The Merriest Magnolia (Magnolia Sisters #2) - Michelle Major Page 0,16

is far more vibrant than anything you’ll find in some piddling coastal town.”

Carrie opened her mouth to protest then shut it again. She’d never been to New York—or anywhere, really. It shamed her to admit, even to her own mother, how small her life had been. Her father had traveled but he’d always claimed he needed Carrie “holding down the fort” in Magnolia. She hadn’t even had the guts to put up a fight. Niall had never been abusive, but his emotional manipulations had taken their toll on her over the years.

If she ever challenged him, he’d go straight into the silent treatment, freezing her out of his life until she’d felt like she was living in Antarctica instead of the Carolinas. She’d learned to assess his moods and not push him too far in a way that would anger him. Only now after months of being truly on her own did she see how twisted their relationship had become.

“I’ll think about it,” Carrie told her mother, slathering jelly on another scone. “Dad left a mountain of debt behind so Avery, Meredith and I have been working on increasing tourism in town and cleaning up the house so that we don’t lose everything to the bank.”

“I did love that house,” Vanessa murmured. “I don’t suppose Niall kept up with the maintenance on it?”

Carrie shook her head but didn’t share how far into disrepair the stately mansion had fallen. She’d moved out on her own several years ago and her father had quickly deteriorated into a secret hoarder. She’d been unaware of how bad it had gotten until after he was gone but suspected her mother would place some of the blame on Carrie. Her one job had been taking care of her dad, and his house and his finances were a mess. She had enough guilt all on her own, thank you very much.

They finished tea with talk of the hotel and plans for the holidays. Carrie had never done much to celebrate Christmas. Although her father’s paintings showcased an idealistic version of American life, he hadn’t actually liked traditional holidays. But Vanessa’s long list of festivities gave Carrie an idea or two she could suggest at the Magnolia business owners’ meeting later that evening. If they continued the uptick in revenue, their properties might actually make money by the following summer.

If Dylan Scott didn’t mess everything up with his scheme to take over the town. She sighed as she followed her mother back toward the front of the hotel.

Worry over today had chased away thoughts of Dylan for a few hours, but as she said goodbye to her mom and began the drive home, he invaded her mind again.

Would he show up tonight at the meeting? She certainly hoped not. Dylan was a distraction she didn’t want or need in her life at the moment. And if her heart seemed to thump a crazy rhythm at the thought of him, contradicting her determination to keep him at arm’s length...

Well, what did her heart know anyway?

CHAPTER FIVE

DYLAN ENTERED THE meeting room in the basement of the town hall building that night trying not to appear nervous. Or bitter. Or angry. Or anything like the punk teen he’d been back in the day.

He paused just outside the doorway and took a breath. There was no need to pretend those things. Dylan Scott had come a long way in the decade since he’d left this small town fading in his rearview mirror.

And he was thinking about himself in the third person? Bad sign.

Damn.

What was it about Magnolia that made him doubt everything? He thought about pulling up his bio on the company website, just to assure himself he had the credentials to back what he wanted to do in this town.

“Idiot,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“Exactly what we were thinking,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind him.

He turned to see Carrie staring at him, color high on her cheeks. She was flanked by two other women. The tall blonde gave him a cool once-over then narrowed her eyes to glare.

The petite woman on Carrie’s other side wrinkled her nose as if she’d just smelled a wicked dog fart. “Since we’re all in agreement that you’re an idiot, it would be the perfect time for you to leave.”

He’d seen these women with Carrie at her art show when he’d come to Magnolia a month ago and made an unannounced stop at The Reed Gallery. Niall’s three daughters. Carrie and her