She was. She glanced over at her mother, who was looking at her.

She couldn’t leave. Not now. Not with Emma gone and her mom lying there in that bed so . . . vulnerable and her dad so helpless and alone.

There was no way in hell she could go back to Austin today.

Or for the foreseeable future.

So she said the words she never thought she’d hear herself saying.

“I’m staying.”

Chapter 9

“GEORGIA BURNETT IS in the hospital.”

Carter looked up from his desk to see Bash leaning against his doorframe.

“What? What happened?”

“She took a fall at home a few days ago. Broke her arm and her leg pretty badly.”

Carter leaned back in his chair. “Holy shit. Is she okay?”

Bash nodded. “She’s going to be okay, but she’s going to be laid up for a while.”

“Did someone call Molly and let her know?”

“Molly’s still here.”

“She is?” How could he not know that? “How do you know all this?”

Bash’s lips curved. “Dude. I run a bar. I know everything that goes on in this town. Who lives, who dies, who’s sleeping with who.”

Carter cracked a smile. “Yeah, I forgot about that. Is Georgia home from the hospital yet?”

“No. She had surgery the other day, so she’ll be in there for a few more days.”

He needed to get to the hospital. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. What are you doing here, by the way?”

“Some brake work on my car. Why? Are you gonna give me a discount?”

“If I gave everybody that I knew a discount, Bash, I’d never make money.”

“You’re a cruel bastard, Richards.”

“Not the first time I’ve heard that. Come on, let’s go look at your brakes.”

After work, he drove to the hospital. He knew Georgia liked daisies, so he stopped and bought her some. When he arrived at her room the door was partially closed, but the light was on, so he knocked.

“Come on in.”

That was Emmett Burnett’s voice, so he nudged the door open. Georgia was sitting up in bed. Her leg was held up by some kind of contraption with wires and slings. Her arm was in a cast, also immobilized by a sling.

“Carter,” Georgia said. “How lovely to see you.”

She was smiling. He was damned relieved to see her looking so good. He had envisioned a lot worse. Though seeing her in those casts was pretty bad.

“I would have been by sooner, but I just heard about your accident today. I’m so sorry you got hurt.” He laid the flowers over on the table near the wall, then came over and kissed her on the cheek. “How are you doing?”

“Better than I was a couple of days ago. Thank you for the flowers.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Take a seat, Carter,” Emmett said, motioning to the chair on the other side of the bed. “Awfully nice of you to come by.”

Carter rounded the bed and pulled up a chair. “So . . . tell me what happened.”

“What happened was my impatient wife couldn’t wait for me to take down the lights over the fireplace, and she was wearing slippery shoes.” Emmett gave her a glare.

“I . . . well, he’s right, of course,” Georgia said. “I do like to get things done. And I wasn’t so smart about it this time. Now look at me.”

“How long are you going to be laid up and casted?” Carter asked.

“Twelve weeks for the casts, with a lot of physical therapy during and after.”

She looked miserably unhappy.

“I’m so sorry.” He leaned over and laid his hand on top of her uninjured one. “This must be frustrating for you.”

“Especially with the Hope town square project at its most critical time.”

Carter nodded. “Hey. That’s the last thing you should be worried about right now. We’ll carry on and figure something out.”

“Guess what? I found the cutest thing downstairs in the gift shop, Mom—”

Carter stood as Molly entered the room. She stopped halfway in when she saw him.

“Oh. I didn’t realize you had visitors. Hi, Carter.”

“Hey, Molly.”

“Look, Molly. Carter dropped by,” her mother said with a bright smile. “He even brought me some daisies.”

Molly frowned at the flowers suspiciously, like they might have a hidden bomb in them. “How . . . nice.”

“I’m actually going to head home for a shower and a change of clothes, and to check on Pokey. If you don’t mind, Molly.”

“Not at all, Dad. You go ahead.”

Emmett leaned over and brushed his lips over his wife’s. “I’ll be back after dinner.”

“That’s the real reason you’re leaving. You want to stop and get a cheeseburger at Bert’s.”

He grinned. “Maybe.”

She sighed. “Tell everyone I said hello.”

“I will. And I’ll be back later.”

“Okay.”

After Emmett left, Molly took a seat on the other side of the bed. “I think I’m going to stop at the bookstore and get you an e-reader. It’ll be much easier than flipping through magazines or attempting to read a book. And you’ve been wanting to try one.”

“Okay.”

“When will you be released?” Carter asked.