28. Archer
Chapter 28
Archer
“How are you holding up?”
Archer let out a heavy sigh.
He’d gotten different iterations of that same question the last couple of days, and he never knew what to say.
Awful, thanks? Like a truck ran over me, actually.
He didn’t want to get into the details with anyone though, so he answered with a curt “fine” and went along with closing up his cabin and getting ready to leave.
This time it was coming from Rhonda.
He slammed the back of his truck, packed with the few things he brought up there in May.
He sucked in a breath to answer her.
“Don’t you dare say fine because we both know that’s bull.”
Archer rolled his eyes, annoyed.
“How do you think I’m holding up?” he grumbled.
“Not well, I assume.” She crossed her arms and leaned against his truck.
“Have you heard from her?”
Archer shook his head.
It had been thirty-six hours since their awful attempt at a goodbye.
He’d thought through what he said to her over and over, how he would wait for until she was ready.
It might have been stupid to say, but he didn’t regret it at all.
He meant it. Tea was it for him.
If she didn’t want it, well, then he was bound to be single forever.
That was that.
“It’s probably foolish, but I’m hoping she’ll come around,” he admitted.
Rhonda shrugged. “I don’t think it’s foolish. I saw the way you looked at her. Sometimes…you just know.”
He paused.
“Was it like that with you and Steph?”
She nodded.
“Yes. It took us a little while to get there, but I knew from the start that she was my person.”
Archer looked out at the lake.
“That’s how I feel.”
Rhonda gave him a sad smile.
“Come on. I know people are still packing up, but you should make your rounds.”
He groaned.
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, my boy. You committed to being the manager for a long time. I think it’s best you stay in everyone’s good graces.” Her face hardened.
“Although if you want to give Joel a good ol’ fuck you , I won’t object.”
Archer smirked.
He did as Rhonda suggested and made his rounds, popping outside each cabin and saying goodbye to everyone.
No hugs; everyone stood at committed six-foot distances, not wanting to chance anything before going their separate ways.
Except for Tea’s grandmother, who hugged his chest and told him she loved him.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and told her the same.
Mom was crying on the porch, like she did every year on the last day at the lake.
He bent down to kiss her on the cheek.
“It’s not going to disappear, Mom.”
She slapped his arm and laughed.
He always said the same thing to her, and she always responded the same way.
Sometimes with an added “ you smart-ass .” He wrapped her up in a hug and said he would call when he got to Minneapolis.
He booked a hotel for a week and hoped it would be enough time to find himself a new apartment.
His brow pinched. “Where’s Dad?”
Mom frowned.
“Not sure.”
“Right here!”
Dad jogged up to them from the side of the cabin, his cheeks pink and a dopey smile on his face.
“I noticed you forgot a few of your things, so I put them near your truck.”
He tilted his head.
“No, I’m pretty sure I have everything.”
“Trust me, you don’t.”
Archer followed his father around the cabin to the back lot, Mom close at his heels.
When his truck came into sight, he froze at what waited for him.
Three suitcases.
A fucking snake plant.
And the most beautiful woman with wavy red hair.
She grinned, then took off running in his direction.
He tore away from his parents and ran to her as well, catching her when she jumped.
She wrapped her legs around his chest and nuzzled her face into his neck.
He cried, then he laughed, then he cried again.
She peppered his neck and his cheek with kisses, until she reached his mouth.
She kissed him hard, and he kissed her back.
When she pulled away, her face turned serious.
“Arch?”
“Yes, Sweet Tea?”
“Take me with you?”
A grin bloomed on his face.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“I love you, Archer Vincent.”
His bottom lip quivered.
It was all happening so fast. He curled his hand around her nape and pulled her mouth close.
“I love you too.”
She kissed him, then repeated those three words.
I love you. I love you.
I love you. He returned them, surprised by how much he needed to hear those words from her.
Surprised at how healing all of this was for him.
“Talk to me,” he whispered.
“Tell me what changed your mind.”
Unlike other times he asked her to open up this summer, she didn’t hesitate.
She let him. Fully. “You were right,” she confessed.
“I’m scared out of my mind, Arch. I’m scared to lose you and to experience that kind of pain again. But a life without you…” She shook her head.
“I can’t fathom it. I would have gone back and lived in New York and been so unhappy in a job that I would probably come to hate, all so I could live close to my mom and likely never see her…and be miserable every minute that I wasn’t with you. All because I was afraid to admit that I need you. I need you, Arch. Like a fish needs water or a sail needs wind.”
He tucked a hair behind her ear.
“I’m so proud of you. Is this hard right now?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“But a life without you would be so much harder.”
“I completely agree.” He let her down gently, then gripped her chin with his thumb and forefinger.
“And you’re okay with Minneapolis for nine months of the year?”
She nodded.
“I think I want to help small businesses with their finances. Maybe I’ll reach out to Jorge, maybe see if I could—”
He kissed her on the mouth, not waiting to hear the rest of it.
He didn’t need to. She chose him.
She chose them.
She broke apart with a laugh.
“Wherever you go, I go.” She squinted her eyes.
“On one condition.”
“Shoot.”
“No more sticky notes on the wall.”
He threw his head back and laughed, his hat falling off his head.
She caught it, then twirled it around and placed it backward on her head.
She looked so damn cute, he kissed her silly.
They said a shy goodbye to his parents after they witnessed all of that, as well as the audience of Wild Pines residents who’d accumulated during their spectacle.
Archer eyed Rhonda who winked at him from across the lawn before throwing an arm around Steph and heading to their car as well.
He packed up Tea’s suitcases in the bed of his truck, placed the snake plant gently in the back seat, then got behind the wheel.
He reflexively reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly, because he could.
Because she was beside him, and she wasn’t going anywhere.
Then, for the first time in twenty-six Silver Falls summers, Archer Vincent left the resort without having to say goodbye to the one person who mattered to him most.