Chapter Five
Archer
T HE NEXT EVENING, I was heating up a microwave lasagna when my doorbell pealed. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I checked my camera app and sighed. Walking to my front door, I pulled it open and smiled. “Hey, Uncle Ell.”
My uncle, Elliot, was my mother’s brother, and we’d always been tight. He happened to be the chief of police for the City of Vancouver, and I had no idea why he was here, which worried me a little.
He pushed inside and pulled me in for a quick hug.
“Ah, everything okay?” I asked. “Family okay? ”
“Yeah, everyone’s good.”
“What’s up?” I closed the door, and hearing the ding of my microwave, headed into my kitchen as he followed.
“What’s this I hear about you acting as chauffer for one, Echo Weston over the next few days?”
“How’d you know about that?” I asked, pulling out the lasagna.
“Her brother’s one of my detectives.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
“How’d that conversation go?” I raised an eyebrow and put on my best sarcastic, redneck accent as I drawled, “‘Excuse me, Chief, but I’ve heard tell that my baby sister’s found herself in the company of a known motorcickle gang and what with my super detective powers and all, I couldn’t help but notice that you is related to the very degenerate she is in close company with, so, is this true’? ”
Elliot crossed his arms. “Oh, is that how the conversation went?”
“Not strictly speaking. I’m guessing other words were spoken,” I deduced, grabbing a beer from my fridge. I offered Elliot one, but he shook his head. “Isn’t it against department policy to do background checks for personal reasons?”
He leaned against the counter and sighed. “Just tell me what’s goin’ on, kid.”
“Echo’s car is in Hatch’s shop and he didn’t have a suitable loaner for her, so I offered to drive her for a few days, that’s basically it.” I took a pull from my beer. “But if you wanted the low-down, you could have called Mom.”
He grinned. “I already called your mom.”
“Then, what’s with the third-degree?
“This isn’t an interrogation; I’m just gathering intel.”
“More like, checking up on me, making sure I don’t fuck your detective’s baby sister.”
“What I’m doing is my part in preemptively squashing any drama that might make its way into my squad.”
“Not to worry, Echo is safe as milk.” I smirked. “Besides, she clearly doesn’t appear to be impressed with the likes of my ass.”
“And you?”
“What?” I cocked my head. “Have I noticed Echo’s ass?”
Elliot groaned. “And you wonder why I worry.”
“Look, hell yeah, I’ve noticed. I’d be brain dead not to. She’s beautiful, smart, funny, and not afraid to voice her opinion,” I said. “But again, she’s not interested in me.”
“So, I can let my detective know he’s got nothin’ to worry about?”
“Yes, yes you can.” I nodded to my beer. “Now that you’re off duty, are you sure about that beer?”
“I gotta head out,” he said. “But thanks.”
I walked my uncle out and then grabbed my phone and called my mother. She answered on the first ring. “Hey, baby.”
“Mother.”
“Shit, what’s wrong?”
“Funny story, and not funny ha-ha. ”
“Oh?”
“Elliot just left.”
“Did you have a nice visit?”
“I mean this with all due respect, but don’t you ‘did you have a nice visit?’ me, mother, ” I ground out. “You and your gossip-girl partner need to quit.”
“My gossip girl… I’m sorry, what?”
“Don’t act all innocent with me,” I warned. “You and your brother are the worst, and you know it. Who I may or may not be dating should be of no concern to you and the occupants of your hen-house gossip mill.”
“Baby boy, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Whether you do or you don’t, this is my official notice for you and the rest of your hens to stop cluck-blocking me.”
Mom burst out laughing for several seconds before finally sassing, “Sounds like somebody’s beak’s bent out of shape.”
“I mean it, mother. Whatever does or doesn’t happen between me and Echo, it’s none of anybody’s business.”
“So, you do like her.”
I frowned. “I thought you didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“Hmm? Sorry, honey someone’s at the door, I need to go.”
“Damn it, Mom, don’t you dare—”
Click.
I let out a frustrated growl just as my phone buzzed and I answered it without looking at my screen. “Goddamn it, Mom, you know I love you, but I’m not fuckin’ around.”
“Um, what? Is this Archer?”
“Shit, sorry, Echo?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn, sorry.” I grimaced as I dragged a hand down my face. “Yes, it’s me.”
“You don’t really talk to your mom like that, do you?”
“Well, no, not typically. We were kind of in the middle of an argument and got cut off.”
“What would possess you to speak to her that way?” she hissed. “She’s your mom . If I ever even raised my voice toward my mother, my father would lose his mind. Honestly, my mother would lose her mind and then my father would pile on.”
“I get it. It wasn’t right and I will apologize to her,” I promised. “It’s complicated.”
“I just can’t imagine speaking to anyone like that, let alone your own mother.”
“I get it, Echo. Honestly. Did you need something?” I asked, in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
“I just wanted to call and let you know tomorrow’s schedule changed a little.”
“Okay, no problem.”
She sighed. “But…”
“It’s all good,” I pressed. “What’s the change?”
“I need to leave about half an hour earlier than expected.”
“No problem.” I leaned against the counter. “I’ll see you in the morning. ”
“Yes. The morning. Okay, see you then.”
We rang off, and I threw the now cold lasagna back in the microwave.
* * *
Echo
The next morning, Archer arrived fifteen minutes early and I wasn’t quite ready for him.
I pulled open the door and forced a smile.
I’ll admit, I was still feeling a little trepidation about how angry he’d sounded over the phone last night and considering the fact, he’d directed that anger toward his mother, well, it gave me pause.
“Sorry, I’m just grabbing a few more things. Come on in.”
“I don’t want to invade your space. I can wait out here.”
“You’re fine. Come on in.”
“I brought coffee,” he said, stepping inside. “And bagels. Wasn’t sure if you liked bagels, so I grabbed muffins as well.”
“I love all of those things,” I said, packing a spare set of scrubs in my bag. “I brewed a pot of coffee, though.”
“You can always have both.”
“True.” I sighed. “I might actually need it today.”
Archer rubbed his hands together. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I have six patients today, and if all goes according to plan, we should be done by five-thirty.” I frowned. “But things rarely go according to plan.”
“It’s all good, Echo.” He smiled. “I’ve got nowhere else to be.”
As we were about to walk out the door, the beep of my alarm sounded and I heard my sister call out, “Echo? It’s just me.”
“Hey,” I said, as she strolled into the kitchen. “I’m heading out. Everything okay?”
She looked Archer up and down, then grabbed my arm and dragged me to my bedroom.
“What the heck?” I screeched.
“Who the hell is that weird man?” Delta hiss-pered. “And why is there a strange truck parked in your driveway?”
“The strange truck belongs to the weird man,” I snapped back. “I mean, he’s not weird. His name is Archer and it’s his truck. He’s going to be driving me around for a few days while my car’s in the shop.”
“Get a rental.”
“I don’t have the extra funds for a rental.”
“I would have loaned it to you.”
“Oh my god, Del, you said you couldn’t loan me your car, I’m trying to be smart with my money, Archer said he could shuttle me for a few days, it’s all good. Just leave it alone.”
“You don’t even know this man.”
I let out a frustrated grunt. “Stop! He’s nice. He’s helping me out, end of story. Now, I’m going to be late, so can you just scurry back into your hole and leave me alone?”
“Wow.” Delta crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose. “If you end up on an episode of Dateline, I will not say nice things. No wonder Oscar’s freaking out.”
“What do you mean, Oscar’s freaking out?”
“Nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She glanced at her watch, and hissed. “Gotta go, I’ve got my first meeting in ten minutes.”
She rushed out the door, and I threw my hands in the air as I made my way back to my kitchen.
“Everything okay?” Archer asked.
“You have siblings, right?”
He nodded.
“Do they drive you to fantasies of wanting to, well—”
“Commit murder?”
I snorted. “Yes, that.”
“All the time.” He grinned. “Want to share?”
I sighed. “It’s just that I’m the baby, and I’m neurodivergent, so my family tends to coddle me, and having my big brother being a decorated police detective really doesn’t help.”
“Try having your uncle be the chief of police.”
I bit my lip. “Your mother mentioned that.”
He raised an eyebrow. “She did?”
I nodded.
“That’s why,” he breathed out.
I cocked my head. “What’s why?”
“I got a surprise visit last night from Chief Uncle Elliot. He wanted to know my intentions with you on behalf of your brother.”
I gasped. “He didn’t .”
“He did,” Archer confirmed. “It’s why my mother and I were arguing. My dad calls her the ‘fuselier.’ ”
“Isn’t that an old timey cannon lighter?”
“Yep.” He grinned. “Impressive.”
I couldn’t help but feel warm fuzzies from his compliment.
“She’ll light the fuse and then step out of the fray before the whole fuckin’ thing blows up and her favorite way to light a fuse is to prod and pick at something, or someone, until she gets a reaction.
Daisy and Cash are both settled with their significant others, so she has no one to focus on but me now and I would rather she not do that, particularly when she gets her brother involved.
My siblings and I, however, call her ‘Don Mom.’”
“Like the Godfather?”
“Yes. She’s a fucking mobster.”
“So, were you fighting about me?”
“Not really. Sort of,” he hedged. “Something you need to know about my mother and uncle is that they are the start of the rumor train, so to speak. And that train is haulin’ tea.
My dad won’t gossip with my mom, so she goes to the other desperate housewives of the club if it relates to the club and Elliot if it doesn’t. Well, your brother went to Ell.”
“And Elliot went to you?”
He chuckled. “Well, no. Elliot went to Mom first and then to me.”
“Oh my god,” I hissed. “They had no right.”
“No, your brother had every right, Echo. He’s checking up on you.
It’s what I would have done. I don’t have a problem with that.
Your brother, your parents, anyone in your life looking out for you is absolutely okay.
But my mother getting involved? No. She overstepped and she knows that. It’s why she hung up on me.”
My mouth dropped open. “She hung up on you?”
“She did,” he confirmed, giving me a crooked smile. “Fuse lit.”
“I would be pissed.”
“I could never be pissed at my mom,” he said. “I was annoyed, sure, but she means well, and it’s her way of making sure I’m okay, so I can’t fault her. I just don’t always like the way she goes about doing things sometimes. So, pissed? No. Never. She’s my favorite human.”
“But you swore at her.”
“Technically, I didn’t swear at her. I swore at the universe at large.
And I know you don’t understand that, but swearing and sarcasm is our love language of sorts.
If we were really angry at each other, we wouldn’t bother with any of that.
We’d go quiet, she’d cry, my dad would get involved, it’d be a thing. ”
I pressed my lips together and then let out a quiet breath. “I have no concept of what any of that means.”
“Come on, I’ll try to explain while we drive.”
* * *
Archer
I grabbed Echo’s bags, and walked her out to my truck, waiting for her to climb inside before closing her door and jogging to the driver side.
I had just started the engine when my mom called. I nearly denied it, but Echo said, “Answer.”
I nodded and did just that.
“Good morning, boy child born of my loins whose head tore me from—”
“Mother, you’re on speaker and I’m not alone.”
I glanced at Echo who let out a stifled chuckle.
“Oh, shit. You’re with Echo already?” Mom asked.
“I am,” I confirmed.
“Hi, darling,” she said.
“Um, hi,” Echo squeaked as I pulled away from the curb.
“What do you need?” I asked.
“Well, I actually wanted to apologize for hanging up on you. That was rude.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What about the other shit?”
“What other shit?”
“Oh, I don’t know, your penchant for sticking your nose in things that don’t concern you, siccing Uncle Elliot on me.”
“I never sicced Ell on you.”
“Hm-mm, sure you didn’t.”
“He called me with a concern, and I addressed his concern.”
I couldn’t stop a laugh. “The chief of police called his baby sister with a concern. Right. ”
“It’s true.”
“Okay, Don Mom. I believe you.”
“Jesus, kid, you and your siblings really think I hold all this magical power that I just don’t have. I honestly can’t imagine where you got that idea,” she bit out. “And do you really want to scare Echo? ”
“I’m not scared,” she assured her, looking like she was trying to keep from laughing.
“Should we go down the long list of offers we couldn’t refuse?” I challenged.
“Maybe you’re right,” Mom said with a sigh. “Maybe we shouldn’t have this discussion in front of your new friend.”
“That is such a ‘mom’ thing to say.”
She let out a mock gasp. “Take that back.”
“I won’t,” I teased.
“I would so shove you back up my hoo-haw if I had the power.”
“Over the line, Mumsy. Anything else?”
“Just checking to see if you’re still up to taking care of Trina’s lawn on Saturday before family night.”
“Yep, all good.”
“Thanks, honey.”
“I’m hanging up now,” I warned.
“Okay, baby, bring Echo to family night on Saturday.”
“We’ll see.”
I hung up the phone and Echo lost control of her laughter.
“You okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Are you always like this?”
“Pretty much.” I raised an eyebrow. “Does that freak you out?”
“Ah, no. It makes me feel like I’m in the middle of some television sitcom.”
I chuckled. “Well, you got us there. I guess we are a bit like that. ”
“What’s family night?”
“The second Saturday of every month is family night at the club. Everyone is welcome. Kids, significant others, friends. We grill, play games, and just have a really great time. You’re welcome to come if you like.”
She bit her lip. “I actually have plans with my sister.”
“She’s welcome to come as well.”
“Maybe another time.”
“Sure. There’ll always be another one,” I said.
She blushed and I wondered if there would ever be a time when she’d feel comfortable enough to walk into the clubhouse. One could dream, I suppose.
We arrived at her first patient’s house and after she grabbed her bags, I watched her disappear behind the door.