Free No Better Man by Sara Richardson Page A

right after the accident that he wanted to leave, but this place had everything he needed. Simplicity, solitude, space. Not to mention his memories. How could he turn his back on all of that? “I’m holding onto it for me. It’s all I have left.”
    “But you could build yourself a new life. Anywhere you want.”
    “I’ve been everywhere. This is where I belong.”
    She sniffled and dabbed at her eyes. “Yvonne would want you to be happy. To move on.”
    Her name. Even just the sound of her name made him flinch. Someone would say it and she’d appear in his field of vision, a shimmering mirage with her brown hair gathered up on her head the way it always was right before bed. He still saw her that way, dressed in her pajamas right before bed because those moments were some of their best times together. The nights when he wasn’t out drinking. The nights when her depression wasn’t so severe and they’d give themselves to each other, their bodies speaking what their mouths couldn’t seem to voice…
    “Bryce? Did you hear me, son?” Mom interrupted and jolted him back to the present.
    He blinked to blot out the memories and eased in a breath. “I am moving on,” he lied. “Fixing up this place helps.” He ran his hand over the countertop’s chipped tiles. “It’s not much to look at now, but we’ll get there. There’s no way I’ll let them build some fancy resort on Gramps and Gran’s land.”
    “That’s not moving on,” his mother murmured.
    Before she could lecture him on the true definition of moving on, he slung an arm around her and steered her to the door. “Come on. We don’t want to be late for the game.”
    “Wait.” She shrugged out from under his arm and glared up at him like she’d done when he was a kid. “Don’t be so hard on Avery. You be nice to her. Show her you know how to treat a lady.”
    The word “lady” was a stretch for Avery King, but he let it go. “All right. Fine.” He eased his mother out the door. “I promise not to be a complete jerk.”
    Unless she deserved it.

Chapter Six
    N ow this was a ball field. Avery lowered herself from Bryce’s monster F-450 and wandered to the edge of the dirt parking lot. Down a small hill, on a flat section of land surrounded entirely by mountain peaks, overhead lights illuminated the baseball diamond, which had been marked off with white paint. A chain-link fence separated the field from a section of battered aluminum bleachers that had seen better days, but those mountains made up for the condition of the equipment. Who cared about the bleachers with a view like that?
    “
Mmmwooofff!
”
    Uh oh … she spun just in time to see Moose barreling straight for her.
    “Moose!” One word from Bryce and the dog hit the brakes, stopping just short of knocking her right down the hill.
    It was the first word he’d spoken since they’d left the lodge. After Elsie insisted on driving herself so she could go straight home after the game, it had been quite the silent ride over, minus good old Moose whining in the back of the truck.
    She bent to pet him. “What a good doggie.”
    The dog licked her hand while his tail happily thumped the ground.
    “So sweet, too, aren’t you?” She snuck a glance at Bryce. He wasn’t being sweet. He wasn’t being much of anything, really. Stoic, indifferent… those seemed to be his default settings.
    Her gaze lingered on him a little too long as he unpacked his gear from the back of the truck. How did he do it, anyway? She found it impossible to be indifferent when he was around. One look at him and her heart thrummed recklessly, even when he was wearing black Nike wind pants and a plain gray t-shirt. And oh, sweet mercy, the way his hair stuck up around that faded Denver Broncos ball cap. A slow heat rolled through her and awakened the longing she’d tried to stomp down when she’d learned he was a widow. Bad idea, falling for someone who was clearly still in love with someone else. She’d