Chapter 4 #2
Avery drove out one of the longest county roads he thought he’d ever seen. It seemed to go on forever, but he finally came to the driveway with the mailbox that looked like a green and yellow tractor. Turning in, he was greeted by a large farmhouse painted pale yellow, a stand of huge sunflowers waving in the side yard. A car was parked out front and when his truck neared the house, a woman opened the door and stepped out. She waved as he parked.
“You Marjorie?” he called to her.
“Nope. I’m her sister, Bess. She had to go to town to get some papers signed, but she told me you were coming and asked me to help you when you got here. I guess the first order of business is to get the trailer hooked up to your truck there,” she said and pointed toward the barn.
An almost-new, bright red livestock trailer sat there, a little dusty but otherwise in perfect condition. Avery thought he’d choke. It was almost as nice as a brand new one, and a lot cheaper. Even with the size of the trust fund, his bank account would empty fast if he wasn’t careful, so he’d look for bargains wherever he could find them, and this definitely qualified. It took him about ten minutes to hook it up and then they headed out into the pasture on foot to find the cattle. In a couple of minutes, they were joined by a black and white dog with odd, blue eyes who seemed to anticipate their every move. “What’s with the dog?” Avery asked.
“Oh, Skipper? He’s a herding dog. You wouldn’t need a dog, would you,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I might. How much?”
“Oh, you can have him. We don’t need him. He runs the cattle, so we won’t have any use for him. He was Daddy’s dog, and now that he’s gone, the damn fool little shit worries the hell out of us,” she said, glaring at the dog.
Avery didn’t have to think about it. “Sure! I’ll take him. Does he really herd the cattle?”
“Just watch him when we get there. He’s a Border Collie. They were bred to do this work.”
They topped the hill they’d been climbing and Avery gasped. There, spread out before them, were forty cows, all grazing and swishing their tails. Avery couldn’t remember ever seeing such a beautiful sight. “Guess we should start rounding them up,” Bess said, pointing to the right. “You go around that way and I’ll go around this way.” She looked back at the dog, who was standing stock still. “Skipper!” His ears perked up. “Herd up, Skipper. Herd up!”
Before Avery could blink, the dog ran around and down one side of the pasture, out past the last cow, and then started back. As he nipped at the feet of the cow, she turned and started away from him, straight for the front end of the pasture. He did the same with every cow on the fringe until they were all headed that way. Avery came in from one side and Bess the other, and they both kept driving the cattle toward the gate. They moved slowly but steadily toward the open gate and Skipper kept after them until, one by one, they’d moved into the smaller enclosure near the barn and the trailer. Bess closed the gate after they’d all made it through. “Wow. That’s impressive,” Avery wheezed, having followed the cattle all that way.
“Thanks,” Bess answered, gasping for breath. “Skipper’s pretty handy.”
“I’ll say. Guess we’d better get them loaded up.” He had ten livestock halters he’d brought with him, and they managed to get them on ten of the heifers and lead them through the second gate to the trailer, then load them up and close the trailer up. Bess held the gate while Avery drove through with the first load, then closed it and hopped up into his truck, bringing Skipper along with them.
It took most of the day, but they got all forty of them moved, then took the bull by himself for the last trip. With the trailer finally unhitched, Avery drove Bess back to the farmhouse. “Thanks for everything. Oh, here’s your money,” he said, handing her the envelope.
“Thanks, son. I’m so glad they’ve got homes now.” She climbed down out of the truck cab and shut the door.
The dog let out a little whine. “Sure you don’t want him anymore?” Avery asked, feeling a little sorry for Skipper.
“Nah. You’ll get some good out of him. And you’ve got a place for him to run. He’ll be happy with you,” she said, a sad smile on her face. “Daddy would’ve loved to know he had a good home.”
“He’s got one with me. Thanks, Ms.Bess. Please tell Ms.Marjorie I said thanks too.”
“You’re welcome, son. Drive safe.” She slapped the side of the truck and Avery drove away.
As Avery pulled out of the driveway, Skipper whined and stared out the window. “Gonna miss home, huh, buddy?” Avery asked him and reached over to scratch behind the dog’s ear. In just a minute or two, he was driving along with Skipper’s chin resting on his thigh, his free hand stroking the dog’s head. He made a mental note to call Marjorie and ask her who her dad’s vet had been. It would be nice to take Skipper to a vet clinic where he was already known.
He got home in time to shower and fix a little something for dinner. At least the microwave still worked! When he’d cleaned up what little mess he’d created and taken out the trash, he realized he was worn out. He made one last trip out to feed the cows, Skipper in tow, and then made his way back to the house and upstairs to the bedroom. The bed looked inviting, and he made sure to grab an old quilt and make Skipper a bed on the floor―he’d pick up a real dog bed the next time he went to the big discount store over in Texarkana. He was propped up in bed and finishing an article on the new prospects for baseball commissioner when his phone rang, another local number he didn’t recognize. Please, God, don’t let it be Danette , he thought, knowing that someone might very well give her his number. “Hello?”
There was silence for a couple of seconds and a tenuous female voice said, “Avery?”
He closed his eyes and threw his head back, banging it on the top edge of the headboard. “Owww! What the hell do you want?”
“I, I, I just wanted to say thank you for taking me to the hospital,” Lydia said in almost a whisper.
“No thanks necessary. I would’ve done it for anyone,” he answered, his voice intentionally flat.
“Oh. Well, I really appreciated it. I would’ve come and told you in person, but you’ve got those signs up everywhere.”
“Yeah. Glad you could read. Otherwise, you’d be in jail right now,” he said, his voice hard.
There was silence for another few seconds before she said, “But you need to know that nothing’s changed. That’s my farm, and I want it back.”
Avery sighed. Good god, she just didn’t know when to give up! “It’s not your farm, Lydia. It never will be. Why don’t you just let it go? Go buy another piece of property.”
“That’s not the point, Avery, and you know it.” She stopped, then said, “You’re going to get paperwork in the mail. We’re contesting the sale.”
“You can’t contest the sale.”
“We can if we can prove Grandpa was suffering from dementia when he sold it to you,” she said.
Fury passed over Avery like water over the sand at high tide. “Your grandpa was not suffering from dementia. He knew quite well what he was doing when he sold me this farm. Hell, he even left me the cattle.” He stopped and thought for a second. “You know, I don’t know why I’m even talking to you about this. There’s no point. You just can’t admit that it’s over. And I’ve had a very, very good day and you’ve managed to ruin it. No, I take that back—I won’t let you ruin it.”
“I’m glad you had a good day,” Lydia said, and he couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or mocking him.
“I did. I now have almost seventy head of cattle out here and?—”
“Seventy head of cattle?” she shrieked.
“Yes. Seventy head of Angus beef cattle. All heifers except for a bull.”
“That’s horribly irresponsible of you!” she screamed into the phone.
“Why?”
“Because what am I going to do with all those cattle when I take the farm back? I’ll have to find homes for all of them! Are you insane?”
“YOU’RE the one who’s insane! You’re not taking this farm back! It’s mine and I intend to keep it. Oh, and by the way, I have a dog too. A real dog. A herding dog. His name is Skipper and he’s black and white and?—”
“Did MarjorieFowlkes sell you those cattle?” she asked, her voice pointed and shrill.
“None of your damn business! They’re my cattle on my farm herded by my dog! Get that through your head!” he bellowed into the phone.
“You just wait until I see Marjorie. I’m going to give her a piece?—”
“You leave her alone! She and her sister are nice ladies! It’s none of your business, Lydia. None of your business, you hear me?”
“It IS my business! It’s my farm!”
Avery had taken all he could take. “You listen here, LydiaKinsey. You are the craziest, most annoying, stubbornest, damn orneriest woman I’ve ever met in my life. So help me God, if you bother Ms.Marjorie or Ms.Bess or give me any more trouble, I swear I’ll?—”
“You’ll what? Threatening me now?” she yelled into the phone.
“It’s not a threat! It’s a damn promise! I’m going to call the sheriff and put out harassment charges against you, goddamn it! By the way,” he asked, his voice shaking with rage, “who gave you my number?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said, her voice snarky. “But I’ll never tell!”
“Fine! That’s fucking fine. You know what? I don’t care anymore. I’m calling my attorney tomorrow and getting an injunction to keep you from throwing all these insane legal proceedings at me. It’s ridiculous. I’m hanging up now. Go away.”
“Oh, running like a little kid, huh? What’s the matter, afraid of me?” she chided.
“Fuck you.” Avery hit END and threw the phone onto the bed. What the hell was wrong with that woman? Not only did she drive him nuts, but she pushed every one of his buttons so hard that he wanted to explode.
So furious that he couldn’t sleep, Avery turned on the TV, but in ten minutes, he was sound asleep. The dream he had was more than entertaining as Shannon, Danette, and Lydia fought over him. Unfortunately, Lydia won, and what sleep he got wasn’t restful.
The sun dawned bright and hot, and Avery decided he wanted something more than a pastry popped into the toaster. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and slipped on some clothes, then drove to the diner and ordered himself a farmhouse breakfast with all the trimmings. His food had just come when a voice broke in and ruined his whole morning: “Hanging up on me. Very mature.”
Avery closed his eyes and threw his head back, this time banging it on the top of the booth’s back. “Please, God, make this a bad dream and tell me she’s not really here,” he mumbled out loud.
“Oh, I’m really here. And you can’t get rid of me that…” As she railed, Avery’s phone rang.
“You’ll have to excuse me. Someone wants to talk to me instead of yelling at me,” he snapped. “Hello?” he barked into the phone.
A familiar woman’s voice came through the phone. “Avery?”
“Yes?”
“It’s MarjorieFowlkes. I just wanted to say that I don’t know what the hell’s going on between you and LydiaKinsey, but I don’t appreciate her calling here and chewing me out for selling you those cattle!”
Avery’s eyes went wide and his face started to burn. He glared at Lydia as she kept babbling at him and just said, “I’m sorry, Ms.Marjorie, but I’m going to take care of that right now.” As soon as Marjorie’s name was out of his lips, Lydia stopped yakking and gave him a hateful smile. “You won’t have to worry about that happening again, and I’m sorry she did that, but she’s about to learn a lesson in good manners. Goodbye,” he said, not even waiting to hear what Marjorie said in reply.
“Was that MarjorieFowlkes?” Lydia snipped. “Because I called her up and?—”
Avery stood and towered over Lydia, then pressed toward her and down into her face, glaring at her. “Okay, little girl, I’ve had enough. Play time’s over. You pull another stunt like that and I’ll whup your ass myself, you got that?”
“Oh, big bad guy gonna beat up a little bitty thing like me?” she cajoled, but her expression changed as Avery advanced on her, his chest pressed up against her, pushing her backward toward the diner door. “What do you think you’re doing?”
His finger came up and he pointed it into her face as he kept up his advancement, pressing her backward with every step. “You. Stay out of my life. Stay out of my hair. Leave the people I deal with alone. I’m none of your business. My life is none of your business. My business is none of your business. If you had any idea how pissed off I am at this very moment, you’d run like hell, because frankly, I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the next two minutes if you’re still standing here, but it won’t be good, I can promise you that.”
Lydia’s eyes were popping out and her face was pale. “Bridget,” she called to the woman who ran the diner, “call the sheriff, please.”
“Yes, Bridget,” Avery mocked, “call the sheriff. I’ve got some complaints I want to file against LydiaKinsey. I want her jailed. I want to press charges against her for harassment, stalking, terroristic threatening, anything else he might be able to come up with that would apply. I’ve had it. I’ve really, really had it.” He’d pressed Lydia back until her shoulders rested against the glass in the door. One more step and she’d be out the door and down the steps. “If you say one more word, I’m going to shut you up. I mean it,” he growled out.
“Oh, yeah? And how do you plan to?—”
Lydia never got the chance to finish the sentence. Avery bent down, took her face in his hands, and kissed her―hard. She struggled against him, but he wouldn’t turn loose. Every ounce of hatred toward her was poured into that kiss, and he could hear her trying to talk, but she couldn’t with his tongue down her throat. Her hands grabbed his biceps and pushed, but he was having none of that. He’d wanted to kiss her since the first time he’d seen her, and he was mad enough to make her take it. He couldn’t hear the whispers of, “Oh, my,” and “Would you look at that,” around them. All he heard was the swishing of the blood through his veins as he stood there, locked to her, pouring all that anger and frustration into that kiss. When he finally had enough, he turned loose and stared down into her eyes, watching all the confusion in them, all the hurt and anger.
Before he could speak, Lydia’s strangled voice said, “You… I don’t… you can’t… OH, I HATE YOU!” She drew back and slapped him as hard as she could, and the stinging made Avery smile. “I HATE YOU! Go to HELL!” she screamed, then turned and ran out so fast he barely saw her go.
An elderly couple in the booth right inside the door stared at Avery, and he turned to them and smiled. “I thought that went well, didn’t you?”
“I-I-I-I suppose so,” the old gent choked out.
“Bridget,” Avery called out as he strode back to his booth, “could you bring me another one of these breakfasts? I’m sure mine is cold now.”
“Coming right up,” Bridget called back through the silence in the diner.
Avery looked around at all the faces, their mouths hanging open, and started to laugh. “I hope y’all enjoyed the show!” he said, his whole body shaking with laughter. In seconds, Bridget brought his second plate and he devoured every bite while it was still hot.
Yep , he thought, it’s gonna be one helluva day!