Archer's Voice

I allowed myself to drink him in for a few moments before I rushed out from behind the counter and jumped in his arms. He spun me around as I laughed and then put me down, looking shyly over at Maggie.

Maggie waved her hand. "Don't stop on account of me. Nothing makes me happier than seeing you two together. Welcome home, Archer."

Archer tipped his head and smiled and then looked up as Norm came out of the back. "Why don't you two quit making a spectacle of yourselves and go sit at that table in the back there? Plenty of privacy." He looked at Archer and his face softened ever so slightly. "Archer," he said, "you're looking well."

Archer smiled at him and reached out his hand and shook it, and then smiled at me and I grinned back, my heart singing. "Shall we?" I asked.

We sat down at the table toward the back of the diner and Maggie called over, "What can I get you?"

"It's okay, Maggie," I called. "I'm gonna put in a lunch order in a minute."

"Okay," she called back, taking a seat at the break table again.

I reached across the table and took Archer's hand just as the bell over the door rung again. I looked up and my blood froze in my veins, my skin prickling and a strangled sound coming up my throat. It was him.

No. Oh God. No, no, no. Bells seemed to be clanging loudly in my ears and I was frozen.

His wild eyes found mine almost immediately and a look of pure hatred filled his face.

This isn't real. This isn't real, I chanted in my head as I felt the vomit coming up my throat. I swallowed it down and squeaked again.

Archer's head swiveled back in the direction my eyes were trained and he stood up immediately when he saw the man behind him. I stood up too on legs that were shaking so badly, I didn't know if I'd stay upright, a huge surge of adrenalin rushing through my system.

The man didn't even seem to see Archer just in front of me and to my right, his eyes still focused only on me.

"You ruined my f**king life, you bitch," he gritted out. "Do you know who I am? My dad was going to hand the company over to me before you pointed your finger. Do you think I'm going to let you walk away while I lose everything?"

My mind was screaming, the loud sound of the blood rushing in my ears not allowing me to make any sense of his words.

His eyes looked bloodshot and overly bright, just like they had the last time. He was on something. Either that, or he was stone cold crazy.

Please, please be calling the police, Maggie. Oh God, Oh God, how is this possible?

And then it all happened in an instant. Something flashed in the man's hand and the room seemed to tilt on its axis as I saw that it was a gun. He brought it up and aimed it straight at me. I saw a brief flash of fire as Archer threw his body in front of mine, slamming back into me as we both went down, me falling on the floor just behind Archer.

And then I heard another gunshot and Travis's voice yelling, "I need assistance!" over the crackle of a radio.

I scuttled backwards, noticing immediately that the man who had fired at me was lying still on the floor, and that Archer wasn't moving either. I let out a strangled sob and lurched forward, reaching for him. He was lying on his side, his face turned toward the floor. I pulled him backwards so that he was on his back and let out an anguished cry when I saw the front of his shirt already soaked in blood.

Oh no, Oh God, no, no, no. Please, no. Please no.

My own sobs mixed with all the noise starting up around me now, footsteps, what I thought were Maggie's soft cries, Norm's gravely voice, and chairs scraping against the floor. But my eyes didn't move from Archer.

I pulled him into me, rocking him, smoothing my hands down his face as I whispered to him over and over, "Hang on, baby, hang on. I love you, Archer, I love you, don't you dare leave me now."

"Bree," I heard Travis say quietly, as the sound of an ambulance grew louder outside the diner. "Bree, let me help you up."

"No!" I screamed, pulling Archer closer to me. "No! No!" I rocked him some more, putting my face right next to his, feeling his rough cheek against my own, and whispering to him again, "Don't you leave me, I need you, don't you leave me."

But Archer didn't hear me, he was already gone.

CHAPTER 34

You brought the silence,

The most beautiful sound I'd ever heard,

Because it was where you were.

And now you've taken it away.

And all the noises, all the sounds in the world,

Aren't loud enough to pierce my broken heart.

I look up at the stars, endless and forever, and whisper,

Come back to me,

Come back to me,

Come back to me.

CHAPTER 35

Bree

The whole town gathered to honor Archer Hale.

The people of Pelion, young and old, came together to show their support for the man who had been a quiet part of their community since the day he was born. His silent wound, his unnoticed isolation, now understood by all, and finally, his gentle heart and act of bravery, inspired shops to close, and those who rarely came out of their homes to join with the other citizens in the largest show of support the town had ever seen. A small, silent star, always on the outskirts, hardly noticed before, had shone so brightly, that the whole town stopped to gaze upon his brilliance, to finally open their eyes enough to welcome him as part of their small constellation.

I heard again and again that my and Archer's story made people want to be better, to reach out to those no one else saw, to be friends to the friendless, to look at others more closely, and recognize pain when they came across it, and then to do something about it if they were able.

I walked in that cold day in February, Maggie on one arm and Norm on the other and we took our seats as people smiled kindly at me and nodded their heads. I smiled and nodded back. This was my community now too. I was part of the constellation as well.

Outside, the rain had just begun to fall and I heard a boom of thunder in the distance. I wasn't afraid though. When a thunderstorm comes, I had told him, I'll think of you, not anything other than you. And I always did. Always.

Archer had gone away once before–three long months where I missed him desperately every single day. This time he was gone from me for three solid weeks before he came back. He was in a deep coma and the doctors couldn't tell me when they thought he might wake up, or if he would wake up at all. But I waited. I would always wait. And I prayed and I whispered to the heavens every night, come back to me, come back to me, come back to me.

On another rainy day at the end of January, just as the thunder boomed and the lightening flashed in his hospital room, he opened his eyes and looked at me. My own heart thundered in my ears, louder than that outside the window, and I'd jumped up from the chair I'd been sitting in and rushed to his side, choking out, "You're back." I picked up his hands and brought them to my lips, kissing them again and again, my tears falling onto his fingers, his knuckles, those beautiful hands that held a whole language, that allowed me to know what was in his mind and his heart. I loved those hands. I loved him. My tears continued to fall.

He'd looked at me for several minutes before he brought his hands away from mine and signed slowly, his fingers moving stiffly, I'm back for you.

I laughed out a strangled cry, and put my head down on his chest and held on to him tightly as the nurses rushed into the room.

And now, the whole town waited as Archer walked toward the podium, still stiff from the bandages surrounding his torso and the surgeries he'd had to repair his internal organs.

I looked around once more. Travis stood in the back of the room, still in uniform from his shift. I caught his eye and nodded at him. He nodded back, and smiled slightly. I still wasn't sure how I felt about Travis exactly, but he deserved my respect for his own act of heroism that awful day.

It had recently come to light that the man who had found me that day, Jeffrey Perkins, had gotten hooked on heroin and had been cut off from his family. He'd shown up at our family deli that night in need of money and a fix.

His dealer had given over his name as part of a plea deal to save his own skin. Apparently Jeffrey had shown up that night splattered in blood and babbling about shooting a guy in a deli.

He had started to get his act together and his father had begun to accept him back into the family fold when I had identified him in that photo lineup.

After his arrest, his father disinherited him again and he turned back to drugs.

Travis had confronted his mother. He was a good cop, with good instincts, and he recognized his mother for who she was–a vindictive woman so filled with hate and bitterness, that she would do anything to keep what she saw as rightfully hers–the town, money, respect, social standing.

He had also been there when Victoria Hale overheard me talking about Jeffrey Perkins' arrest. He put the pieces together.

What other way would a strung out heroin addict have to find me in the diner that terrible day? We had underestimated her hatred for me, the person who had, in essence, undone all that her manipulation had accomplished for her over the years.

When Travis came to me and told me about his confrontation and her denial, a denial he didn't believe, he said he'd told her to move away, or he would bring an investigation against her. Even though he knew he didn't have enough evidence to prosecute, there was nothing left for her in Pelion except shame.

Now, with Victoria's departure and with the absence of an executor to the trust, Archer inherited the will and land of the Hale family a year before his twenty-fifth birthday.

Travis looked haggard, unshaven, and almost numb, like he wasn't sleeping. He had had his own career in trying to manipulate lives. But after all, he had learned from the best. Deep down though, I didn't think that Travis wanted anyone to come to any real harm. His mother was a different story. I got the impression that seeing her for who she really was, and what she was capable of doing, had changed him in some dramatic way. There was a deep sadness in his eyes and he'd delivered the information to me in a monotone and then left me to my grief once again as I waited in the hospital for Archer to come back to me.

A hush fell over the auditorium as Archer walked toward the short set of stairs.

Norm, standing off to the side, signed, Knock 'em dead, and raised his chin at him, his expression serious. A look of surprise washed over Archer's face and then he nodded at him. I bit down on my lip, holding back a sob.

Mrs. Aherne, the town librarian, who had checked out hundreds of books to Archer over the last four years on subjects from masonry to sign language, but had never once asked him a single question, or tried to engage him in any way, signed, We're all behind you, Archer. Tears were shimmering in her eyes and the look on her face told me she wished she had done better. Archer smiled at her and nodded, signing back, Thank you.

As he took the stage and stood behind the podium, he nodded at the interpreter, standing to his right, a man he had hired to help him when he needed to address the town as a whole, on occasions such as this one.

Archer began to move his hands and the interpreter began speaking. My eyes only held Archer though, watching as his hands flew, so graceful and sure in their movements. My heart soared with pride.

Thank you all for coming, he said, pausing and looking around. The land this town is on has been in my family for a long, long time, and I intend to run it as each Hale has run it before me–with the knowledge and belief that each person who lives here matters, that each of you get a vote on what happens and doesn't happen in Pelion. He looked around pointedly at all the faces in the crowd before continuing. After all, Pelion is not the land it sits on, but the people who walk its streets and run its shops and live and love in its homes. He paused again. I think you'll find me an agreeable landlord, and I've been told I'm a good listener. The crowd laughed lightly, and Archer looked shy for a second, looking down before continuing. There will be a vote tonight about the development slated for this town and I know some of you are very passionate about getting to that. But I'd like everyone to know that if ever in the future, any of you have any concerns or suggestions, my door will always be open.

The crowd kept watching him, smiling and nodding with approval, finding other eyes and nodding at them as well.

Finally, Archer looked out at the crowd and the gentle, quiet murmurings ceased completely as his eyes found mine. I smiled at him encouragingly, but he just kept gazing at me for a few seconds before bringing his hands up again.

I'm here for you. I'm here because of you. I'm here because you saw me, not just with your eyes, but with your heart. I'm here because you wanted to know what I had to say and because you were right… everyone does need friends. I laughed softly, swiping a tear off of my cheek. Archer kept gazing at me, his eyes filled with love.

I'm here because of you, he said, and I'll always be here because of you.

I heaved out a big breath, tears running unabashedly down my cheeks now. Archer smiled gently at me and then looked back around at the crowd.

Thank you again for being here, for your support. I look forward to getting to know you all a lot better, he finished.

A single clap started in the back of the room, and then several more joined in until the whole room was clapping and whistling, and Archer grinned, and looked down shyly once more, and I shed a few more tears, laughing through them now. A few people stood up and more followed until the entire audience was standing and clapping vigorously for him.

And as he smiled around at the crowd, his eyes landed on mine again, and he raised his hands and signed, I Bree you, and I laughed and signed, I Archer you. God, I Archer you so much.

And then he shook hands with the interpreter and stepped down off the podium and I moved out of my seat, Maggie squeezing my hand as I walked by her. I walked toward him, single minded, and when we reached each other, despite the bandages under his shirt, he swept me up in his arms and swung me around as he laughed silently against my lips, those golden brown eyes filled with warmth, with love.