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“I’ve been looking for a new apartment,” Savannah admitted. “But I’m sure that I’ll find something in the next few days.”
Dr. Yardley’s pen tapped the clipboard. “Isn’t there a family member you can stay with until the baby is born?”
“I don’t have any family.” One of the reasons she’d been so quick to fall for Rob’s charm.
“All right, then. How about a friend?” the physician persisted.
Even as Savannah was shaking her head, an image of Carter Wallace’s face flashed through her mind.
No. Way.
She didn’t want to accept his help. Carter had been stunned when she’d told him that Rob had left her. Savannah hadn’t really expected him to believe her word over Rob’s—but still, it had hurt. Why, she wasn’t sure.
She wasn’t sure why Carter had offered her a place to stay on his sister’s ranch near Grasslands, either. The sergeant had been Rob’s friend. She, on the other hand, was simply an obligation. One he had probably been relieved to cross off his list. There was no way she was going to show up on his doorstep like an orphan puppy in search of a home.
She’d viewed Rob as a knight in shining armor, swooping in to rescue her, and look where she was now. A single mother on the verge of being homeless.
God, I know that I’m not alone. I know that You’re with me. Show me what I’m supposed to do.
“I know things are difficult right now, but you have to do what’s best for you and the baby,” Dr. Yardley was saying. “If I could, I’d write you a prescription for a change of scenery. I think that’s what you need more than anything right now.”
A change of scenery can give you a change in perspective.
The words chased through her mind, stirring the memory of someone else who had said the same thing.
Savannah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because even though she’d just asked God to show her what to do, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge that Carter Wallace just might be the answer to her prayer.
* * *
“Earth to Carter. Come in, Carter.”
Maddie’s teasing voice yanked Carter back to the present.
“Sorry.” He cocked his head to one side. “Reception is still a little fuzzy between earth and The Twilight Zone.”
Laughter rippled through the dining room and once again, Carter had to adjust to the sound. To the faces of the people gathered around the long plank table. Gray and Jack. Violet and Maddie. Identical but...not.
“What’s The Twilight Zone?” Eight-year-old Darcy Garland’s lively, brown-eyed gaze bounced back and forth between the adults.
“It’s not real,” Ty Garland, the little girl’s father, explained. Carter saw him wink at Maddie across the table.
Yeah. That was another thing. His siblings hadn’t only found each other, they’d found, in Maddie’s words, “their soul mates.” Carter was still trying to wrap his brain around that, too.
“That’s what you think,” Jack Colby muttered. “You don’t have to get used to a guy walking around with your face.”
“Wearing a shirt and tie,” Violet added, her eyes dancing with mischief.
“She’s right.” Jack flashed a wicked grin in Gray’s direction. “When you start working for the Grasslands Police department in January, Sheriff Cole will have you trading in those fancy city duds for a pair of Levis and Tony Lamas in no time.”
Their easy banter ricocheted around the table and Carter felt a stab of envy. Violet and Jack Colby had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome since his arrival, but Carter still felt as if his life had become a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces no longer fit together.
But at least he had family. More than he was comfortable with, at the moment.
Carter’s gaze drifted to the window. Again.
Almost a week had gone by since he’d left the city and he still couldn’t stop thinking about Savannah.
He lay awake at night, scrolling through past conversations with his friend. Searching for scraps of information that verified what Savannah had told him. Rob had talked about her constantly...but had he ever talked to her? Sent an email or letter? Received one?
That’s what Carter couldn’t remember.
Lupita Ramirez, the ranch cook and housekeeper, bustled into the dining room. She rapped a wooden spoon against the palm of her hand to get everyone’s attention.
“Who has room for chocolate cake?”
A collective groan followed the question.
“No one—” Jack started to say.
“But we’ll take some anyway,” Maddie and Violet sang out. At the same time. And then they laughed. In unison.
“Weird,” Ty Garland muttered.
Carter had to agree.
“I’m going to have to start working out more.” Gray sighed when the housekeeper left the dining room. “Lupita makes enough food to feed the entire county.”
“That reminds me, Pastor Jeb wants the church to host a special harvest dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving,” Violet said. “He’s been calling around, asking members of the congregation to volunteer to help, but he wants to invite the whole community.”
Unbidden, an image of Savannah’s face swept into Carter’s mind. Again. The flash of anger in those expressive green eyes when he’d asked about the baby. The vulnerable curve of her lower lip.
Did she have plans for Thanksgiving? Or would she be alone?
Carter shifted in the chair. In his mind’s eye, he could see her standing by the door, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Proud. Scared.
She made it pretty clear that she isn’t your concern, he reminded himself.
But that didn’t stop him from wondering how she was doing. Had she found an apartment yet? He hated to think of her staying in a hotel with a baby on the way, even for a few days.
Carter had made Rob two promises before his friend had died. He’d promised that he would always have Rob’s back and he’d promised that he would make sure Savannah was okay. So far, he hadn’t kept either one of them.
“I’ll see if I can’t round up a few of the boys from the teen center to help with setup or something,” Landon Derringer was saying. “They’re always complaining they don’t have anything to do.”
“Round up?” Violet grinned at her fiancé’s choice of words. “You’re starting to think like a cowboy already, sweetheart.”
Gray shook his head in mock sorrow. “Another victim.”
Across the table, Derringer smiled at Violet, confirmation that he’d been a willing one.
Carter had been stunned to find Landon, Maddie’s former fiancé, at the ranch when he’d arrived. The guy had followed his sister to Grasslands and fallen in love with...Violet. And apparently no one but Carter thought that was strange. But in light of the other things the family had experienced lately, maybe it hadn’t even made the list.
“I think a harvest dinner is a great idea.” Violet handed a pitcher of cream to Maddie a second before she reached for it. “We have a lot to be thankful for.”
Carter couldn’t believe a murmur of agreement followed the statement. Maybe if they’d witnessed some of the things that he had over the past five years, they would have a different perspective. And given what they’d been through lately with Belle’s accident and Brian’s disappearance, Carter didn’t think there was a whole lot to be thankful for, either.
Maddie’s expression turned pensive but she smiled at Violet. “This is the first Thanksgiving we’ll all be together.”
“Mom loves holidays,” Violet said wistfully. “She pulls out all the stops.... I know she’ll be home by then. She has to be.”
“There are a lot of people praying for her,” Maddie whispered.
But Carter noticed that everyone sidestepped the real question. Whether his father would be in attendance. Carter had managed to corner Gray for a few minutes and his brother had finally admitted how worried he was that something had happened to Brian. Their dad ministered to transient people in remote areas along the border, and the last person Gray had been in contact with had noticed that he seemed ill. Carter tried to convince himself that a physician would certainly know what to do—where to go—if he came down with something.
Unless he was alone and didn’t have access to the medicine he needed to fight the illness. His dad’s cell phone had been recovered a few weeks ago, but there were other ways he could have maintained contact with the rest of the family. Why hadn’t he used them?
Carter felt the walls begin to close in and suddenly felt the need for some fresh air.
“No dessert for me.” His chair scraped the floor as he rose to his feet. “I think I’ll take a walk.”
“Sure.” Maddie frowned.
So did Violet.
Carter blinked but there were still two of them. Oh, yeah. He definitely needed some fresh air.
He could feel everyone watching as he walked out of the dining room. The second the door closed, he would be the next topic of conversation around the dinner table.
Carter wasn’t used to that, either. His older siblings valued and encouraged independence. Other than exchanging brief updates now and then, Maddie and Gray had pursued their own interests and left him alone. Carter wasn’t quite sure what to do with the sudden interest they were showing now. Add Jack and Violet into the mix, and Carter was beginning to feel like it was four against one. Odds he didn’t care for.
He stepped outside, back against the door as he made a swift but thorough sweep of the property. Searching for possible threats.
You’re in Texas, remember?
It took a moment to let his soul adjust to the newness of his surroundings. The rustle of the wind through the pecan grove. The scent of the mesquite trees. Miles of blue sky. A place that Maddie and Gray were both ready to call home.
And yet Carter was tempted to reenlist after they located his dad. In the military, he knew exactly who he was. What he was supposed to do. Now, it felt as if he’d stripped of his identity along with his uniform.
Nipper, Jack’s Australian shepherd, bounded up to him, and Carter reached down to scratch the dog’s velvety ears.
“I suppose you want to go for a walk?” Roaming the property together had become a nightly ritual when Carter couldn’t sleep.
The dog’s tail slashed the air and he barked. Carter took that as a yes.
Restlessness drove him toward the creek where the cottages were located. In spite of Violet’s generous offer, Carter had decided to stay in the main house and bunk in the guest room that Gray occupied when he visited the ranch, leaving one of the cottages empty in case Savannah changed her mind. A possibility that had begun to shrink over the past few days.
Savannah hadn’t exactly welcomed him with open arms. What made him think she would accept his help?
Just as Carter reached the creek bank, his cell phone rang.
An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen and Carter’s heart slammed against his rib cage. Had his father finally discovered they’d been trying to contact him?
“Hello?”
He heard a crackling sound. And then a tentative but familiar voice. “Hi.”
“Savannah?”
“Yes.” A long pause followed. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“Not at all.” Carter’s hand tightened around the phone. “Is everything all right?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t—” The line crackled, distorting her words. If they lost the connection, Carter was afraid she wouldn’t call back.
“Savannah? You’re breaking up. Where are you?”
“I’m...here.”
“Here?” Carter repeated.
“At the gate.”
Chapter Four
Savannah’s heart performed a little Texas two-step as Carter Wallace approached.
In faded jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt that accentuated his athletic build, Carter was even more attractive than she remembered. His loose-limbed stride and the set of his broad shoulders conveyed the fierce confidence of a man who faced life head-on. A confidence Savannah couldn’t help but envy.
Once again, she contemplated turning the car around. Something that had crossed her mind at least half a dozen times since she’d left Dallas.
Her boss hadn’t exactly been thrilled when she’d stopped by the diner after her appointment with Dr. Yardley and told him that she had to reduce her hours. The next day, when Savannah checked the schedule, she saw that not only had Bruce honored her request, he’d given all her shifts to a new waitress he’d hired over the weekend.
Leaving her with no choice but to accept Carter’s offer to stay at his sister’s ranch for the time being.
But doubts began to creep in as Savannah parked between the massive stone columns that stood like sentinels on either side of the driveway, guarding the property from outsiders. Like her. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but the Colby Ranch was obviously a large, prosperous operation.
It only reminded Savannah how little she knew about Carter Wallace. Was she really welcome here? Maybe he was already regretting his impulsive invitation.
Rob had made a lot of promises, too, and he’d only kept one of them.
I’m leaving, Savannah.
Savannah’s fingers closed around the shift stick but the passenger-side door opened before she could put the car in reverse. Carter hopped in beside her, his large frame folding almost in half to accommodate the passenger seat of her compact car.
Savannah took a deep breath. If he looked at her with pity, she’d turn the car around and head straight back to Dallas....
“It’s about time.” The crooked smile that Carter flashed in her direction coaxed a dimple out of hiding, an unexpected but charming contrast to the man’s ruggedly handsome features. “If you didn’t show up within the next twenty-four hours, I’d decided to round up a posse and find you.”
He’d planned to return to Dallas? For her?
