Page 85 of More Than Anything

“Uh, yeah,” he answered, his voice sounding foreign and far away.

“Mr.Holcomb, if you can hear me, my name is Glenda. I’m a nurse at the Northeast Texas Community Hospital. Open your eyes, Mr.Holcomb.”

Avery tried. “Too bright.”

The light disappeared and the voice said, “Is that better?”

“Yes.”

“Can you open your eyes, Mr.Holcomb?”

Avery managed to open his eyes a crack and steal a glimpse around. The walls of the room were pale blue, but everything else was white. There was a beeping sound coming from somewhere behind him, and he wondered what the hell was going on. “What happened?”

“You took a nasty lick to your head, Mr.Holcomb.”

“My name’s Avery. AveryHolcomb,” he managed.

There was a feminine chuckle and the voice said, “Okay, Avery. My name’s Glenda and I’m your nurse. You’re going to be fine. I think there’s someone here who wants to see you.”

He closed his eyes and begged whatever power was in charge to make his head stop hurting. Then a soft hand touched his arm, a little kiss feathered on his cheek, and a familiar, loving voice said, “Hey, baby. How do you feel?”

“Like I got kicked in the head by a horse,” he groaned.

“No. You got hit in the head with a ball bat,” she told him and he groaned again.

“No wonder my head hurts.” Then his eyes popped open. “Lydia?”

“Right here. Need anything? Something to drink?” she asked.

“Who broke into my house? Did they steal anything? What did they take?” he cried out, confused.

“Nobody really broke in, sweetie. Shannon tried to make it look like a break-in. We think she was trying to kill you.”

Avery was really confused. “Why would she do that?”

“Because, remember, legally she was still your wife. And you have a life insurance policy. She stood to collect, and she figured if she could make it look like a robbery, she’d collect and no one would ever know.”

Avery shook his head. “I don’t remember… Oh, yeah, I do. But how…”

Lydia smiled at him. “Danette. When she got there, she walked in and found you on the floor and Shannon standing over you, getting ready to hit you again. She intended to kill you, baby. Danette had her little twenty-two with her and she pulled it and shot Shannon.”

Avery shouted out, “Shot Shannon? Is she dead?”

Lydia laughed. “No. Danette’s not a very good shot! But she did get a couple of rounds in Shannon’s right arm. She won’t be hitting anybody for a long, long time. Shattered a bone. She’s in surgery now, and when she comes out, she’ll be handcuffed to her hospital bed and then transferred to the jail when she’s released from the hospital.”

“Wait. How did Danette know Shannon was going to be there?”

“She’s been following Shannon for weeks. Her cousin Bucky works for the sheriff’s department and she found out they weren’t doing shit to find Shannon. It really pissed her off. She’s been borrowing other people’s cars and following her. It took her a little while, but she figured out where Shannon was staying and started following her around. She tried several times to get the cops involved, but they never got there in time and Shannon was already gone. They were really worthless.”

That explained the different cars they’d spotted Danette in and all her odd absences. But the thinking was almost too much for Avery. “Oh, god, my head hurts.”

Lydia stroked his temple with soft fingers. “I know, sweetheart. But they’re telling us you’re going to be fine. Hey, look who’s here!”

“Hey, tough guy,” Danette said, grinning. “Good thing I came along when I did or we’d be scraping brain matter off your kitchen floor.”

“Good lord, woman, I didn’t know you were armed,” Avery moaned.

“Most of the time, I am. I kept Shannon down until the cops could get there and tended to you while we waited for the ambulance. I was so pissed off at local law enforcement because they weren’t doing jack shit to help you. I had to stop her. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

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