Page 57 of The Archer Brothers

I sigh and squeeze her hands with mine. “If this were any other situation I’d say anything, but I’m almost afraid of what you might ask of me.”

Ryley’s eyes meet mine, they’re wet and I know I’m the cause of her tears. She tries to smile but her lips form a thin line, making me wonder what the hell has just happened. We were fine at the beach and everything was fine in the kitchen. What happened in the few short minutes with Nate that would make everything change?

“I need to talk to Nate and I can’t do that with you here. You’re angry with him and I get that, but as much as this hurts, Nate lives here. And right now I’m on the edge, about to fall off the damn cliff of confusion and need both of you to meet me half way.”

“You want me to leave you here with him?” I let go of one of her hands and point up to the ceiling, the general direction to where Nate is currently hiding out like a coward.

“He’s not going to hurt me.”

I scoff. “Right, because he loves you.”

Ryley nods and I feel defeated. “You’re choosing him?”

“No, I’m choosing me. I’m choosing EJ. I’m asking that you give me time to talk to Nate. Time to figure things out so I know what the hell is going on with my life. He says he didn’t know, Evan, that has to mean something to you –”

“It means nothing.”

“Don’t interrupt me. I’ve earned the right to speak my mind,” she scolds, taking a deep breath. “For the past month I have questioned everything I’ve known since the last time I saw you walk out the door. I’ve even questioned what I know about Nate, and that’s not fair to him.”

Ryley places her hands on my cheeks, keeping my eyes focused on her. “I love you, Archer. And if you love me, you’ll give me what I’m asking. I need to talk to Nate without your interference. He has that right, just as I gave it to you.”

I nod, knowing she’s right. Leaning forward, I place a kiss on her forehead and hold my lips there as long as I can. When I pull away I hear her sniffle. I hate that she’s crying. I don’t want to cause her tears, but my fear is if I give her what she’s asking for, I’m going to lose.

“I’ll be at River’s,” I say as I walk away.

I choose to sit on the steps of River’s house instead of knocking. I shouldn’t have come here, but he was the obvious choice. Three of us returned to find different lives and each of us have to find a way to deal with what’s happened. Tucker McCoy can’t find his wife and daughter. Justin Rask’s parents want nothing to do with him. Then there’s my situation with Ryley and Nate. River, whose wife welcomed him home with open arms as if nothing happened, is the only one who isn’t submerged in drama.

Coming here was wrong. He’s not going to understand. As far as he’s concerned everything is perfect. His wife was waiting for him, holding vigil until he returned. She, unlike the rest of our families, held out hope her husband was alive. Why her and not Ryley? If anything, I would’ve expected Ryley to question everything. Maybe she did, but didn’t get anywhere. She wasn’t my wife so her hands were tied. Fact of the matter is that if she’s not legally a spouse, she has no rights as far as the military is concerned.

The door opens before I can make my decision to leave. The heavy footfalls tell me it’s River. He sits down next to me and hands me a beer. I’ve been out in the sun all day; I’m over-emotional and tired and a beer is the last thing I need, but it feels damn good going down the back of my throat.

“Want to talk about it?”

I shake my head and take another drink from the bottle, downing most of it. My fingers glide over the imprinted label. No longer paper, but melted into the glass.

“When did they change the bottles?”

He shrugs. He doesn’t know any more than I do. We’ve lost six years and the people who were tasked with protecting us did such a stand up job that they forgot to tell us we’re all dead or, at the very least, fill us in on everything we missed - like beer bottles with no paper labels. I suppose the bogus letters we received from home should’ve been enough to keep us in the loop but they weren’t.

“Nate’s back and she asked me to leave so she could talk to him.”

River is silent next to me. Only the birds, traffic and planes flying overhead curb the dullness between us. When I’m with Ryley, I can open up. I can tell her how I’m feeling or what I’m thinking. But sitting here with River, opening up is the last thing I want to do. He’s not going to understand because hehashis wife. He came home to everything that he left behind and the only thing he lost was time.

“You knew he was bound to return.”

“Deep down I was hoping he’d be gone for six years so I could undo everything that’s been done.” I tap my beer bottle against the brick step, listening to the clank it makes with each hit. “They have a connection. It’s there; I saw it. He loves her, he always has, and I’m afraid I may be too late. I’m not sure if what we have…had... will be enough to break through what they share.”

“Your death brought them together?”

I nod. “Yep, as much as I don’t want to admit it, they bonded over someone they lost, then EJ arrived and he was the link that kept them together. I think that if EJ hadn’t been born, Nate wouldn’t have hung around, but he was doing what I asked of him... he was taking care of my family. He just took it a step too far.”

Once again, only the outdoor noises keep the awkward silences at bay. We’re just two guys sitting on a stoop. From an outsider’s point of view, we’re just hanging out. Only he knows that I’ve been asked to leave my girl alone with the one man who stands between us.

As I sit here with him I can’t help but want to ask him something that’s been plaguing my mind since we came back. I hesitate, though, because if I ask him what I’m thinking it could put a serious dent in our relationship and I don’t want that to happen. I’ve already lost enough.

I breathe in and exhale loudly in frustration causing him to look at me. “What’s up?” he asks with a knowing expression on his face.

Scratching the back of my head, I realize it’s now or never. I look over my shoulder at his house before looking at him. “Have you asked yourself why Frannie was waiting for you? I mean, look at us – we were dead to them. Rask’s parents won’t talk to him. McCoy’s wife and daughter are long gone. Ryley’s moved on. You’re the only one who came home to everything as normal as it was when we left.”

---