Page 89 of More Than Anything

“How’s the bitch doing?”

“I dunno. I’m letting the state take care of that. She’ll go to trial in about a month, and I hear Texas is charging her with attempted murder. That trumps bigamy in Tennessee no matter how you slice it,” Avery said, slipping his hands into his back pockets.

“You all set for tonight?”

“Oh, yeah,” Avery told him, grinning.

“Guess we’d better go get cleaned up.” Jason turned and started toward the house, then stopped and looked back at Avery. “You coming?”

“In a minute.” He waited until he couldn’t hear Jason’s footsteps anymore and turned to see his friend open the back door and disappear into the house. When he was gone, Avery opened the gate, made his way into the barn, and sat down on a bale of hay.

There, in the quiet of the barn, with Dixie, Buttercup, and Bonnie and Clyde, the two new horses, snuffling around and looking for a treat, Avery took stock of his life. He had a beautiful home and a beautiful farm, cattle everywhere, four gorgeous horses, his trusty sidekick Skipper, friends galore, and a family. He couldn’t have loved Rodney and Belinda more if they were his own parents, and Danette and Jason were the best friends anyone could ask for.

But most of all, there was Lydia. God, how had he been so lucky? She was everything he could’ve ever wanted. They talked about everything?nothing was off limits. And when he’d finally told her about the dream he’d had while he was unconscious, she’d laughed and told him she’d give him as many little Averys as he wanted. That had cinched the deal.

And that very night, he’d seal it?forever.

* * *

The server broughtthe cake out, all twenty-nine of its candles blazing, and Lydia laughed until she cried. Danette, Avery, and Jason offered to help her blow them all out to keep the sprinkler system from going off, and she just laughed harder.

The cake was eaten, the wine gone, and everything was winding down. A couple of people said they needed to go home, but Danette whispered to them to just stay put. Lydia stood and said, “Thanks for coming, everybody. This has been the best birthday ever.” Before anyone else could move, Avery stood, took her hands, and dropped to one knee. There, in front of everyone they knew, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny box. As her mouth fell open, he smiled.

“LydiaSimone Kinsey, you’re the only woman who’s ever had my heart. I know you’ve been planning a wedding, but I want to make it official. I want you as my wife, and I won’t take no for an answer, so the answer had better be yes!” he laughed. He snapped the box open and Lydia gasped.

There in the box was a ring just like the one she’d circled a picture of in one of those two dozen bridal magazines she’d been poring through. Avery had scoured through them and when he’d found the picture, he’d made sure to find a ring that looked just like it. According to Danette, he’d done a pretty good job. When he lifted it from the box, she squealed and stuck out her hand, so he just stared at her. “Well?” he finally asked after he’d made her wait.

“Oh! Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” she blurted out as he slipped the ring on her finger. “Of course! Oh, god, of course! I love you, Avery!” she sang out as he stood and took her in his arms, listening to everyone around them clap, whistle, and cheer with joy.

“Good. I really didn’t want to take it back,” he laughed. He gave her a kiss and when she broke it, she leaned up and whispered in his ear.

“Let’s go home.”

* * *

“Done with these,”Avery said, dropping the box of condoms in the trash.

“No, don’t!” Lydia said and fished it out.

“Why?”

“I’ll give them to Danette. God knows they can use them.” She set the box on the dresser, then reached into the dresser drawer. “Done with these,” she said as she threw her birth control pills in the trash.

“Good. Let the chips fall where they may,” Avery said with a nod of his head.

“Yep. If BabyAvery wants to make an appearance, I’m ready,” she laughed.

“And if we find out you’re pregnant before the wedding, say nothing,” Avery told her with a knowing look.

“Of course not. Not a word. I’m a virgin bride, you know,” she snickered and winked at him.

“Get over here, virgin bride.” She climbed into the bed but instead of crawling straight into his arms, she knelt over his cock and dropped her mouth straight down over it. “Holy hell, woman, I think you just took five years off my life!”

Her head popped up. “Yeah, but you can afford them. You’re a young man,” she said, then sucked him with gusto.

“Oh, shit. That’s too good. You’ve gotta stop that, Lydia. I mean it. Lydia, don’t, don’t, I mean it, stop, oh, god, stop, oh, shit. Yeah, yeah, YEAH!” Avery cried out, flexing his hips upward. “Lydia! Stop, baby! Oh, god, stop. Please? Please, baby, stop, please?” he begged, writhing and squirming.

She finally let go with apopand sat up, grinning. “Good?”

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