Read Home in Carolina for Free Online Page B

coffee.”
    “I think it’ll take more than coffee to fix this,” Dana Sue said direly. “I’m going to take a little nap. Somebody call Ronnie and tell him we’re having a sleepover.”
    “I can’t sleep over,” Maddie grumbled. “I have children.”
    “Who probably shouldn’t see you in your current state,” Helen said. “I’ll call Cal, too. Jeanette, are you staying? Should I call Tom?”
    “Well, I’m certainly not going to leave you three here to have all the fun,” Jeanette said. “But I’ll call Tom myself.” She fumbled in her purse, but apparently couldn’t find her phone. “I know I have a cell phone.” She stared at her purse accusingly. “Where’s it hiding?”
    “Never mind. I’ll call,” Helen said.
    It had been a long time since she’d thrown a party that no one left before dawn. After a shaky start, this was starting to show signs of being one of the best margarita nights ever.
     
    Ty’s workout at The Corner Spa had only lasted an hour tonight. Every move he’d made, every weight he’d tried to lift, had sent pain radiating down his arm andacross his shoulder and back. He knew he’d been pressing it by starting rehab so soon after the surgery and trying to do more than the doctors had recommended. It was just so blasted frustrating to be barely weeks into what had promised to be the best season of his career, only to be sidelined by an injury.
    Eventually Elliott had called a halt. “You need to ease up on yourself before you do more harm than good.”
    “One more set,” Ty pleaded.
    Elliott blocked his way when he would have picked up the weights. “Not tonight. Listen to me, Ty. I know you’re anxious to get back on the field, but if you try to do too much, you’ll have a setback. You’ve done an okay job of trying to hide the fact that you’re in pain, but it’s not working, pal.”
    Ty knew he was right, but it grated. “Okay, whatever.”
    “Have you given any more thought to asking Annie for help?” Elliott asked.
    “We both know I can’t do that. She wouldn’t even consider it, anyway.”
    “She might,” Elliott said.
    Ty regarded him curiously. “Have you discussed it with her?”
    “As a matter of fact, I mentioned it to her earlier today.”
    For a moment Ty felt something akin to hope. “Did she say she’d do it?”
    “Actually she said no,” Elliott admitted. “But I think that’s because I was the one asking. If you talked to her…” He met Ty’s gaze. “The two of you were close once. I honestly don’t think she could turn you down. It goes against everything she believes about helping people recover from injuries. She thinks of it as a mission. She’dnever turn her back on you, not if you explain what the stakes are for you.”
    Ty shook his head. “I won’t put her in that position,” he said. “It’s not fair.” No matter how quickly he wanted to get back on the ball field, he wouldn’t use the kind of manipulation Elliott was suggesting to speed up the process of his recovery. Besides, realistically, what could Annie do that Elliott wasn’t already doing? If there came a time when he needed more skilled help with his rehab, he could always bring in another trainer. The team would send someone the instant he asked.
    “Let’s just keep things the way they are,” he told Elliott. “Unless I’m cutting into too much of your free time.”
    “Absolutely not. I’m happy to help. After everything your mother did to help Karen when her life was a mess, helping you out is the least I can do. Karen and I found each other back then.”
    “Same time tomorrow, then?” Ty asked, relieved.
    “You got it. Meantime, cut yourself some slack. Relax, okay? Take the rest of the night off.”
    Unfortunately Ty was too edgy to relax. And since his workout had been curtailed and Trevor was with Ty’s siblings and Cal at the ball field or the town’s favorite pizza place, he decided to burn off some of his energy and his