Page 48 of Kissing Her Rescuer

She winced. “Are you sad about losing your truck?”

“No. It's fine. It will keep me from driving it.” Because he didn't ever want to be without the ability to take care of Carrie. “Are you going to argue that I didn't need a new truck? Didn't you make the comment that you didn't know how it still ran?”

She laughed. “I might have said that once or twice. I'll follow you home. You know all those shortcuts.” She stood at the door to her SUV. “Thank you. You know you can be Carrie's dad without buying us all this.”

“But I can be a better father for providing for her. You. However, you need to look at it.” After Rod passed him the keys to the truck, he kissed her again. It'd never get old. “See you soon.”

“Bye.” She climbed in. With an excited grin, she started the SUV.

He climbed into his own truck, without a doubt in his mind.

There was no running away from the fact he loved her.

15

“You're here!” Eliza ran to Juliana, throwing her arms around her neck and making the two bags her sister held fall to the floor. With all the craziness of the past few weeks, she needed her sister more than anything.

Juliana squeezed her back. “Glad I didn't pack anything breakable. How are you doing?”

Eliza snatched her sister's hand. She didn’t want to talk about her feelings. She wasn’t sure of them herself. “Let me see the ring. Oh my! He went straight Hollywood on you with that.” A brief flash of her own ring from Zach made her cringe. She’d pawned it to buy the bus fare from Alabama to Atlanta last year.

“I told him it was too big, but he said he didn't want anyone to question if I was taken or not.” She beamed a smile and hugged Eliza again. “It's so good to come back to Statem knowing you're home. I wish I could stay straight through until the wedding, but Grayson has one more scene they’ll start shooting next week for the movie in Australia, something they have to reshoot, and then we'll be back in time for Dad’s rehearsal dinner.”

“A short visit is better than nothing. I’m sure you’re jet-lagged.” Eliza pulled her phone from her back pocket. “Let me check on Carrie, and then I'm all yours for tonight.”

“Where is my pretty girl?”

Eliza walked away, typing a text to Ms. Clara. Dewey's mom hadn't hesitated when Eliza had mentioned the bridal party and needing a babysitter. “Staying with Ms. Clara. She's excited about it being a spend the night party with a million dolls.”

“Eva told me her mom has redirected all her wonderful smothering-mothering toward her granddaughter. I think Eva may actually miss it a little,” Juliana said.

“I'm getting some of the overflow of that smothering. You know, she was pretty close to Mom. I appreciate the support she gives me. I just wish she'd been there seven years ago when I had a newborn and not a flipping clue.” Eliza shot off the text and received a picture of Carrie surrounded by about thirty porcelain dolls hosting a 'real' tea party. Her daughter was in Heaven, and she suspected Ms. Clara was as well.

“I thought Zach's mom was around for you.” Juliana walked up the stairs to Carrie's room. It’d been her old bedroom once.

Zach's mom hadn't been horrible. She was there when Carrie's fever spiked to 104 degrees in the middle of the night when she was six months old. And the time Carrie busted her elbow open, trying to fly off the sofa and landed on the coffee table. She'd been the voice of reason, calmly telling her to take Carrie to the doctor even without having the insurance or money. That she'd find a way to help. Sadly, Eliza didn’t know at the time that Zach's mom's promises were just as empty as his.

“She always took Zach's side of things when we fought. Every time I started prepping to leave him, it's like she had this weird sixth sense and would start in on a guilt trip about Carrie and needing her father, and then he'd magically come home being halfway decent.” She sighed, letting out the anger and frustration that always came with the memories. “All it did was yank me around.”

After setting her bags on the bed, Juliana pulled her long, sandy-colored hair, even lighter from the months spent in Australia, into a high knot with an elastic. “I didn't mean to start all this. Let's pretend Zach doesn't even exist. I'm still in shock about Dewey being in the picture. I don't know whether to hug him or hit him for not telling anyone about the two of you.”

“Cameron got in a few pretty solid punches he didn't deserve, so I say that evens up the entire family for whatever wrong everyone thinks Dewey committed. I already let into Cameron for hitting him.” Eliza stepped out of the hallway ahead of Juliana and walked down the stairs. She'd adjusted to being back home. But being home with Juliana made it easier.

The drive to Ms. Iris's house reminded Eliza why neither one of them had made it in life as singers, each duet they performed to old songs from their childhood louder than the last one.

Becky waited by the front door, two frilly pink cocktails in her hands. “Welcome, ladies.” She handed them each a tall, slender glass with a single, red raspberry in the bottom. “We're only missing Lexi now.”

On cue, Lexi's small car pulled in behind Eliza's SUV. Lexi's eyebrows shot up as she walked past the car. “Who has the new ride? Did Grayson decide to buy one just for your trip down?”

Juliana rolled her eyes, but her lips tilted up in a friendly smile. “No. You're out of the loop. How is it I know what's going on and I live in another hemisphere?”

Lexi looked to Eliza. “I've been traveling this past week. I have a renovation I’m finishing up near Stockbridge. Why? What did I miss?”

“Dewey bought her a car,” Becky said, nudging Eliza. “I'm guessing a big old fat ring is next.”

“Dewey got you this?”

Eliza took a deep breath, but it caught in her lungs. They wouldn't expand fully. Not with the worry and weight of Dewey possibly proposing. Everyone, including Carrie, wanted them married. Had Dewey said something to Becky? Didn’t she make it clear she never wanted to be married again?

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