Page 20 of Beautiful Thing

My attention perks up and my stomach growls shamelessly. “Wow. This smells amazing,” I whisper.

“One of Karli’s meal prep things,” he says in explanation.

Karli launched a subscription meal prep service back when she abandoned her med school dreams and moved back to Starlight Falls. How she manages her own company, together with married life and her online dietician studies, I’ll never understand. But business has been booming for her and I’m so proud of my bestie.

“Thank you,” I mumble and Archer just gives me a nod.

I waste no time, digging in, eating greedily, and periodically letting out a moan. I can’t even remember the last time I had areal, full meal. Cold, leftover bites of grilled cheese or macaroni don’t count.

When I sense Archer’s eyes on me, I slow down, cheeks heating up as I chew. I laugh softly. “I feel like a pig, shoveling food into my face while you watch.”

He doesn’t return my laugh. “The better you take care of you, the better you’ll be able to take care of Sky,” he says, a chiding edge in his low tone.

“I’m doing my best,” I promise, my voice cracking.

Archer nods solemnly. “I know. I see you.”

My heart creaks inside my chest.

Then he turns and walks away, disappearing into the room at the farthest end of the hallway. Meanwhile, I battle the tears prickling the backs of my eyes.

8

ARCHER

Asense of satisfaction sweeps over me as I stack the last of the firewood in the outdoor shed and head back toward my house. I may be well stocked up for the winter but splitting a few logs before work is still my favorite way to start the day.

I stroll into the living room, smiling to myself at the sight of Sky. He sits in the middle of the floor, watching his cartoons and making a loud racket.

“Hey buddy,” I greet him.

“Mista Musdache…” he mumbles absently, barely sparing me a glance. He’s too busy, bopping along to the nursery rhyme jams on the screen and banging the TV remote on his blocks like a hammer.

With a chuckle, I ruffle his little head as I walk by. The kid is adorable. Even at his age, he already has a full head of hair, the same rich shade of mahogany as his mom’s.

I head for the kitchen and when I spot Layla, my feet pause.

She’s crouched in a fighting position with a half-melted plastic container gripped in her hand. She’s in the middle of a standoff with a rather large spider that’s crawling up the side ofthe cabinet. Looks like she’s preparing to capture this monstrous eight-legged creature, and if I hadto guess, I’d bet she’s planning to release the thing outside in the wild.

Even from the other side of the room, I can see that she’s terrified. She’s shaking and muttering to herself as she slowly approaches her target.

“Come on, little guy…Work with me here…I won’t hurt you…Just promise you won’t jump on my face…”

I watch in amusement as she speaks in hushed tones to the spider, desperately trying to convince it to crawl into her container on its own free will.

Spoiler alert: her persuasion tactics aren’t working.

I finally speak up. “Am I interrupting your hostage negotiations in here?”

At the sound of my voice, Layla jumps a mile off the floor and drops her container. It clatters at her feet, sending the spider scurrying further up the cabinet.

She spins to face me. Judging by her terrified eyes, it’s like she thinks I’m a big, hairy spider, too.

I bend down, pick up the container and reach up to capture the spider with ease. I march the thing over to the back door and release it outside.

“Thank you,” Layla says on a relieved sigh, wiping sweat off her temple.

“You’re welcome. But what I’m trying to figure out is why you’re in here trying to catch a spider in the first place, when you’re clearly terrified out of your mind.”

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