Page 18 of More Than Anything

“About taking me to the hospital?” she asked, blushing.

He shook his head. “Nope. That’s not it either. There was something else.”

She let out a big sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t hear you.”

Her face contorted. “I said I’m sorry,” she repeated a little louder.

Avery took a good look at her. That blond hair was disheveled, and her eye makeup was running from the tears that had escaped. But her arm was swelling at an alarming rate. One look at it and he wasn’t concerned anymore with whether or not she meant what she was saying. “Let me get my wallet and I’ll help you get back into the car.”

In a couple of minutes, he had her back in the car, and this time she didn’t fight him when he tried to fasten her seat belt. He slipped behind the wheel into the driver’s seat and headed down the long drive, never looking at her, and he made no attempt to talk to her on the way. She only spoke twice, once to say, “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just get out,” and the other, “I know you didn’t push me, but it’s still your fault.” Avery said nothing. He was finished arguing with her. He’d take her to the hospital, find a ride home, and be done with her.

When they got to the emergency room doors, he helped her inside and got her situated in the waiting area, then took her car and parked it. Once he got back inside, he got the clipboard from the clerk at the window and helped Lydia fill out the forms. “My insurance card’s in my purse,” she said, motioning to her bag that Avery had brought inside.

“No. You fell off my porch. It’s going on my homeowner’s coverage. I’ll call them as soon as I leave.”

“You don’t have to?—”

“No. I don’t. But I’m going to. And this is it, Lydia. I’m posting signs on my property when I get home. Don’t come back. I’ll have you arrested, I swear. I’m finished with this.” He stood to go and was almost to the door when he heard her call his name.

“Avery? But you don’t have a ride home.”

He turned and glared at her. “I’ll find one. I’m sure they’ll be better company.” Before she had a chance to say another word, he strode out the door.

Fuck her. He was done. If she came back, he’d have her jailed for trespassing. But AveryHolcomb was through with LydiaKinsey. His patience had officially run out.

He called Roger, one of the guys he’d met at the bar, and asked Roger to pick him up and take him home, but not until he’d walked down the street to the hardware store and bought half a dozen good quality metal “NO TRESPASSING” signs. When Roger got him to the house, he didn’t even go in—he just went straight to his tool room in the barn, grabbed a hammer and some nails, and headed back to the end of the driveway on the ATV. He tacked one to the fence on each side of the drive, then to trees on both sides about halfway up the drive. When he drove back through the trees into the clearing at the house, he tacked up two more on each side of the drive. Now there was no way anyone could be the least bit confused about whether they were welcome.

They were not.

The guys were beating and banging around in the kitchen, so Avery headed back out to the barn, hooked the trailer to the ATV, and took feed out to the cows. At leasttheyseemed glad to see him. He scratched a couple of them behind the ears and they shook their heads and butted their faces against his chest. Cows. Simple, uncomplicated, straightforward. Unlike fucking women. They had to be the most exasperating creatures on the planet.

Damn it, there he went again. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, no matter how hard he tried, and he tried. Hard. But she kept creeping in, and he hated that. Why couldn’t she just get the hell out of his life and his head? She wasn’t wanted there.

He stood there in the pasture for a few seconds, then took off to the nearest hill. When he’d climbed to the top, he looked out over the fields around him. They were lush and as bright as emeralds in the northeast Texas sunshine, and Avery couldn’t help but be overcome with joy as he gazed out over them, knowing that land was his. His farm. His future. Maybe even his family’s future. Maybe he’d find a nice Texas girl and settle down. Danette passed through his mind and he shuddered. Oh, lord, that would be a disaster. She was dull as dishwater.

But as soon as she vacated his brain, that little blond agitator took up residence there, and Avery thought he’d go mad. He could just see that hair, those big, crystalline eyes, and those amazing tits. Were they even real? God, he’d be disappointed if they weren’t. Knowing her, it was a padded bra. Yeah, that would be just like her. But that ass… nowthatwas real. There was no doubt in his mind. He could almost feel the curves under his hands, his fingers burning into her skin, the taste of that lip gloss?strawberry maybe??and he’d run his tongue into her mouth, tasting, exploring…

A groan escaped his lips. Damn it, he was hard for her and that was the last thing he’d ever want. Bedding that woman would be a mistake of epic proportions, not to mention that if he was lucky, he’d never see her again. LydiaKinsey was not someone he should be thinking about that way, not at all. He stroked up the front of his jeans, hoping like hell it would wither and go back to its usual noodle-like way. The idea of her under him in his bed? No. He had to get rid of that.

Avery tried to remember all the ways she got under his skin, the stunts she’d pulled and difficulties she’d thrown at him, but he couldn’t. All he could see in his mind was her eyes as he dropped down beside her on the dirt in front of the porch and the way she’d looked at him over her shoulder when he’d left the hospital. She’d pointed out the fact that he didn’t have a ride home. Had she wanted him to stay? Surely not. Why would she want that? She hated him. She’d even told him so. No, she was just hurting and wanted someone else there to hurt with her. And that’s what she would’ve done if he’d stayed, found a way to hurt him. She was a pro at that.

That was all it took, and he found his little friend down south headed back to normalcy. No more saluting from it, not to LydiaKinsey. That simply wasn’t going to happen. Avery headed back down the hill and chuckled when the cows all lifted their heads and stared at him, hoping for more feed. “Nope, you guys got what you’re getting this time. Later, but not now.” He climbed back on his four-wheeler and, to his delight, two of them loped along after him, certain they were getting more feed from the buckets bouncing around in the trailer. He let himself through the gate and closed it, then revved the engine before putting it in gear and rolling back toward the house.

Pulling up to the barn, he saw a car in the drive. Something about it looked familiar, but he wasn’t sure where he’d seen it before. Once the trailer was unhitched and he’d driven the four-wheeler into the barn, he hopped off and headed to the house. Maybe it belonged to one of the workers.

The sight that greeted him on the porch almost made him run. There sat Danette, waiting patiently and holding something. As Avery got closer, he could see quite plainly what it was.

A picnic basket.

“Oh, dear god, what do I do now?” he muttered under his breath as he watched her face light up at the sight of him.I can’t do this. Not today, he told himself. Before he could even reach the porch, Danette stood and waved.

“Hi! I heard they were working on your kitchen and I thought you might need something for lunch,” she chirped out.

“Hey! Yeah, um, they’ve got the kitchen torn out but, uh, I was planning to go to town. I’ve got some things I need to do and…”

She stopped him. “But you still need to eat! And I’ve got fried chicken and potato salad and coleslaw and baked beans,” she offered, holding out the basket. “Oh, and Arlene’s sweet tea.”

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