Chapter 14
T he light was bright, too bright, and his head hurt so badly that he couldn’t stand to open his eyes. Even through his lids, the brightness was like a knife in his temples. Am I dead? he wondered, but realized if that were the case, he wouldn’t feel any pain. There were voices around him, soft at first, and then louder, and he heard someone say, “I think he’s coming around.”
“Mr.Holcomb?” Avery wondered if they were talking to him. They had to be; his dad was dead. “Mr.Holcomb, can you hear me?”
“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.”
“Yeah. Good friend. My head hurts,” he whined again.
“You need some sleep. Come on, Danette, let’s let him go back to sleep,” Lydia told Danette.
“No! I want you to stay,” Avery told Lydia, grabbing for her hand with his splinted fingers.
“I knew he was going to say that,” Danette laughed. “I’ll go sit with Jason and tell him you’re still alive. He’ll be relieved.” Danette was still laughing when she headed down the hallway.
Lydia pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, and Avery felt better immediately. “Baby,” he started, “I’m so sorry for everything. I had no…”
“No, babe, it’ll be fine. Frank will take care of it all, the state will prosecute her, and everything will be okay.”
“I had a dream while I was out,” Avery said, wincing at the pain in his arms and hands.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You were in it, and me too.”
“Well, that’s good,” Lydia giggled.
“And a little baby.”
There was silence until Lydia said, “Our baby?” Avery nodded, then wished he hadn’t as pain raced through his skull. “We had a baby?”
“Yup. A little bitty baby. In a pink blanket.” He felt woozy and heavy, and he knew the pain meds were sending him back to sleep. “And I kissed it and it smelled like baby powder,” he said, forcing his lips to make the words.
“Go back to sleep. We can talk about it later,” she said, kissing his cheek again.
“I love you, Lydia, more than anything.”
“I love you too. More than anything in the whole world.”
“Marry me, Lydia,” he mumbled.
He was just lucid enough to hear her say, “Anytime you want, AveryAidan Holcomb―anytime you want.”
* * *
“I have to do this.” Avery was trying to stand, but he wasn’t doing a very good job. Every time he managed, he just dropped back down onto the side of the bed, and his casted forearms and splinted hands weren’t of much use.
“You should let me wheel you down there,” Lydia scolded.
“No. I don’t want you to ever have to see her again. I don’t really want to, but I want to see her there in cuffs. That’ll make me okay with everything.”
“Well, okay. Let me get Jason. He’ll wheel you down there.” She disappeared and, in seconds, Jason reappeared with a wheelchair.
Lydia and Jason helped him transfer to the chair and he let Jason wheel him down the hallway. When they got to the door, a police officer sitting there in a chair perked up. “Who are you?”
“I’m the poor sumbitch she tried to kill,” Avery told him straight up.
“And I’m guessing you want to go in and gloat.”
Avery nodded. “I’d really like to.”
The officer snickered. “Be my guest. No love lost here. She’s a piece of work.”
Avery nodded. “You have no idea.” Turning to Jason, he said, “Wait for me?”
“You know it. I’ll be right here,” he said, dropping down onto the floor next to the police officer’s chair.
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.”
Avery’s eyes went round and a big smile stretched across his face. “No shit? That’s awesome! Congratulations!”
Danette looked a little apprehensive. “You’re okay with it?”
“Well, hell yeah! I think that’s great! So you’re going to live together?”
Jason nodded. “Looks like it. Until we decide where we want to take it and how fast. But I’m pretty smitten with this little lady right here,” he said, leaning over and dropping a peck on Danette’s cheek.
“Good for you!” Avery glanced at Lydia to find her smiling at the couple too. She’d already known and she obviously approved.
Jason helped Avery get settled on the sofa while Danette and Lydia cleaned up the kitchen. When they were done, Jason started packing up the things in his room and Lydia volunteered to help him.
Danette sat down on the sofa and drew Avery’s legs up and over her lap. “You gonna be all right?”
Avery nodded. “Yep. I’ve got a great nurse.”
“Jason’s going to come and help you with the farm until you’re back to one hundred percent, okay?”
Avery nodded. “I’d really appreciate that.”
“Good. By the way, I think he’d like to be a permanent hand and actually work for you if you’ll have him.” Danette stopped, and Avery could tell she was trying to say something but didn’t know how. After a minute or so, she said, “I just want to thank you for being the best friend I’ve ever had. You’ve changed my life, Avery.” A tear rolled down her cheek as she said, “There’s no way I could ever repay you for what you’ve given me. You gave me dignity. There’s no price tag on that. I love you and I’ll love you forever.”
Avery held out an arm and Danette leaned over to fall onto his chest as he hugged her to him. “From the minute I met you at the church that day, I knew you were a good person. I didn’t want to be involved with you that way, but I knew you weren’t just some skirt. I knew if someone just took the time to remind you of who you were, you could shine. And I love you too. I owe you my life, you and that little twenty-two of yours,” Avery chuckled.
“I love Jason,” she whispered to him as she curled against his chest.
“He’s a good guy. If he loves you, you’ll be a lucky lady,” Avery whispered back to her.
“All set,” Jason announced as he thumped down the steps with an armload of his belongings, Lydia right behind him with a box of things. “Ready, baby?”
Danette sat up and wiped her cheeks. “Yep. Ready. Night, guys,” she said, stepping to take the box from Lydia and hug the blond.
“Night, girl,” Lydia told her, then leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“Night, guys,” Avery added. “Be careful driving home.”
Lydia watched at the door until they drove away. When she’d closed the door and sat down on the sofa, drawing Avery’s legs over her lap just as Danette had, she dragged her finger back and forth in the air the length of the sofa and asked, “So what was that all about?”
“Nothing.” A small, soft smile curled the corners of Avery’s mouth up. “I was just telling my sister goodbye and good luck.”
“I love you, babe,” Lydia said and fell down beside him on the sofa just as Danette had done. He gathered her up in his arms and buried his nose in her crown, taking in the sweet scent of her shampoo and lotion.
“I love you too, baby. Always and forever. More than anything.”