“I didn’t think I could risk leaving Dee-Dee alone with Trevor, not at first,” Ty said. “Surely Annie understands that?”
“And there’s not another soul in this town you could have trusted to supervise their visits?” Ronnie asked skeptically. “How about now? You’ve let Trevor leave town with her. Does that mean you won’t need to supervise every visit from here on out?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Well, how about this? If you’re still worried, I’ll hang out with Trevor and Dee-Dee, if that’s really the only reason you’re spending all this time with them. You know nothing’s going to happen on my watch.”
Ty saw the point he was trying to make. “You’re right. I should have asked someone else to keep an eye on Dee-Dee when she’s with Trevor. And I may take you up on your offer the next time she’s in town. Right now, though, I need to make things right with Annie. Do you really not know what time she’ll be back?”
“She didn’t say,” Ronnie confirmed. “But I will tell her you were here.”
Ty gave him a rueful look. “And we both know that’ll be the end of it. She won’t call me.”
“Probably not,” Ronnie agreed. “She’s a stubborn one.” He seemed proud of the fact.
“Then maybe you could just call me and I’ll come back,” Ty suggested. “I might get the door slammed in my face, but that’s a whole lot better than just letting her hang up on me or, worse, refuse to take my call at all.”
Ronnie studied Ty and apparently saw whatever he’d hoped to see, because he nodded. “I’ll call you, but after that, you’re on your own.”
“Fair enough,” Ty said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. And, if I were you, I wouldn’t try to stick your foot in the door so she can’t slam it. You’ll just have another serious injury to recover from before you can go back to playing ball.”
Ty chuckled. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
The truth was, though, that he’d risk an injury if it meant getting through to Annie.
21
On the drive to Charleston, Annie filled Sarah in on what had happened with Ty.
“You realize that Ty being with Dee-Dee could have been perfectly innocent,” Sarah said.
“It was,” Annie admitted. “At least according to Maddie, but that’s not the point. I should have heard about it from Ty. I shouldn’t have stumbled across them at Sullivan’s, especially not when he’d blown off his rehab session with me to be with her.”
“I can’t deny that had to look bad,” Sarah conceded.
Annie held up her hand when Sarah would have gone on. “Never mind. Enough about me. I’ve already talked this to death. I’m sick of even thinking about it. How’s Walter been this weekend? On good behavior?”
Sarah sighed. “Exactly the way he’s been every other weekend. Sweet and attentive and full of all sorts of pretty words, but when it comes down to actually making some real progress by seeing Dr. McDaniels, he refuses to do it. I give up. I told him today before we left that I don’t want him coming back next week, that I’m going to have Helen file the divorce papers.”
Annie stared at her in surprise. “You’re sure? It’s only been a couple of months since you decided to give him another chance.”
“I’m a hundred percent sure,” Sarah said, sounding surprisingly at peace with the decision. “Why wait? The handwriting is on the wall. And so you know, your dad’s going to my house right now. He’ll be staying put till we get back.”
She met Annie’s worried gaze. “I swear, I don’t think I could have left today if he hadn’t agreed to go over there. Walter was mad enough to take both kids and go home to Alabama just to get even with me. He was still yelling and carrying on when I walked out to come pick you up.”
Annie pondered the mess both of their lives were in. How on earth did anyone ever get married and stay that way? Ironically, of the Sweet Magnolias, only Helen’s marriage had yet to hit any obvious bumps. Maybe it was because, as a divorce attorney and the most cynical of them all, she’d been forty when she’d finally married Erik. She’d been witness to way too many bad marriages not to make sure hers had a good foundation.
Maddie and Cal’s marriage appeared solid enough, but she’d had her share of ups and downs with Bill Townsend, Ty’s dad. Of course, Cal was a saint compared to Bill, and openly counted his lucky stars that Maddie had agreed to marry him. Annie suspected it would be years, if not forever, before their honeymoon phase was over.
As for her own parents’ marriage, though their love had lasted since they were teens, they’d had to split up before they’d found their way back to the kind of enviable marriage that Annie had once expected to have with Ty.
Perhaps she and Ty had already faced their toughest challenges, she thought wistfully. Maybe if they could weather this rough patch, it would finally be smooth sailing. She had her doubts, though. Dee-Dee’s continued presence was an irritant she was going to have to learn to handle.
She glanced up and realized they were on the outskirts of Charleston. “Do you need directions yet?” she asked Sarah. “I did an online search, so we should be able to go straight to Raylene’s house.”
“I put the address into the GPS system,” Sarah told her. “Can you imagine? I never used that back in Alabama or in Serenity, but I bought one just because I knew it would come in handy someday.”
Following the automated directions, they turned onto Raylene’s street on the fringes of the downtown historic district. When they pulled up in front of the large, well-kept home with its fancy wrought-iron gate and climbing rose bushes still in full bloom, both Annie and Sarah sucked in a deep breath. The sweet scent of the roses reached them even on the street.
“Impressive,” Sarah murmured as she looked over the three-story house and well-tended grounds.
“Obviously orthopedic surgery pays well,” Annie added. “Looks to me like they recently renovated and were meticulous about historical detail. That doesn’t come cheap.”
“Hard to believe Raylene grew up in a little house just like ours in Serenity. No wonder her mother was always denigrating everything in town and was chomping at the bit to get back to the world she knew in Charleston.”
Annie drew her rapt gaze away from the house and faced Sarah. “But we both suspect that a spectacular home and society marriage haven’t made Raylene happy.”
“I guess we’ll find out for sure soon enough,” Sarah said.
Annie glanced at her watch. “It’s not quite noon. Do you suppose church services have ended?”
Sarah looked blank. “Why?”
“Because in this world, Sunday-morning church is part of the routine. It’s as much a social obligation as going to the right charity events. I’m sure her grandparents and her husband’s family insist on it.”
Sarah shrugged. “Raylene was always a bit of a rebel. Maybe she stays home to spite them.”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Annie said, though she had her doubts. “Let’s ring the doorbell and see if anyone’s around.”
“What do we do if she takes one look at us and slams the door in our faces?” Sarah asked.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Annie said, though truthfully she had no idea how they could force Raylene to confide in them if she didn’t want to.
When they walked up onto the sweeping porch from which it was possible to glimpse the harbor, the door swung open, but it was Raylene’s husband who emerged. He regarded them with immediate suspicion.
“May I help you?” His Southern drawl managed to sound welcoming and haughty at the same time.
Annie stepped forward. “Hi. I’m Annie Sullivan, Dr. Hammond. We met at a medical conference here in Charleston a couple of years ago. I’m a sports injury therapist.”
His expression remained suspicious. “And?”
“I’m also a childhood friend of Raylene’s. Sarah is, as well,” she said, gesturing toward Sarah, who was eyeing Raylene’s husband
with distrust. Annie injected a cheery note into her voice. “Is she here? We drove over to have lunch today in Charleston and decided to stop by. I know we should have called first, but this was an impulsive decision, and we were hoping she could join us.”
“Raylene’s not here,” he said, still without an ounce of warmth in his tone. “And I don’t recall her ever mentioning you. She doesn’t say much about her time in Serenity.” He said it as if she’d been sentenced to a term in a particularly odious prison.
Annie controlled her desire to make some sarcastic retort. After all, they were here for information, not to raise his hackles. “Has she gone to church? Will she be back soon?”
“She’s away,” he said with unmistakable reluctance.
Sarah finally found her tongue. “On vacation?”
He frowned at the question as if she’d crossed the bounds of propriety by asking. “The point is, she’s not here. I’ll let her know you stopped by.”
It was clearly a dismissal, but Annie had passed the point of annoyance. She was sick of being treated like pond scum. At the very least he owed her a smidgen of professional courtesy.
“Actually, I’d really like to speak to Raylene today,” she said stubbornly. “How about a phone number where she can be reached?”
“Impossible,” he said.
“She’s in some Third World country where phones aren’t available?” she asked, not even trying to mask her sarcasm. Sarah glanced at her in surprise.
He tried to stare Annie down, but she didn’t flinch.
“Why are you pushing this?” he asked finally. “She hasn’t heard from you in years. What’s so important that you need to speak to her today?”
“We have spoken recently,” Annie said, catching the unmistakable flicker of surprise in his eyes. The next bit was a stretch, but she wanted to see how he reacted. “We told her we’d be stopping by.”
Sarah obviously caught on to her tactic. She jumped in. “So, you see it is odd that she would go out of town without letting us know.”
“Not two minutes ago, you said this was an impulsive visit,” he countered, clearly not buying their story. Before they could invent more fibs, he added, “Look, I have no idea what goes on in Raylene’s head half the time. She’s gone. Deal with it. I will let her know you stopped by, but that’s the best I can do. Now, if you don’t mind, I have an appointment I must keep.”
He went back inside and shut the door in their faces.
“What was it my grandma used to say?” Sarah asked. “Handsome is as handsome does. Obviously his good looks weren’t accompanied by the first clue about good manners.”
“You know what surprises me?” Annie asked. “Most doctors would not go out of their way to be rude to someone in the same profession. I may not be a physician, but I get referrals from a lot of them. I network in some of the same circles he does. I could really harm his reputation if I set out to do it. Why would he take that kind of chance?”
“So we can rule out good breeding and common sense,” Sarah concluded as they walked back to the car.
A moment later, a large white SUV emerged from the alley behind the house and drove off, with the doctor at the wheel.
“So, what do you think? Golf? Or a date?” Annie asked.
Sarah pulled away from the curb, made a U-turn and set off right behind him. “Why don’t we find out?”
Unfortunately, when they reached the gated entry of a large, exclusive country club, they could go no farther.
“I guess we’ll never know,” Sarah said glumly.
Annie shot her a look of disbelief. “Keep driving,” she ordered. At the guardhouse, she put on her most brilliant smile. “We’re with Dr. Hammond,” she said.
The guard looked puzzled. “He didn’t mention guests.”
“Isn’t that just like him?” Annie said to Sarah. Again, she beamed at the guard. “You could check with the dining room, see if he’s expecting guests.”
“Of course,” he said agreeably. He made the call, hung up an instant later and opened the gate. “Go right on in. Sorry about the mix-up.”
As they drove onto the lush country club grounds, Sarah turned to Annie with approval. “You’re good.”
“I told you I was going to master the whole Nancy Drew thing sooner or later.”
“Now what?”
Annie pondered their next step. She wasn’t sure what else they needed to accomplish. They’d already proved that Paul Hammond was here to meet another woman. Beyond that, what really mattered?
Except discovering where Raylene had gone, and that answer wasn’t here.
“We might as well leave,” she told Sarah. “We know he’s a cheating jerk, or at least we have a very strong suspicion that he is. Maybe we can track down Raylene’s parents. They might be able to tell us where she is, and that’s all I really care about.”
Unfortunately, a search of the Charleston phone directory didn’t provide any clues about Raylene’s parents, which left them exactly nowhere.
“Do you remember her grandparents’ names?” Annie asked.
“Not really. We might as well head home,” Sarah said in defeat.
“I suppose you’re right,” Annie agreed. “But to tell you the truth, I’m more worried about Raylene than ever.”
“Me, too, but what can we do beyond checking every day or so to see if she’s back?”
Annie wasn’t satisfied to sit by passively. It went against her nature. Besides, if she channeled her need for answers into focusing on Raylene, maybe she wouldn’t be quite so obsessed with finding out what Ty and Dee-Dee were doing. Right this second, those were answers she was almost afraid to discover.
“Let’s not leave just yet. Why don’t we have lunch and make a plan?” she suggested to Sarah. “I have a few contacts around Charleston, people who know our friend Dr. Hammond. They might be happy to spill the beans on his personal life, especially if he treats them as arrogantly as he treated us.”
Sarah nodded. “I like the way you think, Nancy Drew.”
“Wait until you see if we turn up any information before you get too excited,” Annie told her. “My P.I. credentials are a little shaky.”
But something told her that a powerful motivation could make up for a lack of professional-caliber skills.
Ty was thoroughly frustrated by his inability to reach Annie. When he’d heard nothing from Ronnie by dinnertime, he’d walked back over to the house, only to find it pitch-dark. There was no sign of Ronnie’s car, though Annie’s was sitting in the driveway.
From there he walked to Sullivan’s, but Ronnie wasn’t in his usual booth. Nor was there any sign of Annie.
That left Sarah’s. When he arrived there, he hit pay dirt. Ronnie’s car was out front, and every light in the house was on. He walked around to the kitchen, but spotted no one. He could hear childish squeals and laughter coming from upstairs, though.
Returning to the front door, he rang the bell. Through the side panels of glass he saw Ronnie jog lightly down the stairs, Libby wrapped in a towel in his arms and a buck naked, soaking-wet Tommy running alongside.
When Ronnie opened the door, he regarded Ty with impatience. “I don’t have time for this now,” he said. His shirt was soaked, as were his jeans.
“I can see that,” Ty said, barely containing his amusement. “Need some help?”
Ronnie shrugged. “Why not?” He headed back up the stairs with Libby, while Ty rounded up Tommy and herded him along behind.
“Have they actually had their baths yet?” Ty inquired.
“Are you kidding me?” Ronnie asked. “They’re like slippery little eels in the tub. They keep getting away from me. I don’t remember Annie being like this.”
“There was only one of her,” Ty reminded him. “Why don’t you get Libby ready for bed? She looks clean enough. I’ll finish up with Tommy.”
A half hour later, both kids were tucked in and asleep. They looked like little angels, but Ty knew from his own experie
nces with Trevor, Jessica Lynn and Cole that appearances could be deceiving. Awake and teamed up, they could be holy terrors.
Downstairs he grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and handed one to Ronnie, who looked exhausted.
“How’d you wind up babysitting, anyway?” Ty asked him.
“Like I told you this morning, Annie and Sarah had someplace to go. Sarah didn’t want Walter here alone with the kids, because she’d just told him their marriage was over. She was afraid he’d run off with the kids. Instead, he gave me an earful about what an ungrateful woman she was, then took off. I’ve been on my own ever since. I’ve got to tell you, I’d rather build a house single-handedly than wrestle with those two for an entire day.”
Ty chuckled. “I could take over if you want to get home and get some sleep.”
Ronnie shook his head. “No offense, but they were left with me. I can’t go off and abandon them, even with you here in my place. Besides, Sarah should be home any minute. She called a half hour ago.”
“Will Annie be with her?”
“Hard to tell. Sarah may drop her off at home, or she could come here and hitch a ride home with me.”
“Mind if I hang around to find out? I need to see her, Ronnie. The longer she carries around this anger she’s feeling, the harder it’s going to be for me to make things right.”
“You deserve hard,” Ronnie reminded him.
Ty didn’t even try to deny it. “Yes, I do.”
Ronnie gave a little nod of satisfaction. “As long as you know that, I suppose you might as well stay.”
But ten minutes later when Sarah arrived, Annie wasn’t with her.
Sarah regarded Ty with a narrowed gaze. “She went home to bed,” she said pointedly. “She’s not very happy with you, by the way.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“After the day we’ve had, her mood’s not good. I think we’re both pretty much thinking all men are scum.” She glanced at Ronnie. “Not you, of course. You’re a saint to have stayed with my kids all day.”
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