Cattail Ridge (12 page)

“What else you got to do in this place?” she asked, hands on her hips. She picked up a picture of him and Logan, taken a few years earlier when Logan was on R&R. “Is this your brother?”

“It is.”

“He doesn’t look very happy.”

“Actually, he was pretty happy there. Logan just doesn’t smile a whole lot.”

She traced their images with her finger. “He’s got a scar on his cheek.”

“He does.”

“And he wears glasses, like me.”

Archer nodded. “Just like you.”

She came back over to the couch, the picture still in hand, and lay down on her belly beside him. Her feet went up, legs bent at the knees, and moved slowly back and forth in a reverse version of a leg swing. “Can we call him? On the phone?”

“Well, I guess we can try.” He glanced at his watch. It wasn’t quite five. “He should be home.”

Sydney gave him a look that clearly asked what he was waiting for, and he picked up the phone.

“This should be good,” he told her as the line rang. “He doesn’t talk to little girls very often, I bet.” Her eyes lit up at the idea.

“Hello?”

“Hey, big brother. What’re you into?”

“Recovering from that sadistic witch’s torture. What about you? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

Archer winced. He’d forgotten that little detail. “I have the day off. Hey, someone wants to say hello.” Not feeling the least bit of guilt, he handed Sydney the phone and sat back to enjoy the show.

“H’lo? Is this Logan?”

Archer heard silence on the line, then his brother responded.

“I’m Sydney. Archer took me to Natural Bridge, and I got to use the boy’s room. How come you don’t smile?”

It took a lot of willpower to keep from laughing aloud. Archer could just imagine his brother’s scowl. Sydney herself was frowning as she listened to his answer, and then the frown cleared.

“Oh. I get it. My cousin, Noah, he doesn’t smile much either. Is Archer really your baby brother? He is?” She nodded. “He said he was. So my friend Mary says it takes a mommy and a daddy to make a baby brother. I didn’t ask Archer ‘cause if he’s the baby brother he probably doesn’t know. But you should. So does it?”

Archer was biting the inside of his lip so hard he knew he was going to draw blood if he wasn’t careful. His eyes were watering with the effort to not burst into laughter. Oh, Logan was going to kill him but it was worth it. Standing, he went to the kitchenette and got a glass of water while the conversation continued.

“So you don’t know how baby brothers are made, either? No, I understand.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll have to ask my mommy. She had me so maybe she knows. And then she can tell you and Archer, and you’ll know, too.” She paused a minute, and Archer saw her smile. “Sure. I like jokes.”

“Oh, crap.” If Logan told her one of his ribald Army jokes, Emma would kill both of them. Sydney had a wicked recall on jokes and with his luck, she’d tell it to the whole family at Sunday dinner. He tried to not act too panicked as he went back to the couch. Sydney’s belly laugh stopped him from grabbing the phone away from her.

“You’re silly. That’s a newspaper. My grandpa likes to tell that joke.” She told him a couple of knock-knock jokes, and then she sighed. “You better talk to Archer. Are you coming to see him at Christmas?”

After a minute she handed the phone over. “He’s funny. I like him. I gotta pee again.” And she was off, running for the bathroom.

“Hey. What joke did you tell her?”

Logan was chuckling, actually chuckling, and Archer held the phone out from his ear to look down at it in surprise.

“The one about the newspaper, of course. That girl is a pistol. If she’s anything like her mother you’re going to have your hands full. And do tell me if Emma explains where baby brothers come from, I’d like to know.”

“I’ll do that. I’m sure you’ve wondered all these years.” He sighed. “Logan, kids are complicated. I’ve only had her a few hours and I’m exhausted. I don’t see how Emma does it on her own. Or how Dad did it, for that matter. Things make a lot more sense now, why they were the way they were.”

His brother blew out a breath. “I imagine they do. So why aren’t you at work, again?”

Sydney came out of the bathroom then, and Archer watched her go into his bedroom. He got up and followed, not interfering, just watching to make sure she didn’t get into trouble.

“I parted ways with the dealership. So did Jack. We start new jobs Monday at the other big car place here in town so I figured I’d take advantage of the unexpected vacation days.”

Logan was quiet for a minute. “Is that because of me?”

“No, it’s because the GM was a di–jerk.” He caught himself just in time. The last thing he needed was Sydney asking what a dick was. “This new job pays more, with slightly less hours. This was a good transition. I’ll be lead mechanic, and when a managerial position opens up I’m going to be near the top of the list.”

“Are you okay not working for a week?” Logan was one of the few people aware that Archer had filed bankruptcy, and had spent the last few years paying it off.

“Yeah. I told you, that was all cleared up last year. I got aggressive with it to get it off my back. I’m fine, Lo. I promise you. Stop worrying.” A pang of guilt hit him as he thought about Candace’s early release, but he flat out wasn’t willing to get into it today.

Logan grumbled a bit but he let it go. “So I guess I’m coming there for Christmas, if not sooner. Did I hear that correctly?”

Archer smiled as Sydney got one of his ball caps down and tried it on. “You did. Listen, I’d better go. I’ve got to get this young lady back to her mom or Emma will skin me alive.”

“She’s a pretty special kid. You take care of her, okay?”

“Will do.”

It was still a little early but Archer figured by the time he got Sydney’s backpack put back together and got her out the door, they’d be right on time. She got sidetracked when they went through the garage downstairs on their way out, though, by the car that was covered with a protective blanket.

“What’s under there?”

“That’s Logan’s car. I’m keeping it for him until he can come for it.” The car was something Logan and their father had been working on when Steve died. Since Logan was often overseas and didn’t really have a home base here in the states, Archer had kept it for him.

“Can I see?”

“Sure.” He turned the overhead lights on and when he whisked the cover off the classic muscle car, Sydney gave a half-whistle.

“It’s so pretty,” she told him, awed. “It sparkles.”

“It does.” The car was a classic, a 1967 Mustang. Electric blue, the car shone under the lights. While not showroom perfect, it was in good shape. “Want to sit behind the wheel?”

She nodded and bit her lip. “Please?”

He ushered her around to the driver’s side and let her in the convertible. For several minutes she played with the car, turning every knob she could reach, beeping the horn. Archer had a blast watching her have a blast. He found it all too easy to imagine her behind the wheel in a few years, smiling up at him as she got ready to drive off to her first date, or to college. He wondered briefly if he would be there to see her grow up, and the thought that he might not be choked him up. He shut that train of thought off before it went any further.

“Okay, kiddo. We’d better go.”

Even though the day hadn’t gone as he’d expected it to, it had been a wonderful day overall. Hopefully Sydney felt the same, and he’d be able to spend more time with her again soon. If he was really lucky he’d be able to get Emma to go along as well. He was planning to formally ask her out just as soon as he got his head around the new job, Logan’s injury and recovery, and Candace’s parole.

Emma met them at the door when they got there. She was in the pair of cut-offs from the other night and another worn T-shirt. Archer almost swallowed his tongue when she smiled at him. A tendril of hair was loose from the bun she had it piled up into and was teasing the nape of her neck. His resolve to be patient and wait on asking her out started melting away.

“Hey, there’s my girl. How was your day?” Emma picked Sydney up and gave her a big hug.

“Mommy, we went to Natural Bridge and the post office and the library, and I got to use the boy’s bathroom. And then I got to talk to Logan. On the phone. He told me a joke.”

“Sounds like you had a big day, sweetie. Come on in, Archer. Are you hungry? I made spaghetti, and there’s plenty for three.” She sat Sydney down and headed for the kitchen.

Archer covered up a laugh. Emma still heard him, and glanced around to stick her tongue out at him.

“Hush. I make excellent spaghetti, I’ll have you know.”

“I know you do. It’s everything else you have trouble with.”

She stopped and turned, hands on her hips, and he almost ran into her. “I do well enough, thank you. We don’t starve.” Her sassy smile reassured him that she was teasing and he smiled back.

“Hard to not joke when you have such good material to work with. Your cooking skills are legendary in the Campbell family, you know.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “You sure you want to stay for dinner? Because you don’t act like you do.”

He checked on Sydney, who was disappearing into the kitchen. “I’d rather have dessert.” He gave in to temptation and touched the tendril, then let his hand trail down her shoulder. “But I guess dinner will be good for now.” When her mouth dropped open, he winked and went on around her and down the hall, laughing to himself the whole way. For a week that had started so lousily, things had turned out okay.

Chapter Fifteen

E
mma and Sydney didn’t see Archer much for the next couple of weeks. He was busy with his new job and training, and things were hectic at the shop, as well. When they went to Sunday dinner two weeks after his outing with Sydney, Archer was there, but the news he had was discouraging.

“They’re sending Jack and me to training in Detroit this week. We’ll fly from there straight to California and then back to Tennessee. This new line they’re getting ready to roll out is so different the bigger dealerships are required to send in their service managers.”

Owen whistled. “How long is that going to take?”

“Too long. We leave Monday evening, head north. We’ll be there for a week, then a week in California. Jack said they may or may not let us come home for a few days in between, then we go back out for almost another week.”

Emma set her fork down. “Isn’t that somewhat unusual?”

“It’s very unusual. Jack said he’d had to go do training a few times over the years but not like this. I guess they want us to be up to speed so that when the new vehicles come in we can train the rest of the crew.”

“No. You can’t go.” Sydney wore a fierce scowl, and tears gathered on her lashes as she glared at Archer across the table. “I won’t let you.”

Emma smoothed a hand over her daughter’s head. “Sweetie, he has to go. It’s his job.”

“I don’t like his job!” With a sob, she pushed back from the table and ran out of the dining room.

Emma grimaced and stood. “Excuse me, everyone.”

“I’m sorry,” Archer told her as he followed her out the front door and toward the barn, where Sydney was heading. “I didn’t expect her to be happy about but I didn’t expect that kind of reaction.”

“She’s tired. She didn’t sleep well last night, and not seeing you much lately has her a little out of sorts.” When he shot her a dismayed glance, she waved a hand. “It isn’t your fault. You’ve been working a ton of hours and so have I. But she doesn’t understand that. I should have tried harder to get the two of you together.”

“No, I should have. I just didn’t… I didn’t think.”

They reached the barn just in time to see Sydney starting up the ladder to the hayloft. Emma’s heart almost stopped. “Sydney Marie Campbell, don’t you dare climb that ladder!”

Sydney paused, clearly torn between obeying and continuing on up. Before she could decide which way to go Emma reached her and put her arms around her.

“Let go. I have you.”

“No.”

Closing her eyes, Emma prayed for patience. “Sydney, let go of the ladder.” After a few more tense seconds she did, with a frustrated kick for emphasis. When she released her grip all her resistance melted, and her tears started in earnest. Emma turned her around and held her close while she cried as though her heart was breaking.

Archer was standing beside her, looking stunned and stricken. He’d seen Sydney cry before, but Emma realized this was the first time he’d caused her tears. There was a fair amount of guilt in his expression and she knew he blamed himself.

“She’s just tired. This is a normal meltdown,” she told him in a low voice as Sydney hiccupped. She kissed Sydney’s temple and rubbed her back, and the tears started to slow. “Shh, sweetie. It’s okay.”

“What can I do?” Archer asked.

The poor man looked like he was being tortured, Emma thought. “Do you mind getting a washcloth from the bathroom and dampening it?” She carried Sydney to the stall Owen had set up for all the shifters to use to change in, and sat down on the cot he kept there. There was a rudimentary bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower stall set up next door.

“Your dad was smart to build this out here.” Archer sat beside her and held the washcloth out.

“Just hang on to it for a minute, please. And yes. The barn was fine when it was just him, but with the girls needing a few more amenities, it made sense. Sydney, sit up and let me wipe your face.”

With a loud sniffle, the little girl sat back. She kept her head downcast, her gaze on Emma’s chest.

“Let’s get these glasses off.” Emma handed the tiny, wire-framed lenses to Archer, exchanging them for the cloth. As soon as Sydney was cleaned up, she buried her face in Emma’s neck on the other side. Emma settled back against the wall and tried to get comfortable. “We’re going to be here for a little bit if you want to go back in and finish eating,” she told him.

Archer paused in the act of gently cleaning Sydney’s glasses. “I’m fine.”

Sydney’s breath was still a little hiccuppy, and Emma rubbed her chin on her daughter’s forehead. She tucked her into her chest a little more, then reached over and laid her hand on Archer’s back for a second before bringing it back to Sydney.

“I think this young lady is going to take a nap, then when she gets up she’ll feel much better.”

Archer let out a shuddering sigh and nodded. After a minute he asked, “How do you do this on your own?”

Emma half smiled. “I’m not on my own. And I had Nonny around for the first few years, right there with me. She made sure I was okay before she left.”

“You know that isn’t what I meant. Raising a child on your own is a big load for one person to carry.”

She couldn’t get a read on his mood exactly but something was weighing heavy on his mind. “How do you mean?”

He rested his arms on his knees and threaded his fingers together. Looking down at his palms he shrugged. “I’ve always had some measure of resentment toward my dad. I know he was a good man, I’ve always known that. But some of the choices he made weren’t great choices for Logan and me. There was a lot of pain in that household growing up, and I’ve always felt that he could have prevented some of it. A lot of it. But now? Just having Sydney for one day, I was worn out. And I’m not trying to say she’s a lot of trouble because she isn’t. She’s a wonderful little girl. But I don’t see how you do it.”

Emma checked to make sure Sydney was asleep. Certain she was out, she moved her hand to Archer’s back again and started rubbing. He leaned into her touch.

“And it disturbs you, this epiphany?”

He gave a soft laugh. “It does. It makes me think about the old man and what it must have been like for him, finding himself alone with the two of us to raise. Mom… when she had her accident, it just sucker-punched him. It sucker-punched all of us. He never really managed to catch himself after that. I always blamed him for letting her go on that trip, for not keeping her safe. For not being able to see that I was falling behind in school.”

“I think that means you were a normal kid. I hate to tell you that, what with you carrying all this guilt around,” she chided softly, “but to go through what you did? How could you be expected to understand what was going on? How old were you when she passed?”

She knew that Archer’s mother had died in a freak accident while away with her friends on a church retreat. Amelia had discussed a few of the details with her, but this was the first time Archer had ever mentioned that aspect of his past to her directly.

“Six. Logan was eight.”

“Six. So just a year older than this little one. If Sydney were in the same situation, how well do you think she’d understand it? She’s having a hard enough time with the concept of you going away again for work. If you couple that sort of thing with the tragedy of what happened to your mom, and the fact that you were probably surrounded by adults who had no idea how to handle the fallout themselves? Don’t beat yourself up too much.”

He sighed. “You would have to bring the voice of reason into this, wouldn’t you?” He settled back against the wall with her, and there was a soft warmth in his eyes that reached a place deep inside her. “Think she’ll forgive me?”

Emma nodded. “She loves you. And it isn’t like you’re moving. Now I expect the next few weeks to be interesting, I won’t lie about that. She’s going to miss you. But I don’t think you having to go away to work for three weeks is going to leave lasting scars.”

“What about you? Will you miss me?”

There was that confounded blushing again. Emma ducked her head. “I don’t think I’ll be sorry to see you come back.”

He shook his head and laughed quietly. “Here we are, practically dating, and you won’t even tell me you’ll miss me? I have to share a hotel room with Jack, you know. For three weeks.”

Hearing him put their relationship in those terms, her heart skipped a beat. “You have not asked me out yet, thank you very much. So we are not dating. But I will miss you. Satisfied?” She glanced up at him and the way he was looking at her made the blush intensify.

“Can I call you? Or have you call me?” He lifted his hand to brush the back against her cheek, and Emma closed her eyes at the poignancy of the move. “I don’t know how much of a conversation we can have what with your uncle in the room, but I’d like to at least hear your voice every now and then. Yours and Sydney’s.”

“We can call.”

For a little while longer they stayed in the barn. They weren’t having a date at an expensive restaurant or an evening at the concert of a band they both enjoyed, but something about spending quiet time with Archer was more satisfying to her than either of those things. If she had any sense she’d be scared spitless by that realization. Since she wasn’t running away in terror, she wasn’t sure what that meant as far as her sense of self-preservation went, but she wasn’t too worried at the moment.