Page 83 of More Than Anything

“No. I’m just repaying you for being kind to me when I wasn’t easy to be kind to.” Avery dropped his eyes to the floor, then looked back up into Jason’s. “And I like having you around.”

Jason nodded. “And I like being here.”

“Good. See you in the morning. Don’t worry about the cows; I’ll feed them by myself.”

“No you won’t,” Lydia broke in. “You’ll have help. I’ll be right there.”

“Hear that, Davidson? I’ll have help!” Avery chuckled and wrapped an arm around Lydia’s shoulders. “I’ve got to get some sleep. Night.”

“Night. I’m right behind you,” Jason said, rinsing his dishes in the sink and drying his hands. Avery closed his bedroom door at almost the exact same time Jason closed his.

All he had on was a pair of pajama pants, so he just crawled into the bed and pulled Lydia in after him. She giggled and struggled until she got everything off except her panties, then reached into the dresser and pulled out one of his tees. It slipped over her head and draped down her body beautifully, and Avery thought he’d never seen anything as breathtaking as that simple sight, the tiny woman in front of him in a silly, faded, worn-out tee shirt and her panties, her toenails crimson in the low light. She cuddled up next to him and sighed. “I love you, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks. I love you too, my little angel.” He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. Everything was good. And tomorrow was a new day.

* * *

Stoppingto open the gate to the pasture the next morning, Avery smiled. Spread out across the hills in front of him were over two hundred head of cattle. His cattle. They grazed peacefully, but when they heard him open the gate, the ones who’d already been with him headed to the troughs immediately. The others looked around, wondering what the fuss was about, but when they saw their seasoned companions standing near the only place for them to get food, they headed that way too, probably more out of curiosity than knowledge. Of course, Avery knew it would only take one feeding and they’d know exactly where to go the next time.

Before he finished feeding them, Jason showed up to help, so Lydia headed back to the house to clean up from breakfast. “You didn’t have to do this,” Avery told him.

“I wanted to.” Jason scooped feed into the buckets, then turned to Avery. “Do you think Danette’s messing around on me?”

Avery’s brow furrowed. “Why would you ask that? No. I don’t think Danette’s messing around on you. What would make you even think that?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know. But I could’ve sworn I saw her the other day driving a light blue Chrysler minivan.”

That made Avery take notice. He’d thought he’d seen her driving a green truck; Jason thought he’d seen her driving a blue van. It was no coincidence that they were seeing her in different vehicles. Something was going on, and he wanted to know what it was. But he didn’t dare tell Jason what he’d seen. All he could say was, “You must’ve been mistaken.”

“I sure thought it was her,” Jason repeated.

“Do you think a guy she was messing around with would own a blue minivan?”

Jason laughed. “When you put it that way, no! That would be funny for sure.”

“Then I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Avery told him.

But he wasn’t convinced. She might not be messing around on Jason, but she was definitely up to something.

* * *

“I’m sorry,Mr.Holcomb, but we just don’t have the manpower to spend much time on it. No news is good news, right?”

“Thanks for nothing.” Avery was more than pissed as he smacked END on the phone. He assumed the sheriff’s department had been looking for Shannon, but it turned out they hadn’t made any effort at all. Frank assured him the paperwork had been sent to her the day after Avery had signed it, but there’d been no response. Without cooperation from her, Frank would have to petition JudgeBennett to go ahead and issue the divorce decree.

It was a busy day. Dr.Tompkins came to test and innoculate the new cattle, and he had to trim hooves on a couple of them. He taught Avery how to measure a horse for a saddle, so after lunch Avery and Jason measured both new horses and went to the feed store to buy saddles and bridles for them. They drove to the big discount store in Texarkana and bought some groceries and cleaning supplies, then stopped at the hardware store for some things for the house. By the time they got back, it was almost dinnertime. They put up the things they’d bought and were getting ready to make plans to see the girls when Avery’s phone rang.

Shannon.

It took everything he had to answer with a polite, “Hello?”

“Hi, babe. Miss me?”

Avery was dumbfounded. Did she really think there was anything between them? “No. Not at all. I don’t miss the dumb motherfuckers you hired to kill me either.”

“What? I did no such thing!” she shrieked into the phone. “Why on earth would I do that?”

“You know full well why, you crazy bitch! Why are you calling me?”

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