Page 47 of More Than Anything

“No.” He waited, hoping she was sinking a little in disappointment before he said, “I hope you know how to ride.”

“I do.”

“Because I didn’t buy a horse. I bought two horses.”

There was another bout of silence before she shrieked out, “GET OUT! You did not!” There was some squealing and laughing, and then she asked, “Can I ride one of them?”

Avery was laughing so hard he could barely speak. “Well, I haven’t figured out how to ride both of them at the same time, so yeah, I think you probably can!”

“Oh, awesome! When can I see them?”

“What are you doing right now?”

There was more squealing before she belted out, “Oh, I can go home and change RIGHT NOW!”

“Then go! I’m home and I’m not going anywhere. Just come on out when you get changed and we’ll try them on for size.” He was sad she couldn’t see him, because he was grinning so widely that his cheeks ached.

“I’ll be there as fast as I can get there! Oh, I can’t wait. Bye!”

“Bye, babe.” As soon as the phone went dead, Avery realized what he’d just said. He’d called her babe. If she’d heard him, she hadn’t said anything. And that was good, because it was purely out of habit.

Or was it? She was fast becoming one of the best friends he had there in TuckerCity, along with Danette and Greg. Then he realized he hadn’t talked to Danette in several days, and that was odd. Punching her contact in his phone, he waited while it rang and she answered with a weak, “Hello?”

“Hey. You okay?”

“No. I’m not.”

“You sick?”

“No.” He heard her sniffle on the other end.

“What’s going on, Dan?”

“Me and Greg broke up.”

Avery’s heart sank. They’d been getting along very well, and something had obviously happened. He hoped it wasn’t something Danette had done. She could get a little out of hand occasionally, and Greg was too passive to rein her in. “What happened, honey?”

“His dad fell and broke his hip, and now Greg’s got to take care of him and his mom,” Danette explained. “And she’s already in a wheelchair.”

“God. That’s horrible.”

“Yeah. And he can’t afford to get ’round-the-clock care for them, so he’s working in the day and staying with them from the time he gets off until the nurse can get there the next morning. He said he loves me, but he doesn’t think it’s fair to me to be able to spend no time with me at all. So that’s that,” she said, then burst into tears.

“Oh, honey! I’m so sorry! Dan, are you in love with him?”

“I don’t know!” she wailed. “I’m not sure, but I miss him, I know that.”

Avery sat for a few minutes. “Why don’t you come over here? Lydia’s coming over later.”Shit, I really wanted to be alone with her!his brain hummed, and then he choked. He wanted to be alone with Lydia? What the hell was wrong with him?

In that split second of self-revelation, Avery knew. Something about Lydia tugged at his heart and lit up his body. He wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before, not to tear apart and devour, but to protect and cherish. She was softness and vulnerability, and that was something he’d never had with Shannon. He’d thought he and that redhead were close, but he’d never experienced anything with her like the simple joy he had watching Lydia eat a brownie, or the way he’d felt as she’d knelt in the dirt next to that dying cow, stroking its neck and trying to comfort it in its misery. He didn’t just want Lydia. HeneededLydia. Her openness and her strength?it was what he’d been looking for all along, and he hadn’t even realized it.

Danette broke the spell. “You sure you wouldn’t mind?”

“N-n-n-no. Not at all,” he lied. He’d already extended the invitation, and besides, Danette was his friend. He wanted to help her if he could, and she needed someone she could depend on right that minute. “You just get yourself on over here.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in a bit. Bye.”

She hung up and Avery panicked. He needed to make something for them to have for dinner. He needed to clean the place up a bit. He needed to…

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