Chapter 6
S aturday morning was quiet enough. The guys had finished and the kitchen looked amazing. It occurred to Avery that even though he was no interior decorator, he’d done a great job of picking out things and putting them together. Even Mike had said it was one of the best-looking jobs they’d ever done.
He’d finished feeding the cattle, had cleaned up the kitchen and started the dishwasher, and was getting ready to go upstairs and take a shower before going into town to pick up some groceries and other things when he heard a car door. Leaning back from his spot at the sink, he glanced out the front window, and there it was.
That white BMW.
Avery just reached across the countertop, picked up his phone, and hit a contact. “TuckerCounty Sheriff’s Department,” a voice said.
“Yes, this is AveryHolcomb out at the old Kinsey farm. My property’s posted and I’ve got a trespasser I’d like picked up out here, if you’d send someone out, please,” he told the woman on the phone.
“Yes, sir. A deputy is en route. He’ll be there in under five minutes.”
“Thanks, ma’am,” Avery said and hung up.
And at that very moment, she started banging on the door. “Avery? AveryHolcomb! I know you’re in there! Come out here right this instant!” Avery said nothing, but he moved quietly to the back door and made sure it was locked. “Avery! Open up! I know you’re here! Your truck’s here!”
Avery stood completely still and watched. Her shadow disappeared from beside the front door and he knew she was headed to the back, so he jetted up the stairs and stood on the landing at the top. Sure enough, the banging started on the back door. “AveryHolcomb! Open this door right now! I want to talk to you! Get your ass out here!” He could hear her mumbling something to herself, and then she started in again. “I want to talk to your scared ass! What’s wrong, a little girl got you scared? Didn’t like that slap I landed on your smartass face at the diner? Open the door!” she barked, pounding until he was afraid the glass would break.
She moved back to the front door and started up again, and Avery just stood and waited. Sure enough, in just a couple of minutes, he caught the wail of a siren in the distance and listened as it got closer and closer. Lydia kept screaming and banging, and he was pretty sure she hadn’t heard it yet.
But by the time it got close enough for her to hear it over her caterwauling, he’d started to laugh because she’d obviously figured out what was going on. “Are you serious?” she shrieked. “You called the cops? Are you that afraid of me? Good god, Holcomb, you’re a shit, you know that? What a pussy! Get your ass out here and talk to me! I mean it! I won’t take no for an answer!”
Avery waited until he heard the cruiser pull up in the driveway before he finally went down and opened the door. The look on LydiaKinsey’s face was priceless. Flames were blasting out of her ears and her eyes were shooting death rays at him. “You called the cops ?” she screamed.
Avery said nothing, just stood leaning against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest and his ankles crossed. He watched as the deputy got out and stomped across the front yard toward the porch. Two steps up and he stopped. “Mr.Holcomb, is there a problem here?”
“No problem, officer!” Lydia yelled. “He’s just an asshole!”
“Yes, sir, there is,” Avery answered calmly. “My property is plainly posted and this woman has been here on my porch for five minutes, banging on my doors and screaming obscenities at me.”
“MY porch!” Lydia yelled. “It’s MY porch! MY farm! Why can’t you just let go, Avery? Why can’t you just give me back what’s mine?”
“Miss, you need to come with me,” the officer said, but when he took Lydia’s arm, she screamed and pulled away from him. At that point, things started happening too fast for Avery to stop them, and before he knew it, Lydia was face down on the porch, the deputy’s knee in the center of her back and her arms behind her as she screamed in pain.
“Stop! Stop, sir! Please! Don’t!” Avery belted out and shot through the door. The deputy looked up at him like he’d lost his mind. “She dislocated her shoulder not too long ago! She can’t take that. Let her go,” he begged, “please?”
The deputy cocked an eyebrow. “I should arrest her for resisting.”
“I know, I know. But don’t hurt her, okay? I don’t want to hurt her. I just want her taken away so she’ll leave me alone,” Avery told the burly cop. Lydia was wailing in pain, and that wasn’t what Avery wanted at all.
“Well, then,” the deputy said, glancing down at Lydia. She’d dissolved into a sobbing mess, and he turned loose. “You learned your lesson, missy?” Lydia didn’t speak and just nodded, still sobbing. “Okay, I’m going to let you up. But don’t do anything like that again, okay? An officer of the law directs you to do something, you do it, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir,” she answered through her muffled, choking sobs.
“Let’s get you up,” Avery said, reaching for her. He managed to roll her over and help her up to sitting, then get hold of her under her arms and lift her to standing.
“Let me go, you asshole,” she snarled, still sobbing.
“You’re welcome,” Avery answered, then stepped back. “Could you just arrest her and take her in, please? You don’t have to cuff her. I think she’ll behave herself, right, Lydia?”
“Shut up. Just shut up! This is all your fault!” she whined.
“No. It’s yours. I’ve told you and told you to leave me alone, and this is what you do?” He stood for a minute and thought, then looked at the deputy. “Could you give us a minute, please?” he asked.
“No, don’t. I don’t want to be alone with him. No telling what he’ll do,” Lydia sniffled.
“Yes, sir. I’ll go wait by the cruiser. Yell if you need help,” the deputy said, nodding to Avery.
As the law enforcement officer made his way down off the porch, Avery turned his attention to Lydia. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I. Want. My. Farm. Back. What the hell do you not understand about that?” Lydia asked, her shoulders quaking with sobs.
Avery sat down on the porch’s glider. “Would you please come and sit down with me for a minute. Please?” he asked, waiting.
She wandered over in front of him but wouldn’t sit. “What do you want?”
“Look, Lydia, I don’t hate you. I don’t even dislike you. But damn, you’re driving me crazy. I’m always looking over my shoulder, wondering what kind of attack you’re going to launch next, wondering what you’ll be up to.”
“I’m going to prove my grandpa was crazy when he sold you this land, that’s what I’m up to,” she threw out.
Avery sighed. “You and I both know that’s going nowhere. Why don’t you just cut it out? You’re wasting your time and money. If I have to defend myself and I win, which I will, I’m going to sue you for the attorney fees and court costs. Do you really want that?”
“I want my farm back,” she repeated.
Avery just sighed and shook his head. “How ’bout we strike a deal? You give this up and you can come out here any time you want. Not in the house, mind you, but you can come out here, wander around, play with the dog, pet the cows. You can fish in the ponds. You can climb the trees if you want to. Hell, I don’t care what you do as long as you don’t tear anything up or hurt yourself. But at some point, you’re going to have to admit that this farm is mine. Do you understand?”
Lydia shook her head and just stood there, rubbing her shoulder. “No. I’ll never admit that this is your farm.”
Avery chuckled. “Okay, how about this? We both admit that this is God’s country and we have no claim to the land. We’re just mortal travelers passing through, and He’s granted us the use of it for as long as we’re here.”
“What the hell? You’ve been spending too much time in that damn Methodist church!” she snapped.
Avery’s brow fell. “How did you know I’d visited at the Methodist church?”
“Isn’t that where you met Danette?”
Now Avery was just getting pissed. “Who I associate with is none of your business.”
“Fucking manwhore. You’re just a pig like all the rest, fucking anybody you can get to take it. Admit it.”
“What I’ll admit is that Danette’s right―you’ve got an exceedingly dirty mouth on you for somebody your size. And, for your information, if it’s any of your business, which it’s not, Danette and I are friends.”
“Danette isn’t friends with any guy,” Lydia spat.
Avery turned his gaze to the deputy and called out, “Okay. I’m done. You can take her away now.”
“No! What the hell? Are you crazy? You can’t have him take me to jail!” Lydia yelled.
“Would you like to press charges, Mr.Holcomb?” the deputy asked.
“Yes, sir, I would. Criminal trespassing, terroristic threatening, stalking, and harassment,” Avery said. “Oh,” he added, “and generally being a difficult, disagreeable person.”
“If that were a true charge, my ex would be getting three hots and a cot,” the deputy snickered.
“Damn. Okay then. Do I need to come down and sign anything?” Avery asked.
“Nope. I’ll take it from here. Come on, miss,” he said, taking Lydia by the arm, and she screamed out in pain.
“Other one, please,” Avery barked.
“You’re a lot nicer than I would be,” the deputy told him, then took Lydia’s other arm and led her down the steps.
“You can’t do this to me! This is MY farm! AveryHolcomb, you’re going to regret this!” she shouted back over her shoulder to him.
“Just adding to that terroristic threatening charge, Lydia! You should probably shut up now!” he shouted back. He watched as the deputy loaded her into the back seat, then walked around the cruiser and got in.
But in that moment before they pulled away, Avery saw something that made him wish he hadn’t just done what he’d done. He watched as Lydia’s eyes glanced around at the trees, the grass, the house, and past the house toward the barn, and a look of deep, pure misery swept over her features. It was a look that reminded him of the look he’d seen on his mother’s face when his youngest brother, Caleb, died.
Caleb had been six, Ben seven, and Avery nine when it happened. They’d been spending the week at their grandparents’ farm, a good-sized piece of land bordered by the CumberlandRiver on the north. All three boys had walked down to its banks with some kids from a nearby farm where they spent the afternoon, playing and throwing rocks in. The water had been high―it was flood season―and the current swift. One of the neighborhood boys had snatched Caleb’s hat off and thrown it in the river, and he’d gone right in after it. Avery had screamed, trying to stop him, but before he could move, Caleb had dropped into the water and was gone, swept away in an instant by the fierce, wild current. They’d searched for eight days before his body had been recovered, trapped under a tree limb twelve miles downstream. When the deputies had come to tell his mother that his brother had been confirmed dead, the look on her face had been one of total devastation.
That was the look on Lydia’s face―as though her whole world had fallen out from under her. He realized then that he knew nothing about her, not what she did for a living, or where she actually lived, not about siblings, or her education, or anything. She’d just been a gnat buzzing in his face, and all he’d done was swat at her. A sadness took root in his heart at the thought of the possibility that he’d crushed her.
Stepping to her car, he looked inside and found her bag, so he sat down in the white leather of the BMW’s interior and looked through it. Her wallet was there, and there were a couple of credit cards, along with her driver’s license, inside it. She had about fifteen dollars in cash too. There was a small case, and he opened it to find some business cards: LydiaSimone Kinsey, Broker. Seemed she worked for a small real estate company there in town. Was that why she wanted the farm after all, to subdivide? The look on her face as the deputy was driving her away told him no. This was something personal, something that had nothing to do with business. The rest of her purse was the usual girlie stuff, lipstick, some pressed powder, a small bottle of perfume, and a hairbrush. She also had a few receipts―a lingerie store and a kitchen place, both in the mall―and a little packet of tissues. Her address was an apartment building in downtown TuckerCity, one of the nicer places in town, so she obviously did okay in the real estate market. Wadded up down in the bottom of the bag was a note.
Lydia,
I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you haven’t made a sale in a month. We need to talk. I mean it.
Bill
Her boss maybe? Avery didn’t know, but he could find out. There was nothing else of any importance in her bag, so he put it all back and placed it on the front seat of the car. The keys were in the ignition, so he figured he’d call somebody, maybe someone from the church, and get them to bring him home if he drove the car down to the sheriff’s department and left it for her. He was climbing out to shut the car door when he noticed something in the back seat.
A messenger bag. Avery opened the back door and pulled it out, then marched up to the porch and sat down. Flipping the buckles, he opened it and started going through the contents.
There were blank contracts that prospective buyers could fill out, and a date book. He didn’t bother with that. Everything looked like stuff any realtor would carry.
Except for a folder near the back. Avery pulled it out and looked at the name on the tab: Crops . He opened the folder and took a look at the papers there, trying to figure out what he was seeing.
They were crop rotation charts. Looking at the dates on the bottoms of the printouts, he saw that they were recent, as recent as a year prior. What the hell? One had Cletus’ name on it, and he had to ask himself why the extension agent hadn’t told him what Lydia was doing. Sure enough, as he thumbed through the information, he came upon a sketch done from an aerial view of the farm, and it was his farm. The computer printout had colored-in areas showing which crops went where, and he knew then what was going on with LydiaKinsey.
She wanted to farm that land. She wanted to show everyone that she could do it, that it belonged to her, and that her great-grandfather had made a terrible mistake in keeping his family from that farming legacy. Lydia had a score to settle, one for at least two generations, and she was failing miserably because, once again, her great-grandfather had cut the throats of his kin. She was suffering.
Avery thought about Dr.Tompkins’ story of the rabbits. Inside that little blond spitfire was a suffering teenage girl, the one whose heart had been broken by a crotchety, cranky old man. LydiaKinsey was hurting, and he’d only added to it, although he couldn’t have known. He had an errand to run, and he had to hurry.
* * *
When he stepped into GoheenEquipment, Avery could see the confusion on the face of the white-haired man standing in the middle of the showroom floor on that Saturday afternoon. As he walked toward RodneyKinsey, the fellow stared at him. When Avery reached him, he asked, “Why are you driving my daughter’s car?”
“Sir, my name is AveryHolcomb.” He watched as Rodney’s brows rose. “Could I have a word with you? In private?”
“Sure. Come on back. Hey, Jim,” Rodney called out to a man across the showroom, “got some business to attend to. Keep an eye out?”
“Of course! Take your time,” the man called back.
“My boss. Wouldn’t want to get into trouble,” Rodney explained.
“Oh, no, sir. I don’t want to get you into any trouble. I just need to talk to you.”
Rodney led Avery into a large conference room and closed the door behind them, then pointed to some chairs. “So what’s going on?”
“Well, sir, first of all, I brought you these,” Avery said and handed him Lydia’s keys. “I’ll find a way home somehow.”
“I can get you home. But I don’t understand…”
“Lydia’s in the county jail. I had her arrested.” Rodney’s mouth fell open. “Criminal trespassing, terroristic threatening, stalking, harassment. She resisted the officer, so she may get something else tacked on.”
“Are you the guy who bought my grandpa’s farm?” Rodney asked.
“Yes, sir, I am.”
Rodney dropped his face into his hands before looking back up to Avery. “Oh, god, I was afraid this was going to happen ever since she came to our house blathering on about somebody stealing the farm.”
Avery dropped his eyes. The man’s pain was palpable, and he felt so sorry for the guy that his own heart ached. “Sir, she showed up out at my place, beating on the doors and screaming at me. She won’t leave me alone. I’ve done everything I can to make her go away, to make her understand that she doesn’t have any claim to the land, but she just won’t take no for an answer. And I can’t take it anymore. I warned her, even posted the property, and she just kept coming back. She’s insulted my friends, chased me down in public places, and made a general spectacle of herself―and me in the process. I’m new in town, and now everybody―and I mean everybody ―knows my name, and not in a good way. And I want it to stop, but I want to understand why she’s doing this. I’m not an unreasonable person, but―”
“Stop. I understand. I know you’re not an unreasonable person. An unreasonable person wouldn’t have brought her car to me here and wouldn’t be talking to me right now, trying to get a handle on the situation. And I do appreciate it. Really, I do,” Rodney said, a deep sigh escaping his lips. “She’s furious. She came in here the other day, demanding that I give her the money to prosecute and get the property back, but I explained to her that I’d talked to an attorney too and there’s nothing we can do. The title’s legal and we don’t have any claim to the land.” Avery nodded. “So frankly, I have no idea what to do. She’s just bound and determined that she’s going to run you off.”
“That’s not going to happen. I’ve got almost seventy head of cattle out there and I’m here to stay,” Avery told him. “And she called me irresponsible, said I shouldn’t have taken on animals when I knew I wasn’t going to be here long because she was going to toss me off the property.”
“Oh, lord,” Rodney moaned. “I’m so sorry she’s put you through all of this.”
“It’s not just me. She insulted a friend of mine.” When Rodney’s eyes questioned, Avery said, “DanetteMoyers.”
Rodney’s demeanor changed instantly. “Well, if DanetteMoyers is a friend of yours, that speaks volumes to your character, young fella.”
“Now see here.” Avery’s voice was kind but firm. “Danette’s trying to turn over a new leaf, and I’m trying to help her. She’s a nice person. She’s made some really bad choices, but there’s always a chance to start anew, I believe. What’s that they say, where there’s life, there’s hope?”
Rodney calmed. “That’s true. I heard she had an actual date.”
“She did. I haven’t talked to her since the date to find out how it went, but I was very encouraged by that.”
“True.” Rodney sat for a minute as though he were collecting his thoughts. “So, how can I help? I mean, other than bailing my daughter out of jail,” he said, never cracking a smile.
“I’m not sure, sir, but I felt like I owed it to you to come and talk to you. I know I’d want someone to do that if she were my daughter.”
“And I appreciate that.”
“But I’d like to know if there’s something, anything, that I can do to put out this fire.”
Rodney gave a sad snort. “Unless you plan to hand her the deed to the property, I’d say there’s nothing you can do.”
“I will tell you, I’ve gotten some stories from the locals, and I’m sorry your grandpa treated all of you the way he did. That right there, that’s just shameful,” Avery threw out.
“Well, it is what it is. He was mad at my daddy and my uncles for not staying on the farm and working it, and then my brother and I tried and he treated us the same way.”
Just talking about it seemed to make Rodney weary, and Avery was sad for his role in that.“That’s what I’d been told. What I knew of Sirus gave me a high opinion of him, but I have to say, that’s been tarnished in recent weeks.”
“Oh, he was nice to everybody, as long as they weren’t related to him.”
Avery nodded. “As I was told.” He stood and extended a hand to Rodney, who stood with him and shook it. “I just wanted you to know what was going on from my perspective. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”
“You’re welcome, and thank you for coming to talk to me. Let me take you home and I’ll go down and see about Lydia.”
“Sure thing.” In minutes they were in Lydia’s car and headed back to the farm. They chatted as Rodney drove along.
“You know, I’m from Tennessee. This is very different from where I grew up,” Avery offered.
“Yeah, Texas has its own culture, have to say.” Avery nodded in agreement. “You got folks up there?”
“My mom and my brother. My dad died a few years back, and I had a little brother who drowned when he was six.” Avery hated talking about it. “Is Lydia your only child?”
“No, no. Our son Josh is two years younger. We tried for years and nothing happened, and then all of a sudden, we had two babies in two years. We sure were happy. But we tried real hard to keep them from being spoiled, you know? Didn’t want that.”
“You can’t spoil a child with love,” Avery pointed out.
Rodney smiled. “You’re so right about that.”
When they pulled up in front of the house, Rodney let out a long, low whistle. “Wow. You’ve done wonders with this place!”
Avery smiled. “Come inside for a second and look around. You’ll be surprised.”
Unlocking the door and motioning for Rodney to enter, Avery smiled as the older man said, “Holy cow! This place looks great!”
“Thanks. I wasn’t expecting company so I didn’t make the bed, but come up here and see what I’ve done.” He showed Rodney the new bathroom and closet, as well as the other bathroom, remodeled and gleaming. “In addition to what was already done, I’ve had another six hundred acres of pasture fenced. Look out here,” Avery said, opening the balcony doors.
There, in the distance, were a good number of the cows, grazing in the lazy Texas sunlight, and his heart swelled with pride. Rodney stepped up and gazed out over the property. “Oh, lord, that’s pretty out there. Look at those cows! Very nice.”
“Thanks. I feel very at home here,” Avery told him as he led the way back downstairs. When they stopped at the front door, he gave Rodney his warmest smile. “I don’t want any harm to come to Lydia. Not at all. But I’m not giving up this farm, and I shouldn’t be harassed constantly because I bought it fair and square.”
“I understand. I’ll try to talk to her, but she’s usually pretty hard-headed once she makes up her mind.”
Avery nodded. “I can see that! Thanks for bringing me home.”
“Thank you for everything, Avery. I hope this all works out for you.”
“Thank you. Hope to run into you soon,” Avery said as he closed the front door behind Rodney and watched Lydia’s father return to the white BMW.
He’d been home about an hour when the phone rang, a local number he didn’t recognize. He answered with a hesitant “Hello?”
“Mr.Holcomb?”
“Yes?”
“This is JudgeBennett.”
“Yes, sir! What can I do for you?”
“Got a minute?”
“For you? Of course. Please.”
The judge cleared his throat before he spoke. “So I’ve got LydiaKinsey down here.”
Avery tried hard not to snicker. “Yes. I bet you do. And, boy, do I feel sorry for you.”
“So I was wondering… Would you consider dropping the charges if she promises me she’ll leave you alone?”
Avery thought for a few seconds. “She sitting right there?”
“No, no. She’s out in the holding area. I wanted to talk to you alone before I called her in. I’m not happy about being called down here on a Saturday afternoon, but my daddy and her grandpa Donald were good friends, so I’m doing it as a courtesy to the family. Otherwise, she’d sit here until Monday.”
“You don’t think that would do her some good?” Avery asked.
JudgeBennett laughed. “I didn’t say that! But I hate to see this happen to her when I know she knows better. This thing with the farm is really eating at her. After everything that’s happened to her, if I can spare her a little grief, I will,” he said. Avery didn’t know what he meant by that and, at that moment, he really didn’t care.
He thought about it for a few more seconds before he said, “Yeah, sure. Can you make it a stipulation that she has to call me and apologize?”
“I most certainly can. I was going to suggest it anyway. And you let me know if that apology’s not sincere, you hear me?”
Avery chuckled. “I sure will. Thank you, your honor.”
“You’re more than welcome. Have a good evening.”
So Lydia would be calling to apologize. Yeah, he wasn’t holding his breath for that.
The sun had gone down and Avery was piled up in the big bed in his room, watching a documentary about the Titanic, when his phone rang: Lydia’s number. He looked at it, then thought Here we go! before he answered it. “Hello?”
“Avery?”
“Yes?”
“It’s LydiaKinsey.”
I’m not cutting her any slack , he decided. “Yes, I know. What do you want?”
There was silence for a few seconds. Finally, just about the time he thought she’d hung up, he heard her say softly, “I’m sorry.”
“What?” I shouldn’t poke at her , he thought, but he had to do it.
“I said I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve been bothering you, but I just… well, I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted― if you’re going to leave me alone now.”
“I am.” He waited. Finally, she said, “I just wish you understood why…”
“I wish I did too, Lydia, but yelling and screaming at me, threatening me, filing all kinds of crazy legal documents against me, none of that is going to help me understand. It just makes me mad, puts me on the defensive, and makes me want to throw you to the wolves. Surely you can understand that.”
“Yes. I do. And I’m sorry. It’s just that… well, I can’t. I can’t explain it.”
“Or won’t,” he interjected.
“Yes. Or won’t. I’ve been hurt too much. I won’t give anyone any more ammunition to hurt me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Lydia, really, I don’t.”
“But you’re hurting me now.”
“Not on purpose. Never on purpose. But I can’t just walk away from a piece of property that I’ve staked all my hopes and dreams on. This is my home now. It’s my place in the world. And I can’t just turn tail and run when the going gets tough.”
“I understand.” There was silence again.
“You still there?” Avery asked after a few seconds.
“Yes.”
He waited, but she didn’t offer anything else. “Well, okay then. I accept your apology. And if ever you’re ready to talk to me about why you’ve acted the way you have, I’ll be glad to listen, okay?”
“Okay.” She didn’t say another word.
“Well, okay then. I guess I should get some sleep. Morning comes early and I’ve got chores to do. If you ever want to come out and help, I’d be glad to have your company,” he offered as an olive branch.
“Thanks. Well, goodnight.” Before he could say another word, the phone went dead.
LydiaKinsey, you’re a mystery , Avery thought as he sat there in his quiet bedroom. It had taken a lot of courage for her to call him like that, and he respected that. And he wanted to find a way to honor and encourage that. But how?
He’d think of something. He always did.
* * *
Several quiet weeks went by, and Avery relaxed. No one mentioned Lydia around him, and he was glad, but a little sad too. He really wanted to get to know her, especially after that kiss. There’d been something between them, something he couldn’t identify, but he didn’t know exactly what.
LaborDay was just six weeks away, and Avery made an important decision. In minutes, he tapped a contact on his phone and a cheerful voice answered, “Hi, son!”
“Hey, Mom! How are you?”
“Good, good! How are you?”
“I’m doing great. I wanted to talk to you about everything that’s happened. Look, I know I left in a huff, and if you’ve thought about it, I think you can understand why.”
There was a sigh on the other end of the phone before his mother said, “Yes. I’ve had time to really think on it while I worried about where you were and what you were doing. What your brother did was wrong; well, Shannon too. And I’m sorry I wasn’t more supportive. I just want you both to be happy, but I guess in my desire to see Ben happy, I forgot about your happiness. You’re older and can handle things better, or at least that’s what I thought.”
There were so many things Avery wanted to say. “You know, Mom, that doesn’t matter―a broken heart is a broken heart, no matter how old you are.”
“You’re right, Avery, and I’m sorry. And I’ve been worried sick about you. Where are you and what are you doing?”
Avery started into the story, and the more he talked, the more he realized how much he’d accomplished in a very short time. “I just got several hundred bales of hay ordered for the cattle over the end of the year, and feed too. I went down and ordered plenty of feed, enough to last several months. Got the mineral blocks out in all the lick locations on the land, and I built another barn, a bigger pole barn, so they’ll have a place to go when it’s really hot and they need the shade. And believe it or not, there has been snow here, so it’ll be good if that happens too. Everything’s looking great.”
“That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!” his mother sang into the phone.
Does she really mean that? There’s only one way to find out , Avery told himself. “So, Mom, the holiday’s coming up and I was wondering … Would you like to come here to visit me?”
After a few seconds of silence, she asked, “Really? You want me to come there?”
“I’d love for you to come here! I’ll even pay for your plane ticket. How’s that?”
“Well, yes, I’d love to come! Want me to do the booking? I don’t mind paying for it,” she said.
“Great! Just let me know where and when and I’ll pick you up. I’ll be glad to see you,” he told her, and he meant it.
“Avery?”
“Yeah?”
She cleared her throat before she spoke. “I just want to tell you that I’m really, really proud of you. When you first left, I didn’t quite know what to think, but now, I’m happy that you’re happy, and you do sound happy.”
“I’m very happy, Mom. You just can’t imagine.”
“Good. I’ll let you know as soon as I get my flight arrangements made. Oh, this is so exciting!” she gushed into the phone.
“I’m excited too. Talk to you soon, okay?”
“Yes. Talk to you soon. Love you, son.”
Avery smiled. “Love you too, Mom. Bye.” He hit END and put the phone down.
His mom was coming to visit. She’d see how great he was doing and she’d be so proud. Then she’d tell his brother, and Ben would be jealous and pissed.
And that was exactly what he hoped would happen.
* * *
Dinner had been amazing. Avery had grilled steaks and corn on the cob, and Danette fixed green beans and salad. The four of them had eaten until they were stuffed. Greg said he’d never eaten salad so good. Bless his heart, he did everything he could to compliment Danette, and she glowed every time he did. Arlene had brought that sweet tea she was famous for, but the guys had enjoyed a couple of beers apiece. They’d settled down in the living room to play a board game when Avery heard a car door.
He couldn’t believe his eyes when he peeked out the curtain of the window by the front door: Lydia. Steeling himself for some kind of attack, he waited until she knocked, then opened the door. His face stony, he said, “Hello, Lydia.”
“Hi. Um, got minute?”
No way was he letting her inside. “Right here. What’s up?”
She handed him a box. “I made these for you. Because I felt bad about, well, you know, everything. I’m sorry.”
The box wasn’t especially heavy, but Avery was just too curious. “What is this?”
“They’re cupcakes. I mean, they’re nothing special, but even though I’m not very good at stuff like that, they turned out pretty good. There’s twenty-three. I made two dozen, but I had to try one. I didn’t want to bring them to you if they were awful, you know?” she said, scuffing her toe across the porch boards.
Avery just stood there, amazed but trying hard not to show it. “Are they poisoned?” he asked, trying to make a joke.
To his amazement, Lydia looked like she might cry. “No. I told you, I ate one. But that’s okay. You can throw them away if you want. I just wanted to, I don’t know, try to do something nice. I’m not a bad person. Really, I’m not.” She stood there for an awkward moment, then said, “I should go. I’m sorry I bothered you. Bye.” Turning on her heels, she headed down the steps.
“Wait!” She stopped on the last step at Avery’s voice. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice of me. Thank you. I’ve got guests, and I’m sure we’ll enjoy them. That was very kind of you, and you didn’t have to do it.”
“I know,” she said, never turning around. “I just thought I should, I don’t know, well, I’m going. Goodnight, Avery.”
He watched her walk away toward her car, her shoulders slumped, and climb in to drive away. She’d gotten far enough out the drive that all he could see was her taillights when he realized he should’ve invited her in to join them. Or that might’ve been a bad idea. He wasn’t sure. It was all about playing it by ear with Lydia.
“Where’d those come from?” Danette asked when he put out a plate of the cupcakes.
“LydiaKinsey.”
“Lydia? Are you serious? I’m afraid to eat them,” she mumbled.
“She said she ate one, so they must be okay,” Avery said, peeling the cupcake paper from one and taking a bite. “Oh, lord, these are good. Lemon.”
“They are,” Greg agreed, taking a bite of the one he’d picked up. “Excellent.”
“Hmmm.” Danette and Arlene picked up one apiece and tied into them. “They are really good,” Arlene agreed. “I mean, I’m pretty sure they came from a box, but still, mmmmm.”
When everyone was gone for the night and everything cleaned up and put away, Avery climbed the stairs with Skipper in his wake. On a plate in his hand was a cupcake, and he had a bottle of water in the other hand. After he’d eaten the cupcake and brushed his teeth, he climbed into bed and lay there in the dark.
LydiaKinsey had brought him cupcakes. On a whim, he picked up his phone and sent a text.
Hey, Lydia. Thanks again for the cupcakes. We really enjoyed them. It was very kind of you. Have a nice evening.
In just a couple of seconds, he got back a simple text: YW
Progress made. Sort of.