A Wish For Love (Gates-Cameron 2)

She made a visible attempt to collect herself. “I mean,” she said more quietly, “this really isn’t front-page news, sweetheart. Maybe just a little photo somewhere inside the paper would be better.”

Mark looked searchingly at Cara, but he only nodded and squeezed Casey’s little hand reassuringly. “It will be in there somewhere,” he promised. “And now, how about we all go out for ice cream to celebrate your success? My treat.”

Mae smiled, after giving Cara a quick, questioning look. “Thank you, Mark, but Elva made Casey’s favorite banana-spht cake for us to eat at our own private postperformance party. Elva worked hard on the dessert. She would be disappointed if we didn’t eat it.”

Cara surprised everyone by turning to Mark and saying, “Why don’t you join us?”

He looked momentarily stunned, but recovered quickly. “Uh, yeah, sure. That would be great.”

“I’m sure Casey wants you there,” Cara added quickly.

Cara was distancing herself from the invitation, Bailey thought. But at least this time she had taken a step toward Mark instead of two steps away. That seemed a good sign.

Bailey gave him a quick thumbs-up when no one else was looking. He grinned and made a surreptitious gesture of wiping his forehead.

Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way, Bailey driving Mae, Cara and Casey m Dean’s car, Mark following in his own.

“This is going to be fun,” Casey said enthusiastically. “Our own private party with banana-split cake and soda. Thanks for asking Mark, Mommy. He’ll like Elva’s cake.”

“Mark likes anything Elva cooks,” Cara replied. “I just didn’t want to be rude by not inviting him after he’d asked us out for ice cream.”

“Well, I’m still glad he’s coming,” Casey said, “I like Mark. I think you should go out with him, Mommy.”

Cara looked quickly at Mae and Bailey, who sat quietly in the front seat, not even pretending they weren’t listening to every word. “Casey,” she protested. “What makes you say that?”

Casey smiled archly. “I know he’s been asking. I think you should go. Mark’s cool. Cute, too. All the girls at school think so.”

“They do, do they?”

“Yeah. Betty Anne Mayberry wants him to go out with her mom, ‘cause her mom’s divorced, but I told Betty Anne that Mark likes you.”

“Casey!”

“Well, he does,” Casey insisted.

“Well talk about this later,” she muttered.

“Don’t stop talking about it on our account,” Mae said brightly. “Bailey and I think you should go out with him, too, don’t we, Bailey?”

Bailey laughed. “Now you’re going to have Cara mad at all of us, Aunt Mae. Leave the poor woman alone. She’ll make up her own mind.”

“Thank you, Bailey,” Cara said, sounding relieved.

“No problem. I’m convinced that you’re smart enough to see that Mark’s a fabulous guy who would happily cut off his arm if you asked him to. You don’t need us to tell you that you’d be crazy not to give a guy like that a chance.”

Cara covered her face with her hands. “Oh, thanks a lot.”

Bailey grinned.

A massive pickup truck suddenly appeared out of nowhere, speeding down the narrow country road directly in Bailey’s path. Almost blinded by the high beams of the oncoming vehicle’s headlights, Bailey swerved to the right and slammed her hand down on her horn, expecting the other driver to move quickly back to his own side of the road.

She was horrified when the truck swerved in the same direction she did, heading straight for Dean’s car.

“He’s going to hit us!” she screamed, dragging at the steering wheel with both hands, desperately searching the dark road for a safe refuge. “I can’t—”

The truck broadsided them with a screech of tires and grinding crash of metal. Jarred by the impact, Bailey struggled for control, but the outcome was inevitable. Dean’s compact car left the road and plunged down a wooded embankment, and there was nothing its occupants could do but brace themselves and pray.

CHAOS REIGNED at the usually quiet country roadside. Blue lights blazed from Destiny’s two police vehicles, red lights spun on the ambulance and amber lights flashed atop the wrecker that was slowly dragging Dean’s battered car up the furrowed embankment.