AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seventeen
Archer
“Come in, come in.” Willow ushered Delaney and me into the house. She had a pair of reading glasses on top of her head and a floral apron over her clothing.
My wife entered, her eyes wide as if every corner she looked into held ghosts staring back at her. This had to be trippy for her.
“Laney.” Willow yanked Delaney to her and held on for several seconds. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you again.”
The same wide-eyed stare was directed toward Willow. “Um, thanks.”
My aunt patted her shoulder as she broke away. “No worries, dear. I know how weird it must be.”
Willow tugged me into her embrace. I accepted it better than Delaney. I doubted Cheryl hugged like this.
“It smells delicious,” I said as I stepped back.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little hotdish I whipped up.”
Delaney clasped her hands in front of her. Her gaze touched on the family portrait that hung on the wall—a much-younger Bruce and Willow with two little boys. The one that must have been Derek reminded me of Ansen at that age. He had a mischievous grin and a lock of hair that stood straight up toward the back of his head. The older brother was more solemn, wearing an expression that made it seem like he’d been dragged, bribed, and threatened into sitting nicely for the photo. That also reminded me of Ansen.
Damn, I needed to call my brother.
Delaney caught me staring and gave me a guilty smile like,Sorry you’re having a meal at my ex-boyfriend’s house.I gave her a smile to let her know this didn’t bother me.
Delaney handed a bottle of wine to Willow. “I had to rely on Archer’s recommendation since I don’t drink wine.”
“Oh, look at that. I don’t get a chance to drink much wine either.” Willow flipped her readers down from the top of her head. She studied the label. “It’ll be exciting to try the new stuff. Let me put this in to chill. Right? Is that what we do with wine?”
Delaney shrugged and I nodded.
“Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll be right back.” Willow whisked the bottle away in the direction the delicious smells were coming from. I exchanged an amused glance with Delaney. Willow was the peacekeeper of the family, and from what I’d heard from Delaney about Bruce and Derek and the whispered rumors that Evander might actually come home, Willow must’ve had several full-time years of keeping the peace. It was a compliment she left us to do her thing while we took care of ourselves.
Delaney tipped her head toward the living room. I followed her in to the couch. Everyone talked about how the Barrons were so well off, but it wasn’t apparent from the house. It might have more square footage than Delaney’s parents’ place, and it had been updated at some point in the last ten years, but the style wasn’t extraordinary. It was comfortable. Homey. No doubt what Willow was going for.
The door opened and Bruce entered. He brushed off his boots on the rug, his gaze seeking us out. “Archer, Laney. I thought I heard you two pull up.” He didn’t bother checking on Willow. They were probably the type of couple where she shooed him out of the kitchen. The house was her domain; everything outside its walls was his problem.
Dad had thought that was how it worked. I remembered the night Mama had set him straight.Allan, if you want me to decide what’s for dinner for the rest of your life, you’d better help make it once in a while.
The memory coaxed a smile to my face. Dad could do little more than brown hamburger and throw together random casseroles, but he’d done it once a week until Mama died. Ansen and I would take bets on whether we’d have to eat leftovers the next day or whether Mama would make the remains disappear.
Bruce sat in the recliner across from the couch. “Is this different than you remember, Laney?”
Surprise brightened her eyes like she hadn’t expected Bruce to comment like Willow had. “A little. I like what you did with it, with the distressed wood and—” Delaney jumped up as dishes clattered from the kitchen. “I’ll go see if she wants a hand.”
I held back a smile. Delaney was battling her own memories and sitting with my uncle after years of animosity made helping Willow in the kitchen the better option.
“It’ll take a while,” he said. “I’m not proud of how I acted before…” He clenched his jaw and averted his gaze. “I can only change moving forward, and Laney’s a good kid. Always has been. Kane too.”
“I think she’s pretty amazing.” I shot my uncle a wry grin to lighten the mood. “Kane too.”
Bruce chuckled. “We didn’t get much chance to talk the other night. Tell me about your brother.”
“Ah,I don’t know a whole lot. We haven’t…We don’t…” What should I say? I was getting tired of not knowing how to answer the simplest questions about my dad and my brother.
He doesn’t know I’m married.
Honestly, if something happened to him in the last three years, I’m not confident I’d know.
