Loving Avery (Bearville County Book 2)

by Katie Hamstead

  Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I wash my hands and head back out.

  Todd meets me, kissing my cheek. “Are you okay? You just disappeared.”

  “Bathroom break.” I shrug.

  “Ah.” He offers me his hand. “Dance with me?”

  I smile and let him lead me out to the dance floor. It’s a slow dance, so he holds me close. But my mind is on Rhett. His message. They broke up. He’s talking to me again. Maybe it means he wants to be with me? No, no way. Our dads had a fight because he wanted to get over me.

  “Avery?”

  “Huh?” I look up at Todd.

  He frowns. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, it’s nothing.”

  He raises an eyebrow and continues dancing.

  Rhett asked me whom I came to prom with. What did that mean? Does he want to know if I’m dating anyone? What if I tell him Todd, and he thinks we are still together?

  We move between tables. I glance around, confused. “Todd?”

  He doesn’t say anything, just leads me into the lobby. There, he stops. “Avery, what’s on your mind? Something happened, didn’t it? You were fine before the guys pulled me aside.”

  I shake my head. “No, it’s fine.”

  Pain fills his eyes. “Please don’t lie to me.”

  I slump. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  His hand runs down my arm as he moves closer. What’s he doing?

  He leans in, brushing his lips against mine.

  I pull back. “No. I can’t do that. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s Rhett, isn’t it?” His expression is calm as he searches my face.

  “What’s … What’s Rhett?”

  He lets out a long sigh, then pulls out his phone. “He texted me a while back, right after we broke up. It confused the hell out of me, because I thought maybe you guys were hooking up. But then, through the grapevine, I heard he had a girlfriend.”

  He showed me a text from Rhett. Sorry to hear about the break-up.

  I shake my head. “What’s this got to do with anything?”

  “I started watching his Facebook, to see if he came running back to you. He posted about his new girlfriend every now and then, but he’s been silent for a few months. Until this a couple of minutes ago.”

  He shows me a status update from Rhett. Going home for summer. Excited to see my family and old friends. I miss them.

  A lump forms in my throat. The urge to cry overwhelms me. I fight to keep it down.

  Todd wraps his arms around me. “You saw it, didn’t you? You checked your phone while in the bathroom.”

  “I’m here with you—”

  “But you love him. You’ve always loved him.”

  He said it. The thing I can’t admit to anyone. How I feel for Rhett. My body trembles. “He doesn’t love me.”

  I break down. My body shakes violently as I sob.

  “Avery.” He holds me firmly, keeping me from collapsing into a mess on the floor. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I doubt a guy who looked at you the way he always did would ever stop loving you. I never have.”

  I gasp, looking up at him. “Todd.”

  “It’s okay.” He brushes my tears away. “Honestly, I’m surprised you ever gave me a chance. But when prom was approaching and he hadn’t asked you, I took my opportunity.”

  He sighs, lifting my chin to look into my eyes. “I feel like if I hadn’t done it, I would have missed the best summer of my life, but at the same time, I made this happen to you. Rhett pushed you away because of me.”

  “No.” I straighten his jacket, sniffing. “This is my fault.”

  “Avery.”

  I gaze into his eyes.

  “Get him back.”

  “But—”

  “No arguments.” He looks into my eyes firmly. “I have tonight. It’s one more prom than I ever expected. But you must be happy or it’ll break my heart.”

  “I’m sorry, Todd.”

  He shakes his head. “Don’t be sorry. Not to me.”

  I throw my arms around him, grateful for his understanding and how much he cares about me. I feel terrible for him. Unrequited love sucks. I hope one day soon he’ll find a girl who makes him happier than I ever could, and I can become just a happy memory.

  He helps me clean up my makeup and we return to the party. He’s bright and cheery the rest of the night, making it easy for me to enjoy myself.

  At the end, he drives all the way out to my home, just to drop me off. He kisses my hand at the door, bowing. “Good night, fair maiden. May all your hopes and dreams come true. I love you, Avery Davis. Chase your dreams and make me proud.”

  Chapter Seven

  Rhett

  Driving down the pass into the valley seems strange, but right. I’m home. Out of the desert, back to the mountains. The boarding school appears through the trees up ahead, and soon the little township comes into view. Spring and summer in Papina are perfection. Everything is green, lush, and the sunlight turns golden, as if trying to tell the world where to find such a beautiful place.

  When I pull up at my house, Mom bursts out, her arms wide open. “Rhett!”

  “Hey, Mom,” I say with a chuckle. I’m barely out the door when she grasps me in a tight hug. I try to squeeze her back, but she has my arms pinned. “It’s good to see you too.”

  “It’s been so long!” She looks up at me, tears in her brown eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Mom.” I chuckle, finally freeing my arms from her grasp. “I’m here all summer long. Can you at least let me get settled in again before getting all clingy?”

  “Yes, oh yes. I’m sorry.” She releases me, touching my cheek. “How can you be more handsome than I remember?”

  “Mom.” I shake my head, smirking.

  “You’re handsome like your dad.”

  “I look nothing like Dad.” I make my way around to the trunk of my car. I’m honestly surprised it didn’t die on the way up.

  “You look a little like him. Same build, same hair. The rest I think is me. But I am quite attractive.”

  I laugh.

  She helps me bring my things inside. As I pass into the house, the twins rush at me, chatting away excitedly. I can’t make out anything they are saying. Boys, maybe? They are teenage girls.

  Then I pick out, “How’s Anne?”

  I pause. I haven’t told them yet. They fall quiet.

  I clear my throat. “We broke up.”

  “Rhett!” They both lunge at me, full of sympathy.

  “It’s fine. Really. We just didn’t see our future the same way.”

  I push through and head upstairs.

  My room is exactly how I left it, except … “Mom, did Taylor raid my comics?”

  Mom swings around to the bookshelf over my desk. “Oh my gosh. I didn’t even notice. I’m sorry.”

  “No worries. He’ll take care of them and sneak them back when he’s done. He thinks I never notice.”

  Mom sets down my things for me, and leaves me to get unpacked. Sliding my clothing into drawers, I notice my gym shorts are gone. Brad probably needed them. When I’m done, I set my laptop on my desk and sit with a sigh.

  Something glitters when I move. Leaning forward, I see a diamond earring. “Ruthie? Scar?”

  They yell back in unison from their room. “What?”

  “Are either of you missing a diamond earring?”

  Silence follows.

  Mom’s head appears in the doorway. “Let me see that?”

  I hand it to her.

  “Thanks, son. Are you all settled?”

  I raise an eyebrow. Mom only wears diamonds on her wedding ring. She’s a colored gems lady. Dad bought her a diamond pendant once and she exchanged it for a sapphire one while he was at work, then made us swear not to tell him.

  “Yeah,” I answer, glancing at the earring. “That’s not yours.”

  “Yes, it is. It must have fallen out when I came in here to d
ust.”

  “Mom, you don’t wear diamonds.”

  “I’ll go make lunch. I bet you’re hungry.”

  Before I can say anything, she’s gone.

  But Ruthie and Scarlett appear. They slip in and shut the door.

  “Rhett,” Scarlett says, leaning closer. “Remember that fight Dad and Paul had?”

  “Huh? What?” This is news to me. Dad and Paul are insanely tight. Like, brothers tight.

  Her eyes widen. “No one told you?”

  I shake my head.

  They lean in closer and she says in a near whisper, “After the winter formal, Avery came back here and crashed in your bed. Mom and Dad totally flipped out, you know being all protective of your feelings and stuff. Paul was furious because Avery ran out crying. It was a huge drama. We weren’t allowed to visit each other for weeks in case Dad or Paul found out.”

  I look to my bed. Avery had slept in it many times before, but her being there then, for no reason … “H … How is she?”

  Both of them clamp their mouths shut.

  “She’s fine,” Ruthie finally says.

  I rub my temple. I did tell everyone I wanted to get over her, so it makes sense they would keep tight lipped. “Thanks, girls. And don’t worry, I won’t go looking for her.”

  Mom throws the door open. “I made sandwiches.”

  As we eat, they ask me about school. They all want to ask about Anne and know what happened, but I don’t want to talk about it. Finally, I do ask, “When’s Donny getting back?”

  “He and Jack will be back next week,” Mom answers. “Speaking of Jack, did Donny tell you he’s been seeing someone?”

  I shake my head. “What’s she like?”

  Mom beams. Gossip is her thing, and she loves it when people ask for it. “Well, Bray says …”

  An hour later, I take a shower and decide to go see Dad. I stroll down the street, admiring all the familiar places. Places I took for granted growing up.

  I enter the sheriff’s station and Dad’s head pops out from the lunchroom. “Rhett!”

  Sheriff Davis glances up from his desk, scowls, then walks out to the holding cells.

  I frown as Dad approaches me. “What’s his problem?”

  “Nothing.” Dad wraps his arms around my shoulders, patting my back. “Look at you. You’ve filled out. Good eatin’ down there?”

  “I took a gym class.”

  “You?” He laughs in a friendly way. “Wow, stranger things do happen, I guess. Come on, let’s go get lunch.”

  “Mom already stuffed me to the gills.”

  “Of course she did.” He pats my back again. “A stroll then? Patrol the dangerous downtown district.”

  I snort. “Will you give me a gun? I might need to shoot a fluffy bunny.”

  “He does not get a gun!” Sheriff calls from out the back.

  Dad clears his throat. “Let’s go.”

  We talk and catch up. He’s far more levelheaded than Mom and the girls, who’d want to gossip their mouths off. He tells me about the elk he shot, the lockdown on animals when a few rabid coyotes were spotted, coyotes that he and Paul ended up killing. In other words, he talks about man stuff. Shooting things. Fighting for justice.

  He then talks about the big drug bust they had at the end of the semester up at the boarding school. “I swear,” he says, “if I catch any of you kids with drugs, I’ll kill you.”

  Well, Donny better keep his weed habit under wraps.

  Then, I see her. She steps out of the grocery store with Brad and Taylor, each holding an ice cream. How could she possibly be more beautiful than I remember?

  She glances over and stops.

  I hold my breath.

  Dad pulls me into a store.

  Losing visual contact with her physically hurts. When Dad finally releases me to talk to the storekeeper, I creep toward the window. But the Davis kids are gone.

  *

  Avery

  Neither Brad nor Taylor noticed him, thank goodness. But my heart just about leapt from my chest when I saw Rhett walking with his dad. I wasn’t ready to see him, for him to see me.

  I’m now staring in my mirror, trying to figure out how to look college-girl pretty, rather than high-school-girl cute. For a start, I take off my glasses and put in my contacts. There. Slight improvement, but not much.

  My hair is hideous. I look up “college girls” on my laptop and find borderline porno pictures, but I do notice a theme; most have straight hair and tight clothes.

  Straight hair. I sneak into Mom and Dad’s bathroom and steal Mom’s straightener. I spend the next hour and a half meticulously straightening out all my curls. The end result is surprising, but I like it.

  Next, I examine the makeup of the girls. Most have a pretty natural look, except the bottle blondes. But nothing about them looks natural. So I keep it light. I raid Mom’s makeup, put on some bronzer, eyeliner, and mascara. I decide to use my own lip-gloss because all of hers are tinted and she’d notice.

  Back in my room, I dig through my clothes. I don’t have anything tight and skimpy. I collapse on the floor, groaning.

  “Avery!” Mom calls as she opens the front door. “Can you help me, hon?”

  Groceries. Wait! My hair! She will definitely notice that. I tie it up and pull on a baseball cap. Hopefully she won’t pay much attention.

  Thankfully, Taylor is out the front. He’s in hiding, waiting for people to go by so he can shoot his BB gun at them. Mom’s yelling at him. For a fourteen-year-old, he can be a real idiot. But I use her distraction to my advantage and snatch the groceries from the car.

  Setting them inside, I hurry back upstairs. Then, I pause outside her door. Mom has some seriously pretty dresses. Although I’m a few sizes smaller than her, with a cute belt I could pull something off.

  The door opens and Taylor rushes by me to his room.

  “Stay there until dinner!” Mom yells. Then, she sees me. “Thank you, Avery.”

  “No problem, Mom.”

  She smiles and heads into the kitchen. I dash into her room. I dig out a few of my favorite things of hers and hurry back to my room. I sort through, and find nothing that makes me look college girl pretty. Except one skirt … maybe. I’m surprised Mom even has it. I’ve never seen her wear it; it’s too “young” for her. It’s probably a remnant from her younger years.

  I slip it on. It’s a playful pink; bright, not too dark or light, and fits me just right. It looks pretty cute. Cute? I’m not going for cute. But I have nothing else. Maybe with a black tank and some jewelry, I could pull off something moderately sexy.

  Who am I kidding? I’m not even close to sexy.

  I rush to return everything to Mom’s room while she makes dinner then I tuck the skirt in a bag, change into my black tank top and pull a T-shirt over the top. I check my makeup again, and hurry out of the house.

  “Avery?” Mom calls, but I keep moving.

  I fumble to pull up Rhett’s number on my phone, my nerves making my hands shake. Mom calls me. I answer. “Hey, Mom. I’m just going to see Dad real quick.”

  “He’s doing a late shift tonight,” she says.

  “I know, which is why I want to see him.”

  “All right. Dinner’s almost ready, so don’t be too long.”

  “Okay.”

  She hangs up.

  Don’t be too long. Chances are Rhett is going to laugh at me. I didn’t get the college girl thing down at all. So I won’t be long.

  I manage to bring up his number and force myself to hit dial.

  After only one ring, he answers. “Avery.”

  My stride stops abruptly. I haven’t heard his voice in so long.

  “Avery? Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, sorry. It’s … it’s just been a while.”

  “I know. That’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

  He sounds so good. I swallow, trying to subdue my nerves. I can’t do this. He’s going to think I’m a joke. “No, it’s okay. I just …”<
br />
  I pull the phone from my ear and hang up. Yes, I’m chickening out.

  But he calls me right back. I stare at the phone, then answer. “R … Rhett?”

  “Yeah, I think the connection dropped out. Can I see you?”

  He wants to see me. Why am I so freaked out? I wanted to see him a few moments ago. I had made up my mind to make him talk to me days ago.

  “Avery? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, sorry. I’m out walking.”

  “I’ll meet you. Where are you?”

  Somewhere public so I won’t do anything too humiliating. “In the play area by the courthouse.”

  “I’ll be there in a few.”

  He hangs up and I run for it. I climb up onto the jungle gym and quickly pull the skirt over my jeans, and whip off the T-shirt and cap. Pulling out the hair tie, I hurry to flatten my hair and trade my trainers for the flip-flops.

  I dig for the mirror when I see him coming. He glances up and down the street before crossing. In the dim last rays of daylight, he looks amazing. He’s wearing a fitted T-shirt and loose jeans and his hair looks auburn in the light.

  What am I doing? I need to hide.

  I scurry into the top of the tube slide and curl up. Hopefully he won’t look too hard for me.

  “Avery?”

  My heart skips. Rhett has been my best friend forever, and now I’m terrified to even look at him.

  Peering through the end of the tube, I see him step onto the wood chips and glances around. Then he walks closer. I hold my breath, but he bends over and plucks up my shoes. I’m such an idiot! He knows I’m here now. If I stay where I am, he’ll know I’m hiding and I’ll look stupider than I already do.

  I stand, leaning over the railing. “Hey.”

  My heart thumps as he looks up at me, smiling. Then his eyes widen. “Wow, what are you wearing?”

  “Just something I bought for college.”

  “You look ridiculous.”

  I knew it! I turn away, defeated.

  “Wait, I’m sorry.” He jumps up onto the jungle gym, blocking my way down. “You look smoking hot, but it’s just not you.”

  “Maybe I’ve changed,” I say, looking up at him. “You haven’t talked to me in so long. What would you know?”

  What am I saying? Why am I being mean to him?

  “Yeah.” He rubs his neck, hanging his head. “You’re right. I guess I’m used to the old Avery, so this is a bit startling.”