Archer's Voice(61)

Part of this was my fault. I shouldn't have pushed him to do something he wasn't ready for. I had just thought that maybe he'd never be completely ready, and a little nudge from someone who cared about him was a good thing. He couldn't live on his little plot of land his whole life, never venturing out beyond the grocery and hardware store. I didn't think he wanted that either. But maybe I should have been the one to help him step out into the world, instead of taking Travis up on his offer. Travis. What was his role in this whole thing? I had the feeling it was less than innocent. I had a vague notion that I might have thrown Archer to the wolves instead of helping him break out of his safety cocoon. At the very least, Travis hadn't stopped what happened at the club. Archer was so withdrawn and so shy. Surely, he wouldn't have sought out sex with another woman himself. A pang of hurt pierced my heart, and I wanted to cry again when I pictured him thrusting into some half-dressed woman. I closed my eyes and willed the tears away. I had been cheated on before–I would get over it.

Only… something about this didn't feel like he had cheated on me… exactly. It felt like… something else. I paused in my thoughts. No, I wasn't going to give him an excuse for a choice that was ultimately his. Oh God, I was so confused. And hurt. And confused.

That afternoon, after making a couple batches of my side salads, I called goodbye to Norm and Maggie and headed home for the day.

I remembered I needed a few things at the grocery store and so I made a quick stop there. As I was walking back to my car in the parking lot, my mind still turning over the situation with Archer until I thought I'd scream, I heard my name called softly.

I turned and a woman with short, brown hair and glasses was walking toward me pushing a cart.

I stopped my own cart and turned toward her, smiling slightly. "Hi," I said, tilting my head.

"Hi." She smiled warmly. "I know you don't know me. My name is Amanda Wright. Don't be weirded out about me knowing your name. I'm in a pinochle group with Anne." She smiled again, laughing softly.

"Oh! Okay," I said. "I live right next door to Anne."

She nodded. "I know. She told us about you during our game last week. And when I saw you today, I figured you had to be the Bree that Anne had described."

I nodded. "Well, it's so nice to meet one of Anne's friends. She's been so nice to me."

"Yes, she's lovely." She paused for a minute. "I hope you don't think this is forward, but… she mentioned that you were visiting Archer." She looked at me curiously.

Things had changed just a bit from the last time I'd chatted with Anne, but there was no way I was getting into that, so I just answered, "Yes."

She smiled and let out a breath. "I was his mother, Alyssa's, best friend," she said.

I sucked in a surprised breath. "You knew his mother?"

She nodded. "Yes, and I've always felt… so badly that I didn't do more for Archer when Alyssa died." She shook her head sadly. "I tried to go out there a couple times, but there were all these crazy signs up on that fence, warning about bombs and traps and… I just… I chickened out, I suppose." She looked thoughtful. "Then I heard around town that Archer had sustained some mental damage in that accident, and I just thought maybe his family was more capable of taking care of him and dealing with his situation." She pursed her lips. "Explaining it out loud makes me realize how weak I sound."

"Mrs. Wright–" I started.

"Please, call me Amanda."

I nodded. "Okay, Amanda, if you don't mind me being nosy, do you know what happened to cause the accident that day? Archer won't talk about it, and, well…" I wasn't sure how to finish that sentence, my words fading into nothing.

Amanda put her hand on my arm. "You care about him," she said, smiling. It looked like there were tears in her eyes.

I nodded. "I do." And in that moment, I realized that no matter what happened between me and Archer, I cared about him deeply, and I still wanted to help him live a life that included more than just him and some dogs and a slew of stone mason projects year after year.

Amanda stared off past my shoulder for a couple seconds, thinking, and then she said. "All I know about the accident itself are the few details that were in the paper. Of course those came from an out of town reporter–we don't have a paper here in Pelion. Other than that, people just don't talk about it. If you ask me, it's because of Victoria Hale–everyone is intimidated by her. She holds the power to get rid of jobs, close businesses, and she's done it when someone's butted heads with her, so there's reason for all of us to be concerned. And I'll tell you what, to my mind, whatever did happen the day of the accident, it started with Victoria Hale. She's never had any qualms about messing with people's lives to further her own agenda."