Page 38 of The Archer and his Rosebud

The couch shiftsand my eyes open to Willa leaning over me, her fingers smoothing my hair. “For once, I get up to use the bathroom and return to find you two sound asleep.” She withdraws, her gaze flicking to the little brick sleeping on my chest. “Time for us to head home.”

“Sorry.” I release a quiet, tired groan. “Nolan had a bad night last night, so I didn’t get much sleep.”

“Nightmares?”

“Yeah. I ended up on the ground next to him.” I stretch my neck, the aches from last night remain. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Poor guy, you’re such a dinosaur.”

The corner of my mouth twitches. “You know, as tiring as they are, I sure miss not having them with me all the time.” I pat Clem’s diapered behind. “I didn’t get enough of this with them. I want this.”

This.I can’t have the boys with me twenty-four-seven, but I want a partner beside me. I want more kids. If Willa and Clementine have taught me anything, it’s that I’m not done. Leah and I might have done things unconventionally, but I wanted what we had, what we were building.

Chewing on her lip, Willa touches my forearm before scooting to the edge of the couch. “You deserve it, Archer. Leah was a stupid woman.”

“I like to think so.”

Willa grins and moves to gather Clem’s empty bottle and diaper bag. I join her at my front door. “I’ll walk y’all home.”

Willa doesn’t argue about it anymore. Yes, our doors are twenty-five feet apart. Yes, our building is secure. She can walk home just fine, but I don’t want her to. I want her to know that someone in Vermont is looking out for her.

After unlocking her apartment and dropping Clem’s bag inside, Willa reaches for Clem. “You look exhausted. Get some sleep.”

I move closer, slipping Clem into Willa’s arms but not letting go. “You were touching my hair.”

She stills but recovers fast. “I couldn’t not do it. I’m insanely jealous of those thick, dark curls. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Leaning down, I press a kiss to Clem’s head, then another to her mother’s forehead. “I liked it. Good night, Rosebud.”

* * *

September flies by in a blink.Between work and babysitting for Willa, dinner together and binging shows every night, not to mention the boys coming on the weekends, life has shifted into a groove I never saw coming. Like clockwork, when 6:00 p.m. rolls around, I don’t anticipate a knock, but the turn of the knob as Willa lets herself in. After being unable to answer the door one night, and her waiting on my doorstep, I told her not to bother with manners and come on in.

Their showing up each night gives me a work-life balance. No more grinding away at my keyboard and monitors every waking moment. And watching Clementine twice a week? That’s been pure enjoyment. Even if others don’t understand.

I glance at her on the floor as I hold my cell phone to my ear. “Yeah. I’ll call Paige tomorrow.”

“So, what’s going on with you and this girl across the hall?”

“Her name’s Willa, Mom, and she’s not a girl. She’s a woman, a grown woman.”

“Just because she’s a mom doesn’t make her a grown woman.”

“She’s not that young. Geez.” I swipe a hand down my face and Clem squawks, batting at her silicone rattle on the blanket.

“What was that? Is she there now?”

“No, just her daughter. Willa had a dance class she needed to teach, so I help out when I can.”

“Archer Henry, you babysit for this girl?”

Breaking out the middle name. I might be thirty, but being a parent never stops. “I know how hard it is to be a single parent with no family nearby. There’s nothing wrong with lending a hand.” Plus, Clementine isn’t a chore to take care of. I’ve loved having a little one-on-one time with her.

“You talk about this girl so much. Every time we speak, she’s either on her way over, or you’re on your way out to see her.”

“We’re friends. And please, will you stop calling her a girl?” Willa’s younger, and that’s a fact I haven’t forgotten, but she’s very much a woman.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to get tangled up in her drama. It makes me nervous.”

---