“Thank you,” Carolreplied.
She followed Mack and Madison to the second floor. After the couple disappeared into their room, Hank followed Caroltohers.
“Do you want me to stay here tonight?” he askedsoftly.
“I should have been here. If I’d been here and not off gallivanting around, I wouldn’t have missedhercall.”
“Hey, don’t blame yourself. There’s no way you could have known. I wonder why she didn’t tell us she needed helpyesterday.”
“She’s too proud and stubborn for her own good,”shesaid.
“We can leave first thing in the morning. Are you sure you don’t want me to spend the nightwithyou?”
“No. I need to get somesleep.”
She stood at the door until he disappeared down the stairs. After the front door clicked closed, she sagged against the wall. She hated turning him away, but she wanted to be alone with herguilt.
She shouldn’t have let the sexy cowboy distract her. No matter how much she loved being around him, and no matter how hot he was, she wasn’t here to find a relationship. She was here to find her mom. At this point, she needed to keep him at a safe distance. She’d already risked heartbreak by trying to build a relationship with her mom. She didn’t need to put her heart at risktwice.
Chapter7
As Hank navigatedthe truck through the snowy roads, a blanket of silence hung between them. Carol turned away slightly and tried to look anywhere but at him. She couldn’t stop picturing his naked chest and ripped abs. How messed up was that? She should have been thinking about how to help her mom. Instead, she was fantasizing about a man shehardlyknew.
“Is it warm enough in here?” heasked.
For a moment she wondered if he was being sarcastic, but that wasn’t hisway. “Yes.”
“About lastnight…”
“Can we talk about it later?” sheasked.
“Are youregrettingit?”
“Yes. I mean, no. I don’t know right now.” She didn’t regret it, but she wasn’t sure how she felt aboutityet.
“Honey, everything’s going to be okay.” He reached over and squeezedherhand.
She squeezed back. To be mad at him for this was completely irrational. She recognized it, but she needed to blame someone other than her mother for causing herguilt.
But why should she feel guilty? Her mom had kicked her out the other night without a word about needingmoney.
What happened to her boyfriend? Couldn’t that guy help pay the bills? According to the guy at the diner, she probably exchanged sexual favors for money. She shook her head to ward off the negative thoughts. That damned voice in her head could be mean as hellsometimes.
A few tense minutes later, they pulled up to her mom’s house. Every muscle in Carol’s body clenched. A huge red eviction notice was pinned to the doorframe. A large padlock had been used to securethedoor.
Carol leapt out of the car and ran up to an open window which looked into the living room. Most of the furniture was gone. The little that remained had been smashed to pieces. She raced around to the back of the house and was yanking on the sliding glass door when Hank caught uptoher.
“Wait,” he said. “You can’t go inthere.”
“But I have to find her. I just found her and I can’tloseher.”
“Hangon.”
“I have to find her,” shescreamed.
A frantic sensation of losing control bloomed in her chest. She couldn’t take in a deep breath or calm down enough to think rationally. The overwhelming instinct to find her family clawed at her ribcage. And in an instant, she felt the strange cracking sensation ripple down herspine.
Oh no! It’s happeningagain.
