Home in Carolina by Sherryl Woods Page A

existence is a thorn in my side.”
    Her mother chuckled. “I see.”
    “Do not laugh at me. None of this is even remotely amusing.”
    Dana Sue sobered at once. “I know that.” She went into the pantry and emerged with various ingredients that looked promising. Annie’s mouth watered at the prospect of her mother’s justifiably famous French toast.
    “You could take some time off, maybe get away for a while, if having Ty around is going to be too hard for you,” her mom continued. “Maddie wouldn’t object.”
    Indignant and alarmed, Annie stared at her mother. “And you know that how? Have the two of you been discussing how to be supportive of poor little Annie?”
    “Absolutely not,” Dana Sue claimed, breaking eggs in a bowl and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, barely a whiff of almond extract and a dash of cream before slipping thick slices of French bread into it to soak. “I just know that she would understand if you need a break. She’s sensitive to the situation.”
    “Which means you did discuss it,” Annie said in disgust. “Margarita night must have been a real blast.”
    “To be honest, I don’t remember that much about it,”her mom admitted, looking chagrined. “Helen apparently overdid it with the tequila. She was a little stressed out.”
    “Helen was stressed out? Why?” Annie regarded her mother with dismay, distracted for the moment from her own turmoil. “She and Erik aren’t in trouble, are they?”
    Dana Sue forked the bread slices into a skillet in which butter sizzled. “No way. This was about her mom. Flo broke her hip. Helen’s in Florida now. I had a call from Erik last night that she’s driving her mother back up here today.”
    “Flo’s coming home with Helen?” Annie asked, stunned. “Oh, brother, how’d that happen?”
    “Flo asked, then Erik encouraged it. I gather she wants to move home. For now, that means into Helen’s place.”
    “Yikes!”
    “That was pretty much my reaction,” Dana Sue said, setting two plates with golden slices of French toast in front of them, along with a pot of strawberry jam and a small pitcher of warm maple syrup. “Something tells me if things don’t go well, Erik is going to spend the next few weeks hiding out right here.”
    “He’d be better off in another state.”
    “Enough of that. Let’s get back to Ty,” Dana Sue said.
    “I’d rather not,” Annie said. She concentrated on her favorite comfort food, hoping if she didn’t make eye contact, her mother would drop the subject.
    Dana Sue persisted. “Is there anything I can do?”
    “Not unless you know how to deaden the pain in my heart every time I see him,” Annie said wistfully.
    “Afraid not, kiddo. There’s never been a cure invented for that particular kind of pain.”
    “What about margaritas?”
    “Based on recent experience, I can tell you for certain that whatever temporary escape they might provide is nothing compared to the pain they leave behind.”
    “Too bad,” Annie said. “Maybe you should put the Sweet Magnolias to work on a cure for the lovesick blues. You guys could make a fortune.”
    “I’ll mention it next time we get together. We are pretty inventive.”
    They ate in silence for a few minutes. Eventually Annie faced her mother. “I still love him,” she admitted. “I don’t want to, but I do.”
    “I know, sweetie.”
    “Am I supposed to forgive him and give him another chance after what he did?”
    “Only you can decide that,” Dana Sue said.
    “How did you decide it was time to take Dad back?”
    “He convinced me I could trust him again.”
    “Just by coming back when I was in the hospital, and then not giving up even after you kept pushing him away?”
    Dana Sue’s expression turned thoughtful. “That was part of it, but mostly I took a leap of faith. I think that’s all any of us can do once we’ve been betrayed. It’s a question of looking at the evidence that someone’s changed, evaluating whether you’re