Loving Avery (Bearville County Book 2) Read online

  Loving Avery

  Bearville County Novella #1

  Katie Hamstead

  Copyright © 2015 Katie Hamstead

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-10: 1502541173

  ISBN-13: 978-1502541178

  For everyone who believes in love.

  And, of course, my love, Landon.

  Chapter One

  Rhett

  I never had a choice but to fall in love with Avery Davis. Our dads had been best friends since forever, and our moms always visited with each other, because, well, we are all one big pseudo family. And, of course, our older brothers are also best friends. Avery and I were always going to be in each other’s lives.

  Take for example, my junior year. Avery and I are nine months apart in age, resulting in her being in the grade below me. So she was a sophomore, obviously. I’d always thought she was beautiful, but not in the typical skinny, blond cheerleader sense, although she was blond. Avery Davis was more … artistic.

  Fall. Lunchtime. She sat in our normal spot with our usual friends. Making my way over, I see Cameron Alexander sit in front of her. Cameron Alexander is a senior. A senior that, to this day, I want to kick in the face. He’s not a jock. No, he’s the senior class president. Straight As—girls think he’s hot stuff, but I think he looks like a douchebag, and Mr. Charismatic. And he’s lathering that charisma all over Avery.

  I sit right beside Avery, giving him a stone-hard stare, trying to let him know I had already staked a claim on this girl. But he ignores me.

  “Avery, winter formal is coming up,” he says.

  “It is,” she responds, trying to be aloof, but by the way her knees jiggle, I can tell she’s giddy.

  “I was thinking, since we got along so well during Fame last spring, maybe you might be interested in being my date?”

  The girls nearby gasp.

  Avery bites her lip, trying to fight back a smile. “Me? But I’m a sophomore. Really?”

  “You’re the cutest girl in school. Being a sophomore makes no difference to that.”

  She giggles. “I’m not the cutest.”

  “I think you are.” He glances at me, then winks at her.

  That right there is the moment I decide to hate him.

  So he takes her to the winter formal, while I end up with Betty Flouse. Betty Will-Eventually-Come-Out-As-A-Lesbian Flouse. That sort of thing does wonders for a guy’s self-esteem.

  Okay, so Avery and I have never actually dated. Officially. Technically. But I was the one she always ran to. When Cameron Alexander graduated, he dumped her to go off to college. She came straight to my house, right up the street from hers, and we lay in the grass, heads together, staring up at the stars.

  “Rhett,” she says softly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Probably fail math and science.”

  She giggles, and grabs my hand. Then she lets out a long sigh. “It hurts.”

  “I know.” And I do, I really do. Watching her with him for months tortured me.

  “Do you think I’ll ever fall in love? Like really in love, like Mom and Dad, or your parents? I don’t want any old love that breaks apart a few years later. I want a love that lasts forever.”

  My love for her has gone on for as long as I can remember, but I can’t tell her that. “One day you will. We’re still in high school.”

  She smiles wistfully, then squeezes my hand. “Maybe when I go to college?”

  If I have to wait that long, then so be it. “Maybe.” But I can’t leave it like that. “Or maybe it’s right in front of you and you can’t see it yet.”

  She chuckles, curling up with her head on my shoulder. “There’s no one at school I can see myself being with forever.”

  Ouch. “We’ll always be together.”

  “Yes, we will.” She kisses my cheek. “Because we are BFFs. Have been since we were little, which our moms love to remind us.”

  “Ugh, those naked-in-the-bath-together photos?”

  “Yeah, Mom pulled them out again when you won the county science fair. ‘Look how much he’s grown!’ she’d said. ‘And so handsome to go along with those brains! You’re lucky to have him, Avery Davis.’”

  I want to kiss her as she laughs, her arms wrapping around my chest. But I don’t. There’s still sadness in her eyes from Alexander dumping her. She needs more time.

  My senior year. I wrack up all kinds of scholarship offers. I get first place in my grade, but I don’t get Avery. Milton Harris does. Who names their kid Milton, anyway?

  He’s in my grade too, so another senior. They’re in choir together. How does he win her over? He sings to her in front of the whole school. What a geek. But she falls for it. For six months they date, then she dumps him because it turns out he’s screwing three other girls in choir. His excuse …?

  “If you’d put out, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

  She glares at him outside the choir room after their show. “I thought you liked me! I thought you had some respect for me.”

  “I like you. I’d like you a whole lot more if you were a real girlfriend.”

  She slaps him across the face. “You asshole.”

  I duck back inside as she marches toward me, then step out behind her. “Avery!”

  She glances back, but keeps marching away. “Rhett, please, just leave me alone.”

  “Hey.” I match her pace, stuffing my hands in my coat pockets. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Ave.” I grasp her elbow, turning her to face me. “I know you better than anyone.”

  She bursts into tears. Pulling her into my arms, I rush her away. We sit in the bed of my truck as she cries. She’s wearing my favorite sweater, the one that’s blue and knitted and really brings out the color in her eyes. She pulls the sleeves over her hands to rub the snot away from her nose.

  “I must be a sight.”

  “No, you’re always beautiful.” I brush her soft, blond curls back.

  She takes a quivering breath then releases it slowly. “He cheated on me. He cheated on me with Ashley, Lisa, and Crystal. They were supposed to be my friends.”

  She buries her face into her hands again as she cries harder.

  “Avery.” My heart breaks for her. No one deserves that, especially not someone like her. “None of them deserve you.”

  She turns to me, clinging to my jacket as she cries.

  When she leaves to meet her parents, I go looking for Milton. And where do I find him? In the backseat of his car with his dick in Lisa’s mouth. I hope she bites it.

  I plan to ask Avery to prom, since she’s obviously not going with Milton anymore, but I’m beaten to it. Quiet, unassuming linebacker Todd Raleigh makes his move the second she looks remotely recovered. How can I compete with a freaking football star?

  I go with her best female friend, Samantha. Although, Samantha, unlike Avery, isn’t oblivious to my feelings. When Avery shows up on Todd’s arm, I can’t stop staring at her. She’s wearing a royal-blue silk gown, showing all her curves in all the right places. I swallow, trying to contain myself.

  “Rhett,” Samantha says, tugging at my sleeve. “If you’d like, I can make sure she dances with you at some point.”

  Guilt for not being a good date makes me turn my attention entirely onto Sam. “Sorry. No, it’s fine.”

  “Come on, Rhett. I only came with you for a free ride to prom. I know you’re head over heels for her.”

  “No. Todd would kill me.”

  She sighs, shaking her head. “This is your problem. You’re too chicken. Avery adores you, but you don’t take the chance to move things to the next level.”<
br />
  I shake my head. “It’s never the right time.”

  She leans closer, staring into my eyes. “It’s never the right time unless you make it the right time.”

  I purse my lips. Our gaze never breaks. She’s right. “Make it happen.”

  She squeals, shoots to her feet, then disappears through the crowd.

  A few minutes later, all the footballers sit around me. By their dark demeanor, I’m in trouble.

  “You’re trying to make moves on Avery Davis?” Shawn Daniels says.

  I shake my head.

  “She’s with Todd.”

  “I know,” I respond.

  “Are you being a smartass?”

  Before I know it, they’ve dragged me outside and are beating the snot out of me. I can’t do anything—there’s six of them and one of me. So I take it.

  “Stop!” Avery’s shrill voice cuts through the thudding of my head. “Leave him alone!”

  Immediately, the beating stops. But Shawn snarls in my ear, “You better watch it, Clark.”

  Avery rushes at me as the guys move away. Todd stays back, nodding to the guys as they pass, but keeping a steady eye on Avery.

  Avery catches me as I slide onto the concrete. Defeated, sore, and heartbroken, I realize I will never have her. Although she’s fussing over me, stuffing my nose with tissues to stop the bleeding, she’ll never love me back. There will always be the Camerons and the Miltons and the Todds who sweep her off her feet.

  “Rhett.” Her soft voice brings me out of my head. “Rhett.”

  I gaze into her eyes. “Don’t worry about me.”

  Anguish knots her brow. “Let me take care of you for once.”

  “I’m fine.” I push to stand up.

  “No.” She catches my arm as I stumble to my feet. “Rhett, I think you need to go to the hospital.”

  I shake my head. “I’ll just go home.”

  “No.” She touches my cheek, a gesture that shatters my heart. “I’m afraid you’ll pass out on the way and die. Todd and I will take you down. Todd?”

  Todd? Absolutely not.

  Todd rushes to her side. “What’s wrong, babe?”

  Babe? Gross.

  “We need to take him to the emergency room. I think he’s going to pass out.”

  “I am not … going to …”

  Wait, yes I am.

  The next thing I know I’m staring up at my mom and dad in a hospital bed. Dad’s wearing his deputy gear, his thumbs on his belt, while Mom grasps tightly to my hand. Dad’s talking to someone, but I can’t focus on whom.

  “Mom?”

  She leans forward. “Rhett, sweetie. What happened?”

  My head throbs and I pass out again.

  The next time I awake, Avery’s sleeping beside me. Her cheek is pressed against my arm as her hair spreads across my lap. I swallow, trying to force my morning wood to subside.

  Mom enters, her eyes widening when she sees me. She rushes over, grasping my hand and startling Avery awake. “Rhett! Sweetie!”

  “Mom …” Even though I’m hurt, her fussing over me in front of Avery is embarrassing.

  “You’ve been unconscious for more than twenty-four hours,” Avery says in a heavy, sleepy voice.

  “Wow, seriously?” I glance at the time. It’s about six a.m.

  “Rest, Rhett.” Mom presses gently on my chest. “Do you remember what happened?”

  Looking into Avery’s eyes, I see her pleading with me to remember. She’s worried about me. But how can I say I was beaten into oblivion because of her?

  “Some guys were razzing me,” I say.

  “This is more than a razzing.” Mom touches my hair, then pulls away. “Does it hurt?”

  “Why? What happened?”

  Avery looks away, biting her lip.

  “You have a fractured skull, honey,” Mom answers. “You’re lucky it wasn’t worse. The doctors have done numerous scans and tests to make sure you weren’t hemorrhaging.”

  I feel like throwing up. No joke. And I do. Right on Avery.

  “It’s okay.” She smiles kindly as she stands, heading to the sink.

  Mom sits beside me. I lean in closer to her. “Mom?”

  She looks into my eyes.

  “Please make Avery go away.”

  A hint of understanding gleams in her eyes and she nods. “Avery, sweetie?”

  “Yes?” Avery glances over her shoulder as she removes that sweater, the one I love so much and just puked on.

  “Rhett needs a few moments of privacy.”

  “Sure.” She shuts off the water and rushes out to the nurse station. They give her a plastic bag for her jacket, and she hovers just outside.

  I meet Mom’s gaze. “All the way away.”

  Mom’s brows lower, but she nods.

  Mom makes her way to Avery, then coaxes her out the door.

  Letting out a long breath, I rest my head back. If I learn one thing from this, it is that Avery will never be mine. So, I resolve to forget her when I go off to college. Doing it right now would be impossible, since her dad is walking into the room with mine.

  “You’re awake,” Dad says with a concerned smile. “How are you feeling?”

  Dad is deputy and Avery’s dad is sheriff of our teeny tiny town in the middle of Cowboy Central, USA. They both remove their hats as they stand, legs splayed, side-by-side. Gotta love our dads and fulfilling every stereotype imaginable.

  “Rhett,” Avery’s dad, Paul, says in a stern voice. “We need to hear what happened from you.”

  I sigh, staring at my hands. “Don’t press charges.”

  Dad leans forward. “I’m pressing charges. You were beaten badly. You’re a good kid who has never done anything to cause trouble. This won’t go unpunished.”

  I groan. “Dad…”

  “Son, your mother has been crying since we got the call. We send you off to prom, and you come out of it like this.”

  “I’m fine.” But I can’t look them in the eyes. “Once I’m at college, I’ll move on. Forget everything.”

  Dad shakes his head, looking to Paul. Paul cocks his head. “If he doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine.”

  They leave the room, but stay in the corridor talking together.

  Then, Todd slips in.

  I grit my teeth, staring at my hands.

  He sits beside, not looking at me either. “Hey, I’m sorry about all this.”

  I shrug. He should be.

  “Look, the thing is, I’m crazy about Avery. When Sam came and said she needed to save one dance for you, I got pretty upset. All Avery ever talks about is Rhett this and Rhett that. It makes a guy crazy, you know? I get that you’re best friends and all, but …” He ruffles his hair. “I know she’s more than a best friend to you.”

  I hold my breath, afraid he will do something to make my injuries worse.

  “Look, the guys shouldn’t have done this. This is way out of line, and I’m really sorry. So you know, I told your dad everything.”

  “Why?” I hiss it, not meaning to sound harsh. Now Dad will go after them.

  “For Avery.” He meets my gaze steadily. I don’t doubt it for one second. He cares about Avery. “I don’t think I need to tell you how amazing she is. Just, get better, okay? She feels terrible about what happened, and I want her to be happy.”

  “So do I,” I say weakly.

  He nods. “I want her in my life, and I swear, I’ll treat her right. Not like Cam or Mil-dick. Really right.”

  The fervor in his voice tells me he means it, as much as I hate it. Right in this moment, the realization really sinks in; Avery will never be mine.

  Avery comes every day to visit me, but I rarely speak to her. I make excuses like, “I have a headache,” or “I’m tired today,” and she leaves.

  Soon after my discharge, our dads go after the boys. They’re both aggressive when it comes to their pursuit of justice. I try to keep out of it. Avery doesn’t understand why.

  All summer
long I watch her with Todd. She even invites me to hang out with them. He never once shows any contempt; in fact, he tries to coax me to join them, even calls me a few times and tells me I should to make Avery happy. But I think he understands why I can’t.

  When my time comes to leave for college, I have made up my mind. Move on from Avery, Rhett Clark. Find a nice girl at college, like Dad did, and settle down.

  Avery will never happen.

  Chapter Two

  Avery

  All summer I missed Rhett. When he left, he barely said more than a fleeting goodbye. It stings, even now, a week later. Since those meatheads beat him up, he hasn’t been the same. I miss him.

  Dad scowls when he answers the door and sees Todd. “You’re not gone yet?”

  I push Dad out of the way. “Hey.”

  Todd’s gaze shifts uncomfortably to Dad. Law enforcement scares the crap out of most guys, especially when my dad answers the door in full uniform and guns strapped to his hips.

  “We’ll just be a minute, Dad,” I say.

  Dad straightens his belt, his hand brushing over the holster. “Ever done any huntin’, boy? I’m a great shot. Took out a grizzly this winter by the Wilson Ranch. That sucker was more than—”

  I push Todd backward and shut the door.

  “I can never get over how scary your dad is,” Todd says as we stroll hand in hand toward Main Street.

  I’m glad my older brothers have gone to college. Well, technically Donny isn’t my brother, but he and Jack, my real brother, are attached at the hip, so he feels like family. Donny is Rhett’s older brother, so we’re all kind of one big mashed-together family. We all grew up together, practically living in both houses simultaneously.

  My younger brothers are still around, hanging out with the Blake kids. They see me with Todd and the teasing starts. I roll my eyes and keep walking.

  The Clark twins are in the store. Their dark, rich auburn hair makes them stand out anywhere. They turn when the bell tinkles, all grins. Rushing over, they giggle and bat their eyes at Todd before slipping down one of the aisles to spy.

  “Small towns,” I say with a grin. “Everyone knows everyone.”

  “I thought Bearville was bad, but at least I don’t know everyone there.”

  “College will be strange,” I say, examining a homemade jar of apricot jam. “I can’t imagine being somewhere where I don’t know anyone.”