Forever My Home (The Aster Lake Series Book 1)

by Unknown

  He pulled up to the small gray house and shut the truck off. He climbed out, rounded the front of the truck, and made his way up the cracked sidewalk. The grass was overgrown, and even though it was dark outside, he could tell it was mostly brown from lack of water.

  “Oh thank God you’re here.”

  Archer swung his head to the white house on the right and saw an elderly woman standing on her porch.

  “Ma’am.” He tipped his head to her out of respect.

  “They fight all the time, but tonight…” She inhaled shakily and placed her hand over her heart. “Something isn’t right.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” he told her while his hand automatically went to rest on the top of his gun and told her to move back inside the house and shut the door.

  She noticed where his hand went and her eyes went wide before she turned around and went inside. After her door shut, Archer looked around the neighborhood to make sure no one else was outside. He went up the three cement steps that were also cracked, and knocked on the door with his free hand.

  “Police.”

  Silence.

  He pounded this time and called out a little louder, “Police!”

  He took a step back and looked at the front window. The blinds were closed and he wasn’t able to see inside. He pounded again and this time he heard slow, heavy steps nearing the other side of the door.

  “Go away! You ain’t got the right to be here!” a man shouted through the door.

  “Open the door. Let me have a look around.”

  “You ain’t got no right motherfucker!”

  Shit. Archer wasn’t in the mood. This side of town was a little rough and known for its drugs. It was probably someone tweaked out, high as a kite. There was also a problem with prostitution lately, and he wondered if it had something to do with that.

  “Sir, open the door!” he yelled firmly, pounding on it again.

  “Get the fuck off my property!” he yelled back and Archer could tell this time he was further into the house than before.

  “I’m not leaving until I have a look around.” No response. Archer’s impatience was kicking in and he was ready to kick down the damn door. “Is anyone in there with you?”

  “Get. The fuck. Off. My property!”

  Archer heard noises but its wasn’t loud enough to know what it was. The heavy thud he heard sounded like something, or someone, hitting the floor or falling. It was enough for him and he went into action. He stepped back and kicked the door, cracking it, but not enough to open it.

  “Motherfucker!” the man yelled and the front window’s glass shattered a second later. The asshole shot the window out. He either was a bad shot or just pissed off.

  Archer pulled his gun, fired once at the doorknob, and then kicked it again. He kept his gun high as he pushed the busted door open so he could look around. He was met with the musty, sulfur smell of a freshly discharged firearm, along with stale cigarette smoke and rotten garbage. A set of stairs was directly in front of him, an unkempt living room on his left. He took a step in and saw a woman unconscious on the floor. “Ma’am,” he called out while searching the room. It was clear, so he made his way to where she was lying. He nudged her shoulder with his boot but she didn’t move. He kept his gun up, pointed towards the darkened dining room, and kneeled down to check for a pulse. She had one.

  Archer stood and gripped his gun again with both hands. “You might as well come out.”

  “You broke my fucking door!” the man yelled and his voice came from where Archer was pointing his gun. While he couldn’t see the man, he was certain he was hiding in the dark dining room, waiting for the right moment to pounce and catch Archer unaware. He knew Henry would be here soon, but Archer wasn’t going to stand around and wait for back up.

  “Put your gun down, and come out with your hands up. I want to see them nice and high.”

  “You have no right to be in my house.”

  “You shot at a police officer,” Archer said calm and slowly. He wasn’t about to kiss this guy’s ass.

  “You’re trespassing on my property!”

  “Jesus Christ, just get the fuck out here!”

  There was silence for a minute and Archer wish he had his radio on him. He hated carrying it, but in this situation, it would have come in handy. Someone had to have heard the gun shot though, so it was just a matter of minutes now.

  He saw movement, a shadow on the wall and the man slowly appeared. He was short, his hair thinning but still long enough to touch his shoulders, and he had a few piercings in his ears. His scruffy, pock-marked face made him look dirtier than the stained white t-shirt he wore, and his basketball shorts had several cigarette burn marks, letting Archer know he was either narcoleptic or a drug addict. Most importantly, he didn’t put his weapon down. It was in his hand, hanging at his side.

  Archer’s finger tense up on the trigger. “I said to put the weapon down!”

  “Fuck you,” the man growled, never breaking eye contact with Archer.

  “Drop it.”

  The man spit at Archer.

  His patience was now lost.

  “Last fucking warning or I’m blowing a hole in your kneecap.”

  “Do it and I’ll sue you, so-” the man jerked his head to something, and started to raise his gun. He opened his mouth to say something, and Archer fired. He shot him in the leg. The man fell on his ass, but was raising his gun at the same time.

  He heard a shot, and then fired again, hitting the man in the chest. He fell back and his gun thudded onto the floor. Archer kept his gun on him, moved to his side, and kicked the gun away.

  “Fuck,” a man said at his side. Archer turned his head and saw Henry putting away his weapon. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Archer looked back at the man lying on the floor and knew he was dead. The blood was soaking his white t-shirt and pooling on the floor next to him.

  “He was going to shoot me,” Henry said. He had only been a police officer for two years. He was a little jittery and still nervous on the job, but Archer had seen some improvement since he first met the kid.

  “He thought he was going to shoot you.”

  “Thank you, Archer.”

  He nodded at Henry, then he turned around to check on the woman again. He could hear the police sirens echoing outside, getting louder with every second that passed.

  “Archer!” Henry called behind him. “You’re bleeding.”

  Archer kneeled down to check the woman’s pulse again, it was faint, but it was still there.

  He stood and looked at Henry. “Where?”

  Henry rushed to him, gently placing his hand on his shoulder. “Here!” The feel of his hand pushing on his shoulder made Archer wince. “There’s a lot of blood!”

  Archer looked at his shoulder. Henry’s hand was covered in blood. That’s when the pain hit him. It felt like a knife of fire had just stabbed him through the shoulder. It felt like the other times he had been shot and he was somewhat used to it. He wasn’t complaining; he had a job to finish. This woman needed to be seen and treated immediately.

  “I’m fine,” he pushed Henry’s hand away, “it’s just a shoulder wound.”

  Archer saw the lights outside the house and headed for the door. “She’s the one who needs help.”

  Henry rushed passed him, yelling, “Officer down! I need a medic.”

  Archer tried to laugh at the kid but it shot another sharp paint throughout his shoulder. The paramedics jumped out of ambulance and rushed towards Archer.

  “It’s not that bad. You need to check on the woman inside who’s unconscious.”

  “My partner will tend to her; now let me see your shoulder,” the male paramedic said and Archer moved his hand, which was now covered in blood.

  “It’s just a scratch,” he muttered as the male paramedic turned into two male paramedics. A sharp piercing sound rang in his ears, and the paramedic’s mouths were moving but he couldn’t hear anything. He shook his
head, which made the pain even worse, and the paramedics faces got fuzzy. He muttered, “Oh shit,” as his legs gave out and he fell to the ground, the world going black.

  Chapter 14

  I had just finished counting my drawer when Madi came into her office untying her apron. She hung it up on the door hook, grabbed her small brush that she always used to get rid of the wood chips, and started at her task.

  “The drawer is good,” I told her, pushing it out of my way. I didn’t know how much I missed work until I had a week off. I was completely healed from my night at the bar and was working as much as possible – trying to make up that loss of income.

  “Okay.”

  She continued to brush the wood chips off letting them fall all over the floor. She was very quiet today, distracted by something, but I was too busy with customers to try to chat with her.

  I sat back in my chair and asked, “Is something bothering you, Madi?”

  She shrugged her shoulders and continued her task.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something I did. I went to her house last night and we watched movies and baked cookies. Everything was fine. We talked about my growing relationship with Rudd and Bailey, and she was happy for me. I ate breakfast with them every morning and I spent a few hours with Rudd after Bailey fell asleep. Except for last night, I was at Madi’s house. I missed spending time with her, and I knew I needed to find the balance and adjust to my new relationship, but still have time for my old life. He was a complete gentleman. He never pushed my limits, even though at times I wanted him to, but I was too scared to make the next move or say anything. I wasn’t sure how long we were supposed to wait until moving to the next level. I was kind of hoping he would just shove his hands down my pants already and get it over with.

  “Adalyn!” Madi snapped and I looked up at her.

  “Huh?”

  “Did you hear me?”

  I shook my head no.

  She smirked. “You thinking about Archer again?”

  I gave her an awkward smile and she tossed her brush down on the counter behind her desk. She sat down, and I turned my chair to face her.

  “I haven’t been honest with you,” she started and I raised my eyebrows. “Remember that guy I told you about, the one that took my virginity?” I nodded yes and gave her my full attention because I really wanted to know more about this guy. “Well, I loved him. I was madly in love with the man, and when he decided to leave for college he asked me to go with him.”

  “He did?” I asked softly.

  She dropped her head in her hands. “I’m so jealous of you, Adalyn.”

  I didn’t see that coming. “Huh?”

  She popped her head back up. “You and Archer. Dating. Hanging out. Kissing…Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you. Like over the top, super fucking happy for you guys, but I’m jealous. I miss that. Having someone.”

  “Why didn’t you go with him?”

  I waited for her to continue.

  She peeked back up to me, her voice small. “Because, I was scared.”

  “Oh.”

  “He went to New York.”

  I sat up straighter. “Really?”

  “Crazy right? He went to New York and a few years later, you leave New York to come here.” She shook her head. “It’s a small world.”

  I didn’t agree with her on that because I drove for a month around the U.S. and it wasn’t that small to me. I kept my mouth shut and let her go on.

  “This town is my life. This business, working for my parents. It’s all I’ve ever known.” She sat back in the chair. “I chose to stay here, instead of following the guy I was in love with.”

  “I’m sorry, Madi.”

  “I just couldn’t do it.”

  “What about now? Could you go now?”

  She huffed. “I haven’t seen or talked to him since he left. He was very upset that I didn’t go with him, but he was done with the small town life and wanted a change. I thought maybe he might not like it and would come home, or maybe he missed me so much he’d come home…but he never did.”

  “Is that why you won’t date Rocco?”

  “Yes and no. I feel like I’m still in love with my ex, so how is that fair to date anyone else? Also, Rocco sleeps around, and I’m not sure he’s even serious when it comes to me. I think he just wants to get into my pants.”

  I smiled at her. “You mean up your skirt?”

  Of course she smiled back. “That was good.”

  “It was.”

  She stood up and smoothed out her yellow dress with black roses on them. “So I’m slightly jealous of you and Archer, but only because I’m feeling lonely. I’m happy for you though, and I can’t wait for you guys to move it up a notch; I need to live vicariously through the two of you now.”

  I stood up also. “Trust me, when he finally shoves his hand down my pants-”

  “Girls!” Carol’s voice made me jump when she entered the room. My cheeks felt like they were on fire, and I pursed my lips together. I hope she didn’t hear me.

  “The sheriff’s here.” She reached for my hand. “He needs to talk to you. Now.”

  She pulled me out of the office, and Madi said, “What’s going on?” behind me, and her mom ignored her.

  We came around the corner and Sheriff Renrick was standing by the register.

  “Adalyn,” he said when we approached, his voice sounded full of sorrow.

  I immediately thought of my parents and my hand went to my necklace.

  “Sheriff,” I choked.

  He gave me a faint smile. “Call me Scott.” I nodded and he went on, “It’s Archer.”

  I felt my heart pick up its pace, and Madi held onto my free hand. “Is he okay?”

  “He will be, but he’s headed into surgery.”

  I couldn’t form words, but Madi asked the question for me, “What happened?”

  “He was shot.”

  Tears instantly rushed out of me.

  “Shoulder wound. Went through, bled out a bit, and he’s headed into surgery up in Elk Hills.”

  “What about Bailey?”

  “She’s with Margie.”

  I knew that. Bailey was going to spend the night at Margie’s since Rudd knew he would be working late tonight. He told me that he would come right up to see me as soon as he got home.

  I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Thank you for letting me know.”

  “I came here to get you.”

  “Huh?”

  “I don’t know for sure what’s going on between the two of you, but I know enough. Henry told me he was muttering your name while he went in and out of consciousness.”

  That made the tears flow faster, wetting my dried cheeks.

  “I think you should be there when he wakes up.”

  Madi jumped into action. “Scott, take her. I’ll follow in my car.”

  We rushed out to the car and I climbed in the front seat with Scott. He pushed some buttons and I could see the lights flicking off the car. We buckled up and he pealed out of the parking lot.

  “He’ll be okay?”

  “Yes, but he’s going to be out for a few weeks. Might even need physical therapy for this one.”

  “How many times has he been shot?”

  “Lost count.”

  “Oh.”

  “Let’s go with five.”

  “That’s a lot.”

  He chuckled. “Archer likes to act first, ask questions later.”

  I smiled through my tears.

  “I don’t know for sure what happened, I wasn’t there, but he’ll be okay.”

  “I appreciate you coming to get me.”

  Even though Scott seemed confident Rudd would be okay, I was still worried. I didn’t want to lose him, not now. Not ever. What would happen to Bailey? Where would she go?

  “Try not to stress yourself out, sweetheart.”

  I said nothing, just started out the window, checking the rear view mirror often to make sure Madi
was still behind us. She was.

  ***

  “Surgery went well,” the doctor told us several hours later. The three of us had been in the waiting room the whole time. I was afraid to even get up and pee, in fear that I would miss the doctor coming out to talk to us. “The bullet went straight through. It grazed a bone and we had to repair the muscles and some tendons. He’ll need therapy and probably be out at least six weeks. Maybe eight, depending on how fast everything comes together for him.”

  I flung myself at the doctor and hugged him hard. “Thank you,” I whispered then stepped back. He smiled at me and asked, “Who are you again?”

  Scott answered, “His wife.”

  “Archer’s not married.”

  “His sister.”

  “Nice try, Scott.”

  “For fucks sake Skip, has anyone been here waiting for Archer any other time he needed to be stitched up?”

  “You.”

  “No shit. Now he has her. So let’s let her have a few minutes.”

  He pulled the little green cap off his head. “Okay. Follow me.”

  “I should tell your mom,” I heard Scott say and the doctor smirked.

  I followed him down the hallway, stopping at the last room on the left. He pushed it open and let me walk in first. The room was small, with just the bed that Rudd was laying in. I went to his side and the doctor pulled over a computer that was on a rolling desk. He started typing away and I watched Rudd. I watched his chest move up and down, I listened to the beeping of the monitors, and then grabbed his hand. I ran my hand over his, and said a prayer even though they all said he would be fine.