Mrs. Presley was gone before we could get another word in. I wanted to set her straight about the situation with Carter, but the damage was done. There would be no convincing her there was nothing going on.
I put the toolbox down by Carter. “Let me get you something to put on.”
Carter smiled and looked me up and down. “I like your style, Shelby, but I don’t think your clothes will fit me.”
I shook my head at him and left him in the laundry room. As I dug into the back of my bedroom closet, I was tempted to grab something cute and girly just to mess with him, but I had a feeling he would put it on anyway, and I didn’t want him stretching out my clothes.
“Here.” I handed him a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt. “They’re my brother’s.”
He put down the screwdriver he’d been using and got dressed. “Your brother runs the mechanic shop, right?”
“Yeah, Shane.”
“Is he ever coming back from vacation?” Carter shook his head, annoyed. “My car can’t get fixed until he gets back, and Tyler is starting to get pissy about me using his truck.”
“Shane was supposed to come back already, but he told me he was going to stay a little longer.” I shrugged. “He said myfolks needed some help around their house and they’ve been putting him to work.”
“He’s probably also getting fat on peaches and barbecue,” Carter said with a grin. “I might have to visit Georgia.”
“Tell them I said hello. I’m sure they’d welcome you with open arms. Allory was good for them. They’re not holding any grudges.”
“Unlike some people,” he said with a chuckle.
Carter kept tinkering with the dryer. He took the back of it off and leaned it against the wall. I could see into the guts of the machine and I wasn’t sure what any of it was. He dove right in without hesitation.
I had been relying on myself for years, and the fact he was doing this for me filled my soul with sunlight. I still didn’t trust him. I had only known him for just over a week. Anyone could pretend to be nice for eight days. But still, everything I had seen from him pointed toward him being honest about his desire to right the wrongs of the past.
As he worked, it felt like his CEO mask had fallen off and he was just himself. And apparently, Carter was way more excited about judging the bake-off than I was.
“So, what should I expect, judging these cakes?” he asked. “Like, how big is this event? How many cakes will I be eating?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I never go. I don’t think I’ll go this time, either.”
“Why not?” His brow furrowed. “I think we’ll have fun.”
I huffed out a scoff. “You’llhave fun. I will just be uncomfortable.”
Carter stopped working and walked over to grab my hand. My heart leapt wildly in my chest. I wanted to pull my hand away, but his touch was actually comforting.
“I had no idea how deeply my father’s choices have hurt you,” he said, eyes on mine. “I’m sorry it happened and I wish I could have done something to stop it back then.”
“I know it’s not your fault,” I told him quietly, as if the words didn’t want to come out. “It’s just difficult to separate you from the company you work for.”
He nodded sympathetically. “Kind of like how the people in Ferris can’t separate you from what your parents did.”
I stopped breathing. The son of a bitch was right. I had been judging him the way people in town judged me. It wasn’t a fun realization.
“Listen,” he continued. “I can’t fix what Allory and my father did to your family business but I might be able to help with the bake-off, and not just as a judge. I’ll be right there with you, and that’s one more person on your side who sees you for who you are, not for what your parents did.”
I looked him right in the eyes and he gave my hand a squeeze. I wanted to kiss him so badly, it hurt. With great effort, I pulled away and he let my hand fall from his grip.
“It’s lunchtime,” I said. “Let me get that going. The least I can do is feed you for fixing this.”
He smiled at me. “It’s not fixed yet, but I would love some lunch.”
I was cooking us up some pork chops when he called me over. Walking in, at first I didn’t understand why he’d summoned me. Then I realized the dryer was running and it was almost silent. Now it hummed instead of bellowing.
“Holy hell, Carter, it works.”
