Page 82 of More Than Anything

It hit Avery like a trailer full of round hay bales?he wanted to marry this woman. Letting her get away wasn’t an option. He wanted her in his home, in his bed, in his life, forever. He knew he loved her; he hadn’t realized he wanted to dedicate his life to making a place for them and a family, but he was sure of it in that moment. LydiaSimone Kinsey was his future,allof it. Without her, it wouldn’t be the future he dreamed of.

That did it. He’d fuck her to oblivion. And the next day, he’d start making plans to make her his for the rest of her life?and his. It might not be long if Shannon had a say, but he wanted to give it a fighting chance. The judge needed to hurry up with those papers. The sheriff’s department needed to hurry up and find Shannon. And he needed to hurry up and come?his balls were so tight he thought they might bounce off each other and start a fire. “God, baby, oh, god yeah. You with me, babe?”

She’d come at least twice more, and he hadn’t known any woman could do that. It was just further proof to him that they were meant to be. “Avery? Please?” she cried up to him. “Please, do it? I want to feel it. Do it, please? Please?”

That frisson of energy bolted down his spine and straight out into her, filling her and warming her, and he knew she felt it. She was his, and he belonged to her. He stood, still holding the soft cheeks of her ass in his hands, staring down at her as she reached for his arms, her eyes bright and her smile huge. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Lydia.”

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me too, baby. Come lie down with me? Please?” He scooted her away from him, and as soon as his softness pulled out of her, she let out a little whine. But in seconds he was back in the bed with her in his arms, and she nuzzled the patch of hair on his chest and sighed.

“Get what you need?” he asked, his lips in the crown of her hair.

“Oh, yeah. I hope you did too,” she breathed onto his skin.

“I’ve got everything I need right here,” he assured her.

And he meant it.

* * *

“Going once!Going twice! Sold to number two eighty-three over there!” the auctioneer called out. Avery knew they’d add it to his growing total, so he wasn’t too concerned. That was eight more. He’d managed to get eight in that lot, sixteen in another, and twenty-nine in a third one. He still wanted at least fifty more. Then he’d have to spend all night moving them home, but it was worth it. He’d hired a couple of other farmers with huge livestock trailers, so the most they’d have to do was three round trips. It would take forever, but by morning he’d have them all home.

A lot of twenty-one came up, then another lot of ten. He was getting close. He looked over the ones in yet another lot and realized he’d have to cull a few of them, but that was okay. He just kept bidding when he saw a lot he liked. He’d been down in the pens earlier and looked them all over, so he knew exactly what he was looking for.

The afternoon ended with one hundred and eight cows plus two more bulls, young ones. That made him very happy. Mortimer, the old bull he’d gotten from Marjorie, reallywasold, and Avery was afraid he’d have to be euthanized soon. He’d started to lie down a good bit and then have trouble getting up. Dr.Tompkins had told him there wasn’t anything to be done; Mortimer had arthritis and a few other problems, but mostly he was just getting old. The vet’s best estimate was that, in people years, the bull was probably in his mid to late nineties. There’d be no more breeding for him. Avery would take the two young ones, use each of them to breed half his cows, and figure out which one produced the best. Soon he’d have a big, strong herd of beef cattle he hadn’t had to buy but had instead raised. He’d breed the second generation cows to the bull that wasn’t their sire and the lines would grow stronger with time.

He’d also looked until he found two really good saddle horses. The respective owners of each assured him they’d been used to work in the field, plus they were good-looking animals, and Jason liked them. Avery had specifically asked Danette to come so she could pick one out, but she’d said there was something she had to do, and she was very vague about it. Lydia had a property to show, so she’d just stayed in town. Jason had stayed to take care of the cattle in Avery’s absence, and he’d told Avery to call as soon as he had the first load ready to go. When they got there, Jason could help them unload and herd.

When all the animals were purchased, Avery paid for them and started the process of loading them with the help of some of the auction hands. It was five in the evening when he got the first batch loaded, but it was a three-hour round trip to drop them off and come back. He counted heads: Four round trips. They’d be exhausted, but the auction facility had assured him people would be there all night, and the cattle had to be removed by the next day at noon. All the trucks and trailers left, and he wondered why he hadn’t thought to just hire a semi-driver to take them all. Problem was, he didn’t know one, so this was all he had.

The first round went fine, and they loaded up another round and took off again. By the time they came back for the third round, it was after midnight and they had one more trip to make. Then he remembered the horses and wondered if he could get one of the other guys to take them. He really didn’t want them in a cattle trailer with cows.

They got everyone settled and in their respective pastures, and the two new horses in stalls until they could be properly introduced to Dixie and Buttercup the next morning. There’d be saddles and bridles to buy, and Jason and Danette could pick out their own.

Lydia walked with Avery up to the house as Jason helped the drivers sweep out their trailers, close all the tailgates, and see them out of the gates. “Have you even had anything to eat?” she asked, squeezing his hand.

He squeezed back. “No. Unless you count stadium hot dogs as food.”

“Not exactly,” she giggled. “You need something to eat.”

Avery wrinkled up his nose. “What I need is a shower.”

She threw back her head and laughed. “You won’t get any argument from me on that!”

As he was showering, he heard the water kick on in the front bath: Jason. By the time he’d finished, he could hear Lydia downstairs, and the smell of something fantastic wafted up the stairway. When he got down to the kitchen, big bowls of chili and a huge pone of cornbread sat on the table, waiting for the two tired ranchers. They sat in virtual silence, occasionally asking for something or pointing to what they wanted. “This is really good. You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” Jason told Lydia with barely a smile.

“Oh, no trouble. You guys worked hard. It’s been simmering all evening, and I took a nap while you were buying cattle and working. It’s the least I could do.” She passed the table and ruffled Avery’s hair, and he looked up at Jason to see his friend grinning at him.

“Where’s Danette?” Avery asked.

“I don’t know. I talked to her about seven and she said she might be over later, but she never showed up.” Lydia stood with her back to the men as she rinsed dishes in the sink.

Avery almost snickered at the sad look on Jason’s face. “I thought she’d at least come to spend some time with me,” his friend said, staring into his bowl of chili.

Lydia shrugged. “Guess not. You guys about ready for bed? I’m beat. And if I’m beat, you’ve gotta be exhausted.”

“Yup. Headed that way.” Avery stood and looked down at Jason as his friend finished his food. “Thanks for being here yesterday and tonight. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You’re letting me live here and not charging me a dime. It’s the least I can do,” Jason said, then stood. “I owe you.”

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