Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
~ELENA~
I smell coffee. And bacon.
I don’t have any bacon.
I sit up and blink, surprised that the sun rose before me. The bed next to me where Archer was all night is empty and cool.
And it seems he’s making me breakfast.
I glance at the alarm clock and sigh before rubbing my hands over my face and through my hair.
It’s eight-thirty. I don’t remember the last time I slept this late, especially after the long nap in the car yesterday. But Archer’s Audi was so comfortable, especially with the heated leather seat, and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open.
“You’re awake.”
Archer carries two plates and two cups of coffee into the room. How he’s managing to hold it all is thanks to long arms and muscles for days.
At least he’s dressed this morning. Because a mostly naked Archer is way too tempting to my long-ignored libido.
“I didn’t have bacon in the fridge.”
“A travesty I fixed first thing.” He grins and sets the dishes on the bed, passing me one of the coffees. “I assume you don’t take sugar in it since you didn’t have any down there.”
“Just cream,” I confirm and take a sip, eyeing the eggs, hash browns, and bacon on the plate in front of me. “Where did you get all of this?”
“The grocery store in town.” He digs in and takes a big bite of his eggs. “You didn’t have anything down there. Are you trying to starve yourself?”
“You still have the same appetite, I see.”
He grins and chews some bacon. “Don’t worry, I bought us some stuff.”
“Archer.”
I set my coffee down and turn to him, but he reaches over and picks up a slice of my bacon and holds it up to my lips.
“Eat, E.”
“Ally.” I take a bite and chew, holding his gaze. “My name is Ally. ”
“Ally what?”
I clear my throat. Lick my lips. Shit.
“Ally what?” he asks again.
“Look, thanks for the groceries, but I’m sure you want to get back on the road so you get home at a decent hour?—”
He takes my chin in his fingers and makes me look him in the eyes. “Tell me.”
“Montgomery,” I whisper and close my eyes in embarrassment. “Ally Montgomery.”
“Look at me.”
“Archer, it doesn’t matter what my last name is.”
To my utter shock, he simply leans over and covers my lips with his own. Gently, but boldly. My inhale is sharp, but I don’t pull away.
I’ve dreamed of having his lips on mine for years.
And here he is. Kissing me as if he does it all the time, like it’s no big thing. Like my heart isn’t pounding out of control. Like he isn’t going to leave me alone any minute.
When he pulls away, his eyes are dilated, and his breaths come a bit faster than before.
“I’m not leaving.”
“Archer.”
“Just listen,” he pleads. “It took me a long damn time to find you.”
“No one was supposed to ever find me.” I stop short and frown at him. “Wait. How did you find me?”
He pulls a piece of paper out of his back pocket and holds it out for me to take. I recognize the lined notebook paper. It’s well-worn, the creases deep as if he’s opened and closed it a thousand times.
I unfold it and sigh.
“My list.”
“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” he says, still eating his breakfast. “You told me all the places you’d run away to if you had the chance, and I wrote them down so I could take you to every one of them someday.”
“And you kept it. These were just daydreams,” I say, but lovingly read over the words.
Maui
Horse ranch in Montana
California vineyards
Tuscany
Bandon, Oregon
Beach in Mexico
I see each item has notes and check marks next to them, clearly written recently.
“You never talk about something flippantly,” he says, making my heart skip another beat. “They may have been daydreams, but I know you, and I knew I’d find you in one of these places.”
“I notice you didn’t try Maui, Mexico, or Tuscany.”
“I decided to start more domestically, but if I hadn’t found you here, Maui was next on my list.”
I’ve cried so much over the past two days, I wouldn’t have thought I had any more tears left in me. But my eyes well as I stare at the list.
“We were on the boat that day,” I say. “Drifting around Lake Washington, and you just let me talk on and on about these places that I’d like to visit. You were always a good listener, Arch. A good friend.”
“I’m still a good listener,” he says. “And your eggs are getting cold.”
I take a bite of eggs with potatoes and fold the paper, then pass it back to him. “You can’t stay.”
“Why not? If you don’t want me, if you’ve moved on with your life and you truly want nothing to do with me, then I’ll go. Is that what you want? To never see me again?”
I can’t lie to him. Even if it would be best for both of us. I should tell him that I don’t want him, and send him far away.
To keep him safe.
He links his fingers with mine, the way he always did when we were so young and so in love we were stupid with it. And I know that I don’t have the strength to tell him to go.
“I want you to be safe,” I admit. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“I’m a grown man, perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“Archer.” I surprise us both and straddle his lap, framing his face with my hands. “I need you to hear me. I know you’re able to take care of yourself, but my family is powerful. Ruthless. And if they find us here, they’ll kill you. Don’t you understand that everything I’ve done over the past twelve years has been to keep you safe from them?”
“I don’t take this lightly. That’s not what I’m saying, E. But the risk of being with you is better than the agony of being without you.”
I lean my forehead against his. “We don’t even know each other anymore.”
“We’ll learn.” His hands, those big, wonderful hands, glide to my ass, over my loose T-shirt, and then he buries his fingers in my hair. “Maybe we won’t like each other anymore, and I’ll be gone in twenty-four hours.”
That makes me smile. “You have started snoring in your old age. That could be a deal-breaker.”
His eyes narrow. “I don’t snore.”
“Uh, yeah. You do.”
He moves fast, pinning me to the bed.
“I think my ass is in my eggs,” I say, giggling like crazy.
“Take it back.”
“It’s the truth. I can feel them through my underwear.”
“No, the snoring. Take it back.”
“Sorry. No can do. I could have sworn there was a freight train in here last night. But look on the bright side. I didn’t have to use one of those white noise machines.”
He barks out a laugh and buries his face in my neck, biting the sensitive flesh just under my ear.
“Are you still ticklish?”
Shit. I’m so ticklish.
“Archer, no.”
But before he can do his worst, there’s a knock on my front door, and we both freeze and stare at each other in surprise.
“No one ever comes here,” I say as Archer climbs off of me, and I pull on a pair of sweats over my egg-soaked undies. “Stay here.”
I hurry down the stairs and look out the window.
Lindsey’s car is parked behind Archer’s.
Double shit.
I clear my throat and paste a smile on my face as I open the door to my friend.
“Hey,” she says. “I brought you some pastries from Marie’s. I heard you’ve been out of work because of a family emergency. Why didn’t you call me? I’m so sorry, Ally.”
“Oh, thank you.” I accept the box of goodies but don’t invite her in. “I’ve been pretty out of it, and it was a complete surprise.”
“I guess so. I mean, I was with you just a couple of days ago, and everything seemed okay. Whose car is that?”
She gestures to Archer’s car, and I blink rapidly.
“Oh, it’s, um, my?—”
“It’s mine.”
I feel Archer walk up behind me, bracing his arm on the doorjamb above me, and I know he’s smiling at my friend. Lindsey’s eyes dilate at the tall drink of water standing behind me.
And honestly, I can’t blame her.
“Archer,” he says, holding out his hand for hers.
“Lindsey,” she replies, shaking the proffered palm. Her eyes dart to mine with a silent what the hell ?
“Archer is a friend of the family. He came to help when he heard the news. He’ll be leaving soon.” I clear my throat again. “Thanks for the treats, Linds. I appreciate it.”
I back away, giving the universal signal for thanks, now go away.
And to my surprise, it works.
“Okay. Well, call me if you need anything. Nice to meet you, Archer.”
“You, too.”
We wave, and I shut the door then close my eyes on a sigh.
“Three days ago, I was safely hidden here. Nothing fishy going on to make me stand out or have people asking questions. Now, it feels like it’s all slipping out of control.” But it’ll return to normal as soon as Archer goes back to Seattle. I know he said he’s staying, but that’s just not possible. I’ll enjoy his company today, but then he has to go.
“There’s nothing fishy about a family friend coming when there’s been an emergency.”
“Right. A charming, handsome guy like you is definitely the norm at times like these.”
His smile would light up Times Square. “You think I’m handsome?”
“Have you seen you?”
“I mean, I clean up okay. I’ve never had any complaints.”
“You’re a smartass.”
“That hasn’t changed, sweetheart. Let’s eat these donuts.”
“What is it about Bandon that you’ve always liked so much?” he asks me later as we walk the beach. Large rocks stick up out of the sand around us. They remind me of Stonehenge. Sometimes, when I walk here in the very early morning, I expect to see witches and faeries in the mist. It’s a magical place.
“The beach here is beautiful,” I reply and step over a dead jellyfish. “There aren’t quite as many tourists as northern Oregon, so I’m less likely to run into someone I know. That happened before, in California.”
“So, you haven’t been here the whole time?”
“No, I was Paige Williams and worked at a vineyard down in California for a couple of years. But one day, a girl I used to go to middle school with came through on a tour and recognized me.”
I sigh at the memory and then point out into the ocean as a whale sprays water into the air.
Archer nods but doesn’t let me quit the story.
“It’s ironic that your last name was Williams. My cousin Natalie married Luke Williams.”
“I know.” I smile up at him when he glances down in surprise. “I’ve kept track of everyone. And your family is in the spotlight pretty much all the time.”
“True. But you didn’t know about Lia?”
“I knew.” I shrug a shoulder. “I feigned surprise. I just didn’t want to seem like a stalker or something.”
“You’re a stalker.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Curious. I like the term curious better. Anyway, after Sheila saw me, I went directly to the place I rented and texted the number my grandma gave me. Within an hour, a man showed up at my door with a packet. No words were exchanged, he just gave it to me and left.
“Inside was my new life. Name, bank accounts, birth certificate, passport, driver’s license. The works.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, Grandma was impressive. I texted her after I arrived in Bandon and told her I was here but was vague. She didn’t want to know specifics in case anyone came looking for me. We always knew how to reach each other, though.
“I love it here, even more than California. It was fine there, but I realized that I need to be by the water. It energizes and soothes me. But none of this is what we really should be talking about.”
“There’s something we should talk about?”
“So many things,” I mutter. “Let’s start with this. I know you said you’re staying, but Archer, that isn’t possible.”
“I don’t have to be in Seattle for a bit,” he says as if he’s being deliberately obtuse. “I guess I should catch you up on what I’ve been up to. I sold the fishing boat about five years ago. Now, I buy and sell real estate. Mostly commercial properties, but sometimes, I buy residential places here and there.”
“You’re a landlord?”
“Sort of. Anastasia works in one of my buildings. She used to live there, too. She makes wedding cakes. She was living above her shop, but since she recently got married, she’s now living with her new husband out on one of the islands.”
“Anastasia got married?” I feel immediate regret that I didn’t know that. That whenever I contact her, I just ask about Archer, never about how she’s doing. “Good for her.”
“She’s happy. She married Kane O’Callaghan.”
“The artist?”
“That’s the one. Anyway, my point is that I am self-employed. And as such, I think I’ll take a look at some property around here. Mostly out of curiosity.”
“I don’t know what there is for you to look at,” I admit with a gusty breath. “You can’t be here. It’s not safe for you. For either of us.”
He stops short and waits for me to face him.
“I’m not trying to make things unsafe, E. I worked so hard to find you. I just want to enjoy you for a while. I’m flying by the seat of my pants here. All I know is that I don’t want to leave here without getting to know you again.”
I shake my head. “It can’t happen, Archer. I wish it could. More than you know.”
God, I missed him so much. It still hurts.
“You can’t stay.”
But he doesn’t respond. He just looks down the beach and then gestures with a shake of his head.
“How far are we going?”
“Not much farther.” I gesture ahead. “See those two rocks there?”
“The ones a half a mile away?”
I laugh and look up at him. “You’re an athletic guy. An extra half-mile won’t hurt you.”
“You were never the sporty type,” he says.
“I decided to start exercising more when all of this started,” I admit. “I’ve always been an introvert. That hasn’t changed, but I didn’t realize that being isolated could be so lonely. And one of the things I found that helps is working out. I do yoga and meditation most mornings, and I like to come out here to walk or run in the afternoon if the weather isn’t too bad.”
“Run, you say?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll race you, then.”
And he takes off jogging. I pause, just to watch his sexy body from behind. Tight ass, broad shoulders, muscular back. I need to soak it all in because in a couple of hours, he’ll be gone, and these few stolen moments on the beach are all I’ll have to hold close.
Holy hell in a handbasket, he’s hot.
I take off, enjoying the push and pull of my muscles as I sprint closer to him and then run past him, reaching the rocks a good twenty yards ahead of him.
We stop and bend at the waist, trying to catch our breath.
“Holy shit,” he says as he works to take in air. “You’re fucking fast.”
“Been doing it a while.” And I wanted to impress you.
Which is kind of dumb, but there you have it. The appreciation in his bright blue eyes was worth every step.
“These are nice,” he says, gesturing to the houses on the bluffs. “Why didn’t you go for one? Looks like several are for sale.”
“I don’t make that kind of money at my job. I couldn’t afford one of these,” I say, shaking my head. “And, yes, my grandmother made sure my bank account has a couple million dollars in it, but it would look crazy if I bought one of these places and then collected my salary. I’d stand out, and the whole point is to blend. Besides, I like my little place.”
“It’s cute,” he agrees. “Small.”
“It didn’t feel small until you were in it.” I laugh and take a deep breath, soaking in the salty air. “It’s always just been me.”
“Always?”
I know what he’s asking. Has there been anyone since him?
“I haven’t been a nun,” I admit, making him scowl. “But I haven’t been in a serious relationship since you, Archer. How could I when the entire relationship would be based on lies? I couldn’t even tell him, whomever he may be, my real name. You can’t build anything on lies. And I have to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. So, yes, it’s always just been me in my cottage.”
“I shouldn’t be jealous,” he says. He’s caught his breath, and with his hands in his pockets, he stares out at the water. “It’s been a long time, and of course, you’re not a nun. But I’m jealous all the same. And relieved.”
“Relieved that I’m an old maid?”
He turns to me now. “You’re not an old maid. But I am relieved that you don’t belong to anyone.”
“I belong to me . And that’s how it will always stay, Archer.”
He nods once and wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side. “What are you going to feed me for dinner?”
“We literally ate lunch right before we came here.”
“That was at least an hour ago.”
“How do you eat so much and still look like this? It shouldn’t be possible.”
“Genetics.” He kisses my hair, and I melt against him. Archer was always physically affectionate. It was something I had to get used to because my parents were distant, and the only one I was close to who hugged me was Grandma.
I didn’t realize I was so starved for touch.
But not just any touch. Archer’s.
I fit against him perfectly, my shoulder under his armpit. My arm around his waist. His lips planted on the top of my head.
I don’t want it to end.
“We could do spaghetti,” he suggests, making me laugh. “You always made a really good sauce.”
“It’s gotten better since I last saw you.”
“Don’t tease me,” he says. “My fragile stomach can’t handle it.”
“I’ll prove it. And just so you know, I know this trick. I’m not giving in to your reverse psychology.”
“You totally are. It’s okay. I’m charming, remember?”
“I never should have told you that. It just inflates your ego.” I stop and turn into him, burying my face in his hard chest, clinging to him with everything I have. “You can’t stay, Archer. This is me digging in my heels and telling you no. You can’t stay in Bandon.”
He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, just brushes his fingers up and down my arms, and then circles his arms around me and pulls me close.
“You’ve been the love of my life since I was a junior in high school and I saw you sitting with Stasia in the cafeteria. You’re everything , E, even after all this time. And that won’t ever change.”
“Archer—”
“Listen.” He catches my chin with his finger and makes me look him in the eyes. His are that insane bright blue and churning like the ocean behind him. “You’re everything. It feels like I’ve loved you my whole life.”
He always was good with words.
He doesn’t say anything else about staying with me. That was the best goodbye speech I’ve ever heard. He deserved to hear something that amazing when I left him all those years ago.
But I was young and didn’t know what the hell to do, except get as far away from him as possible. To keep him safe. To keep him whole.
We’re quiet on the walk back to the cottage. To my surprise, Archer strides right up the stairs to the loft and starts gathering his things, filling his bag.
“You don’t have to leave tonight.” I’m such an idiot, sending him mixed messages. But the thought of watching him walk away tears at my heart. “You could stay and get a fresh start in the morning. I’ll make the spaghetti.”
“It’s okay.” Once his bag is tucked in his car, he walks back up the steps to the front door and leans on the jam, smiling down at me in that way he always used to when he was particularly amused by me.
I have no idea what’s so damn funny about this. We’re saying goodbye for good.
“Thank you for coming. For taking me to Seattle. For everything.”
He pulls me in for another hug, holding me firmly.
God, this is killing me. Why did he have to come here in the first place?
“I love you, Elena,” he whispers. He kisses my forehead and then my lips. I feel it all the way to my toes, even though it’s the barest brush of skin against mine.
Without another word, he turns and jogs to his car, fires up the engine, and drives away.
“It’s the right thing to do,” I mumble as I close the door and lean against it, willing the tears to stay back. It may be the right thing, but it still hurts, all the way to the bone. My cottage feels emptier than it ever has. “Get used to it, Ally. ”
I square my shoulders and get down to business, cleaning and scrubbing my little house and getting ready to return to the safe life I’ve made for myself in Bandon, Oregon.
To my surprise and delight upon returning to work this morning, I discovered that Margie hired a new employee. Which means I’ll start to have days off here and there, and Chad and I won’t be so slammed.
I almost kissed Margie on the mouth when she told me, but there was no time.
I immediately shifted into training mode and spent all day showing Beverly the ropes. It was a satisfying but tiring day.
Now that I’m home, I’m ready to go for my usual afternoon walk and then settle in for some alone time.
With my cropped yoga pants and tank top on, I set off for the beach, taking the same route I took with Archer just yesterday.
I hope I was able to cover the anguish I’ve felt since he left last night. If I looked sad at work today, maybe the others chalked it up to the family emergency that took me away from work, and not to me feeling heartbroken over someone I lost more than a decade ago all over again.
The beach is pretty much abandoned as I walk south. Fewer tourists is another sign that summer is almost over, and we’re headed into the winter months. I’ll miss the warmer weather and the sunshine.
I’m usually energized after my walks, but when I return home, I just feel tired. So, I take a quick shower, change into my comfies, and place an order for pizza delivery.
I’m going to give myself this one night to wallow in self-pity, and then it’s back to business as usual.
When I’m armed with a large pepperoni, a full glass of wine, and the remote, I settle on the couch with my favorite blanket and snap on the TV. The regional news fills the screen.
“From what we’ve been told, law enforcement believes the Martinelli family may be behind this brutal murder, but the investigation is ongoing.”
I quickly turn the channel to the home improvement network and set my pizza aside.
This. This is why I turned Archer away.
And it would be best if I didn’t forget that.