Page 78 of Valentine's in Bayberry

She got into the backseat and found a red rose and a note.

By now, I’m sure you have many questions. Just sit back and relax. All will be revealed soon.

Love, Your Secret Valentine

Chapter Twenty-Four

He was late.

It couldn’t be helped.

Jackson’s return to Bayberry was hampered by the winter weather. Everything he’d planned for Carrie would be ruined if he didn’t get there before she grew tired of waiting for him.

At a long red light, he reached for his phone. It was dead. He hurried to plug it in before the light changed, but the charger cord was missing. Then he remembered taking it into the house the night before. He must have forgotten to grab it that morning.

He checked the clock. He was already thirteen minutes late. He inwardly groaned.

Earlier, his mother had told him to leave, that someone from the treatment center would pick her up, but he’d refused to leave her side. He’d already left her alone for too long. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

He had been ready to call Carrie and postpone their dinner when the nurse walked in with his mother’s discharge papers. He knew he would be cutting it close to make it for dinner, but he wasn’t giving up.

How long would she wait for him? Or, would she think he had a change of heart?

Where is he?

Carrie sat at the corner table in Romano’s Ristorante. She stared at the flickering candle in the middle of the table. Jackson was more than twenty minutes late. This was not the way she imagined this evening going.

She reached for her phone. There were no new messages. No missed calls. She tried to call him, but it went directly to voicemail.

Where is he?She was so confused. He’d gone through so much trouble to arrange this evening. Why would he skip out now? Was he having doubts about them?

Was this her fault? Did she resist her feelings for him for too long? Had she caused him to have doubts about them? Had the moment passed them by? The tormenting thoughts weighed heavy on her heart.

“Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” The young woman looked at her with sympathy in her eyes.

“You know what? I think I’m just going to go.” Carrie reached into her purse and pulled out a tip.

When she held it out to the woman, the woman shook her head. “I can’t accept that. I didn’t even do anything.”

“You let me sit here. If you would have had people at this table who ordered, you would have been tipped much more. So, please, take it. It’ll make me feel better.” She pressed the money into her hand.

The woman accepted the money. “Thank you.”

Carrie slipped on the white dress coat and headed for the door. She felt as though when she walked out the door, she would loseany chance she had with Jackson. But she knew that was silly because that chance had already slipped through her fingers, or he would have been there with her.

Her gaze lowered as she headed for the door. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. And she certainly didn’t want to explain why she was all dressed up and out to dinner alone.

Someone held the door for her. She thanked them. When she stepped outside, she bumped into someone. Her heels slipped on the ice. The other person reached out to her, catching her by the upper arms.

Once she regained her balance, she looked up. Her gaze met a pair of warm-brown eyes.Jackson. Her heart pitter-pattered. “You came.”

“Of course I did. Did you really think I would miss the most important evening of my life?” He held a dozen long-stemmed red roses out to her.

She accepted them. She would never see another red rose again without thinking of him. She sniffed them. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

“Not nearly as beautiful as you.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. But before she could speak, a couple exited the restaurant. Both Carrie and Jackson had to step aside to let them pass. It was then she noticed the big snowflakes that twirled and danced through the air forming a halo of snowflakes on top of Jackson’s head.

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