Page 52 of More Than Anything

He bounded up the stairs and tapped on the door of the guest room. From inside there was a strangled, “Yeah?”

“Hey, babe. You okay?” he asked as he pushed the door open and found her sitting in the middle of the bed.

Danette patted the edge of the bed. “Can you sit here with me for a couple of minutes?”

Avery sat down gently on the edge of the bed and patted Danette’s arm. “Sure. What can I do to help?”

“Nothing. Nobody can help me. It’s awful. I just… why didn’t you warn me how bad this would be if it happened?” she whined.

“Because I never dreamed you’d fall in love with the first guy you actually dated. That possibility never crossed my mind,” Avery told her as he swept a strand of hair out of her face.

“Me neither. Is Lydia mad because I’m here?” Danette whispered.

“No. She likes you. Although I did have to tell her that we, um, you know, once.”

Danette giggled. “Bet she didn’t take that well.”

“Not too, but I think it’s okay. I wasn’t going to lie to her, though.”

“No. That would’ve been wrong,” Danette agreed. “If she asks me, I’ll tell her the truth too.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do anything else. Want something to drink? Or some music or something?”

“Um,” she said, contemplating, then asked, “do you let Skipper sleep on the bed?”

Avery laughed. “Well, I never have, but I think I can make an exception! I guess you want me to call him in here?”

Her sheepish smile tugged at his heartstrings. “Could you? I mean, I’d love to have him in here with me.”

“Sure. I’ll go get him. Night, sweet girl,” he told her and kissed her forehead. Crossing the room to the doorway, he opened the bedroom door and called out, “Skipper! Here, boy!”

The sound of claws on the hardwood floor sounded out from below, and then was muffled by the carpet on the stairs. In seconds, Skipper pranced into the room, then dropped to his belly. “Hey, buddy,” Avery said, kneeling and scratching behind his ears. “This is a one-time thing. Get on up there,” he ordered and pointed at the bed. The dog leaped up onto the bed and covered Danette’s face with kisses as she giggled and sputtered. “You wanted him up there. You deal with the tongue,” Avery laughed.

“I can. Come here, Skipper. Cuddle up with me.” Danette reached for the dog and he scooted along her body until he was in her arms. “Good boy,” she said and kissed the top of his head.

“Night, princess,” Avery called as he closed the bedroom door.

“Night, Avery. Love you.”

Avery stood outside the door and smiled to himself. “Love you too, Dan.”

He found Lydia still sitting in the living room, grinning as he came down to join her. “She wanted the dog?”

Avery nodded. “Yeah. Hope he doesn’t think that means he’ll get to sleep in a bed every night, because that’s not happening.”

“Yeah. That would be bad.” Lydia shifted over closer to Avery and he put an arm around her shoulders. “I heard you up there, you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She turned to Avery and looked up into his eyes, those big blue ones of hers clear and bright. “You’re a good guy, Mr.Holcomb. You’re smart and funny, and you really care about people. I heard her say she loves you, and I heard you answer her. And I could tell how you feel about her. You were telling the truth when you said she’s like a little sister to you.”

“That’s exactly how I feel about her.”

“I’m glad. I think she needs somebody to love her that way.”

“I do. Oh, and she wanted to know if you were mad that she’s here.”

“And what did you tell her?”

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