Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Archer

B irchbark has been busier than usual the past week, and with one of our officers out, I’ve had to pick up extra shifts. It’s cut into my time with Easton, which isn’t something I’m happy about, but it can’t be helped.

Surprisingly, he’s been texting me. A few nights ago, out of the blue, he sent me a photo of Casanova and Pretty Girl playing outside, then another of them cuddling on the dog bed. He’s sent me a photo of dinner he made too. I’ve noticed he mostly sends pictures—something that must be easier for East than using words—and then I’ll engage in conversation, which he’ll respond to. I’m trying not to focus on the fact that it feels like his way of reaching out because thinking things like that might set me up for more heartache in the future. But clearly, he does want to reach out, and I’m smart enough to see that as the gift it is.

Just like when he talked to me about Ella. It wasn’t much, just how they both liked snow and their snowball fights, but for East, that’s huge .

I’m leaving the station for the day, exhausted, and I know East is working late tonight on a vehicle they need to get done, so I find myself driving to Cora’s. I’ve seen my sister a couple of times in a work capacity, but we haven’t hung out in a while. That’s not typical for us. Between East and work, I haven’t seen any of my family nearly as much as I typically do.

Plus, thinking about East often makes me think about Cora. He’s in so much pain from losing his sister, and it’s a reminder of how lucky I am to have mine, that we share the relationship we do. East never got to grow up with Ella. He didn’t get to tell her boyfriends or girlfriends to be good to her or learn to drive with her. He didn’t get to help her sneak out like a good brother does and cover for her when she almost got caught. He didn’t have her to talk to, and like me and Cora, to be the first person we shared our queerness with or the million other memories I have with her.

Cora and Simone’s place is only a ten-minute drive from the station. They live in a small three-bedroom house on a quiet street, with the familiar scent of freshwater clinging to the air.

A second after I knock, the door pulls open, my sister’s wife beaming at me. She’s got her black hair in cornrows that lead into loose braids at her nape, the ends with beads on them. Her skin is a rich, cool brown, her belly swollen with their first child, via an anonymous sperm donor.

“Hey, honey. How are you?” I give Simone a quick hug and press a kiss to her forehead.

“Fat,” she says playfully, rubbing a hand over her stomach.

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

I place my hand on her belly. “Hey, little one. Your uncle Archer can’t wait to meet you.”

“Arch? Is that you?” my sister calls from the kitchen.

“Yep. It’s me.”

“She just got off work but insisted on cooking me dinner.” Simone heads inside, and I follow.

“That’s because she knows how to treat her lady.” We head into the kitchen, Simone sitting at the small table there. “Hey, you.” I hug and kiss my sister. “Smells good.” I nod toward her stir-fry.

“There’s enough for you too.”

“I’m not going to turn you down.”

She playfully swats my stomach. “You’ve always been able to eat like crazy and not put on any weight. It’s the main reason I hate you.”

I laugh and lean against the counter. “The main one? How many are there? I thought you loved me and I was your best friend.”

“I do love you and you are my best friend.” She peeks around me at Simone. “Other than my lovely wife. But it’s my job as your sister to get mad at you for certain things. Your metabolism is one of them.”

I chuckle. “Well, I guess I can accept that. As long as you love me.”

“It would be impossible for anyone not to love you, Arch.”

“I agree,” Simone adds.

“Stop or you’ll make me blush,” I tease.

Simone has been like a sister to me since we were teens. She and Cora had been best friends. Unfortunately, she lost her parents when she was nineteen. The two of them have done and continue to do everything together, but it wasn’t until they were thirty that Simone realized she was in love with Cora, and my sister just said, “Took you long enough.” They’ve been together ever since.

We chat while Cora finishes cooking, and then the three of us sit down at the table to eat together. When dinner is done, Simone says she wants to relax in the bath, so I wait for my sister while she goes and runs the water and helps Simone in.

“You’re good to her,” I say when she comes back to the living room.

“I love her. I’m supposed to be good to her. And she’s the same with me. Whenever you find your person, you’ll be the same with them too.”

I nod, trying to ignore the fact that East’s face fills my thoughts. It’s too early to be thinking that way, but I know myself, and I know how I feel. What I’m starting to feel for him isn’t something I’ve ever experienced before.

“I’m…kinda into someone.”

“Kinda?”

“I am into him, but it’s complicated,” I admit.

It’s hard to sort out what I’m trying to say without giving away too much. I don’t want to betray East’s trust in any way, but I always talk to my sister and Cass. They know everything about me, but I haven’t shared much about East with Cass and nothing with her.

“He’s been through a lot, so it’s hard for him to let people in. He does it with me in little ways, though. I just…hell. I’m not sure he’ll want the same things I’m pretty sure I’ll want, and I don’t know if being with him could make things difficult at work.”

She frowns, maybe putting the pieces together, or maybe just curious. “Want to know what I think?”

“That’s part of why I’m here.” I chuckle.

“I know you, Archer, and if you’re thinking about all this, you’re already in deep. For people like us, there’s no going back from that. Dad knew Mom was the one for him, and he never faltered. I was sixteen when I realized I was in love with Simone, but I knew she wasn’t ready, and hell, I didn’t know if she would ever feel the same. She’d never been with a woman before me, but once I knew, I knew. If she hadn’t fallen for me, I never would have gotten into a serious relationship, and I’d have spent my life loving her quietly. Is that healthy? No, but that’s how Thorns love. We love big, and we love forever, so I hate to break it to you, but if he doesn’t feel the same, you’re fucked.”

I bark out a laugh but know she’s right. I am in deep. East means more to me than I expected. “Gee, thanks. This has been a really uplifting conversation.”

“Eh, you come to me because I’m honest.”

I nod because she’s right about that too.

“And I’m not sure what work stuff you’re talking about, but as I said, I know you. You’re the best guy in the world. If you like him, then he’s good people, and fuck anyone who doesn’t see that. What do you care about having more of for the rest of your life? Is a job going to run you a bath after a long day? Is it going to hold you and laugh with you and make you feel like everything is right in your world?”

“No.” I shake my head. Having someone I care about is more important than a job, especially a job I don’t love the way I’d hoped I would. “I get it. I just worry I’m getting ahead of myself. But I hear what you’re saying, and I’ll take it to heart.”

She claps her hands together. “Good. Now, should we have a family get-together and you can invite Easton?”

I throw a couch pillow at her. “What the fuck, Cor?”

“Mom said you’ve been spending time with him. You know how Birchbark is, and it’s not like we don’t know you’re the one they call if he’s in trouble or if they’re trying to keep him out of trouble.”

I sigh, not surprised in the least that she’s put the pieces together. “We’re just friends.”

“No reason you can’t have your friend over. Plus, it will probably be good for him. That dad of his…there’s something about him that rubs me the wrong way.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“He was rarely around when we were younger. I remember that. Mom used to talk about how sad it was that Morgan and Rhett were taking care of the younger ones.”

He’s behind a lot of what’s hurting East. I can see it. And Cora’s idea isn’t half bad. Mom would shower East with attention the way she’s known to do. He deserves that. “You know what? We should plan something. Can you bring it up with Mom without making it obvious that I’m…anything other than friends with East?”

“Sure thing, big brother, but we’re Thorns. None of us are stupid. Mom and Dad are both going to know.”

It’ll be about as easy to fool them as it is to fool myself.