A week later, she’d miscarried. She was devastated, while Carter seemed . . . relieved.

And that’s when her world ended. Because while she mourned the loss of the child she had already begun to love, Carter had started to back away, his mind already on college. When she wanted comfort, Carter had already planned his escape.

“Molly.”

She lifted her head. “What?”

“You were somewhere else just now.”

“Oh.” She took a sip of water, hating herself for revisiting their terrible past. “Did you say something?”

“I was asking what your plans were for this week.”

“Check my mom out of the hospital. Then I need to go to Austin and pick up my stuff.”

“So you’re moving?”

She nodded. “Back here. Temporarily. I have to quit my job, since things here will be in flux for a while.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“It is what it is, and my mom needs me right now.”

“I’ll do what I can to help, at least as far as the town square project, so she doesn’t have to stress about that.”

“Thanks. And you need me at the meeting this week? I’m not sure I can make that.”

“We’ll postpone the meeting. You do what you need to do to get your mom settled and your stuff moved back here.”

“Thanks. Again.”

“It’s no problem.” He signaled the waitress for their check. “I know you want to get back to your mom.”

He was being so accommodating, so nice to her. She supposed she was going to have to deal with Carter being in her life, at least part-time.

And it wasn’t like there was anything personal between them.

Her running days were over and so was avoidance. At least temporarily. She had to stop thinking of him as the boy who’d broken her heart all those years ago. It was time to grow up and get past it, at least for now. For the sake of her mother. And when everything was back to normal, she’d leave again.

Just like always.

But for now, Hope was going to be home, for at least the next few months.

Chapter 10

THE LAST PERSON Carter expected to see in his shop on a Saturday morning was Molly.

He’d caught up on his paperwork at the two Tulsa locations, and was going to spend the day there. But Molly drove that clunker of a car into the bay and he happened to notice—how could he not? So he walked out to the garage.

“I thought you’d be heading to Austin by now.”

She pursed her lips before answering. “So did I. But George is making an awful sputtering noise. And it took me a half hour to start him up this morning. My dad told me there was no way George was going to make it all the way back to Austin.”

“I’m surprised you made it here. He looks—and sounds—like he needs a decent burial, not another road trip.”

“Funny. But he’s all I have.”

“Can’t you borrow one of your parents’ cars?”

“Dad’s truck is in just as bad shape as George. And anyway, in case of an emergency with Mom, he’d need her car since it’s lower to the ground and easier to get her in and out of. I’d never leave him without it, even for just a weekend.” She sighed.

“Go get yourself a cup of coffee in the office. I’ll go check on the status of George and let you know the verdict.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Carter went into the garage and had a talk with Chad, who was under the hood of the car.

About fifteen minutes later, he washed his hands and found Molly eating a donut in the lounge.

She stood and swiped her hands back and forth. “You were gone awhile. That can’t be a good sign.”

“George’s fuel pump is shot and so is the injector. They both need to be replaced.”

“Crap. I don’t suppose that’s going to happen in, like, the next hour.”

“No. It’s going to take at least a day, and we need to get parts. So a few days.”

“Double crap. I need to figure out what to do. I suppose I could maybe rent a car . . . or a truck.” She chewed her bottom lip, then grabbed her checkbook out of her purse and studied it.

He could see that was a problem. And he’d already figured out a solution. “I’ll take you to Austin.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “That’s not necessary.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m done here for the day.”

“I don’t think my stuff will fit in Rhonda.”

“I also have a truck.”

“Oh.” She was fidgeting, and he knew it wasn’t a good idea, but it wasn’t like she had a lot of options at this point.

“Let me help you with this, Molly. Rather than spending several hours trying to figure out a solution, let’s just go. The sooner you get there and back, the sooner you get home to your mom.”

She closed her checkbook and tucked it back in her purse. “Fine.”

“I’ll just go tell Chad I’m leaving so he can lock up.”

He went into the shop and let Chad know he was going to be gone the rest of the day, then locked up his office and grabbed his keys.

Molly was waiting for him, her purse slung over her shoulder.

“Do we need to stop by your house?”

“No. My bag is in the car.”

He nodded and went back inside and grabbed her overnight bag from her car, then put it in his car. “We’ll stop by my house so I can switch over to my truck.”