Choose Me (The Archer Brothers 2)

“Is it weird?” Tex asks, interrupting my daydream. When I said I’m back to work, I am, but only in the sense that I show up on base and watch everyone, even Carole. Commander Clarke, as I refer to her when we’re on base, suggested I keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth and my fingers off the keyboard. I’m doing as she says.

“Is what weird?” I ask, bending over to pick up some rope.

“Having your brother back?”

I shrug, keeping up the pretense that we’re on the outs. We’re not, but we’re not exactly friends. He does respond to my text messages and I consider that a huge step from where we were earlier.

“I’m happy he’s home, but he’s trying to steal my woman.” I make it sound worse than it is. Truth is, Ryley belongs to Evan and it’s something that I’m slowly starting to realize. Now if only my heart would listen.

“It’s not mine,” he blurts out, catching me off guard.

“What isn’t?” I ask as I wait for him to pick up the other section of rope. I found us grunt work to do that would put us near the building of Admiral Ingram. Tex doesn’t need to know, but having an unsuspecting partner in crime is always nice.

“The baby, it’s not mine.”

“How do you feel about that?”

He stops mid stride, causing me to turn around. “You said being a dad is one of the greatest joys in your life, do you still feel that way knowing your brother is going to take your son away?”

I set my section down and look at Tex. “It’s not that Evan will take EJ away, I’ll still be there. EJ needs to know that Evan is his dad, but we’re not forcing the situation. But yeah, being a dad is pretty much the best feeling in the world, why?”

Tex shrugs. “After we got back I went and saw her, and thought, ‘yeah I can do this’. But then another guy comes around and he says the baby is his. So I ask her and she says it’s his, but his job isn’t stable and she wants us to get married so she can have benefits and all that shit.”

My mouth drops open, but honestly I’m not surprised. This is one of the reasons Ryley refused to hang out with any of the girlfriends because they’re intentions aren’t always for the best. Hearing him say it out loud, though, really turns my stomach.

“Come on, let’s get this rope stowed. I’m meeting Ryley for lunch.”

“Ah, a little lunch time nookie in the back of your car,” he jokes.

“Yeah, something like that,” I reply. Except it isn’t and I don’t expect it to be. I don’t ask what goes on at the house either. I’m just hoping she’s respecting the ring that she wears. As soon as we’re finished, I take off in search of Ryley. We’re meeting at the café near base since she refuses to even step foot past the gate.

The café is just a short jog and I find her sitting outside, waiting for me. As soon as she sees me, she stands and has a bottle of water waiting for me in her outstretched hand. I guzzle down the ice-cold water first before leaning in to give her a kiss. Our lips linger against each other’s momentarily until I pull away.

“I thought we could get some ice cream and go sit on the beach.”

“For lunch?”

She shrugs. “I thought it’d be something different. Besides, I already ate.”

“You did?” I ask, pulling her into the café. “Why are we having lunch then?”

I tell the waitress our order and pay. For as long as I’ve known Ryley, she’s ordered the same kind of ice cream and if the place doesn’t have it, she usually goes without.

Walking side by side, both of us carrying cups of ice cream, we sit down on one of the log formations. There’s a charred out fire pit which was probably done by one of my Team members or some other sailors hanging out down here.

“I had lunch with Cara today,” she says in between bites. “She asked about you. In fact, she spent the entire lunch talking about you.”

“Is that so?”

Ryley nods as she puts a spoonful of her favorite raspberry and chocolate ice cream in her mouth. “Mhm,” she mumbles.

I finish off my cup and set it down in the sand. The ocean waves are calm, but won’t be later when BUD/S training starts. I’d like to watch this new class, but I have other pressing issues to deal with.

“Ry, there’s nothing going on with Cara. I’ve spent some time with her, but she’s just trying to help us figure out what happened.”

“I know,” she says as she puts her cup down and pulls my hand into hers. “She loves you and I know you love her. I also know that you love me, but it’s not the same. She’s your Evan and we both know the only reason you’re not together is because Evan died. But he’s not dead anymore…”

“Ryley, are you trying to tell me that you chose Evan?”