Epilogue Archer
Epilogue
Archer
Six months later
“God, you guys are messy.”
“You’re supposed to make a mess on Christmas morning,” Gavin informed me, tearing into another present.
The floor was littered with wrapping paper and bows and boxes and packaging.
Pops was in his favorite chair—the one we’d bought him just before they moved in—studying the binoculars Analise had given him.
She was leaning over his shoulder, pointing out the knobs to dial in the clarity.
Bird-watching was busier out at my place, so he needed to step up his game.
Our place, I corrected. Gavin, Pops, and Remi had moved in the weekend before Gavin went back to school. Same weekend the season kicked off. We’d talked it over and decided not to wait until we got married.
Being apart for training camp was hard enough. I hardly saw her during those six weeks. Even though my body and mind were sharp and ready for the regular season, there was an undeniable twinge of pain every time I came home at the end of a long day and she wasn’t there.
Not only was she here now, but she was also my wife.
My wife.
Remi was sitting at my side on the floor, flipping through a hardcover book about cooking for beginners (a present Gavin had insisted would not offend her in the slightest), and every time I saw the glint of her ring, a proprietary thump echoed through my chest.
The chaos of our home was the kind of happiness I never could’ve dreamed up.
Between Gavin and Analise and their school activities and homework, that would’ve kept us busy enough.
Add in Pops, how busy Remi was at the shelter, and the grind of a regular season, and it was a miracle we got through every week with our sanity intact.
Our wedding, a small, intimate affair in our backyard, took place on a Friday night during our bye week in October. There were no big, flashy displays. Just us and our family, a few of our closest friends, and Bandit—with a bow tie around his neck.
We could’ve waited until the season was done, but it felt like we’d waited so damn long as it was. Adding a couple months for something bigger, grander, was a waste of time.
Our honeymoon, on the other hand, was the carrot dangling over my head as the season came to a close. Ten days in a private villa in the Maldives. Just me and Remi and the bikinis I’d be peeling off her behind closed doors. We had two games left—a few more, if we made the playoffs.
Expectations were high for the Buffalo Storm, and we were more than ready to meet them. The energy in the locker room was electric, day in and day out. We’d proved who we were as a team, not just to the fans but to each other too.
Nothing was ever a guarantee in my job, but this one was close as we looked ahead into the postseason. We had a two-game lead in our division and the easiest stretch of games in front of us, starting with the Christmas Day game later that day.
We opened presents early, woken up by Gavin and Bandit jumping into our bed at six thirty.
I didn’t have to leave for the game until noon, and even that felt too soon.
Rebecca had left us with homemade cinnamon rolls that were just as good as the ones at the restaurant near my house.
Better, probably, because we could have them anytime we wanted.
These were the moments I never thought I’d have, and man, they were good.
We’d spoiled the kids this year, and even though I’d promised Remi we wouldn’t do presents with each other because of our honeymoon, I found a loophole by giving the shelter a half-million-dollar check so they could expand into a bigger building and hire more staff.
When she’d found out, she thanked me with sex in the bathtub, which was quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions—climbing in with her after she’d soaked away all her tension, only to wind her up again with my hands all over her wet, soapy body.
Not that I donated all that money so my wife would sleep with me. I did it because they needed it, and seeing her happy was the best part of any one of my days.
Remi loved her job, but with the way our life was now, she asked Muriel if she could share the director duties with Ness and pull back to part-time. It still let her stay involved, but now she had the kind of time she’d always wanted to volunteer at Gavin’s school and be with Pops more.
Not just that, but the way she’d bonded with Analise was one of the best things I’d ever seen. Giving my sister someone like Remi, who could mother her in a way that I couldn’t, was fucking incredible.
“Did we open everything?” Analise asked, joining Gavin on the floor as he studied the back of his new LEGO box. At his side, Bandit was on his back, completely oblivious to the holiday carnage around him, snoring lightly while Gavin scratched his stomach.
Gavin lifted his head like he’d just remembered something. “Oh! No, I forgot one.”
“I think you opened everything, dude.”
Remi slid her hand over my stomach, and I settled my fingers between hers. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think there’s one more under there.”
Gavin glanced at Remi, his eyebrows high on his forehead. “Should I . . . ?”
She nodded, then stole a glance at me when she could feel my curious look. Her smile was downright mischievous. “What? You just said I couldn’t get you a present.”
“I don’t need anything,” I said in a low voice while Gavin waded through veritable oceans of wrapping paper to find a small box at the base of the tree. “I have everything I need.”
My wife smiled. “You can handle one more.”
“Does it come with you wearing that lace thing I saw in the closet?” I whispered close to her ear. Pops cleared his throat loudly, giving me a sharp-eyed look that made me sit up straight. “Sorry,” I told him. “It’s her fault.”
Remi laughed, elbowing me in the side.
Even though Pops loved the upstairs guest room, the three of us had decided that having his own space would be nice, too, and we’d begun construction on an “in-law suite” for him off the back of the garage.
It wasn’t huge—a spacious studio bedroom with a kitchenette and gathering area—but it was still part of the house when he needed us, and that was the most important thing.
Gavin stood up, hopping over the mess until he was standing in front of me.
“It was my idea,” he said, shoving the box in my direction. He looked nervous.
Because it felt unbalanced to be on the floor while he was standing, I gave Remi an absent kiss and then shifted up onto the couch, my legs spread while I took the box from Gavin. It was light, almost like there was nothing in it.
I made a big production of weighing it in my hand, shaking it close to my ear. Gavin laughed.
Analise rolled her eyes. “Oh my gosh, just open it.”
Remi shifted to the side so she was facing me, and she shared a quick glance with Gavin.
Pops had set down his binoculars, and Analise moved onto her knees, her phone in one hand as she started filming.
The weight of their attention made me nervous.
The air in the room was charged, heavy with expectation, and my throat tightened inexplicably.
I slid my finger underneath the tape holding the gold paper down, then tugged the slim box out through the opening.
When I took the top off, there was a piece of paper inside, folded in thirds. My fingers trembled slightly as I lifted it from the box and held it in my hands. Gavin’s handwriting appeared as I lifted the top fold and began reading.
“Dear Archer, I never thought too hard about what it would be like if my mom married someone. Sometimes I would see a dad with one of my friends and wonder what it was like, but we were happy, and I was okay. But now we’re more than okay, and that’s because of you.
” My voice cracked slightly, and I paused to let the wild pulse of my emotions settle.
“I thought it was fun when I used to watch you on TV, but knowing you is even better. You make my mom really happy, and even though you’re my stepdad now, I think it’s even cooler that you’re my best friend.
” I swiped my hand over my mouth and stared at Gavin.
His eyes were wide and bright, and I could hardly see him through my tears.
I inhaled deeply, and kept reading. “But I want you to be more than that.” Remi’s hand came up and her thumb brushed over my cheek, wiping away the trail of tears.
“All I want for Christmas is for you to adopt me,” I read in a trembling voice.
“I don’t just want you to be my stepdad or my best friend. I want you to be my dad.”
With my chest cracked open, I pulled Gavin into my arms and held him as we both cried.
“Nothing would make me happier,” I told him in a thick voice, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
Then I wrapped my arm around Remi and held her close. Analise cried quietly as she filmed, and Pops wiped his cheeks unashamedly.
Later, when the mess was cleared up and Remi was tucked against my chest on the couch, I looked around the room—the fire in the fireplace, the tree full of homemade ornaments, and the woman I loved in my arms—and promised myself that I’d never take this for granted.
“Everything okay?” she asked quietly, her chin on my chest and her eyes soft.
I tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed my fingers over her cheek.
“Perfect, firefly. Everything’s perfect.”