Page 87 of More Than Anything

Avery shoved the door open with his elbow just far enough to roll himself into the room. Sure enough, Shannon lay there, her left arm handcuffed to the bed. He said nothing and it took her a little while to realize he was there, sitting as low to the floor as he was in the wheelchair. But when she noticed him, she frowned. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to see the woman who single-handedly ruined two lives and an established business, that’s all,” Avery said, no malice in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m the big bad Shannon monster, lying here in this bed, waiting to go to jail,” she muttered. Avery had to wonder… Did she really think he’d feel sorry for her? Not a chance.

“Yes. You are a monster. It was bad enough that my brother and I didn’t get along, but then you drove an even bigger wedge between us. That’s never going to get repaired. And that means Ben will never have anyone.”

Shannon laughed, a sickening sound that made Avery’s skin crawl. “He doesn’t care. He never loved you anyway.”

Avery’s heart hurt, but he knew she was speaking the truth. “Doesn’t matter. I have a new family now, a new life, and you came here and tried to destroy that too. Why, Shannon? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?”

The redhead lay there, staring at the ceiling, before she finally said, “I think it was the fact that you were a good guy. It was easy to pick you apart, and you let me. And Ben? Ben was just a distraction from the real problem.”

Avery was confused. “Which was?”

“I knew that someday, you and Ben both would discover that all I’d ever really wanted from you was your money. And then where would I be? So I set out to fuck you over before you could dump me. And I almost managed to do it, too. If I’d killed you, I would’ve had over a million dollars in insurance money.”

Avery’s laugh was caustic. “If I’d died, you would’ve had a lot more than that. You would’ve had my trust fund money too. But now you’ll never have any of that, plus you’re up on bigamy charges, and the divorce will be final as fast as my attorney can arrange it. I’m done with you forever. But I have to say, you were a good actress, Shannon. I believed you loved me. And you should know that when I married you, I loved you with all my heart. You ruined that. And you lost something very special. Because, as Lydia can tell you, when I love somebody, I really, really love them.”

“You were nothing to me, Avery. Never.”

“And you’re nothing to me now. Bye, Shannon. Hope you enjoy your new accommodations and stay the hell away from me.” Avery wheeled himself slowly to the door and opened it, then pushed the wheelchair out into the hallway. Just as Jason stood, Lydia appeared in the hallway, looking for him. She stepped up to the chair in time to watch him sag.

“Doing okay?” Lydia asked him, helping him sit up straight.

“Yeah, yeah. Still hurts though.”

“The doctor said it will for a few weeks, so you’ll have to take it easy. Want to go home?”

Avery smiled. “Will you be there?”

“I absolutely will.”

“Then yes. I want to go home.”

* * *

“Feel like coming downstairs to eat?”

Avery opened his eyes. His bedroom. He was home. He tried to sit up and, for the first time since Shannon had ambushed him, his head wasn’t pounding. Lydia stood smiling down at him and he felt more than hopeful. “Sure. I’ll try it.”

She helped him stand and he took a few steps. Not bad. In just a couple of minutes, he was downstairs at the table, waiting as Jason, Danette, and Lydia buzzed around, getting everything on the table and serving him, with Lydia helping him figure out how to hold his fork.

He ate sitting up and it was wonderful. There was only so much you could do lying down, and he was finally free of the dizziness and wooziness he’d felt when he first left the hospital. The doctor had guessed three days for it to stop?it had taken five, and Lydia had gotten concerned, but Avery had begged her to be patient with him. And it had paid off.

They ate and talked and laughed. Laughing still hurt a little, but it made him feel better in other ways. They’d finished dessert and were just sitting there, chatting, when Jason said, “Well, I suppose you two would like your privacy.”

Avery’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I suppose you’d like to be alone. Have your house back. All that stuff,” Jason said again.

Avery shrugged. “You have your own room. It’s no bother.”

“Well, then,” Jason asked, “would it be okay with you if I moved out?”

“I suppose. Find a place?” Avery asked.

“Yeah.” Avery watched as Jason reached over and took Danette’s hand. “Dan asked me to move in with her and I said yes.”

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