Page 76 of More Than Anything

She patted the bed beside her, and Avery plopped down, his towel still around his waist. “I wanted to see you. I was scared to death! Jason called me and told me everything was over. I would’ve much preferred your voice, but at least someone called me. And he was trying to take care of you, so I can’t complain.” She leaned into him and kissed him, and he couldn’t help it?he wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her up to him, planting his face in her hair. The scent of her shampoo and perfume calmed him, and he let out a big shuddering sigh. “You okay, babe?” she whispered up to him.

“I am now.” She pulled back to look up at him and he gave her a tired smile. “I just needed to be close to you.”

“No. You need something to eat and some rest. This has been one helluva day, sweetie. You’ve got to be exhausted, and you barely touched that soup earlier.”

“I’m still not hungry.” He couldn’t shake all the feelings from the day, first the fear that Lydia would turn him away, and then that he was about to die. The adrenaline rush when he’d sat in the barn and then after he’d shot the man who’d hunted him down had been almost too much. He’d damn near collapsed in the shower from pure stress. Not to mention that he was smart enough to know it wasn’t over. The job hadn’t been done, and now Shannon would really be on the warpath. “You realize she’s still going to come after me, right?”

“Let’s not think about that. At the very least, it’ll take her a few days to regroup. Maybe the cops will find her before then. Right now, you need some real food, not canned soup, and you need a good night’s rest.”

“Okay. But I have to check on the horses. I heard one of them whinny while I was in the barn. If that scumbag hurt one of them, I’ll kill him with my bare hands,” Avery ground out through gritted teeth.

“I’ll go with you. Just put on something, anything, and we’ll walk out there, okay? And when we get back, I’ll help Jason put together something for dinner.” She stood and looked around the room. “Clothes. What do you want?”

“My sweats. Top right-hand drawer of the dresser. And a tee, any tee, from the other drawer,” Avery told her, but he didn’t move. As she started moving around the room, he slumped forward and braced himself with his hands on his thighs. It was almost as though he didn’t have any blood in his body. All his limbs felt heavy, and he wasn’t sure he could stand.

“Here we go. Come on; I’ll help you.” She threaded the legs of his sweatpants up over his feet and legs, then helped him stand. His towel dropped to the floor, and Lydia smiled. “Hope you feel better by tomorrow. I’ve missed my little buddy here,” she said, then bent and kissed the soft crown of his cock. It never flinched. “Wow. Youaretired,” she mumbled as she stood.

“Yeah. I am. I can’t even think about that right now. I just want to check on Dixie and Buttercup and then come back inside. I feel like I’ve been run over by a herd of buffalo,” Avery moaned.

“Then hold my hand and let’s go get it over with.” She led him out the door and down the stairway, but halfway down she said, “Wow. Whatever that is smells good.”

Jason’s smile was huge as they walked into the kitchen. “My famous wings! Hope you guys like ’em. And I’ve got corn on the cob roasting in the oven and some leftover potato salad.” He grinned as Lydia kissed him on the cheek. “Awww! That’s sweet!” he said, laughing.

“Thank you for being a good friend. Avery wants to check on the horses. We’ll be right back,” Lydia told Jason and pulled Avery to the door.

They strolled out across the yard, her arm around his waist, his arm around her shoulders and Skipper on their heels, until they got to the gate. Avery opened it and let her and the dog through, then followed her and closed it behind them. He leaned against it for a few seconds. “Baby?” Lydia called out to him. “You coming?”

“Yeah.” It took some effort to catch up to her, but the minute she took his hand, he felt stronger. They crested the hill and, to Avery’s surprise, Lydia stuck two fingers into her mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. He was even more shocked to hear the sound of hooves, slow but steady, and in seconds the two horses came into view. “I didn’t know they’d come to a whistle.”

Lydia grinned as she stroked Buttercup’s face. “They’re waiting for us. We’re their people. If they know we’re near, they’ll come.” She kissed the horse’s cheek and the big animal nuzzled her.

Watching her there in the moonlight, the horse standing next to her tiny frame, begging Lydia to pet her, made Avery’s eyes fill with tears. He’d do anything for her?anything. He hoped she knew she made his heart beat and his days worth living. He loved that farm; he loved Lydia a whole lot more. As he stood there watching, he felt a shove from behind and turned to find Dixie standing there, bobbing her head at him. He wrapped his arms around his four-footed friend’s neck and the horse rested her head on his shoulder, letting out a low nicker.

“Avery?” Lydia’s soft voice brought him back from the frustration and pain, and he turned to face her. “I want you to know, what you said about the farm? About a will? I…”

“I’m doing it. I’m willing it to you. If she manages to get me, I want you to have it.”

Lydia crossed the three feet between them and reached up, pressing her palms to his cheeks. “I love this farm. But it wouldn’t mean anything without you here. Avery, I wanted to plow this place up and plant all kinds of crops, but you love it just the way it is. You love it more than I ever could. Nothing in my whole life has made me happier than seeing how happy you are here. You were made for this. This is your place as sure as we’re standing here. My family? We loved it, but we’ve never fought for it. You fought for it. You deserve it. And I’m so happy you’re here.”

He didn’t even think about it?he just leaned down and kissed her as his tears began to fall. Even though he might not live to see daylight if Shannon had anything to do with it, he was happy, happier than he’d ever been. If he had to die, it would be in this place where he felt so at home, with this woman who made him feel so alive. He broke away from her lips and whispered, “Promise me, if she finds a way to kill me, you’ll bury me here on this land.”

“Baby, she’s not going to?”

“Promise me, Lydia. Promise me? Please?” he begged, his heart breaking. That wasn’t how their story was supposed to end, but if it had to, he wanted to be there, near her and in that peaceful place.

“You’re not going to die. I promise you that. But if you do, yes. I’ll bury you right here on this farm.” She took his hands and kissed his knuckles, then smiled up at him, and he smiled to see her own tears coating her face. “We’ve got a lot more life to live. These two girls are fine,” she said, slapping Buttercup’s neck. “Let’s go eat.”

Wandering back to the house, he got another surprise?Danette was there, and she’d brought a huge pan of Arlene’s scalloped potatoes and some of BunnyBlack’s homemade biscuits. “Hey there, big guy! How ya doin’?” Danette sang out and crossed the kitchen to hug Avery.

“I’m okay, I guess,” he sniffled.

“You look tired. Sit down. Arlene and Bunny made stuff. Oh, and Babs sent a rhubarb pie, and Loueva made some of that awesome pasta salad everybody loves. Let’s eat!” Danette announced.

He shot one glance at Lydia and she nodded to him, then set about filling a plate for him as he took a seat at the table. When everyone else had their food, they all sat down, and Avery just listened to their happy chatter, smiling when anyone said something in his direction, but otherwise just eating slowly, committing the tastes and smells and voices to his memory. This was his home, a happy place where the people he loved felt comfortable and safe, a place where he was sheltered and fed. A place where he felt loved.

And it occurred to him that the love he felt there was what he’d missed his entire life. From being the little boy who couldn’t save his baby brother, to the young man who couldn’t do anything right, to the grown man who couldn’t keep his wife happy or keep his company together or keep his brother off his ass, he’d been looking for this all his life, people who genuinely cared about him and wanted to see him healthy and happy. Clarksville wasn’t a huge town, but it was bigger than anything near it except Nashville, and part of that was the military base over in FortCampbell. Those people moved in and out as they were stationed there and then moved elsewhere, and nothing seemed permanent.

This was permanent. This place was roots and friends and kids and grandkids. It was lazy Saturday nights spent around a roaring bonfire in the backyard, a galvanized steel tub of ice with bottles of beer stuck down in it, and a beat-up guitar with one wonky string that never stayed in tune. It was an old horse and an even older dog, neither of whom were worthless just because they weren’t young anymore. It was building a love so strong that when they hit their sixtieth wedding anniversary, they’d still be tearing off each other’s clothes and whispering “I love you” at two o’clock in the morning.

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