Here With Us (The Archer Brothers)

I motion for Ryley to come chat with me, and she excuses herself from the table. We go outside and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly to my chest. “What happened?”

“It seems so silly now, but when we got out of the car, I saw the intersection and it all came rushing back to me. I hate having these thoughts and I haven’t had them in such a long time.” Because we moved. “I just want life to be normal.”

Me too, but it’ll never happen. I’ll never believe Lawson was the ringleader in the entire operation. He was just the one with some power and exercised it.

I cup her face with my hands and tilt her head so she’s looking at me. “We left normal behind in Washington. We talked about this. I’m going to be on alert, all the time, wondering who is lurking in the bushes.”

“We didn’t have normal in Washington. We lived in a secure house.”

“And our new one will be secure after this weekend. Nate and I have everything sitting in that ridiculous small garage. I’ll know if someone even looks at our house sideways.”

“I don’t want to live like we’re in a prison.”

“We won’t be, but you can’t blame me for wanting protection. I need to know who lurks in the darkness. I lost six years with you and EJ, and I don’t want to lose anymore.” Ryley nods and rises up onto her toes to offer me a kiss. I take it, greedily. “I love you, Ry. You and our son are the most important people in my life, and I’ll have to be dead before I let anything happen to you.”

“I know and I love you for it. I just don’t want to be scared. This is where we are meant to live, and I can’t let some demon take that away from me. From us.” She kisses me again. “Come on, the chips are as delicious as I remember and now that you guys are here, it gives us an excuse to order more.” Ryley takes my hand and leads me into the cantina. The seating has been rearranged and now everyone, except Nate and Lois, are sitting with their partner. And on the table is a pitcher of margaritas and a couple baskets of tortilla chips. Suddenly, I’m starving.

CHAPTER 6

RYLEY

I stand with my back to the front door and look at my dining room and then my living room. To me, my house is perfect and everything I wanted in a home. Granted, it’s much smaller than our home in Washington and the one we had before, but space doesn’t matter because each time I step over the threshold, I feel like I’m home.

The exterior color, a flawless mix of blue and teal, is precisely what I hoped it would be. I can easily say the pictures our realtor showed us didn’t do this place justice. The front porch is white, wide, and one of my favorite parts of the house, minus the backyard. I told Evan I plan to sit out there every night, in one of the rockers or on the swing, and say hi to our neighbors because I don’t want to live in fear, even though there’s a nagging voice in the back of my mind reminding me of everything. The other day, when Evan, Nate, and my dad installed the new cameras and security system, I felt like I could fully breathe again. If someone lurks, we’ll know about it.

Inside, everything screams beach house. The walls are a light gray with white molding. The countertops in the kitchen are quartz, and the floor is bamboo with a unique gray and brown pattern. Evan’s office is in our tiny garage since it’s not big enough for our car, and our guest bedroom is yellow. It’s a happy room which always brings a smile to your face when you walk in. Our master has a door that leads to a private balcony and cathedral ceilings. EJ’s room is gray and will get painted blue after the wedding. Whatever he wants, he can have. But it’s the back that I am over the moon about with the two sets of French doors leading out to a deck, hot tub, and pool. When we told EJ our new house would have a pool, he said we made him the happiest boy ever. Never mind the fact that we’re less than a five-minute walk to the beach. The backyard is concrete, which is okay since the front yard has grass for Deefur.

Today is our rehearsal dinner, and we’re having it at our new home. My mom wanted to book the Coronado Yacht Club, but I wanted it here.

I make my way outside and find Nate standing at the grill. Our relationship is hard to explain these days. We’re friends and probably still best friends, but the strain between him and Evan definitely affects us. It’s hard to look at him sometimes and not wonder how things would’ve been different. We crossed a line we never should’ve, and I’m equally to blame for that. Neither of us expected this outcome.