“Ah.”
“I thought about working on motorcycles,” he said.“But that would mean I was constantly around bikers.And I wanted ...”
I waited for him to go on.
“As much distance from the club as possible.”
“It must have been really bad then,” I said.
“Yeah, it was.”Archer ran a thumb along his chin.“The club had been going to shit for a long time.That’s why Brooks wanted us out.Things eventually got so bad the whole chapter disbanded.A few of the brothers went down to Waco and joined the chapter there.”
“Colt’s club, right?”
Archer nodded.“The others stayed in South Dakota.I don’t really know what they’re up to.I don’t keep in touch.”
“And after all that, why did you entertain the idea of joining up with the Coeur d’Alene chapter?”
“The devil you know.You can take the man out of the biker, but you can’t take the biker out of the man.”He shook his head.“Strange, though.”
“What is?”
“You’re family for the better part of a decade.Then one day, that’s not your life anymore.It’s like that phase of my life belongs to someone else.Someone I don’t even recognize.”He looked at me.“Does that make any sense?”
I took a deep breath.“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“What about you?”he asked.
“What about me?”
“Any phases that feel like they belong to someone else’s life?”
“I think it’s too soon to tell,” I admitted.“But the New York phase.That’s already feeling strange.I didn’t realize it at the time, but when Hadley moved home, that started a domino effect.And then Salem moved home.Then Poet settled here.I didn’t think I’d settle here.Not really.”
“No?”
I shook my head.“I really thought there was no way in hell I’d be able to find someone in a town the size of a pea when I couldn’t find someone in a city of eight and a half million people.”
“Not quantity, but quality?”
“Yeah.”I shot him a smile.“I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I wasn’t expecting you either.”
“I hoped for you,” I said.“Well, some version of you, anyway.”
“You mean a hot single dad with a killer mustache?”
I rolled my eyes.“You know what’s insane about online dating?You answer all these questions, fill out those profiles.You give potential partners as much information about you as possible so there’s hope you find someone with something in common.But if you’d asked me who I was going to fall in love with, I never would’ve pictured you.”I looked at him and smiled.“I’m glad it was you, Archer.I’m glad you surprised me.I’m glad you’re nothing like anyone I’ve ever dated.”
“I wasn’t the first, Wyn.But I’m damn happy I’m your last.”
We arrived at the downtown hotel that had been built in 1864.The new owners had preserved the Wild West ambiance.Antler chandelier in the lobby.Leather couches.Wooden floors covered in colorful motif rugs.
There was no elevator.The hotel was only two floors, so Archer hauled our luggage to our room that had one giant king-sized bed with a wrought iron headboard and a patchwork quilt.The moderately-sized bathroom was due for a renovation.I didn’t care though, because the room was clean and it was just a place to sleep.
After we dropped off our luggage, we checked in with Lenni who was having a grand old time hanging out with Poet at the bookstore.When they were done for the day, they’d have family dinner at the Ridge.
“You’re upset about missing family dinner,” Archer said with an amused smile.
