Honeysuckle Summer. Sherryl Woods

if Tommy ever slipped away from me again?”

      Helen nodded. “If the man wants to be a hard-ass, he could probably stir up some trouble, but I’ll handle it.” She grinned and lifted a glass filled with a frothy, icy drink. “It’s taken me a little longer than expected to hit my stride again after maternity leave and my mom’s broken hip, but I’m back now. No one is tougher in court than I am.”

      “I know you might relish the idea of going toe-to-toe with the deputy in court, but I think it might be wiser if I’m not in a position for anything like this to happen again,” Raylene told her. “Sarah, Travis and I are agreed, I will never be alone with the kids, not even for a few minutes. We were lucky this time, but I’m not taking any more chances.”

      “Still, things can happen,” Helen said. “I’m just saying you don’t need to worry. I have your back.”

      “Thank you. You came through for me with my divorce from Paul. I have enough financial resources that I haven’t had to think about trying to work. And you gave me great advice when I had to give my deposition against him for assault and abuse. I trust you implicitly, but I’m also determined that your help won’t be needed with this.”

      Helen studied her intently, then nodded. “Okay, then,” she said. “Let’s get this party started.”

      As if her words had been carefully timed, Sarah suddenly came into the kitchen. Annie appeared at the back door, followed by her mother, Dana Sue Sullivan, the owner of Sullivan’s restaurant, as well as Maddie Maddox, who ran The Corner Spa—which was owned by Dana Sue, Maddie and Helen—and Jeanette McDonald, who ran the day-spa services and was married to Travis’s cousin. Years ago as teenagers, Dana Sue, Maddie and Helen had formed the Sweet Magnolias, a tight circle of friends. Then they’d drawn in Jeanette, and now the new generation, which included Annie, Sarah and Raylene.

      The margarita-night gatherings had become a tradition years ago, a time for the women to share their problems, their successes and a whole lot of laughter. That they’d come together for her touched Raylene in unexpected ways. She couldn’t seem to stop the tears that welled up.

      “Hey, are you about to cry?” Sarah asked her.

      Raylene nodded. “Afraid so. I can’t believe everyone is here just to cheer me up, especially when I’m the one who messed up.”

      “Hey, little princess, it’s not all about cheering you up,” Annie said, nudging her in the side. “Some of it’s about the margaritas and Mom’s guacamole. Not that I get to drink a margarita. I’m still nursing the baby.”

      “It’s a small sacrifice to make to have a healthy baby,” Raylene scolded. “And by the way, I am so not a princess.”

      “Did you or did you not have a debutante ball in Charleston?” Sarah asked. “I seem to recall you looking like a princess in a fairy tale that night. You showed us the pictures often enough.”

      Raylene winced. It seemed like a million years ago when her grandparents had talked her into that. That she’d gotten all caught up in the social whirl and lost focus about what really mattered in life still amazed her. She’d been persuaded to go to private school for her senior year and had lost contact with her friends.

      Recently, the best part of coming back to Serenity had been finding herself surrounded by people who didn’t put on airs, live by a calendar of parties and fund-raisers, and who were totally grounded. Her friends here—Sweet Magnolias and beyond—were real. She understood the difference now and valued it.

      “To my very deep regret, I did have a coming out season,” she conceded.

      “There’s nothing wrong with having a big, fancy party,” Helen soothed. “In my day, I loved any chance to get dressed up and put on a pair of kick-ass shoes.” Her expression turned mournful as she held out feet clad in expensive flats. “These days I can’t stand up for more than two seconds in the kind of high heels I always loved.”

      “Tonight is not about how much you miss your Manolos and Jimmy Choos,” Maddie teased.

      “I was just trying to point out to Raylene that parties aren’t necessarily bad,” Helen countered.

      “They are if you start thinking those kinds of events are the most important things in life,” Raylene said. “I was so determined to make my mother and grandparents happy, I forgot what mattered to me. And let’s not forget that was the night I met Paul Hammond and sealed my fate with that louse.”

      Paul had been older, a medical student, in fact, but he’d come to the party as a date for a plain Jane cousin whose partner had bailed on her. He’d spent the entire evening flirting with Raylene, whose own dull date was the grandson of friends of her grandparents.

      By the end of the evening she’d been smitten, and despite the difference in ages, her grandparents and even her mother had encouraged the match. Her father had clearly disapproved, but he hadn’t gone against his wife’s wishes. She and Paul had married soon after she turned eighteen, while he was serving his medical internship.

      The stress of his demanding training had been the excuse for all the times he’d lost his temper with her. After a while he hadn’t bothered with excuses for what began as verbal attacks and escalated over time into more violent behavior.

      The marriage had been a horror show, all the more terrifying because on the few occasions when she’d tried to tell her mother what was happening, her fears had been dismissed. She’d been told she was overreacting, and that all marriages hit rough patches. Too many times she’d been reminded of all the advantages that would come with being married to a successful doctor from a prominent Charleston family. Her relationship with her mother had been permanently damaged by Raylene’s discovery that she couldn’t count on her mother when it mattered.

      Not wanting to dwell in the past, Raylene shook off the memories and took another sip of her margarita. “Let’s not go there,” she said as the others nodded readily and lifted their glasses.

      “I propose a toast to Raylene and a brighter future,” Sarah said. “Do you mind if I tell them about tomorrow?”

      “What’s happening tomorrow?” Helen asked.

      “Dr. McDaniels is coming here to determine if I have a panic disorder of some kind that keeps me from leaving the house,” Raylene told them. “I guess we’ll find out if I’m nuts or just lazy.”

      “You’re not either one,” Sarah said fiercely. “Stop saying things like that.”

      “I agree,” Dana Sue said, crossing the room to give Raylene a hug. “I’m so glad you’re finally seeing her. She was a godsend to Annie, wasn’t she, sweetie?”

      Annie nodded. “I’d probably be dead if not for her. I still rely on her guidance from time to time when I get scared that I’m falling into my old eating pattern. Fortunately, right now, I seem to be eating all the time. And nursing Meg seems to keep me from gaining an ounce.”

      Any mention of Annie’s baby was enough to make Raylene feel a deep sense of sorrow for the baby she’d lost. Even though she’d only been in her first trimester, the baby had already been real to her. When she’d started bleeding and had miscarried just days after one of Paul’s beatings, it had been worse than anything else she’d suffered at his hands. The only blessing that had come from that awful tragedy was that she’d finally found the strength to leave him and end her marriage.

      Annie gave her hand a squeeze, her expression sympathetic. Though Raylene had never mentioned losing her child to Annie, she knew Sarah had probably told her. It was one secret she was relieved not to have to talk about herself.

      “Your turn will come,” Annie whispered. “I know it.”

      Raylene regarded her sadly. “I’m just glad to be here with friends. I don’t need miracles.”

      “But you deserve one,” Annie insisted. “And something tells me one is just around the corner.”