Page 19 of Red River

Lake nodded again. "Okay. I’ll show you."

Archer ruffled his golden hair, then stood up and turned to Aiden and Van. "How was the trip for you two?"

Aiden spoke first. "It was so boring!"

Van looked like he disagreed, but didn’t say anything.

"I hope what you see next will be more fun," Archer added with a smirk.

Then he turned toward the truck cab, as if looking for Igor, but only the driver and his assistant emerged.

"Good evening, we’re from MoveOn Company. Where should we unload the luggage?" the driver asked.

"Good evening. Please put everything here on the driveway first. We’ll bring it inside afterward," Archer instructed.

The workers nodded and moved to the back of the truck to open it.

Igor still hadn’t come out of the cab, which was now dark. I couldn’t tell if he was watching us or not.

"Van, is Igor still sleeping?" I asked nervously.

Van shook his head, his expression uncomfortable as he glanced at me and then at Archer, who was watching us closely.

"No, but I don’t think he wants to get out," Van mumbled.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

"Go to him now and tell him to come out immediately, or he’ll be in trouble," I hissed at Van, who quickly ran to the cab.

I turned back to Archer, who was studying me with an unreadable expression.

"Sam probably told you about the situation. Igor tried to establish himself as the dominant alpha—"

"I’m aware," Archer said tersely. "Did he return your phone yet?"

I blinked. "Stephen finally forced him to give it back. He knew I could just use Sam’s cell, so he figured it wasn’t worth keeping."

Archer pulled a phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Just in case, I got a backup for you."

I stared at it, stunned. "Oh. Thank you… but I already have one—"

"Take it. It’s got plenty of storage. Sam mentioned you’ve been running out of space for photos and videos of the boys. This one will be harder to fill up."

My heart tightened with a mix of excitement and gratitude. Archer had clearly reached out to Sam and learned about my…needs. I wasn’t someone who swooned easily, but this gesture felt personal. He’d thought about me.

"That’s very… kind. Thank you," I mumbled, feeling silly.

I glanced at the phone, realizing it was the latest model with a massive storage capacity—a pricey gadget, to say the least.

Just then, Van returned, looking dejected. "Igor doesn’t want to come out yet," he muttered, avoiding Archer’s gaze.

Shame and anger ran through me, but Archer seemed to ignore the update about Igor entirely.

"Well, let’s go on a tour of the house. I’ll show you your rooms; everything’s ready for you," Archer said, his tone steady.

I hesitated, opening my mouth to say something about Igor, but the unfazed look on Archer’s face made me close it.

I had to admit, I was impressed. With that simple move, Archer turned Igor’s defiance into a non-issue, asserting his dominance in a subtle but effective way. Igor was now excluded from an activity all my kids were excited about.

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