Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
ARCHIE
Ihad my temper on a leash so tight it hurt.
That didn’t mean it wasn’t there—coiled, watchful, every muscle in my body aware of it. I felt Jake’s anger like a second pulse in the room, aimed at me as much as the situation, and I didn’t blame him. If I’d been standing where he was, I’d probably feel the same. Protective. Powerless. Furious.
The front door opening lit the fuse anyway.
Maddy Curtis came in like she owned the place.
Bright smile. Light step. That falsely sweet, delighted tone she used when she wanted to pretend nothing was wrong and everything was exactly how she’d planned it.
“Jeremy,” she sang out, breezing past the threshold. “We’re home.”
We.
I stood before Jake did—by a fraction of a second, but I noticed it. I always noticed things like that. The room shifted behind me as Jake rose too, heat rolling off him in contained waves. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to.
My father stepped in after her.
Edward.
He looked… pleased. Relaxed. Like this was a happy reunion instead of a minefield he’d just walked into with his shoes on.
“Archie,” he said, mild, as if he hadn’t just detonated something. “You’re home early.”
I didn’t answer him right away.
My focus went to Frankie.
She was still on the couch, tea cup frozen halfway to her mouth, eyes wide. She looked between Maddy and Edward like she was watching two ghosts walk out of the wall. Shock, confusion, and something sharper—betrayal—flickered across her face.
That did it.
Maddy spotted her then, her smile widening like she’d just found the missing piece of a puzzle. “Frankie, honey.” She moved toward her, hands already lifting like she expected a hug. “Oh, sweetheart, I was so worried. But see? Everything worked out.”
Jake made a sound low in his throat.
I stepped forward before Frankie had to react at all, putting myself squarely in Maddy’s path. Not aggressive. Not loud.
Immovable.
“Maddy,” I said evenly. “Now is not the time.”
She blinked, offended, surprise flashing across her face before she smoothed it over. “Archie, please. I’m just happy we’re all together. Eddie—”
Edward cleared his throat, stepping closer, his attention fixed on Frankie now. “Frankie,” he said gently. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She stared at him, still gaping, the word here clearly doing too much work in her head.
“I want you to know,” Edward continued, voice warm, reasonable, “that while I would love for you to call me Dad, I understand that might take some time.” He smiled, like this was generous of him. “You can call me Eddie. Or Edward. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Not Mr. Standish.
I watched that land on her.
Frankie swallowed hard. Her fingers tightened around the tea cup, knuckles paling. She nodded once, a small, automatic movement that didn’t mean consent so much as overload.
Jake shifted beside me, barely restrained. I could feel it—the way he wanted to tear into this, to demand answers, to protect her from being boxed in by adults making decisions over her head.
I wanted to do the same.
Instead, I kept my voice level. “Frankie’s had a day,” I said. “She’s staying here tonight. Movers are on their way. The cats will be here within the hour.”
Maddy’s smile wobbled, and her green eyes so coldly distant from Frankie’s stunning pair as to be ice chips, cut to me in barely suppressed disdain. “Well, of course she’s staying here. That was the plan.”
That was the moment my temper strained against the leash.
“The plan,” I repeated, cool as glass, “should have included telling her.”
Silence snapped tight.
Edward frowned, just a little. “Archie—”
“No,” I said, still calm. Still controlled. “Not right now.”
Jake took a step closer to Frankie, not touching her, just there. Claiming space. Claiming ground.
I stood between them and my father and Maddy Curtis, fully aware that this was a line I was crossing—and fully willing to hold it.
Frankie wasn’t a package. Despite whatever they thought they’d arranged, they were going to learn very quickly that I was not letting this happen unchecked.
Edward shifted his weight, hands loose at his sides, posture open—carefully so. I knew that stance. I’d grown up with it. The reasonable father. The patient one. The man who waited for things to settle so he could claim the high ground.
Suddenly, my mother’s abrupt decision to travel—no warning, no real explanation—clicked into place with ugly clarity.
Of course.
She couldn’t be served divorce papers if she wasn’t in the country. And the prenup—meticulously drafted, obsessively timed—wouldn’t lapse before my birthday, which was only days away.
I felt something dark and bitter curl low in my gut.
Wonderful.
Edward had planned this with the same precision he planned everything else. Delay. Control. Timing. Let the clock do the work while everyone else scrambled to catch up.
I looked at him again, really looked, and saw not concern—but calculation. Not cruelty. Something worse.
Confidence.
My jaw tightened, the leash on my temper cutting deeper. Frankie was still reeling on the couch, Jake barely contained beside her, and my father was standing in our house as if the endgame were already decided.
It wasn’t.
Not even close.
Edward exhaled slowly, like a man choosing his next step with care.
“Let’s not do this like adversaries,” he said, turning slightly so he could address both Maddy and me. His voice softened, pitched for reason. “Archie, this wasn’t meant to blindside anyone. Maddy was trying to do what she thought was best for Frankie. We all were.”
Maddy seized on that instantly. “Exactly,” she said, relief brightening her expression like she’d been thrown a lifeline. “I didn’t want a scene, Archie. I wanted a smooth transition. You know how Frankie gets when things are stressful.”
Jake made another sound, sharper this time, but I held up a hand without looking back.
“This isn’t about tone or transitions,” I said coolly. “It’s about consent.”
Maddy’s smile thinned. “You’re overreacting.”
And there it was.
Before I could respond—before Jake could explode, before Frankie could be forced to speak—Jeremy appeared in the doorway from the hall, his timing impeccable as always.
“Sir,” he said evenly, directing it to me but allowing the room to hear, “the cats have arrived. They’ve been settled in the east sunroom for now. They’re calm.”
The effect was immediate.
Maddy’s head snapped around. “What do you mean they’re here?”
Frankie rose from the couch in one swift, furious motion, hurt and anger flashing across her face so nakedly it made something twist hard in my chest. Her tea cup was forgotten on the table, hands clenched at her sides like she was holding herself together by force.
I stepped forward instinctively, cutting Maddy off before she could take even a single step toward Frankie.
“They’re here,” I said flatly. “Where they belong.”
Maddy turned on me, eyes sharp. “You let them bring animals into this house without asking me?”
Edward moved then.
He stepped past me—past the line I’d drawn—and placed himself slightly in front of Maddy, his body angled in a way that was unmistakably placating.
“I made the arrangements,” he said calmly. “Frankie’s cats were too important to her to leave in limbo. I didn’t see any reason for them not to be here.”
Maddy stared at him like he’d just spoken another language. “Eddie—”
“I don’t mind them being in the house at all,” Edward continued, gently but firmly. “They’re part of her life.”
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
In all the years I’d known my father, I couldn’t remember him ever choosing empathy over convenience. Ever prioritizing someone else’s attachment over optics or control.
It was—genuinely—the kindest thing I’d ever seen him do.
And Maddy hated it.
Her mouth tightened, displeasure flashing hot and unfiltered across her face. “That’s not what we discussed.”
Edward didn’t rise to it. He simply shook his head once. “Then perhaps we should have discussed more.”
Jake shifted closer to Frankie, his presence a quiet, furious wall at her side. Frankie’s gaze was locked on the hall, on the place where her cats were, shoulders trembling just slightly like the fight was barely contained.
The room was still tense.
Still volatile.
But for one brief, startling moment, my father wasn’t the problem.
And the fact that it infuriated Maddy Curtis?
That was just the cherry on top.
Edward didn’t retreat.
If anything, Maddy’s rising irritation seemed to cement his position.
“This is getting out of hand,” she said sharply, the sweetness finally cracking. “We agreed this would be temporary. Controlled. Bringing animals into the house without consulting me—”
Edward turned to her fully then, and the room felt it.
Not loud. Not angry.
Immovable.
“Maddy,” he said, firm and calm in a way that brooked no argument, “this is not a negotiation.”
Her mouth opened again, sharper words clearly queued up, but Edward didn’t let them land. He glanced past her, his attention settling on Frankie with a surprising gentleness.
“Why don’t you go see the cats,” he said to her, voice softening. “They’ve had a long day too. If there’s anything they need, just let Jeremy know.”
Frankie blinked, caught off guard. She looked at him, then toward the hall, then back again. Her shoulders were still tight, but the fury in her eyes flickered into something else—relief, maybe, or longing.
Edward spared a glance toward Jeremy. “I’m assuming dinner will be ready soon, and you’ve gotten a room ready for Frankie?”
Jeremy inclined his head smoothly. “Of course, Mr. Edward. Miss Frankie has been installed in the butterfly room. I’ll take care of arranging her things once they arrive.”
“Thank you,” Edward said, genuine.
Frankie hesitated, then said softly, “Thank you, Mr. Standish.”
Edward’s expression shifted again—not pleased, exactly, but earnest. “Eddie or Edward,” he said. “Truly, Frankie. This is your home now too.”
The words landed heavy.
Frankie shifted uncomfortably, her weight moving from one foot to the other. She nodded once, small and careful. “I’ll… think about it.”
Maddy inhaled sharply, clearly ready to object, but Edward’s hand came down on her arm—light, decisive. It stopped her cold.
That movement drew my eye immediately.
Her left hand.
The ring.
A massive, ostentatious diamond catching the light like a dare.
Oh for fuck’s sake.
I shifted, irritation flaring hot and sudden. “C’mon, Frankie,” I said, deliberately breaking the moment. “Let’s go see them and get them settled. Then we’ll bribe Jeremy into whatever you want for dinner.”
Her head snapped up, startled—and then she smiled.
A real one.
Jeremy didn’t miss a beat. “Dinner is already prepared,” he said smoothly. “Apple sauce pork chops, stuffing, and the roasted corn you enjoy so much, Miss Frankie.”
Her smile widened, something bright breaking through the exhaustion. “Seriously?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
God, I loved Jeremy.
I caught Jake’s eye and jerked my head toward the hall. “Go on,” I murmured. “Get her out of here.”
Jake didn’t hesitate. He moved to Frankie’s side immediately, guiding her gently but decisively out of the room, his body angled protectively as they disappeared down the hall toward the sunroom.
The moment they were gone, the air shifted.
Maddy rounded on Edward, her voice low and furious. “Why did you do that?”
Edward didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t even look rattled. “Because I want her to actually like me, Maddy,” he said evenly. “And because she deserves some stability.”
Silence followed.
I stayed where I was, watching them both, the diamond on Maddy’s hand still flashing like a warning sign.
This wasn’t over.
But for now, Frankie was with her cats and that was enough to count as a win.
Jeremy closed the doors to the sitting room the moment I stepped out into the hall.
The soft click sounded final—intentional. Containment.
I stopped and just stood there for a second, then raked a hand through my hair, fingers catching, tugging harder than necessary. My head was buzzing, every thread pulled too tight at once.
Jeremy didn’t rush me.
“She’ll be fine, Mr. Archie,” he said calmly. Certain. “We will make sure of it.”
I let out a slow breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and looked at him. Really looked. His expression was steady, kind, unshakeable in a way that mattered.
“Go take care of her,” he continued, as if this were the simplest truth in the world. “Would you like me to bring dinner trays to the sunroom, or upstairs?”
It took me a beat to catch up.
Oh.
He was offering to bail us out of dinner with Maddy and Edward.
Oh, hell yes.
“If she’s up for it, the game room upstairs,” I said immediately. “Otherwise, the sunroom.”
Jeremy nodded once, already filing it away. “Very good.”
I pulled my phone out and checked it as we started down the hall.
A message from Bubba sat there, timestamp glaring.
Bubba:
I’ll be there in thirty if I don’t hear from you.
It had come in fifteen minutes ago.
“Bubba’s coming,” I said, glancing up. “So add a tray for him.”
“Of course,” Jeremy replied smoothly. Then, after a beat, “And Mr. Cooper?”
I grimaced. “I don’t know yet.”
Which was the truth. Coop could either show up calm and quiet or explode like a damn firecracker depending on how he heard about things.
“I’ll check on him,” I added. “But let’s assume he’ll be here as soon as he finds out and—” I hesitated, the words sticking unexpectedly.
Jeremy waited.
“…Actually,” I said, exhaling, “I need to call Manning and let her know too.”
I didn’t like it. Not even a little. But liking it didn’t matter.
Rachel had been Frankie’s constant. Her shield. Her anchor when everything else was shifting under her feet. And right now, Frankie deserved every security blanket she could get her hands on.
Jeremy inclined his head, approval flickering briefly across his face. “I’ll plan accordingly.”
God. I really, really loved him.
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
He gave me the smallest smile. “That’s what I’m here for, Mr. Archie.”
With that, he turned smoothly toward the stairs to start orchestrating what amounted to a small army of care—food, space, and timing. In the meanwhile, I headed toward the sunroom to find Frankie and take care of who actually mattered.
Unsurprisingly, Manning answered on the first ring. “What’s happened? Is Frankie alright?”
Yeah, we weren’t close and why else would I be calling her? “To be determined…” I began before I filled her in on what had just happened.