Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Archer

“H ey, pretty lady. How are you today?” I ask Meadow when she comes out to the backyard, where I’m sitting with Cass.

“Hi, Uncle Archer.”

“You make that?” I point to the dress she’s wearing. Cass got her a sewing machine a while back because Meadow likes to make clothes. She has all these plans to move to New York after high school and be a fashion designer. She’s only twelve, but I don’t doubt it will happen. When she sets her mind to something, there’s nothing she can’t do. She’s the bravest, strongest person I know.

“Yep. I’m not sure I like it, though.”

“It’s great,” I reply, then for some reason, remember earlier this summer when the three of us went out for dinner and saw Easton with Dusty. I’d never seen Easton interact with Meadow before, never seen him interact with any kid, and he told her he liked her dress. It was the perfect thing to say and probably endeared him to her for life.

“Thank you. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. Dad, don’t forget I have dance after dinner.”

Cass playfully rolls his eyes. “When have I ever forgotten dance class?”

She chuckles and heads inside.

There was never a doubt in my mind that Cass would make a good father. He adores his daughter and had adored his ex-wife, April, too. And when Meadow came out as trans, he’d been incredible about that too. I just hadn’t ever expected him to have to do it alone, but then, I guess you never know what will happen.

Like all the shit Easton’s been through. Jesus, it doesn’t seem fair sometimes. We’d gotten everything figured out about his last brush with the law, which was about a month ago. After leaving him in the room, I told his brothers and Dusty what happened and sent them on their way. They weren’t too happy about that, but Easton had asked not to see them, so I damn sure was going to make that happen. He hadn’t asked not to see me, so I stayed a little longer, until he was taken back to his cell.

He’d stayed in jail for three days. Once we’d gotten ahold of the woman who had been hit by her boyfriend, she’d admitted what the man had done to her, but hadn’t wanted to press charges. She was moving out of state and just wanted to be done with it, but the guy hadn’t known that was the situation. In what he thought was an exchange for not going to jail, he’d agreed not to press charges against East. Was that the best way the situation could have gone down? No, but if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that best-case scenario rarely ever happens.

“Why you so quiet over there?” Cass asks.

“Just thinking.” I do too damn much thinking about Easton Swift, and I’m still trying to figure out why. I hadn’t been lying when I told him that yes, part of this is just who I am, but it feels more real with him. More important. I can’t say what in the hell that means or how I feel about it. I just can’t seem to stop myself.

“You planning on telling me what you’re thinking about, or am I supposed to guess?” Cass teases.

It’s tricky when it comes to East, though. No one knows about the nights we’ve spent at the campground, not even Cass. It’s part of the reason Cass thinks I’m into Easton, or that something is secretly going on with us—because the way I am with him doesn’t make sense. But I would never share those moments with anyone. They’re East’s, something he didn’t mean to share with me, but now he does, and that means a lot to me.

“I need to get laid,” I lie. Well, it’s not a lie. Not really. I haven’t been with anyone in too damn long, but that’s not what I was thinking about.

“I hear you, brother. Too bad we don’t see each other like that. Would make life a whole lot easier.”

I chuckle. He’s right. It really would, but though we’re both bi, it’s never been like that, not even just a friends-with-benefits thing. I hooked up with Dusty a few times before Morgan came back, but clearly, that is never happening again.

“I don’t think that’s what you were thinking about, though,” Cass adds, and I don’t bother arguing.

The thing is, I haven’t seen Easton since he got out of jail, and that makes me feel restless. “I heard Dusty and Morgan just got back from California,” I say, trying to change the subject.

They’d gone so Morgan could pack up the rest of his things and tie up loose ends before moving home to Birchbark to be with Dusty. After that night with East, something seemed to happen in their family, but I don’t have all the details. Rhett Swift had suddenly dropped out of the race for mayor and left his job as a lawyer.

“I hope it works out for them,” Cass says. “Dusty is crazy about him.”

He is. Cass is right about that. We weren’t close with them when Morgan left before, so I don’t know a whole lot about what happened then, but Morgan seems to be just as into Dusty as Dusty is him. “Me too.”

I look over at my friend. He’s the type of man who always wanted to settle down. Wanted that person he woke up with every morning and went to bed with every night. He’d thought he’d found that in April, but then she up and left them, with nothing more than a note. It has been years now, and Cass hasn’t dated anyone seriously since. He’s more jaded now, and I hate that for him.

We hang out for a little while longer before it’s time for them to get ready for Meadow’s dance lesson, and then I leave.

Instead of going home, though, I find myself heading to my parents’ place. We’re all Birchbark born and raised—my dad’s brother, Travis’s father, being the only one who left. I used to wonder what it was like to live somewhere other than the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but the older I get, the more I realize this is where I belong.

I park in front of the home I grew up in, jog up the stairs, and knock on the door. Mom opens the door, a large smile spreading across her face when she sees me.

“Hey, Arch. This is a nice surprise.” She gives me a hug and a kiss like always. With my mom being an EMT and my dad being a firefighter, they’ve both seen some tragic things in their lives. Both my parents have always been the type to tell us they love us every time we say goodbye, to hug and kiss often because you never know what life will throw at you.

My sister, Cora, is a firefighter too, and I always thought I’d be an EMT like Mom, until we lost Travis. That’s when I decided I wanted to be a police officer. I had this silly idea that I could make a difference, but so far, I’m not sure that’s the case.

“Hey, Mom. Is Dad home?”

“Nope. He’s at work. Did you come to see him?” We head into the living room and sit on the couch.

“Nah, I came to see whoever’s here.” Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing here. Not that it’s odd for me to stop in.

“You okay?” she asks, brows creased in concern. Cora looks just like her, honey-colored hair and brown eyes. I have darker hair like our dad.

“I’m good. How are things going with you guys?”

We chat about work, Cora, her wife, Simone, and Dad. When there’s a lull in conversation, I find myself saying, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. You can always ask me anything.”

I rub a hand over my head, wondering why I’m asking this, what I expect to learn from it, and knowing she’s going to want to know why. The thing is, it’s come up in conversation before. It’s not like she has anything different to share. “You were there that day…with Ella Swift.”

She frowns like that’s the last thing she expected me to say, and I can understand why.

“I was. One of the most heartbreaking calls I’ve ever been to.”

“Was it just Easton and Morgan there with her?”

“Yeah. Rhett was doing something for college, and who the hell knows what Gregory was doing. Nobody likes to talk about it, everyone pretending he’s some kind of Birchbark royalty, but something’s off about that man. He was never there with those kids. When Allison died, he hired help, but it was often Morgan and Rhett running the household.”

“They were only like nine and ten when their mom died and the twins were born, weren’t they?” My chest gets tight as I think about them losing their mom and not having their dad around, trying to navigate all those emotions and having hired strangers there to help.

“They were. Those boys practically raised the twins. Then poor Ella… Morgan kept blaming himself, Easton clung to her. Easton didn’t talk for a few months afterward. Just always seemed lost in himself.”

I nod, knowing he’s still very much the same. Easton talks, but I notice him spacing out sometimes, like he’s not even in the same world, and then there was the time I caught him talking to himself.

“Anyway…I don’t like to think about that day.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Reaching over, I take her hand. Smooth move, Archer. Bring back some of her worst memories because you’re obsessed with Easton.

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Why do you ask?”

I sigh, leaning my head back against the couch. “I don’t really know.” Which isn’t a lie, but it’s not the full truth either. “I’m sure you’ve heard I’m getting a bit of a name around town for helping him out.”

“Of course. And that should surprise no one. That’s the kind of man you are. You’re always looking out for others.”

“Don’t make me blush.” I nudge her with my arm.

“Is there something going on with you two?”

“No,” I rush out. I don’t even know if he’s queer, but outside of that, as attractive as I think East is, none of this is about sex. I would never want him to think I was only doing this to get a fuck out of him. “I just…I’m trying to understand him better, is all.” Because I want to make sure I do this right, want to make sure I’m there for him in the best way I can be. Somehow, it feels like one of the most important things I’ve done in my life.

“Well, you can always ask him about himself, ya know?”

“Shit, why didn’t I ever think of that?” It’s not like Easton Swift is the most forthcoming person. “Ignore me,” I tell her.

“Have I told you that every day you make me proud of the man you are? Of that big heart in your chest?”

“Mom…I’m not even doing anything special.”

“Everything you do is special. And I’m only partly saying that because I’m your mom.”

We laugh together, and I can’t help feeling so damn lucky that I have this…and wish Easton had grown up with the same.