Chapter Seven
Janie spent her day cleaning Larissa’s house in between taking care of Archer. She had tried to forget what he said at lunchtime, and how happy it had made her feel when she realized he was being honest. She couldn’t be attracted to him. He wasn’t the kind of guy looking for a single night, and Larissa would have them married off in no time if Janie considered dating him.
No, her boytoys were a better option. She’d stop feeling so confused about everything once she went out tomorrow night. She needed to relieve some stress, that was all.
Still, it felt good to have cleared the air with him. While helping him with his dinner meal, Janie had felt more relaxed than she’d been since their car ride to the house. He was no longer judging her. It sounded like she had Shane to thank for that. She had no clue anyone on the island understood her or realized the way she was doing things had a purpose and made sense. It was kind of nice to think she might have more allies than Larissa.
Just as she finished cleaning the kitchen from the last meal she’d prepared, her cell phone beeped. Archer...
I’m bored, Angel. I don’t want to intrude and have tried not to bother you between meals, but do you think we could hangout a while?
If they were going to be friends, it made sense to spend some more time together. She’d keep her libido under control and spend time just being friends. Friends...hmmm. It was unknown territory for her. Although she liked all the McCallisters and respected them, Larissa had been the only person Janie ever truly gave her trust to enough to say they were real friends.
Archer wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, but he could also admit when he was wrong. Add in the fact that he’d been willing to rescue a child while everyone else sat on the beach helpless, Janie felt he was the sort of person who could be trusted if she let them develop a relationship deeper than acquaintances.
She’d sensed Archer was trustworthy from their first meeting. She knew that was why his harsh words had hurt her in a way those comments normally wouldn’t. It wasn’t just that Archer was extremely attractive and she’d thought about having sex with him at first, it was the fact that he was a good man. Maybe having a male friend without the possibility of sex would do her some good.
On my way she typed back, grabbing them each a glass of iced tea before heading upstairs.
His wide grin was the first thing she saw when opening his bedroom door. “I’m glad you came, Angel. It’s boring up here. Even playing games on my phone isn’t fun after an entire day.”
“Lucky your phone was waterproof, or you wouldn’t even have that.” Chuckling, Janie crossed the room to the door leading to the terrace. She walked outside, placing their tea on the patio table before returning to Archer’s side. “How about a change of scenery? We can’t make it downstairs to the deck, but there are chairs out on the terrace up here. The sun’s about to set and the ocean and sky are beautiful this time of night.”
“Sounds good.” He grimaced while trying to sit up on his own.
“Stop that,” she admonished him. “The last thing we need is those bones shifting. It’ll take a bit for them to start mending, remember? You heard what Dr. Peterson said. Let me help you.”
It was the same argument each time she’d taken him for a walk today. Archer apparently had as hard a time depending on someone else as Janie did. That thought made her smile a bit. More and more, she was seeing they had things in common.
The way his breathing changed each time she helped him move spoke to how bad broken ribs hurt, but at least he didn’t blame her. She was relieved about that. Hopefully, he’d heal quickly and could at least start to get around on his own, even if they would still need to cook and lift things for him. He’d feel a lot better once he regained some independence.
She helped lower him onto one of the patio chairs, pulling a second one nearby and indicating the tea on the table. “I know you take your coffee black, but I made the tea sweet. I hope that’s okay.”
He picked up the nearest glass and took a sip, smiling as he gazed out over the nearby ocean. “This is perfect.”
They both sat in silence, watching as the sun slowly slipped down the horizon. The splash of brilliant colors against the clouds and the display of fiery orange atop the ocean’s water never looked mundane, no matter how many times she watched. It was one of Janie’s favorite parts about living on the island. Whether she was on duty as a lifeguard or out on a date, Janie nearly always took the few minutes to watch as the sun set.
“I love this view,” she said. “A lot of life looks bleak if I don’t be careful to keep upbeat and happy, but I always feel such a sense of wonder and peace looking at this.”
“I can see what you mean,” Archer said, his words barely a whisper on the humid ocean breeze. “It’s like all life’s problems no longer matter, just so long as we can see this. More than peace, this view gives me hope.”
“Hope?” She quirked an eyebrow, tearing her gaze from the view to look at him. “Why hope?”
He shrugged. “Hope that this island is going to be the refuge I’m seeking. Maybe I can finally have a place to call home.”
Interesting...
“What about your family?” She knew she was probing, but surely Archer wouldn’t have brought up the subject if he hadn’t wanted to talk about it.
“Family... ha. An alcoholic mother and a druggie father, who spent more time beating on me and each other between bouts of passing out, totally wasted.” He shook his head. “That’s no kind of family.”
Janie took a drink of her tea, just to give herself some time to think of a response. Sure, she had her issues with her father her entire life and hated the bastard, but she’d been lucky enough to have a mother who loved her with her whole heart. Even if her mother had ended up leaving her when she was twelve, that hadn’t been her mom’s fault. Sounded like she should quit feeling sorry for herself about that. Some people had it a lot rougher, it seemed.
“I’m sorry to bring up bad memories,” she finally replied.
“Nah.” He shook his head, flashing her a smile. “I’m over it, really. Life’s too short to waste time dwelling on the past. Still doesn’t stop me from hoping for something better though. I thought I had it with Carrie, thought I was finally going to have a home and a family and someone who would love me, but...”
“But fairytales aren’t real, and you found out the hard way,” Janie finished.
“Yep,” he agreed. “So, I decided it was time to move on. I spent the happiest moments of my childhood in the kitchen, cooking for myself when my folks were too out of it to make sure and feed me. We didn’t have much food in the house, so I learned how to make fabulous dishes with crappy ingredients. Once I finally left them, my love for cooking and the joy it would bring me, the escape from my life, stayed. I’d heard about Shane and his restaurants here and dreamed of coming to the island to work, but Carrie didn’t want to leave her family in California.”
“So, when you found out the truth, you grabbed ahold of your dreams. That’s a great story.” Janie flashed him a grin. “You have resilience, Archer. I like that quality in a person I’m considering being friends with.”
He chuckled. “So, you’re considering a friendship, huh? Hearing about your trust issues, I feel honored.”
“As you should,” she said with a wink. “I don’t consider friendship with just anyone.”
He laughed again. “Me, I’m the exact opposite. The more friends the better. However, I don’t have a whole lot of close friends. Really none since the breakup, since our friends all took Carrie’s side.”
“Larissa’s my only friend, and I do just fine. Try not to worry about how many you have or don’t have.”
“Larissa is the only friend you’ve allowed in,” he replied, “but I get the feeling that everyone I talked to yesterday considers you a friend.”
He was probably right. Janie was good at faking a smile and putting people at ease. Other than the women gossiping about her, there were probably several people on the island who thought they were friends. “I don’t hand out my trust easily.”
“Because of something in your past.” Archer gave a short nod. “I told you about mine. Wanna tell me yours?”
A little laugh escaped her. “That sounds way too close to ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.’”
Archer laughed with her. “Maybe once we’re better friends.”
Janie’s phone rang, and she looked at it in relief, not really wanting to go into the details of her life with Archer. Saved by the bell.
She frowned at the screen, not recognizing the number. Still, she was getting out of a conversation headed in an uncomfortable direction, so swiped to answer. “Hello?”
***
Archer looked on as Janie answered her phone. It was obvious she didn’t want to confide in him and the call had been a welcomed relief for her. Not that he entirely blamed her. She may have agreed to forgive him, but that didn’t mean she was ready to be besties. He’d just have to keep working at it. Before long, she’d come to understand that he was the sort of person she could trust.
“What do you want?” Janie’s voice suddenly raised sharply, drawing Archer’s attention.
Her face was pinched tightly as if she were in physical pain, and Archer’s heart contracted with worry. Unthinking, he grabbed ahold of her hand, squeezing it tightly.
“I don’t want to talk to you!”
As angry as she was with the person on the other end of the line, it pleased Archer that she squeezed his hand back instead of pulling away.
She went silent for several long seconds. A male voice came through the other end of her phone, but Archer couldn’t understand any of the words. She seemed to be listening, despite the fact that she’d said she didn’t want to talk. Perhaps it was an ex, wanting more than Janie was willing to give. That would make sense.
Archer had to wonder why he’d been compelled to hold her hand and offer comfort, though. If it was a simple ex, Janie could certainly handle that on her own. Somehow, this felt bigger than that. The way her hand trembled in his, the look of anguish on her face—no, there was no way this was a simple ex. Something was terribly wrong.
After a few more moments, Janie snorted. “I don’t want to hear excuses or your pleas. Never call me again.” With that, she took her hand from his and hung up the phone, tossing it onto the table. She let out a big sigh before looking up at him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Although the situation seemed grim, Archer forced a small chuckle to try and ease the tension. “Is that right? Your face kinda says you want to talk, though.”
“It’s nothing to worry about.” Even though she tried to keep her voice level, her words cracked slightly, and she buried her head in her hands. “Why does he have to call now?”
Using the arms of the chair to pull himself to his feet, Archer approached Janie’s chair and gently cradled her head in his arms, pulling it against his stomach. “You don’t have to tell me anything, but I’m here for you.”
“Why would you...?” She broke off and shook her head against him, hesitantly wrapping her arms around his waist and returning his embrace. “Thank you.”
Still holding her head to him with one hand, he used the other to pat her shoulder. “I’m sure you’d rather Larissa were here, but I really am a good listener if you decide you want to trust me a bit. Just think of me as a kindly older brother type.”
“Older brother?” Her voice sounded a bit bitter. “The way that bastard cheated around, you really could be.”
“Your older brother?” Archer laughed. “I hate to bring up race, Janie, but we can’t exactly be siblings.” Besides, being related to someone so gorgeous and therefore unable to appreciate her beauty would be a shame.
Janie pulled away, shaking her head. “Oh, my bastard of a father could definitely have white children.”
The anger mixed with despair in her voice was stunning. Was she saying her father was white? Also, what had the man done to her? Archer had a bad feeling. “So, you’re...”
She looked up at him, her plump lips curling with distaste. “Yep, a half-breed. Too black for my dad’s family, not black enough for my mom’s.”
On top of that, she’d said her dad had cheated on her mom. No wonder this woman had trust issues.
He squeezed her shoulder. “You must know that doesn’t matter to most people, right? You are who you are, a beautiful woman who selflessly dives into the ocean to rescue people. You’re race really has nothing to do with that. I shouldn’t have mentioned anything about that.”
Janie stood up. “I knew you weren’t trying to start anything. You wanted to lighten my mood, right?”
He nodded. “I don’t know who was on that phone, but it is obviously hurting you. I don’t like that.”
“It was him,” she said softly, looking out over the water. “It was my bastard of a father. Thirteen years later, he says he wants to see me.”
She blinked rapidly, and Archer knew she tried to hold back tears. Deciding he couldn’t let her suffer alone, he took her hand, pulling her along as he walked back into the bedroom. “Come on. My chest is hurting, and I need to lie down, but you’re coming with me and telling me everything.”
She didn’t reply, but she also didn’t resist as he led her to the bed.
Once she helped get him situated into place, he opened his arm on the left side. “Come here. I know it’s not much, but I can at least give you a hug.” He told himself that he was only doing this to comfort her, not because he found her even more attractive now that she had showed some vulnerability.
Though she stared at him, hesitating for several long moments, she finally shrugged and climbed onto the bed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” he said, holding his arm out insistently. “Just lie down here and use my shoulder for a pillow. Tell me whatever you feel like talking about. I promise I’ll listen with no judgment.”
“Even though you judged me before, I somehow believe you.” She blinked rapidly again, but then lay next to him.
Her warmth seeped into his side, and Archer tightened his arm around her back. The gentle puff of her breath spread over his neck and chin, though Archer tried to ignore it, reminding himself firmly that right now he was simply an older brother type comforting his devastated sister.
Hot drops of water slid down his neck to be absorbed into his shirt, but he said nothing about Janie’s silent tears, rubbing her back and waiting for her to speak.
“You know that storybook romance Larissa talks about?” Janie finally asked. “I thought that’s what my parents had. Even though their families disapproved because of the race issue, my parents stuck together and defied them all. We lived in a small town, and the people there were old fashioned, so I mostly hung out with my mom. People in both the white and black communities seemed to take after our relatives in their thinking about me and my racial status.”
Archer wasn’t sure if he should speak up and tell her how wrong those people were, that they missed out on someone he had a feeling was a wonderful person. Perhaps she already realized he felt that way, and that was the reason she was talking to him.
“Things were good when I was a kid, at least, I thought they were. My dad was gone a lot, but when my parents were together, they always seemed happy.”
She stopped talking and after a few minutes Archer wondered if she had told him all she was going to. Her trusting him suddenly seemed so important that Archer couldn’t remain silent.
“What changed?” he asked softly.
“Mom started having health problems when I was eleven.” She let out a long sigh and then ran her arm across Archer’s stomach, not squeezing him but seeming to need more contact than his arm around her. “I didn’t understand at the time what was going on, but she had advanced breast cancer.”
“Oh, Janie.” Archer pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. “I’m so sorry. That must have been scary for all of you.”
“Not all of us.” The bitterness was back in her voice. “Once Mom had surgery, she needed to undergo chemo and radiation because the cancer had spread so much. I think the doctors knew there wasn’t much hope, but Mom wanted to fight. Looking back, I think she did it so she wouldn’t leave me all alone in a cruel world that made it clear it didn’t want me.”
Archer had no rebuttal for that. He’d always had the privilege of being not only white, but male. He was well aware that, as hard as his childhood with addicts for parents had been, he was offered a lot of advantages because of those two things. Janie being mixed race and having everyone shun her because of it in a small town must have been horrible. If only she’d lived in a city somewhere, a place where no one would have cared.
“Once Mom’s health got really bad to where she was always throwing up, could barely move, and needed a lot of help, my father split. He left for work one day and never came back. I found out the next day that he’d taken his suitcase. He’d always intended to leave us.”
He just left them, his young daughter and dying wife? Archer’s stomach cramped with anger and he struggled to control his breathing. What an asshole!
Janie gave another bitter snort. “Mom wasn’t even surprised. She told me Dad had a lot of girlfriends and he’d probably decided to live with one of them. Apparently, he’d always had girlfriends. What I thought was a man who spent all his time working was actually a man who worked normal hours, then visited his girl of the week before coming home to his wife and child.”
Unable to stop himself, Archer clenched his fist. “You and your mom deserved so much better than that! How could he even call himself a man?”
A small giggle shook Janie’s body. “I think you’re getting more pissed off than me.”
“Because I can’t even imagine the type who could do that. Let’s just set aside the cheating, which I find deplorable, but you needed him. How could he leave his sick wife with an eleven-year-old child?”
“It was hard,” Janie agreed. “No one in the family was willing to help us because Mom had chosen a white guy and had a kid with him. We were on our own, but I actually wouldn’t trade that time for anything in the world. I had to feed and bathe her, arrange for bus transportation to get us to her appointments, fight with bill collectors who called or showed up at the door. It was a lot. I grew up very quickly. However, I also spent every second with her, laughing, loving, making memories whenever she was strong enough to stay awake.”
Her hot tears once again splashed against Archer’s neck. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he twisted slightly to wrap her in both his arms, holding her against him and letting her cry herself out.
“When she died, my whole world ended,” she choked out through her tears. “Social Services came to the hospital when I called the ambulance for Mom that night. I lived in a group home while they searched for my father. He came once, took one look at me, and told the home director that I wasn’t his kid and he wouldn’t take me.”
Rage flooded throughout Archer again, but he held it back, trying to stay calm so he could soothe Janie’s pain.
“It was then that I realized I was completely on my own and always would be. Dad left, Mom left, and Mom’s family were stuck in the seventies. They refused to acknowledge me because of my mixed heritage. No one wanted me. I knew trusting someone again would just lead to more unbearable pain, and I decided never to care about anyone again.”
Archer stroked her head, careful not to tangle his fingers in her curly black hair. “There are people you can trust, I promise you that. There’s still time for you to have a better life, Angel.”
“I do trust Larissa,” she admitted. “I don’t know what it was about her. She was so naïve and caring. Just cute as a button. I was drawn to her in a way I’ve never been to anyone else. Before I knew it, she had opened up and told me all about her life, about her struggles with breast cancer, about her family, all of it. There was no stopping her from being my friend and surrogate sister. It took a long time for me to tell her anything about myself, but she stuck by me the whole time and has always been there. She’s the one person I can count on, no matter what.”
Archer placed another gentle kiss against the top of Janie’s head. “I want to be that for you, too. That’s the kind of friends I want us to be.”
She pulled herself from his embrace and sat up, looking at him with shadowy eyes that clearly showed how much pain she was in. “Why? Why should I trust you?”
“I don’t have an answer for that,” he admitted. “I can’t force you to trust me, but I want you to. And no matter what your dad meant by calling you tonight, I’m here for you. If you want to see him and don’t want to go alone, I’ll be there. If you want to change your cell phone number so he can’t contact you again, I’ll fly over to Hawaii and visit the phone company with you. Whatever you need, I’m here.”
She chewed on her bottom lip a second, likely not even thinking about how sexy she looked doing it. Sure, she generally tried to put herself in the best light for a man she wanted to seduce, but Archer knew that tonight, sex was the furthest thing from her mind. Seeing her like this and getting to know more parts of the real Janie made her even more attractive than the earlier flirting.
“I’ll think about it,” she finally said. “Now, it’s late and I’ve talked your ear off. Let’s get you ready for bed. I’m exhausted, and I want to go to sleep.”
He wouldn’t press her further tonight. She’d already opened up way more than he’d expected her to. Maybe she felt drawn to him like she had with Larissa. If so, that would make Archer incredibly happy. Sure, he wanted to help bring her smile back, but sharing in her pain and hopefully helping her feel a bit better about it was nearly as good.
He gave her a smile and nodded. “Sure, let’s go to bed. I just want you to remember, I’m here to talk anytime you need someone to listen.”