Archer's Angels (12 page)

“We’d like you to consider living there,” Mason said. “We’d like for you and your children to have a place to call your own.”

Clove’s fork fell into her plate. She put her hand in her lap as she glanced at Archer. He was watching her, waiting for an answer. Clearly, he’d been in on this plan, too.

“Careful,” Lucy murmured. “Think before you speak.”

But Clove couldn’t react beyond the angry astonishment she felt. “No,” she said. “We already have a place to call our own. It’s my home, and I don’t need another one.”

What they didn’t understand was that she didn’t want them to rush in and take care of her. Her feelings would be different if Archer had wanted her—ever wanted her—but he was obviously doing what he had to do to save face in his family. “You don’t even know me,” she told them all. “And most especially you,” she said with
a pained look at Archer. “There’s just no way I can accept such an…arrangement.”

They stared at her, completely buffaloed by what was lacking in their offer. She sighed. Lucy patted her hand. “Look. I’m a practical woman. I want the best for my children. That doesn’t mean moving away from the people who love me, away from the land where I’m comfortable.”

“I also want the best for my children,” Archer said. “And I echo your sentiments.”

Lucy and Mason stared at each other. “We’ve got ourselves some hardheaded ones,” Mason said to Lucy.

“Don’t look at me,” Lucy said. “I may be eldest, but she’s always been her own woman.”

Mason nodded and bent his head to eat. The other brothers followed suit. Archer’s gaze remained locked on Clove. She stared back, her chin lifted. Clove rose and went to the window. Lucy smiled, going to stand beside her sister.

Mason looked at Archer. “You’ve got your hands full with that one,” he said. “Best of luck to you. You’ve finally met your match.”

Clove turned away from the window. “Archer, would you mind taking me home?”

The men instantly stood.

“Are you all right?” Archer asked.

“I’m fine. Lucy, you stay here and eat. I’m going to go lie down.”

“I’ll go with you—”

“No,” she told her sister. “There is no reason. Please stay and enjoy the wonderful food and company.”

Lucy looked from Archer to Clove. “All right,” she said, sitting down. “If Archer doesn’t mind.”

“Happy to be of service. Step out carefully this way. Wear my jacket,” he said, laying it across her shoulders.

“I’m sorry to be such a party pooper,” Clove told the brothers. “Thank you so much for everything.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Archer asked once they were outside.

Clove looked up at Archer as he once again settled the jacket better over her shoulders. “Archer, could I talk to you, just the two of us?”

Archer gazed down into Clove’s eyes, seeing concern there. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” he asked. “Maybe we overdid it. I should have made sure you stayed at the bungalow tonight. I didn’t know it was going to rain—”

“Archer.” She put a hand on his arm. “Relax.”

His heart seemed to stop. “You worried me.”

Her gaze stayed on him. “I really need to talk to you.”

“Let’s go.” He led her to his truck, his heart pounding nervously. He kept his arm protectively under hers, steadying her on the ground that was beginning to slick with the light rain.

He wanted Clove to grow to trust him. To understand that he wanted to protect her. And he hoped that she could love him.

Because he was pretty certain he was falling in love with Clove. Fallen, more likely, since he’d felt ill when the cramping had started and he’d realized the babies might be at risk. He wanted Clove to be healthy, wanted
her to enjoy this pregnancy she’d wanted so badly and which he now wanted as well.

Silently, they drove to the bungalow. Going inside to the den, Clove turned on the lights, keeping them dim. She sat in front of the window, looking out. “It’s like a fairyland,” she said. “So pretty here in the country.”

“Yeah. Unless there’s an ice storm. We get some of those. And once, a twister. This is supposed to be Tornado Alley, but luckily, we’ve only had one wild one come through in all the years we lived here. And one big, big storm, which nearly took out the town with flooding.” He went into the kitchen, putting the kettle on for coffee. “What can you drink? What would you like?”

“Hot tea would be wonderful.”

He liked her being willing to allow him to fix something for her. “You didn’t eat much.”

“I have very little appetite right now. I wonder if that’s bad or good.”

Shrugging, he said, “Probably fine, as long as you’re listening to your body. When do you see the doctor again?”

“In a week. But I plan to be at home seeing my own doctor by then.”

He dropped a tea bag into the hot water, his shoulders tightening with dread at the sure tone of her voice. “So is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“That, and some other things.”

He brought the cups over, joining her on the sofa where they both faced the window. “I’m listening.”

“I need to go home,” she said softly. “I need to think.”

“About?”

“About a lot of things, but mostly, what I’ve done.”

He sipped his coffee, put his boots up on the ottoman and watched her intently. Her hair fell over her shoulders. It still held an occasional twinkling droplet of water shining among the strands. “I should make a fire,” he said. “Hold that thought. I don’t want you getting chilled. It’s still nippy, like spring will never fully arrive.”

Getting up, he stuck a few pieces of rolled newspaper under the logs that were already in the fireplace. With a long match, he lit the paper and replaced the screen. “I really enjoy this bungalow. More in the winter than in the summer, obviously. It’s a great place to come when I want to sit and think.” He glanced up at her. “How about I leave you alone so you can think? I know you’ve got plenty on your mind.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’d be better off getting my thoughts out in the open. My conscience is killing me, Archer. I took advantage of you, and you and your family are being so nice to me that the guilt is overwhelming.”

“You’re overwhelmed because we’re nice?”

“I’m overwhelmed,” she said softly, “because of what I did. They say no action goes without a reaction, a consequence of some kind. My actions had consequences for you, your family, and even my sister.”

He sat beside her again, certain that the fire was going to catch. “What has your sister said?”

Clove’s eyelids lowered for an instant. “That her husband left her. About the time he found out I was pregnant.”

“I see.”

“Archer, I was really desperate and I thought I could make things right, but I made matters worse for everyone. And not only that, but I did it in a super-huge way.”

He patted her hand. “I thought our family was fertile, but you’re like a peach tree, popping out all over.”

A nice peachy blush hit the tops of her cheeks, which he thought was kind of sweet. “Hey, it’s a good thing,” he said. “I like odd numbers. We’re lucky.”

“One would have been good,” she said dryly.

“But three’s something to brag about. It’s like Poppin’ Fresh Family. All that lovin’ in the oven.”

“That’s exactly it. It’s just outrageous!”

He laughed. “Well, I’m excited. You have to do all the work, and I get to be Instant Dad. Why should I complain? I see that my job is to support you and comfort you when you begin to feel like this ottoman has lodged in your tummy.”

That earned him an eye roll. She sipped her tea for a second, then said, “Archer, if you hadn’t discovered I was pregnant, would you have wanted to see me again?”

He thought about that for a moment. “I suppose not,” he said. “You didn’t seem too keen on me. I did come looking for you, but I didn’t really expect to find you, and it’s usually not a good idea to chase a woman who doesn’t like you. The rewards just aren’t there.”

“I don’t believe you’ve ever experienced that.”

“No, not me personally, but my brothers have, especially Mason. It’s not good when the love wires get crossed.” He touched her finger, stroking her skin
lightly. “I’m glad you’re pregnant,” he said. “It gives me a tie to you. A claim on you.”

Her eyes widened. “Why would you want it?”

“Because I want a family.”

“You could have had one with any woman.”

“But you were so cute. And you set your big eyes on me, and I liked that, and then you were sweet in bed, and I liked that even more, and then you turned out to be remarkably fruitful. I can say, this is Clove, she’s pregnant with my triplets.” He gave his chest a solid thump. “Makes me look very studly. Potent. Quite moved me up in the brotherly food chain. Beat that, brothers!”

“You’re crazy,” she said, “and you’re making all this up.”

“No, ma’am. I truly am excited to be a father.”

“I was planning to deceive you.”

He put his coffee mug down, getting up to look out the window at the rain, which was falling harder. “Quit beating yourself up, Clove. I’m from a family that does things for crazy, sometimes inconceivable, reasons. I’ve met your sister. I can imagine you’d want her to be happy. It’s not that big a deal. It would be if I didn’t want to be a father, but I think I always secretly dreamed of being the brother to do something big. It’s hard to make a statement in a family of twelve.” He turned and grinned at her. “What else do you want to say to me?”

“It’s just hard,” she said. “Simply put, it upset me that your brother mentioned the house next door for me. Mimi’s house? Is that what you call it? I don’t feel right
about having a house bought for me just because I became pregnant. I just can’t accept it.”

Archer nodded. “I completely understand. I would feel the same way.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” he said, coming back to the sofa to stroke her chin once with his finger. “I’d feel the same way.”

Her eyes sparkled, and he decided he missed her without her glasses. “Your eyes are beautiful, but I liked you with your glasses. You were spunky like that. Why don’t you wear them anymore?”

She looked at him shyly. “I feel more attractive without them. They’re very bulky. I’m trying a new kind of contact lens Dr. Fern’s friend recommended to me.”

“Really?” He looked close into her eyes. “I can’t tell you’re wearing them.”

“I am.”

He’d only meant to look into her eyes and see the contacts, but now that he was this close, he could smell her perfume. He could sense her unease, which he found attractive, too, because it meant she felt something around him besides nothing. “I like you,” he said softly.

“I think I like you more than you like me,” she said.

“You don’t act like it,” he said.

“Be patient. I’m not very good with men yet,” she said.

“You never let on in your e-mails. I would have thought you were quite the sophisticated Aussie with your stunt work and fun.”

“I’m not,” she said.

“I’m not sophisticated, either,” he said, running one finger lightly over her lips. “But if you hold still a second, we can both practice.” And then he kissed her ever so softly, and he felt so much better just having her lips touch his that it didn’t matter that she hadn’t fallen for him head over heels the way he wanted her to. All that mattered was that he had her now, and she was letting him kiss her—

“Oh, Tink,” Clove said ruefully, moving away when the kitten patted playfully at her leg. “You little minx.”

Clove scooped Tink up, her eyes no longer gazing at him. Archer felt a moment’s tingling regret, and yet, he knew he shouldn’t be pushing the limits right now. “You need to rest.”

“I know. I think I’ll turn in now.” She couldn’t look at him, instead she cast a worried eye at the door. “Do you think Lucy is all right?”

“All right?” He chuckled. “She’s not that far away, and one of my brothers will bring her home when she’s had enough of them. That could be any time now.”

“Do you think?”

“Absolutely. Most people have a ten-minute window of patience around us.”

“All right.” She visibly relaxed. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to sit here and sip my coffee. Make sure the fire dies down and doesn’t throw a spark out. Then I may sleep on the sofa until your sister gets here.”

“Thank you,” Clove said. “I appreciate you…what you’re doing for me. In spite of everything.”

“We’ll answer all the big issues another time. Let’s not try to figure them out at once.”

“You’re right.” She smiled, the first time he thought he’d seen her smile in a long time. “Good night.”

“’Night.” He tipped his hat to her.

She disappeared into the bedroom with Tink. “Lucky cat,” he muttered. Still, he was under the same roof with Clove, and for now, he’d be happy with that.

A man never knew when he might have a chance to kiss the mother of his children, and he intended to hang around for the next opportunity. It might arrive sooner than later, if he was patient.

Clove poked her head around the door. “Archer?”

“Yes?”

“What does Tonk do when it rains?”

“She’s in the barn with the other horses. We put them up earlier.”

“Is she warm?”

“Very. Quite content is that spotted equine.”

“You’re sure?”

He smiled. “Clove, the horses here are babied like you’re babying that kitten.”

She raised her chin. “Good. I was only curious.” In a second, she’d disappeared, taking her feline with her. Archer grinned to himself. A woman who worried about a man’s horse was a very good woman. And he liked her more now than he had even five minutes ago. “You’re going to like being married to me,” he said to the empty spot where she’d been standing.

C
LOVE STOOD INSIDE
the doorway with her kitten in her arms, looking at the big bed that wouldn’t have Archer in it tonight. She thought about how kind he was and about how nice his brothers were being to her. She and Lucy had never known that type of warm acceptance.

Crossing to the bed, she sat down, putting Tink into the old hat Archer had provided for her. For a moment, she watched the kitten pick at the straw of the hat experimentally, testing her limits and her strengths.

Clove knew about testing her limits and her strengths, too. But now she wondered what would have happened if she’d just come to Texas to meet Archer, without a plan any more involved than simply meeting the man she’d corresponded with for two years. Would they have liked each other? Would he have been this focused on her?

She didn’t think so. They probably would have laughed a bit, gotten to know each other better, marveled at each other in person, and then gone their separate ways. He would never have come to Australia to see how she lived.

It bothered her now. Having gotten to know him and having spent time with his family who wanted to buy her a house, she realized she had set the clock on fast-forward for a relationship that would never have happened without her pregnancy. Their pregnancy.

She had changed Archer’s life and it didn’t feel right. He was being a very good sport about everything.

She walked back out to the den. “Archer?”

“Yes?” He sat up. “Are you all right?”

“Please stop worrying about me.” Hovering in the
doorway, she looked into the eyes of the man who she was trying desperately hard not to fall for. “In every good romance story, there is usually an evil villain to keep two people apart.”

Archer nodded. “I know. I was just thinking how happy I am that Lucy turned out to be so sweet. She could have not liked me, you know.”

Clove stared at him. “Lucy! Why would you think of Lucy when you worry about villains?”

“I don’t know. I was worried she wouldn’t like me, I guess. And that she might sweep you off back to Australia. That she might feel like slapping me for not taking proper precautions with you.”

Clove’s face scrunched with a frown. “Archer…Lucy knows what I did and why I did it. She’s not proud of it, but she knows you had no part in what happened.”

“Well, I did. Mason’s real big on the condom song he sang to us as kids. You’d have to be part of our family to understand, but it goes something like this, ‘Condom, condom, where’s my condom? Oh, my gosh, it’s gone to London. Without a condom, I can’t play. Why oh why did condom go away?’”

He looked at her incredulous face. “The next verse is, ‘Here is condom, at the store! Buying it is not a chore! Condom, condom—any color!—is my friend. Otherwise my freedom I will spend.’”

She stared at him.

He shrugged. “It’s ugly, Mason’s doggerel, but effective, believe it or not. The singsong quality of it sears into the mind so that we never had a chance to forget it.
He said he had to be creative for thirteen-year-olds, to short-circuit the raging hormones in our brains.”

“You needed condoms when you were thirteen?”

“Nah.” Archer sipped his coffee, frowning when it was too cold. He got up to put the mug in the microwave. “Mason believed in scaring us to death to keep us in line. When you’re young and impressionable and all you want to do is kiss Missy Tunstine just once if you could catch her at her locker at school, well, that song unnerves a boy so bad he never makes the first move.”