molly’s stomach tighten, but she refused to yield.

“I’m not an invalid, you know.”

“No, you’re not. But this year, there won’t be homemade crust on your pies. And you know what? I’ll bet they still taste amazing.”

Some of the items had to be made early—like six pies—since her mother had to invite practically the entire town of Hope to Thanksgiving dinner, which was why Molly had to buy a twenty-six-pound turkey, plus a huge ham. They made a pumpkin pie and pecan pie, and tomorrow they’d make several more. Her mother suggested they also make cookies.

“How do you do this?” Molly asked later in the day while her mother sat drinking some hot tea and Molly did dishes.

“Do what?”

“Work a full-time job, and make all this food? You do this every Thanksgiving?”

“I do a little bit every night after work. Your father is very helpful.”

Molly shook her head. “You’re like Wonder Woman, Mom.”

Her mother beamed. “Well, thank you, honey. I just enjoy staying busy.”

“Now you sound like Carter.”

“Really? How’s that?”

“He works a full-time job. He’s renovated practically every room in his new house. He works on his cars.”

Her mom took a sip of tea, then set the cup down. “He’s motivated to stay busy. And he isn’t out carousing every night.”

Carousing. Molly smiled at the word as she finished scrubbing a pot and put it in the dish rack. “I guess so.”

“So what’s bothering you about him?”

She grabbed the dish towel to dry her hands, then turned around and leaned against the sink. “Nothing bothers me.”

“The two of you have restarted your romance since you’ve been back home.”

“Not really. We’re just spending time together. There’s no romance going on.”

Her mother gave her that look, the one she used to give her when she knew Molly had been lying about something. “I think we can be honest with each other, Molly. I’ve given you a wide berth all these years when you refused to come home, when you left so suddenly. I’ve always let you and Emma decide your own fates.”

“I appreciate that, Mom.”

“But you and Carter—you two were so much in love—so seemingly destined for a future together. And then you suddenly broke up and decided you had to go on this grand adventure without him, and you changed your entire life’s direction. I didn’t understand it then, and I still don’t.”

She shrugged. “I just . . . changed my mind, Mom. I was under so much pressure at the time, and I made a choice about what I wanted to do with my life. As far as Carter, well that was a high school romance and it just didn’t work out, so we broke up. It really wasn’t a Romeo and Juliet kind of tragedy, you know.”