Home in Carolina by Sherryl Woods Page B

happier with them than without them, then taking that leap.”
    “Sounds scary.”
    “It is.”
    Annie sighed. “I don’t think I’m there yet.”
    “You don’t need to be. You’ll get there when it feels right.”
    “What if Ty’s healed and gone by then? What if he’s given up on me?”
    “If you believe with everything in you that you’re meant to be, then you go after him.”
    Annie stared at her. “Pride be damned?”
    Dana Sue nodded. “Pride be damned. Look at your dad. Once he came back to town, remember how hard he fought to get back into my life, back into both our lives? I kept pushing him away, but he never gave up. You’ve got our stubborn genes. You’re strong enough to get whatever you really want.”
    She covered Annie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Meantime, make sure Ty does his fair share of groveling. You’ll feel better for that, no matter what.”
    Annie chuckled. “You know, I think I will.”

6
    W hen Ty got up on Saturday morning, he pulled on a pair of cutoff jeans and wandered toward the kitchen in search of his son. Usually by now Trevor had crawled into bed with him to wake him for the trip to Wharton’s for breakfast. Ty made it as far as the living room before stopping in his tracks.
    There, lined up on the sofa, were his fourteen-year-old sister, Katie, and four of her friends. Judging from their rapt, slack-jawed gazes and sudden silence when they saw him, they’d been waiting for him.
    “Good morning, girls,” he said, regretting that he hadn’t grabbed a T-shirt and maybe a decent pair of pants. “Katie, I didn’t know you had company.”
    “Mom said I could invite some friends over,” she said with a touch of defiance.
    “Any particular occasion?”
    The girls giggled, their cheeks turning bright pink. Katie frowned at them. “You’re acting crazy,” she scolded them. “I told you it was okay to come over, but only if you didn’t act all weird. He’s just my brother.”
    “He’s Ty Townsend! ” one girl corrected in an awestruck voice. “And he’s right here, and he’s not wearing a shirt!”
    Ty bit back a groan. “Katie, I think maybe you should offer your friends something to drink. They seem a little overheated. Where’s Trevor, by the way?”
    “Cal took him, Jessica Lynn and Cole for a walk. He said for you to meet them at Wharton’s.”
    “Okay, then. Nice meeting you, girls,” he said. He left to a chorus of more giggles as he went back to his room to shower and dress.
    When he emerged, the girls were gone, except for Katie, who hurriedly stuffed something behind her. He regarded her suspiciously. “What was that?”
    “What?” she asked, all innocence.
    “You put something behind the cushion,” he said, crossing the room in a few quick strides and yanking away the cushion before she could stop him. Five-dollar bills scattered. Ty stared at the money in shock. “You charged them to meet me?” he asked incredulously. “What? Five dollars apiece?”
    Katie’s face flamed. “Ten, because you weren’t wearing a shirt. We’d agreed they’d pay extra if you weren’t.”
    “I’m surprised you didn’t let them peek in my room while I was sleeping. They might have gotten quite an eyeful.”
    “That would have been rude and an invasion of your privacy,” Katie said indignantly. “I would never do that.”
    Ty wanted to be furious with her, but she sounded so solemn about the boundaries she’d set, he couldn’t seem to muster the energy to yell. “You do know that even this was wrong?”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m your brother, not a sideshow at the circus. And what if one of those girls had snapped a picture with a cell phone and sold it to a tabloid or something?”
    Katie rolled her eyes. “They don’t know people who work at tabloids.”
    “I think you’re missing the point. You don’t let people into the house to ogle your brother. It’s inappropriate.”
    “People pay to see you pitch,” she