Tom’s mouth twitched as if he were trying hard not to smile.
Avelyn just fumed even more.I thought for sure steam was going to rise from her ears any second.“You two are pathetic.Just like your daughter is pathetic.She deserves what Clyde does to her.She’s soft, and stupid, and a freak.”
“Whoa, now,” I said, stepping in front of Tom and getting right up into Avelyn’s face.“You can call me whatever the hell you want, lady.You can point your pink, harpy talons in my face, and mutter nonsense about animal fight clubs until you run out of breath.But don’t youdaresay afuckingword about my daughter.Your son is an undisciplined, rude, abomination of a child that would have been better off swallowed.”
Her gasp was just more fuel for the rebuttal I’d been mentally compiling for the last week.
“You, your husband, and your parents are ruining him.He’s a menace to the island.You’re a terrible parent and a terrible person, and if you don’t get thefuckoff this propertyrightnow, Iwillcall the police and we’ll tell them how your delinquent spawn trespassed on Tom’s land, broke into his barn, and attempted animal cruelty.”
The longer I spoke, the wider Avelyn’s eyes grew.And the hotter my belly became.But I was on a roll, and even though my voice shook a little toward the end, I wasn’t going to stop.
“Is that athreat?”Avelyn asked, clenching her molars tight.
I scoffed.“Of course it was.Now get the fuck off Tom’s property,now.”
With flaring nostrils and a flip of her horrible auburn extensions, Avelyn Whalley spun on her Converse shoes and tossed her baby-pink sweatpants tracksuit behind the steering wheel.She drove even faster back up the driveway, spinning her tires as she peeled away and sending gravel flying everywhere.A few rocks pinged against Tom’s truck and probably chipped the paint.
Only when she was out of sight did I turn to Tom, the adrenaline of the moment leaving my body and causing it to shake.
“Wow,” he said, taking me by the shoulders and applying a bit of pressure.“You were … amazing,bella.”
I pulled a stuttered breath in through my mouth.“I’m worried I made things worse.”
He shook his head.“You didn’t.Shedid.”
His attention was pulled from my face by another vehicle making its way down the driveway.When I glanced over my shoulder, bracing for another toe-to-toe with Avelyn, I sighed in relief at the familiar delivery van.
“The cameras,” Tom said, releasing me and meeting the driver when he hopped out a second later.
I was still a trembling mess when the delivery driver drove off and Tom brought the box of cameras over.“Best get to work setting these up.”
“Would it be much of a problem for you to drive me home first?”I asked, suddenly desperate to just hug my child after the donnybrook I had just had with Avelyn.
He must have felt my need for a hug, and Tom set down the camera box and hauled me into his arms, giving my back an affectionate rub.“You defended your child.My animals, my land, and me.You are a force, Danica.A beautiful force.”
I didn’t feel like a force.I shook in his arms, but hugged him back.“I said somereallymean things.I said her son should have been swallowed in a blowjob.That’s not me.I don’t speak like that.”
His body shook as he chuckled, still holding me.“It was certainly a surprise hearing it.But also hilarious.And entirely appropriate for the situationandthe child.”
“I still feel icky about it all now.Not good.Not better.Not … invigorated or vindicated.I just feel …icky.”
He rubbed my back more.“Well, I thought you were brave.And hilarious.And you stood up for your kid, my animals, and me.To me, you’re a hero.”
I smiled against his chest, his heartbeat beneath my ear a calming, rhythmic presence that seemed to banish the negative thoughts with each steadylub-dub.
We stood there in his driveway, arms around each other for a while, until my nervous system had relaxed and I was no longer quivering from the adrenaline leaving my body.
“I will take you home,bella,” he said, releasing me.“I just need to remove the saddle from Mouse, put Midnight and Raven away, and lock up.Fifteen minutes?”
My head bobbed.“Sure.”
Together, we headed back to the field and were almost through our to-do list when his phone rang in his back pocket.
Tom’s nose wrinkled in a cute way when he glanced at the number.Then his eyes lit up.“The lawyer,” he said.
I finished brushing Mouse, who was now happily eating hay in her stall, and met him in front of Midnight and Raven’s stall.
“Hello?”he answered while at the same time double-checking that the stall was locked.Then we made our way to the door.
