Page 77 of Mulberry Hollow (Riverbend 2)

He studied her, a frown crouched between his brows. “I locked up and shut off all the lights.”

“Thanks.” Distraction. She needed a distraction. She went for the folder on the desk—the one she’d started for Nadine. The woman had provided her insurance information, but Avery needed to fill in the details of the delivery.

Wes studied her with keen eyes. “Are you okay?”

She was so air-hungry. She struggled to draw in a full breath. It didn’t help.Pull it together, Avery.She forced her lips into a smile. “Of course. I have some paperwork I need to do before I head up to bed.” Amazing how she could sound so natural when she felt completely gutted.

“All right.” He headed toward the door that led out back. “I’m going to turn in then.”

Her face was frozen in that plastic smile.Almost there.“Good night.”

“Good night. Lock up behind me, okay?”

“I will.”

She should thank him again for tonight, but if she opened her mouth, it would all come spilling out. All the emptiness. All the grief. All the agony. And she couldn’t let him see her like that.

The door closed behind him.

She placed her hands on the desk and sagged into it as pain unfurled in her chest. It spread like an insidious weed, roots sprouting and stretching, slithering around every organ, squeezing and strangling.

A sob burst forth. Another followed, and another. The force of them racked her body. She thought of the baby she would never have. Of her empty womb and empty arms and empty life.

Why does it have to be me, God?

Why did she have to deal with the ramifications of this wretched disease? Why had God allowed it in her family? Why had He taken her mother? Why had she, a helpless child, been there when it happened? It was all so unfair.

The door opened and there was Wes. He froze in the doorway, eyes widening on her. “Avery?”

But there was no stopping it now—the pain was not finished ravaging her.

Chapter32

Wes had known something was wrong with Avery—she hadn’t been herself since the ambulance left. But this... The gut-wrenching sound of her sobs eviscerated him.

“Hey...” He took her in his arms. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She sank into his weight, sobbing, a quivering mass of despair. Her legs gave way, and he eased her down to the sofa. She turned into his chest, and he wrapped her up in his arms. Their bodies shook with the force of her sobs.

A terrible ache pressed into the space where his heart resided. “I’m here, honey. It’s going to be okay. Let it all out.”

Had the baby’s birth triggered some painful event? Had she lost a child of her own? It didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was being here for her, giving her comfort.

God, I don’t know what’s wrong, but please help her.

For a long time he stroked her back. Murmured meaninglesswords. He buried his face in the softness of her hair, completely helpless in the wake of her pain.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when her sobs finally subsided. He only knew that his T-shirt was damp with her tears, that he ached for her, and that he never wanted to let her go.

The aftermath of her grief came as recurring shudders. Her hand clutched repeatedly at his shirt.

He had to know what had brought his strong, stoic Avery to her knees. He recalled the vulnerability he’d sensed in her from the beginning. Was it related to this pain she now experienced?

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “What’s wrong, honey? Talk to me.”

Another tremor passed through her.

He tightened his arms around her, and she pressed farther into his chest as if she wanted to climb inside him.