Chapter 5
5
Carter
C arter’s mood only worsened after he left the country club. He’d only been trying to be nice. He’d looked through the money he’d earned and figured he could make do without at least two hundred of it. Bailey clearly needed it more than he did.
What kind of stubborn woman wouldn’t accept a gift like that—especially if it meant taking care of her daughter?
Fury didn’t begin to describe how he was feeling at the moment. Not only had she disregarded his offer, but she was also willingly putting herself in a position where both she and her kid were going to struggle more.
The emotions continued to pile on in a way he wasn’t prepared for. Not even pacing his bedroom was enough to get him to burn them off. A familiar beat-up car pulled up to the house, and all at once his anger deflated.
She was here. She’d tracked him down so she could take his offer. He knew he’d been doing the right thing.
Carter grabbed his coat and hurried down the stairs to get to the door before anyone else. He opened it before the first knock—to a surprised Bailey. Only that surprise didn’t last long, nor was it replaced with anything resembling contriteness.
Her brown eyes darkened. “Do you have any idea the trouble you could have caused with your little stunt?” she all but yelled at him.
His head reared back, and he gaped at her. Was this actually happening?
She poked him in the chest twice. “I was at work. I was supposed to be doing my job. And you had to go and… and…” She threw her hands into the air. “Now Shane might think I’m a liability.”
“Yeah, right. Shane’s as close to a saint as you can get,” he said. This wasn’t going to go the way he’d wanted it to. Already he could feel his wrath returning.
Her tone was fiery and accusatory. “I don’t know what you were trying to get out of me, but?—”
“ Get out of you?” Carter huffed angrily. “What did you think this was? A proposition ?” His stomach roiled. “I might be a man with issues, but I’m not a monster.”
She flushed prettily despite her anger.
“I was only trying to help,” he shot back, his voice rising. “I’m pretty good at reading people, and you are definitely struggling with a few things.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she let out a huffed laugh. “You don’t have any clue what you’re talking about.”
He gave her a pointed look, to which she huffed again and raked a hand through her hair.
“Well, we’re doing fine . I don’t need a handout—not from you , not from anyone else.”
“It wasn’t a blasted handout!” he growled. Heck, he didn’t have a lot of money he could spare either. Every cent needed to be saved for Dirk. Every dollar needed to be hoarded. But he couldn’t tell her any of that. She probably wouldn’t believe him anyway. “Will you just take the dang money? I don’t want your kid to go hungry.”
She gasped. “What makes you think that we’re going hungry?” The redness in her cheeks intensified, and her eyes flashed hot with malice. “I’m doing everything right. I’ve budgeted. I’ve saved. I’ve…” Her voice was strained this time. “I’ve looked into programs just in case.” She blinked rapidly and he almost expected her to break down in tears, but she held her own. “My daughter is none of your concern, and I want you to remember that the next time you’re tempted to give me anything.”
Her breaths came out in sharp bursts, causing small puffs of white clouds to float around them. She folded her arms and fidgeted, shuffling her feet in the frost beneath them. He could practically see the fire raging just beneath the surface.
There was a beautiful sort of determination about her—one he would have respected if she wasn’t being so stubborn about something so obvious. What was it with women and their incessant need to prove something? Couldn’t she see he was just trying to make her life easier?
“I’m not the irresponsible person you think I am.” She said it softly—almost under her breath—and the statement was like a punch to the gut. Her eyes lifted to meet his, still full of that fiery determination he’d noticed from the first time he’d met her. “And I want you to leave me alone. I mean it.”
He opened his mouth to protest—he’d never thought she was irresponsible—but she cut him off.
“Don’t ever speak to me again,” she said firmly. There were notes of a threat in her voice. The way her eyes flashed like Zeus’s lightning itself was enough to make even his blood run cold.
So much for trying to help her. He still couldn’t figure out what was driving that decision. Bailey was attractive; he couldn’t deny that. She had spunk and attitude, and she wasn’t afraid of pushing back. But she was trouble. It would be so much easier if he could get his heart on the same page as his head. “Fine,” he said.
She gave him a look—one that made it clear she didn’t believe him. Then she turned around and hurried down the steps to her car. He stood on the porch, his coat still gripped in his fist as he watched her drive away.
The strangest part was that he couldn’t help feeling a part of him had gone with her.
It was just as well. The smart thing to do was to keep his distance from her. He didn’t need her approval or her respect. He didn’t need her attention, either.
Even if she was interested in his help, he would be sure to keep firm boundaries. It wasn’t for his sake as much as it was for hers. Based on the little amount he knew about her, he thought she deserved every happiness. She deserved to feel safe and cared for. Her husband had failed in that respect.
“Was that Bailey?”
Emma emerged from the house.
Carter jumped before glancing in her direction. “I didn’t know you were here,” he said gruffly.
“Your sister wanted a recipe from my chef,” she said absently.
He rolled his eyes. “Charlie just wants any excuse to invite you over.”
She grinned. “I’ll never get tired of that.” Her gaze flitted once again to the blank space in their driveway. “What did Bailey want? There aren’t more keys to my place, are there?”
“No.”
“And she didn’t ask to see me?” The way she posed the question made it sound more like a leading statement than anything else.
“No.”
Emma’s smile stretched wider. “She came here to talk to you?”
Carter groaned and pushed past her to get into the house, but she followed. “Is there something going on between you two?”
“Absolutely not,” he shot back.
“How did you two meet?—”
He whirled around and glowered at her. “Will you leave me alone?” he snapped. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, you can’t leave me hanging.”
“Watch me.”
Emma continued to follow him toward the stairs. “My realtor came here to see you, and I didn’t even know you two knew each other.” She tapped her chin with her finger. “You did ask me about her the other day…”
He whirled around to face her. “I bumped into her at the bookstore, and she was getting her daughter a book. I helped her out because she didn’t have enough cash on hand.” It was the closest he could get to telling her the truth without letting her know what he’d started to put together. “She was coming to say thank you.” That part was the furthest thing from the truth ever, but Emma would never know that. “Can I go now?”
Emma blinked at him, but there was still a hint of a smile gracing her lips. She thought she knew something, and she’d be sorely disappointed when she realized she couldn’t be more wrong.
Carter settled onto the metal chair for group. The whole place smelled like pine and cinnamon. One of those holiday candles was probably burning somewhere to put people in the mood for Christmas. Tomorrow would officially move everyone into Christmas mode. It was like the whole town held their breath on November thirtieth. As soon as the clock’s hands ticked over to the new day, he was sure he’d see decorations materialize at the speed of light.
Shane was one of the few who put up Christmas decorations as soon as the ghouls and ghosts were no longer needed for Halloween. The large tree in the corner was real; Carter could tell. He didn’t know how Shane kept it alive for two whole months, but when someone had enough money, they had access to all sorts of things.
Maybe the tree was changed out under the cover of darkness while everyone slept.
Carter’s eyes scanned the room, waiting for a glimpse of a certain someone, but Bailey wasn’t anywhere in sight. All the members of his group had settled down, and the meeting started. For nearly an hour, Carter thought about her and their last interaction. He wondered if she regretted turning him down or if something had happened and she’d lost her job. His gut tightened at that thought. He would never forgive himself if he was the cause.
“Before you all leave, I have an announcement.”
Carter paused after he’d gotten to his feet.
“As you all know, Shane Owens is big on charitable works. He’s organizing a toy drive, and he’s asking for volunteers. Any of you that would be willing to help out can stay for a quick informational meeting.”
Carter considered his options. Going home right now meant dealing with the mundane and possibly fighting off thoughts about Bailey. Sticking around would offer him something new to focus on. He was being given the chance to clear his head by serving others.
A twinge in his chest told him that no amount of service would erase the bad choices he’d made or change him into a new man. But helping kids for the Christmas season would probably still do some good for his mental state. He lifted his hand. “How long will the charity drive be taking place?”
“Three weeks.”
He nodded to the group leader. “The meeting will be in here?”
The man shook his head. “Down that hall is a conference room. They’re setting up in there right now.”
Carter glanced down the hall where the bathrooms were located. Then he picked up his chair to return it to its cart and headed in that direction. Two men from his group followed suit. When they reached the conference room, the first thing he noted was just how many people were present. There were some he recognized that worked for Shane and others who were likely participating in other group sessions. Some of the folks looked like they were just typical people who came in off the street.
Then, one familiar face stood out in the crowd.
Bailey stiffened when her eyes landed on him. She shot him a furious stare before deliberately turning her attention to the person at the head of the room.
Shane gestured with his hands for the group to quiet down. “Thank you all for coming. I want to make this year the best one we’ve had. In order to do that, we’re going to need all of your help.” His words faded out of Carter’s mind as he glanced once more over to Bailey.
She wasn’t going to look at him again. Somehow, he knew that, and it gave him the opportunity to try to get to the bottom of why he was so infatuated with her. Why couldn’t he get her out of his head? What was it about this woman that made it so difficult to stay away?
If he hadn’t figured it out already, he would probably never know.