by Heather Long
“So they sued him?” What the hell?
“I don’t know,” Archie admitted. “At the time, I didn’t get it, and then they informed me I wouldn’t be seeing him again. They were making a total break. While I have talked to Grandpa a few times since then, usually on my birthday, he’s kept his distance until I told him I needed his help.”
“All this right before you started at school?”
“Well, that summer,” he said. “I know the differences between them aren’t my fault and have nothing to do with me. Grandpa cut them off as much as they cut him off. Losing contact with me was retaliation for him cutting them off.”
Ugh.
“That’s such a mess.”
Leaning away from me, Archie glanced down. “That’s kind of my whole family. Still think you corner the market on having the bad parent?”
I couldn’t help my smile. “Well, we’ve kind of always had that in common, haven’t we?”
“Yeah,” he said, then brushed hair away from my face. His fingers lingered over the remnants of that bruise on my face. “I never realized how much until the last few weeks. Just always knew you were the girl who gave me a place to be that first day. You became my anchor. Probably not sexy to admit that.”
“I kind of like it.”
“Yeah?” He raised his brows.
“Well…you guys have all been my anchors, I’m just glad I got to do that for you before everything went kind of crazy and I turned into a walking disaster.”
Eyes narrowed, Archie cupped my cheek. “You’ve always been that for us. You’re like the glue that makes this all work. I know we made some shitty calls…but you are not a walking disaster. You’re amazing. Beautiful. Strong. Fierce. A little kooky.” His lips twitched. “But you’re my kind of kooky.”
When he dipped his head and brushed his lips against mine, I leaned right into the contact. Nothing in his kiss demanded, it just gave. Gentle. Caring. It made my eyes burn a little at how slow and easy he was. It ended far too soon for my liking, but this wasn’t about me.
Archie was hurting, too.
“So you called your grandfather?”
“Sent a message,” Archie said. “I wasn’t sure if he was in the States or not. He works more now than when Nana was alive, says it keeps him busy.” He licked his lips. “Either way, I needed to make sure you were protected so if Muriel and Edward do decide to cut me off, I can still take care of you.”
Nose wrinkled, I fisted his shirt. “Well, my apartment rent is paid up for the next few months, and you’re already staying over there a lot.”
He chuckled. “Telling me that you’ll take me in if I find myself homeless?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Would you support me? ’Cause I’m not sure about this getting a job crap.”
I laughed. “It’s not crap, and you’d be fine.”
Arm still around me, he started us walking again. “You got a job when you were fifteen.”
“I was almost sixteen, Marsha just trained me while I was fifteen on a really part-time basis.”
“Then you started working your ass off at sixteen. Frankie, I’ve never had a job.”
True.
“Then get one.”
He snorted. “Just like that?”
“Coop is delivering food, so is Jake. Coop worked at a store before that. Jake used to mow lawns. He and Ian both—all the lawns they mowed.” Three years running, those guys had mowed more lawns than I cared to count, and they’d made good money doing it.
“So I think it’s a little late in the year to start mowing lawns and not sure I’d be any good at delivering food,” he admitted with a wry smile. “Maybe I’ll come get a job at Mason’s and work with you.”
I laughed. “Well, at the rate I’m going, I’m not going to have a job.”
“Nah, Marsha loves you.”
She did. But it was hard to do anything with my wrist all locked up in the splint, and they might yet put it in a cast.
“You know it scares the hell out of me if I can’t go back to work, I’m going to have to figure out a way to do it even with this…”
“Woah,” Archie said, leading me toward one of the benches nestled in the garden. It was identical to the one I’d sat on with Rachel the night of the party.
It seemed like a million years ago.
“First, no matter what happens, you’re going to be okay.” Twisting on the bench to face me, he pulled his knee up and it pressed against my thigh, even as he took hold of my left hand. “When do you go back to the doctor about the wrist?”
“Monday morning. Coop was going to take me.”
“Let me do it,” he said. “I’ll take you, that way I can also make sure the bill is paid.”
“Archie…”
“Yeah, I know, I don’t have to pay for everything. You don’t want me for my money. You have never wanted me for my money or been anything more than exasperated with me when I spend it. As long as I have it, let me use it to do this. You’re worrying about everything…”
“If they put this in a cast, it could be another four weeks, maybe longer, and then there’s the PT after.” It all cost money. So much money, and it would keep adding up.
“Frankie,” he said, squeezing my hand, and his tone accompanied by the hard look in his eyes demanded I listen. “You got a scholarship.”
“Yes, but…”
“You got a hell of a scholarship.”
I had. I’d been over the moon about it.
“And didn’t you just get offered that internship that could lead to more grants?”
I had but…
“You have a lot already in savings.”
“But life is bills, Archie…”
“Okay. How much?”
I glared at him, and he blinked back at me, seemingly undisturbed by my irritation. “You can’t just pay for everything.”
“Sure I can, as long as I have it and you need it, what the hell else am I going to do with it? Frankie, I just told you I’ve never had a job. You’re right, I need to get one. I need to understand what it is to work for a living. But I also have money. Okay fine, my family has money.”
“I’m not my mother.”
“No,” he said fiercely, sliding a hand up to cup my nape. “You’re nothing like her. Look, I’m not making excuses for them or anything. This—you and me? We’re not them. Who they are and what they are to each other, it has nothing to do with us.”
I swallowed.
“Dammit.”
He blew out a breath. “What? C’mon, babe, I’m trying to fix this, work with me here.”
“I came here to be here for you, not so you have to fix it for me.” Ugh. The whole reason I’d come to the house tonight was because I was worried about him, and we were right back to discussing my problems.
“Well, I happen to like fixing your problems,” he told me tartly. “So deal with it, buttercup.”
I scowled at the mere mention of that nickname, and he grinned. “You don’t get to enjoy me being annoyed.”
“Why not?” He raised his brows. “Get pissed off at me, Frankie. Snap at me. Thump me. I can take it.”
I let out a little scream, and he actually laughed at me.
Asshole.
“I love that look on your face,” he told me, stroking his thumb along my neck. “I love it when you push back and put me in my place. You have never been a pushover.”
I snorted. “Really?”
“Really,” he confirmed. “You set all the rules. All the boundaries. The only thing I’ve ever done was try to play inside them.”
“Bull. Shit.”
I spit each syllable out with emphasis, and he laughed.
That was it. I pulled my hand out of his and thumped him. His grin widened—if it was even possible to be wider than he was already grinning—as he cupped my face and kissed me.
Not a sweet, gentle kiss, but a hard, fierce kiss. It was all tongue, teeth, and heat. It was impossible not to
kiss him back or to fist his shirt. My wrist protested when I tried to reach for him with my right hand and then had to set it down, but he chased my tongue with such a singular focus, I almost forgot I’d been irritated with him.
Almost.
In between biting nips, I panted, “This doesn’t mean I’m not mad.”
“I know,” he said before closing the gap and sealing his lips to mine. Heat scorched through my system. Archie tasted like chocolate and coffee. With a groan, I moved to stand, and he pulled back and straightened.
“Hey…”
“Hey,” I answered with a breath before straddling his lap, placing one knee on either side of his thighs on the bench. It put my head a little above his. “You don’t get to win disagreements with kisses.”
“Okay,” he said, tracing my lips with his gaze before lifting his eyes to study me. “Can I win them with my tongue? I got some advice earlier…”
Laughter burst through me, and I tilted my head back. “You’re impossible.”
“No, Frankie, I’m infinitely possible. But I love to make you smile and to laugh…”
“…and to piss me off,” I mocked him.
“Sometimes,” he admitted, squeezing my hips gently. “I hate it when you’re sad or lost or lonely. When you push back, when you’re fighting, you get so demanding. It’s hot.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
“Keep me?” Archie suggested.
I huffed out a breath and squinted at him like I needed to think about it. “I suppose.”
“You suppose?” Outrage blossomed in his voice, but even in the near dark of the garden with its solar lamps scattered around, the gleam in his eyes was clear as day.
“Yeah, I mean, it would be kind of cruel to kick you when you were down.”
Eyes narrowed and lips twitching, he asked, “How am I down?”
“Well, you’re a man on a mission, worried about spending all your money before it’s taken away for what, four or five whole days before your birthday?”
A snort escaped him. “Practically pathetic.”
“Right. And I couldn’t do it on your birthday.”
“No, that would be cruel,” he agreed.
“So…I suppose I’ll keep you.” But I couldn’t resist tweaking him a little. “For now.”
His mouth slammed against mine as he slid a hand up to fist my hair, and I didn’t resist for a second. This was exactly the response I’d been looking for.
“You know what, babe?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re…”
The gentle clearing of a throat quieted him, and he leaned slightly sideways to glance behind me.
“Yes, Jeremy?”
My face heated, but I didn’t turn around.
“My apologies, Mr. Archie, Miss Frankie. I wanted to inquire as to the evening’s plans. Will Miss Frankie be staying over, or will you be taking her home and staying there?”
I bit my lip as Archie glanced at me and grinned. “Want to spend the night? Or want to go back to your place and spend the night there?”
The guys were expecting us back at my place…
“Whatever you want,” he reminded me, but…
“Friday nights are your nights.”
A quiet kind of joy lit up his face. “You feel safer when everyone is there.”
That wasn’t entirely true, except…
“We’re going back to Frankie’s tonight, Jere.”
“Very well, Mr. Archie, Miss Frankie.” Disappointment hugged those words. “I do expect at least one sleepover this week, perhaps the night before Mr. Archie’s birthday so you can have breakfast here, Miss Frankie.”
“Jeremy, my man, you have my back, always,” Archie said without once looking away from me.
“Absolutely. Now, if you are taking her home, it is late, and she likely hasn’t taken any pain meds this evening.”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. When I went to stand, Archie helped me up and I glanced to where Jeremy stood. Sure, my face was on fire, but he met my gaze with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Jeremy.”
“My pleasure, Miss Frankie. Shall I come by this weekend to collect the laundry?”
“Tell him yes,” Archie said, sotto voce. “It will make him happy since he can’t make you breakfast in the morning.”
I elbowed Archie. “You really don’t have to. Archie promised to help, and I’ll take pictures.”
A delighted look creased Jeremy’s face. “Well in that case…”
“I did, huh?” Archie asked.
“Hmm-hmm.” I canted my head to look up at him. “You want to spoil me. I want to make sure you have all the skills you need to handle life on your own.”
“So a little tit for tat, huh?”
“I don’t have any tats.” I dared him to say it with Jeremy standing right there.
Something the older man clearly understood as he cleared his throat again.
“Mean,” Archie said with a little snap of his teeth before he kissed my nose. “Yes,” he continued wrapping his arm around me and looking to Jeremy. “I will be doing the laundry this weekend, so you may need to rescue the wreck I make of it.”
We were all still laughing as we made our way out of the garden. Archie left me with Jeremy for a moment while he ran upstairs to grab his bag.
“Jeremy…if I ask you a question about his grandfather, do you think you can answer it?”
“I’m not promising anything, Miss Frankie,” he told me. In the light cast by the porch, it was easy to see some of the gray in Jeremy’s hair. He didn’t have much. A little around his temples gave his darker hair a little more regal appearance. His expression, always kind, sobered as he studied me. “But I shall do my best. You’re worried about Mr. Archie.”
“He loves his grandfather.” Not a question. “I know he wouldn’t have reached out to him if he wasn’t worried himself. Do you think he can count on him?”
The last thing I wanted was to see Archie disappointed by another member of his family. It sucked on so many levels.
“I believe Mr. Ted will do his absolute best by his grandson,” Jeremy told me. “The family is…complicated. The affection, however, is genuine. On both sides.”
“So, I shouldn’t worry about him?”
Jeremy gave me a considering look, hands folded behind his back. In all the time I’d known him, I don’t think I’d ever seen Jeremy stand in anything that wasn’t almost attention. Even with all his formality, he was a thousand percent warmer than Archie’s parents.
“I can’t caution you to not worry. I think someone should worry about Mr. Archie. He would cut off his arm for all of you. He would go to war with his parents for you. His grandfather is different.”
Different? Before I could ask what he meant though, Archie appeared through the front door with a duffle bag and his backpack. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Jeremy.”
“Very good, Mr. Archie. You two get some rest and look after Miss Frankie.” Though he didn’t say anything more, the look he gave me spoke volumes.
“I’ll look after Archie,” I promised him. “He’s gonna be a pro at the laundry thing in no time. I taught Ian to make food. How hard could it be?”
Considering Ian did burn some food, maybe I’d make sure Archie had no whites to wash.
That might be safer.
Jeremy almost smiled.
Score a point for me.
In the car, I sent a text to the guys that we were on our way back, and they lit the phones up with requests.
Jake: Want us to order food? Or can you guys pick some stuff up?
Coop: You’re out of milk. Sorry. I’ll grab some tomorrow. Pizza?
Ian: Brought over some of my mom’s brownies. Wanna grab coffee and do a movie marathon tonight? We’re all free tomorrow morning.
We hadn’t even made it to the end of the drive. Archie leaned over to read the messages and snorted. “Still time to go back to my room, sleep here, have semi-wild sex
, and get spoiled by Jeremy in the morning.”
“Tempting—wait, semi-wild?”
“Well…” Archie hedged, even if he was smiling. “I get that you’ve been a little more active but…”
A little more active. I was definitely active with Coop and Jake. I stole a look at him, eyes narrowed. Had they told him?
“I don’t want to push for anything.”
They hadn’t.
“You wouldn’t be pushing, Archie.” Sobering, I put the phone down and gripped his arm. “I mean it. I know I’ve been a mess. But I’m not afraid of you guys. I thought you were all…afraid of me.”
Coop had proved that wrong. So had Jake.
“We don’t talk about it,” Archie said quietly. “You don’t bring it up, and I feel like an ass if I try to ask you.”
“I don’t remember much.” At all.
“I know. And I know it bothers you.”
I nodded.
“I asked Rachel to take me to a counseling appointment next week,” I blurted it out, and he frowned.
“You made an appointment?”
Was he mad about it? “Coop and I went through the names and numbers Denitra gave me. I called a couple of them…the ones that looked like they might be a good fit.” I didn’t look at him. “One has an opening on Wednesday at lunch time.”
“And you asked Rachel to take you.”
“You guys haven’t really been letting me take my car and…” I held up my right arm.
“Babe, I get that, but I have no problem taking you anywhere you want to go.”
I made a face and then looked over at him. “I know you’ll think it’s stupid, but…you guys have already done a lot, and going to talk to someone is…Mom—Maddy always said Curtises don’t do therapy. It’s already feeling weird that I’m going to go at all.”
Weirder still because it was right before his birthday.
“Yeah well, I don’t think much of Maddy’s opinion. I think the world of yours. I’d rather be the one taking you, but I’m glad you told me. If you want Rachel to take you then…I’ll help with the guys.”
“I don’t want to tell them.” I made a face. “I mean, Coop kind of knows that I’m looking, and we talked about that…”
