Page 29 of All It Takes

“Well, I was going to check the results right now,” I muttered. “The doctor texted earlier and said everything looked good, but they’d send the results.”

“Open your fucking results,” Alice ordered.

I groaned, setting my fork down and lifting my phone. She was not going to let me blow this off.

After I logged into the online portal, she held her hand out. “Let me see.”

“This is private information,” I hedged even though I didn’t care if she saw it.

“You said everything was fine, and you’re my friend. Either read them to me or show me.”

I simply handed my phone over to her. Her eyes skimmed the screen. “No more pain?” she asked.

I shook my head. “None. There was a little numbness right around the area afterward. They said that might remain because they had to remove it directly off the nerve sheath, but the numbness went away. I’m not having the breathtaking pain anymore.”

“I’m giving you homework,” she announced as she handed my phone back.

“Excuse me?”

Alice nodded, finishing the bite she’d just taken. “You need to tell your father and Chase what happened. I don’t care if you don’t want to tell them about your dumb ex who turned out to be an idiot and an asshole, but you had surgery on your back, and you didn’t tell anybody in your family about it. I get wanting to keep things private and not freak people out, but I’d willingly give up a limb if I had parents to worry about telling these kinds of things to.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling chagrined since her parents had died, and I knew she missed them. She had a point. “I probably should’ve told them sooner. I kind of panicked when I started having pain. When they ordered the MRI and found a growth, I panicked even more, and it just mushroomed into this thing I didn’t want anybody to worry about. I’ll tell them.” I took a swallow of coffee as she gave a satisfied nod. “Speaking of Chase, he and Hallie and Archer and Phoebe want us to have a dinner get-together with Wes and me and to bring Ross.”

“Like a couples thing?” Alice asked, a slight glint in her eyes.

“Wes and I arenota couple,” I ground out.

My friend let out a knowing chuckle. “If you say so.”

ChapterTwenty

WES

Phoebe had just opened the door to the house and was saying hello when a boy came running down the hallway, letting out what could only be a whoop and spinning a small lasso in the air. “I didn’t know you had a son,” I commented as Archer approached.

He chuckled. “We don’t. This is our neighbor’s son. They’re out of town for the weekend.”

“Ah, that makes sense. I know I haven’t been back in town that long, but I thought I would’ve known if you had kids since Phoebe and I see each other at the station on the regular.”

Phoebe was one of several female firefighters at the station and happened to be on my crew. As she closed the door behind me, I glanced around the space, my eyes returning to Archer. “It looks the same but different.”

This was Archer’s childhood home. We had been friends in elementary school before he moved away in middle school. You wouldn’t know it, but Archer’s family was wealthy—like ridiculously wealthy. The Cannon family owned Fireweed Industries, which had started as a small winery and brewery in Fireweed Harbor. When they had some success a few decades earlier, they’d bought up properties and expanded into ventures all over Alaska and then all over the world. His parents had owned and run a mine near Willow Brook when he was younger before they shut it down. He had returned recently and renovated the entire business into a renewable energy company.

Archer winked as he looked around. “It does look the same but different. The bones of the house are good. We had Amelia and Lucy help us renovate it.”

“Come on in.” Phoebe gestured for me to follow her.

We crossed through an entryway into the main living room. It was an open-concept home with a tall, angled ceiling and a wall of windows, offering a stunning view out over a field with the mountains and a glacier in the distance, complete with a wide stream crossing through the side of the field. From the living room, there was an arched opening into the kitchen and a hallway that led to bedrooms and an upper floor.

“Over here.” Phoebe pointed at a comfortable-looking sofa. Just beyond that was a buffet selection of food on a sideboard.

“Are you cooking?” I glanced at Archer.

He shook his head with a grin. “I can handle the basics. When we decided we were doing this, I ordered some platters from Wildlands,” he explained, referencing a favorite local restaurant.

Phoebe interjected, “We were both busy today, so this seemed easier. Where is Ross?” The boy who I’d yet to meet came running back down the hallway.

“We were hoping Tommy would have someone to hang out with tonight,” Archer added. “They’re about the same age, I think. How old is Ross?”

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