Balance (Oakley’s Crew #2)

10. Archie

10

ARCHIE

“ A re you going to tell me what the hell happened between you and Cane?” I look over at Walker and can see the tension in his jaw. He tried to get me to come over this weekend, but I wasn’t in the mood.

I told him to enjoy his new kitchen and his hot man, but it hasn’t stopped him from grilling me on the drive to Larnard today. I thought he’d given up, but I guess not.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Arch—”

“Don’t.” I feel like I’m always cutting him off these days, which makes me feel like a jackass. Walker might as well be my brother, but this isn’t something I can talk about.

I don’t know what the hell that was on Friday, if I’m being honest. I talked way too much. He talked way more than I thought he would. But still, nothing got solved.

I have no idea what happened when he got back home, and despite saying we’re friends, I know we aren’t. Not really. It’s not like he’s going to come over and confide in me.

“We just talked,” I say as he parks the truck outside the house I’ve been dreading coming back to since Friday night.

“Talked?” He looks at me suspiciously, and man, that kind of hurts.

“I’m not some prick who would allow anyone to use me to cheat. You know me better than that.” The fucker punches me hard in the arm, and I wince, covering the spot. “Ow.”

“I know you wouldn’t do that. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t feelings there, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I’m pretty sure we’re already past that, but I don’t say anything. “I’m fine.” I also can’t betray Cane’s trust by telling Walker anything about what we talked about. If he knew, he’d understand why I can’t.

“Okay.” He sighs heavily. “Less than two weeks left of this shit. Actually, I think we have about six days of work left before we’re totally finished.”

My heart squeezes tight in my chest, and I hope he doesn’t notice. Six days left of seeing Cane.

Fuck.

Walker doesn’t say anything, but I know he knows what I’m thinking about. We climb out of the truck and quickly grab our tools, but I can’t help but notice Cane’s truck isn’t in the drive.

Damn, that shouldn’t suck so bad.

But Evie greets us with a bright smile on her face—though something seems off. I can’t quite place it though as she walks up to me in a yellow sundress. “Good morning, boys! I hope you had as good of a weekend as I did!”

“It was all right,” I say but still can’t shake that unsettled feeling.

“How about you, Walker? How’s the new kitchen?”

Walker grins at her, and if he thinks something is different, his expression doesn’t show it as he shows her pictures of the new kitchen as promised. We get to work, but I still feel off.

“You okay?” Walker nudges me as we’re putting the last touches on the firepit out back. It’s starting to get a little chilly in the evenings here, though it’s only the beginning of fall. It can easily reach ninety degrees or drop to thirty in Kansas in September.

Today it’s about fifty degrees, but the sun is out, so I’m still sweating as we work in the late afternoon. Walker joins Jackson and Oakley on the porch swing project, and by the end of the day, I’m the only one left because they had to head back to Hayes for another job.

I shouldn’t ask. I know that. But then again, when do I ever keep my mouth shut? So when Evie brings me a bottle of water at the end of the day, I open my mouth. “Cane isn’t here today?”

She looks startled for a moment, her face ashen, but she quickly shakes it off. “No. Not today. At least not until later tonight.” I can’t help the frown that forms on my lips, and she’s studying me carefully now. “Why do you ask?”

I put on my best smile. “No reason.”

She seems fine with my answer, but something still seems not right. She hasn’t mentioned the wedding once. She was happy with the porch swing, but not nearly as excited as she’s normally been.

When I finish with my work, I say my goodbyes, get in the truck, and tell myself to go back to Hayes... but somehow, I wind up going through Larnard and parking myself in front of a downtown store.

I look at the wooden, rustic sign... Butler’s Antiques. Simple and gets the job done. Walker would be proud.

I sit there for far too long. Oakley isn’t going to be mad about me having the work truck later than normal. All he cares about is the job getting done, so it’s fine that I’m here. Except for it really, really isn’t fine. Not even a little bit.

I finally decide to climb out of my truck, but it takes way too much to force myself to go inside the quaint little store. When I walk in, a bell dings above my head, and I look around. It’s simple, just like the outside. Furniture placed around in a cozy sort of way, and some homemade decor alongside it all.

And then I see him... Cane. He’s standing behind a wooden counter, watching me. “You lost? This is Larnard, not Hayes.”

A smile falls on my lips as I saunter up to him. “Not lost. Just couldn’t resist checking out the fancy little store Evie was telling me about.”

He winces at first but then chuckles and shakes his head. “Fancy. Right.” He clears his throat, and all traces of the laugh are gone. “You saw Evie today?”

Is that the reason for his pained expression? “I did. Seemed pretty happy.”

His lips purse into a tight line. “Happy?”

I nod. “Yeah, she’s a pretty happy person, from what I’ve seen.” I’m dying to ask him what his plans are. What happened after he dropped me off. If he chickened out or just decided he wanted to marry her after all. I have to assume they’re still getting married and everything is fine with them, but I swear our talk... it felt like he was ready to do what I really believe he wants.

Maybe I’m just reading way too much into it.

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, which makes me a really shitty human. “She was happy?” He says it again slowly, like something is terribly wrong.

“She seemed to be...” I rub at the stubble of my jaw and think about the few moments where she seemed to let her guard slip, but I thought I was reading too much into it. “Is there a reason she shouldn’t be?”

He gives me a quick, clipped nod. “I ended things. Called off the wedding... We broke up.”

I stare at him, dumbfounded... She did not act like a woman whose relationship just ended. “She didn’t mention it.”

“Jesus Christ,” he spits out, taking a seat on a wooden stool behind the counter. “Why wouldn’t she tell you guys? She just let you work like it was a normal day?”

I nod my head dumbly, the reality of that making me a little sick. “You’re sure you were clear?” I have to ask.

He nods. “Very.” He shakes his head, looking confused and numb, and all I want to do is pull him into my arms... but... friends.

I probably shouldn’t touch him.

“I have to go and talk to her.”

I clear my throat and look around. “Want me to watch the store? Promise not to take much.”

That does what I intended and makes him smile. He laughs and grabs his keys from a drawer. “It’s fine. I was about to close anyway. Guess you’ll have to steal from somewhere else.”

I grin, and we walk outside to the sidewalk in front of his shop. “So this is your store?”

He locks the front door and then turns to me, looking a little sheepish. “Shit. I should have given you a tour.”

“I’d like that, but it seems like you have more pressing things to deal with.”

His face grows somber, and he nods his head in sad acknowledgment. “Yeah. God, this is going to suck.”

I do touch him now, just a simple hand on his firm shoulder, but it’s still as devastating as every intimate touch I’ve experienced with him. It still sends shockwaves throughout my entire body, and I want so much more with him.

I lick my dry lips and look into his eyes, still reeling from the electric sparks my hand touching his shoulder caused. “It’ll be okay. Maybe she’s embarrassed or just letting it sink in. I think she’ll be okay.”

“Thank you,” he says softly, but I’m not sure he believes me. We both take off in opposite directions, and I can’t help the lump that’s formed in my throat, worrying about what’s going to happen.

I really need to get a grip. It’s none of my business, but the thought of him going there and comforting her, maybe even taking her back, it’s enough to cripple me.