Me Carter; you Jane

6

"My uncle wants you to come down for dinner tonight. So you can meet the man who called your boss."

Jane looked over at him as he started the truck. "He knows Mr. Greene."

Carter nodded. "He introduced my uncle to the love of his life."

Jane could see his jaw tighten. She did not see a woman among them and thought that the family problem that Trina mentioned had something to do with Carter's aunt. Jane wanted her visit to be free and clear of drama. She did not know how to do that, having dinner with his uncle every night. He would want to know about her life.

Carter could see her tense at the mention of dinner with them. It was apparent that she did not want to discuss her life. He was okay with her wanting her privacy. He understood that when someone had a loss, sometimes not talking about it is a way to heal until you are ready to talk about it. He was the same way about his aunt, Savannah. Yet, he still could not get through a story about her without shedding tears.

"Some of our neighbors, Glen and his wife Louise and Glen's niece Tori, will be there." She could see his brow creased with annoyance.

"Something wrong with them," Jane did not know why she asked that question. There was just something about being around him that loosened her tongue. She would have to be more careful in the future if she wanted to come out of this Texas visit in one piece.

"I don't mind Glen and Tori, but Mrs. Louise Hendry is another kind of animal."

Jane was curious when his body shivered with disgust. "What do you mean?"

"She wants to be more than just neighbors. How often can you tell someone no before starting court proceedings? I know I am a grown man, but this woman is relentless. I don't have time to deal with her shit. I mean, Glen is a good friend."

"You don't think that he would believe you."

Carter shrugged. "It is hard to tell; Glen loves her. But, when you love someone, do you believe that evil is inside them? Do you want to believe that they would do things to hurt you?"

Jane stared at his profile briefly before letting his words sink into her mind. Her thoughts turned to her maternal grandmother. She loved this woman when she was younger. She would always want to take her places and buy her things. As Jane got older, she began to see no love involved in those gifts that Moreen had given her when she was little. She was trying to buy her. Her grandmother was trying to turn her against her mother by using these gifts as leverage. What was it about her mother that this woman hated so much?

"I believe it. I believe there is evil inside of the people you are supposed to love."

Carter looked over at her as he came to a stop sign. She was talking about her life. He decided not to interrupt the thoughts that she was speaking out loud. "It hurts even worse because you know they don't care about you."

Carter remained quiet as she continued talking.

"So now you know, and then what do you do part is the hardest part," Jane added.

"Maybe you don't need those people in the first place; they are just baggage dragging you down and making you think you have a problem. But, unfortunately, they are the ones with the problem." His deep voice resonated in the truck cab.

The truck began to move again as Jane slowly turned towards him. "Even when they say terrible things,"

"Especially when they say terrible things, they are not worth you. My aunt used to say that all the time." His jaw tightened again, and Jane could not stop the concern in her body from showing.