Chapter 18 Rings and Revelations
RINGS AND REVELATIONS
Penny
Messy emotions swirled by the time Archer dropped me off after our Friendsgiving weekend.
I set my bag down and leaned against the door of the brownstone, exhaling hard like I’d been holding my breath all weekend.
Goldie’s paws skittered across the floor as she launched herself at me, tail wagging.
“Hey, girl,” I whispered, scratching her ears. “I missed you too.”
Everything about the trip had been perfect—Archer’s friends welcoming me like family, the easy laughter, the way his gaze found mine across a crowded room. Our late-night talks turned tender, our bodies even more so.
Which made keeping my secrets all the harder.
Brier’s humming floated from the kitchen, cheerful as a songbird. I found her there, fabric scraps covered the counters in shades of red and cream. I recognized the pattern of her wedding-ring quilts.
“Back, sweetie?” She asked without looking up. “How’d it go?”
“I need some tea.”
“Oh, me too. I’ll make it.” She reached for the kettle, the kitchen light reflecting off of her left ring finger.
“Brier! Is that an engagement ring?”
Her head snapped up, a grin blooming wide. “Westley proposed!”
“Oh my God!” I squealed, hugging her.
She laughed. “He did it in Vegas Friday—romantic hotel rooftop with a view of the strip, champagne, the whole thing. But he ruined it briefly when he called me Heather.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You know I’ve always hated my real first name, but I never told him why.
Mom picked it because she loved the flower, but it always reminded me of funerals.
The poor man thought he was being thoughtful using it in the proposal.
” She shook her head, smiling through tears.
“A few minutes later, he proposed again, and of course I said yes. We tossed the bouquet of heather he had made for me into the hotel trash and drank champagne all night. He said once we’re married, he’ll pay to have my name officially changed.
I’ll be Brier Rose Fair-McPhee. Can you believe it? ”
Her happiness softened the tight band around my heart. Until she looked at me more closely. She cupped my cheeks and felt my forehead. “You don’t look well. What’s wrong? Out with it, Penny.”
I teared up, unable to hold things in anymore. “It’s Steele Valley, and Mom. Brianne and Holden.”
Her brows knit. “Who is Holden?”
I spilled everything—Brianne’s lies, Mom’s accusations, unassuming and innocent Holden. The impossible situation I’d landed in—not telling Archer any of it. The words flooded from my mouth, relieving all the pressure of keeping them locked up.
Brier listened, taking it all in. “Come with me.”
She led me down the hall to her bedroom, Goldie padding behind us. From her closet, she produced a small box. We sat on the bed, and she pulled out an old cream envelope.
“I’ve kept this for years,” she said, voice low. “Now, here’s the truth of what happened because it was right here in this home. Your mother was with your stepfather in Steele Valley, so she didn’t have a clue what was going on, only what Brianne told her.”
She cleared her throat. “When Brianne got pregnant, she told Archer the baby was his. He wanted to believe her, such a good, kind young man in love with the wrong woman. But he had just come off the shock of her affair with Ted coming to light. Archer said he wanted a paternity test. God bless him, he’d have probably stayed with her and supported her no matter the results because he was foolishly in love.
Of course, Brianne refused having the test done.
He had to know before he committed himself to fatherhood.
Upset, she went off and married Ted. Poor Archer. It broke him.”
“I know. I’ve been trying to put him back together again.”
She patted my hand on the bed. “He agonized about whether that baby was his. I felt for him. The poor man needed closure. So one night, after the baby was born, Brianne asked me to babysit. I clipped a hair from the baby’s head and got a swab from the cheek.
Archer had the paternity test done quietly . ”
She slid the envelope toward me. With trembling hands, I opened and read the results. The words blurred through my wet eyes. Relief and guilt tangled inside me.
“The baby wasn’t his,” I whispered.
“Brianne used him. When I tried to tell your mother, Brianne had already convinced her of her version of events. Your mother said she would never turn Brianne away. I love my sister, but this situation is why we barely speak anymore, and when we do, we leave the past behind us.”
I stared at the report, its black letters sealing a decade of pain. “Archer knows?”
“Of course. Why do you think he’s been so broken? To have the woman he loved manipulate him, lie, keep secrets on so many levels? She was his first love, his first long relationship. It all fell apart, and not because of him.”
“Oh my God. And here I’ve been keeping things from him.” Tears burned my eyes. “I don’t know what to do. I should have told Archer right away. Holden is a friend of his and a potential client. And I just couldn’t stand the thought of this recent round of Brianne drama upsetting him.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, sweetie, but I think you have no choice but to tell him. You really love him, don’t you?”
I hesitated, but she could see right through me. “Yeah. I do. I’ve fallen for him.”
“Then tell him. About all of it. Before secrets build walls between you.”
Her words landed like a slow, painful echo of my fears.
An hour later, I paced my bedroom, phone pressed to my ear, making a call I dreaded. But I need to warn Holden. It went right to his voicemail
“Hi, this is Penny Fair—from Archer’s team. Brianne’s stepsister. Please call me back.”
Minutes later, he did.
“Penny? Hi. What’s up?”
I hesitated. “I need to warn you about Brianne, er, Bree. I don’t know if you realize this but, she’s Archer’s ex-girlfriend.”
A long pause. “His ex?”
“Had he ever told you about her? They were together probably before the two of you met. They had a terrible breakup, and it really affected Archer all these years.”
“Wait. Archer told me once about his ex and the things that happened. Please don’t say she’s…”
“Yes, the same woman, Holden. Brianne lies and manipulates people when it benefits her. I should know; I spent several years as her stepsister. I called you because you seem like a decent man, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
He exhaled a curse. “Honestly, I get a certain gut feeling about people. Here I’d been, ignoring my own warnings about her. Looks like I should have trusted my instincts. Thanks, Penny. I owe you one.”
“Take care, Holden.”
After hanging up, instead of relief, waves of nausea came over me. I took deep breaths and tried to hold them. Derailing Brianne’s efforts with Holden should have felt like freedom. Instead, it sat in the pit of my stomach like a stone—because I was still keeping it from Archer.
I crawled into bed, suddenly exhausted. Goldie joined me like she could sense I needed emotional support. I was getting up the nerve to call Archer when a text pinged.
Maya: I need to talk. Drinks tonight?
Those four words should come with a warning label.
An hour later, I met her at a pub. She was already halfway through a margarita and had one waiting for me. I slid into the booth.
“Hi. Are you okay?” I asked, taking a long draw from the frosty drink. But it only made my stomach worse.
She winced. “Define okay.”
“I hear you. I’m not sure I have a good definition of that right now myself. What’s going on?”
She glanced around, then leaned in. “You can’t tell Archer.”
“Oh, boy.” My meter of the things I couldn’t or didn’t want to tell him was reaching max capacity.
“I’ve been talking to Holden,” she said, blindsiding me with that one.
I blinked. “About?”
“Holden wants to hire someone to oversee the lodge project in-house. He told me the salary—double what I make. And not just this project, but he has bigger plans, possibly additional ski resort projects spreading out West. So it’d be a long-term position.
” She lowered her voice as if there were spies everywhere. Nope. Just me.
I fell back against the cushion of the seat. “You’re serious?”
“Completely.”
“Has he already offered you the job?”
“Informally. He’s given me a few days to think about it.
But I feel guilty. Archer’s been good to me, even if Caleb drives me insane.
You don’t know, but when Archer promoted from within for Caleb’s job, the decision came down to me or him.
I sometimes wonder if Archer regrets choosing Caleb.
I never thought I’d leave Bellamy so soon, but I don’t know what to do. ”
I stared into my glass, the world tilting slightly, my head spinning out of control. “This is a mess.”
“I know. But thank you for listening. I needed to tell someone. What do you think?”
“One thing I know for sure, Archer totally respects you.” I met her with complete honesty. “If you go, it’ll hit him hard.”
We spoke until our drinks emptied, and I listened through her list of pros and cons. In the end, she still hadn’t decided what to do, but thanked me for listening.
Back home, filled with too many secrets, too many people walking tightropes, the stress of it all sent me racing for the bathroom just in time before I was sick.
When I finally fell into bed, exhausted, Goldie pressed close for emotional support.
I stood at the intersection of truth and consequence—and eventually, I’d have to choose which way to turn. But not tonight. Right now I needed rest. Tomorrow I’d talk to Archer and reveal all. I’d find some way for this not to ruin what we’ve built.