Page 80 of More Than Anything

Between Avery and Jason, a plan was in motion five minutes later. Avery called MichaelShort, the head accountant at HolcombIndustries, and then made a call to his mother. He had to listen to her cry; she had no idea what Ben had done. She begged Avery to come back, but he made sure she knew he could take care of it from home and he wasn’t coming there. Then he called Ben.

After thirty minutes and the threat of a lawsuit for his corporate malfeasance, Ben agreed to the terms. Avery was glad to call Michael and tell him he was being named the new president of the company. As soon as Michael was in place, Avery would transfer money to them and Michael could go about righting all of Ben’s wrongs with vendors and customers, and the possibility of salvaging the company would be a whole lot better. And Ben would be out on his ass, where he’d needed to be for a while.

An hour and a half after he’d seen the letter, everything was handled. Avery drew in a deep breath and took stock. Crisis averted for Holcomb Industries?hopefully. More cattle in two days. Two people who knew how to ride and could help him with the herd. Lydia said she’d help him with writing both short-term and long-term business plans for the ranch to keep him on track. The renovations on the house were finished. All the fencing was up. He’d go buy a bushhog through Lydia’s dad down at the equipment company and he could keep the fallow pastures cleared out so they could be used at a moment’s notice. He had a load of hay coming before the week was out.Damn, I’m doing pretty good!he told himself.Maybe I can kick back and take a vacation in a few weeks. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could take my angel and get away? Nowhere expensive or fancy, just a lake somewhere nearby? Maybe rent a cabin? God, that sounds good!He couldn’t help but smile as he unsaddled Dixie and brushed her down. Maybe he’d buy another horse or two, one for Jason and one for Danette. Then they could ride anytime they wanted. They could even do some trail riding.

Jason and Avery came through the back door to find sandwiches, chips, and potato salad waiting for them. Lydia ate with them, but she had a house to show. “I’ll be back this evening. Maybe we can go to dinner somewhere.”

“Sure! Sounds good. Jason, see if Danette can go,” Avery told his buddy.

“Will do,” Jason answered, and they left it at that.

After the evening feeding of the cattle and horses, Avery took a long, hot shower and put on his best jeans and his favorite new shirt, a bright, red plaid short-sleeved number with pearl snaps, just the kind a real cowboy would wear. He’d trimmed up his facial hair to look just right, then made sure his hair was perfect. Everything looked okay, so he pulled on his boots and stood, but when he turned and caught a glimpse of himself in the full-length mirror, he was shocked.

The man who stood there was not the Avery who’d come to Texas. Gone were the slumped shoulders of a guy who’d been beaten down one too many times. In his place stood a cowboy?that was plain to see even without a hat on his head. His back was straight, his shoulders squared, and his skin was tanned to perfection. The worry lines on his forehead had softened, and the bags under his eyes were gone. Better yet, his waist was a lot slimmer, but his shoulders were far broader, and his upper arms sported biceps he hadn’t even realized he had. And the definition of his legs through those jeans that had once been a little baggy was startling, his thighs thick and well-defined. He hadn’t really paid attention, but he felt sure his calves looked about the same too. Even his hands were different, more muscular, and on his palms were calluses, the kind born of hard work and dedication.

Avery nodded to the guy in the mirror, who gave him a nod back. Avery the kid who’d wandered into farm ownership months earlier was gone. A man stood before him, rugged and determined and satisfied with his life. He smiled, and the smile his mirrored image sent back to him made everything inside him warm. There was no doubt in his mind that he was right where he needed to be. He strapped on his watch, slapped on a little cologne, and headed downstairs to see what was going on.

Jason sat there, dressed pretty much like Avery, and he noticed for the first time that his friend was taking on some of the same physical characteristics he’d noticed in himself. He’d made a difference in Jason’s life too, and that was worth everything. “Danette meeting us?”

“I think so. She said to let her know where and when and she’ll be there,” Jason replied, tossing down a magazine. “Lydia coming here?”

“Nah. We’re meeting her at Smokestack Barbecue. Ready?”

“Sure!” Jason followed Avery to the truck and the two men headed out.

Avery drove into town, then made the familiar turns that would take him to the barbecue joint. He was almost there when he saw something that made him do a double take: He could’ve sworn he saw Danette going the opposite direction in a green pickup truck. But she drove a small compact car, gold, a Nissan or Toyota or something like that. He’d only gotten a glimpse of the woman, but he was sure it was her. “Did Danette get a truck?”

Jason gave him a weird look. “No. Why would you ask?”

Avery shook his head. Something didn’t seem right. “No reason,” he tossed back, trying to act nonchalant. “Just wondered if she was in the market for something else.”

“No. She thinks that little car is the greatest. I have no idea why,” Jason said, snarkiness in his voice. “I think it’s a piece of crap.”

“Yeah, but I bet it’s paid for. A paid-for piece of crap may still be a piece of crap, but at least it’s a free piece of crap, right?” Avery said with a laugh.

“You’ve got a point there,” Jason agreed.

They’d been at the restaurant for about five minutes when Lydia joined them, but it was another ten after that before Danette got there. When she walked through the door, Avery was even more sure she was the woman he’d seen?she had on a pink top just like the woman in the truck had. What the hell was going on? He made it a point to go to the restroom so he could look out the back door at the parking lot, and there sat her little car, just like always. What the hell was she doing? He thought about asking, then decided he’d wait. Maybe she’d give them some hint.

But she said nothing. Dinner went on as usual, the same kind of general conversation as always, until Lydia said, “You haven’t heard anything of Shannon, right?” Just as Avery turned to answer her, he caught Danette’s expression.

It was practically in flames. Now he was worried. Something was happening behind the scenes, something he wasn’t aware of, but right there in the restaurant wasn’t the place to get into it, he was sure. “Uh, no. Nothing. It’s all quiet,” he said in answer to Lydia’s question.

Lydia sighed. “Good. Maybe she’s gone.”

Avery checked as Lydia spoke and, sure enough, Danette didn’t look up, just stared at her plate, her jaws clenched. Yup, something was going on.

“Danette,” he said, trying to bait her, “did you have a good day? You’re really quiet over there.”

“Oh, yeah. Just really busy. We’re working on a new, safer pesticide and it’s taking up a lot more of my time than I anticipated,” she offered in explanation. “What about you guys? Get a lot done?”

Jason gave her a pointed stare. “We were just talking about the auction tomorrow night and that I was out herding today and doing a good job. Didn’t you hear any of that?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah, I got that. The auction. More cows.”

“And maybe a couple of horses for you and Jason,” Avery said, repeating himself from earlier.

“Oh! That’ll be awesome!” she sang out, and he knew she hadn’t heard him earlier. She’d been lost in thought. But about what?

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