33. Shane
Chapter 33
Shane
It should have been awkward when Cyrus and Marshall showed up. But they walked in together, Marshall trailing slightly behind Cyrus, carrying a pie. I took it for the peace offering it was. It was by some unspoken agreement that none of us mentioned the angst of the previous weeks. It was water under the proverbial bridge now. The brothers were working on getting past their differences.
Archer had filled me in more on how much Cyrus had done for him growing up. I appreciated how hard it could be to let go of old habits. Marshall and Archer were in the living room while Archer explained this new painting technique he wanted to try. Each and every day, he opened up more. It was like watching a sunrise, the way he slowly came into himself, rediscovering old loves. He was happiest when he was covered in paint. Or other substances I couldn’t think of with his brother standing next to me, peering over my shoulder.
Cyrus couldn’t help himself. He truly thought food was better if he had something to do with the preparation of it. Glancing at him over my shoulder, I raised an eyebrow.
“Did you want to take over?”
Cyrus exhaled and almost shoved me out of the way. “Yes, I do.”
I didn’t mind. I was used to Cyrus’s bossy kitchen habits.
“Do you want a beer?” I asked as I grabbed one from the fridge for myself .
“What kind is it?” Cyrus asked, knowing that I usually had some variety of craft beer in my fridge. I was always on the lookout for new things for The Anchor. There was a local micro brewery that I often worked with.
“It’s a pale ale.” Grabbing a bottle opener, I cracked the caps off and handed one to him.
Cyrus took a sip of the beer and nodded his approval. “This is nice.”
“It’s one of my recent favorites.”
He cut his gaze over to me, then looked at Marshall and Archer, who were still deep in conversation in the living room.
“I don’t hate that you’re together.” Cyrus delivered the peace offering with a strained smile. I’d already moved on from Cyrus’s temper tantrum, but he clearly had things to say.
“I don’t hate that we’re together either.” I clinked our bottles together and took a sip. “I have two brothers. I understand your urge to protect Archer.”
“Doesn’t make me less of an asshole, though.”
“No, it doesn’t.” I grinned at him. “But don’t worry, I’ll forgive you. I hired you knowing you were an asshole and I was your friend for years knowing you’re an asshole. I happen to think you’re good people, Cyrus. And one hiccup in the history of our friendship isn’t enough to change my opinion of you.”
Cyrus narrowed his gaze at me and scowled. “So basically I’m still an asshole.”
“Yep.”
He cut his gaze over to Archer and Marshall again, then turned his attention back to messing with the food. “You’ve been good for him. He’s happier. Lighter. He’s painting again. ”
“He won’t let me see what he’s working on and it’s driving me insane.”
Cyrus just laughed at me and my annoyance. “He’s like that a lot. He’s very particular about who sees what. Always has been.”
I didn’t mention the way Archer had stopped hiding his sketchbook from me when I walked into a room. Or how he often let me look through it if I asked. And when he didn’t want me to look, I didn’t press. I’d like to think that it made him want to share with me more. The painting, however, was driving me nuts. Archer was so clandestine about it, and I might not be half as curious but whenever he came out from working on it, he had the look of a man who was keeping secrets and enjoying every minute of it.
“Do you know what he’s working on?” It was shameful to try and pump Cyrus for information, but I couldn’t help myself. Curiosity overtook my common sense.
“I don’t. And if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” He grinned at me when he said it. Clearly he was enjoying my torture and wasn’t about to end it early.
“Are you trying to get information out of my brother, Shane?” Archer came up behind me and slid an arm around my waist, attaching himself to my side. Reaching for my beer, he plucked it from my grasp and took a drink before handing it back.
“I was trying, yes. But your brother is both clueless and loyal. He wouldn’t tell me anything even if he knew.”
“Cyrus might be a pain in my ass, but he’s not stupid,” Archer said smoothly and not without affection.
I wasn’t sure how their dynamic had been before everything went down because I hadn’t seen them together a lot, but according to Archer, things were actually getting better between them. After their fight and their heart-to-heart, they’d done a lot of work in a short amount of time to let go of things that were getting in the way of them having a better relationship. Archer still expressed frustration about Cyrus on a regular basis, but part of his complaining was just an old habit. Sometimes he stopped himself, and other times he looked at me with an impish smile and admitted that he knew he was being childish, but didn’t want to stop at that moment.
“He would gut me in my sleep if I revealed his secrets.”
“I wouldn’t gut you, but I’d definitely draw you with a shitty porn-stache like they had in the 70s.”
Cyrus shuddered. He’d always been clean-shaven. I’d never seen him with more than a five o’clock shadow. “He would too, the cretin.”
“Oooh, dragging out the insults. He must be feeling threatened. Make that a porn-stache and a bowl cut.”
Cyrus looked at Archer and scowled. “You wouldn’t.”
Archer grinned and reached for my drink again, which I relinquished. When he tried to hand it back, I shook my head. My arm was looped around him, my hand resting on his hip, and I felt the slight vibration of his phone buzzing to life in his pocket.
His brow furrowed as he fished it out. “Sorry, give me a second.”
Archer paused as he looked at the screen. “It’s a hospital.”
He went rigid and answered on speakerphone, probably because it would stop the zillion questions Cyrus would pepper him with after. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Archer Kinsman?” a soft-spoken woman asked.
“Speaking.”
“My name is Janette and I’m a nurse at G.R. Stanton Memorial Hospital. We have you listed as the emergency contact for Clayton Cross. ”
Archer reached for me, grabbing my arm with his free hand. I put my arm around him, offering him support both physical and emotional.
“Is he…”
“He’s been injured, but he’s stable.”
Archer let out a deep breath.
“Mr. Kinsman, your friend is going to need some support once he’s released from our care.”
“What happened?”
“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that. All I can tell you over the phone is that he’s here and he’s stable.”
“What room is he in?” Archer was trembling now. Whether it was fear or anger or shock, I had no idea.
Cyrus was already shutting the stove off and digging around in my cupboards for containers to store the food in. Marshall took everyone’s drinks and dumped them down the sink. None of us had drank very much, but it was like all of us knew where this night was going to end up.
“He’s still in the emergency room.”
Archer sagged against me, the strength going out of him as he promised to be there as soon as possible. Clayton didn’t live in our town. He was a four-hour drive away.
Archer ended the call and stared at the phone. “Clayton doesn’t have anyone else.” Archer sounded small and scared. A little angry too, but at what? Clayton or the situation in general?
“We’ll leave right now,” I said, pulling Archer into a hug.
“We’ll come with you,” Cyrus said.
Archer shook his head. “It’s too far away and Cyrus has work tomorrow. I don’t want Shane’s business to suffer because of my baggage. ”
“Archer, you don’t have to go.” Cyrus clenched his jaw and I could see the monumental effort he was putting in to bite his tongue.
“I do, though. I’m not like him, okay. I’m not going to abandon him when he needs me. I don’t know exactly how I can help, or what he even needs, but I know I’ll regret it if I don’t do something.”
“We’ll leave now and we can get a hotel. I’ll pack us a bag. Cyrus, can you take dinner home with you so it doesn’t go to waste” I brushed a kiss against Archer’s forehead.
Cyrus nodded. “And I’ll pack you two something to eat on the drive.”
I met Cyrus’s gaze and gave him a nod. Archer didn’t want him along for whatever reason, and Cyrus was doing his best to accept that even though he clearly hated it. Marshall steered Archer to a chair to sit while Cyrus dug in my fridge.
Because Archer had been spending so much time here, he had his own drawer in my dresser and a section in my closet. I grabbed a small duffel bag and packed a change of clothes for us and toiletries. If we were gone longer, I could always buy us whatever we needed.
I sent a text to Kieran to let him know I was heading out of town, and why, and where Archer and I were going. I promised to update him when I had more news. Knowing what Clayton had put him though, I was tempted to try and talk Archer out of going to see him. But it was clearly important to him, which made him a better person than I was. I wasn’t prone to violence, but in certain cases I’d be willing to make an exception. Like in Clayton’s case.
I knew little about him. Archer didn’t talk about him a lot, which was understandable. All I knew was that, once upon a time, he’d been Archer’s best friend, and then he’d fucked him over. His gambling addiction had only come to light recently, which explained his past behavior, but that wasn’t an excuse .
Plain and simple, if someone had fucked me over the way they did to Archer, I wouldn’t be driving four hours to go make sure they were okay.
A couple of deep breaths helped calm me a little. I didn’t want Archer to see how angry I was. It was important to me to be supportive of him and his decisions, even ones I thought were stupid. This was important to him, therefore it was important to me.
Clutching the handles of the duffel, I went back to the kitchen where Archer sat. He’d put his shoes on and there was a bag of snacks next to him. Marshall was busy loading the dishwasher when he looked up and saw me.
“Drive safe. Text us when you get there.”
“Yes, Dad.” I tried for humor to lighten the mood. It didn’t work, but I’d like to think that I got bonus points for the attempt. “Can you lock up on your way out?” I asked Cyrus.
“Of course,” he said. “Call if you need anything.”
“We will,” Archer promised Cyrus before I could get a chance. The gesture was small, but it made the furrow in Cyrus’s brow ease up. Despite things with dinner not going as planned, it gave me hope that the brothers had found a way to exist in each other’s lives without going insane. Cyrus had learned to ease up, and Archer had learned to let him in. Even if the steps were small, they were still going in the right direction.
Now we just had to deal with Clayton. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I didn’t think Archer was either.
“Are you okay?” I asked him once we were in my truck and on the road. Archer had been quiet the whole time. Quiet and rigid and far away. He dragged his gaze over to me and let out a deep breath.
“Honestly, I have no idea.”