Danny stood in the entryway between the hallway and the living room. His suitcase at his side, a backpack hung on one shoulder, and his jaw practically hitting the floor.

“What…?” His voice trailed off.

Archer stepped away from me and I glanced over at him. I watched as he wiped at his eyes.

“Danny,” I said.

“I, uh, thought I’d come home a little early to surprise you. But I think you’re the one who’s doing all the surprising. What the hell is going on?”

“Danny.” I took a step toward him. His expression immediately turned hostile. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

“Well it’s a little late for that now, isn’t it?” he yelled. He dropped his bag off his shoulder and tossed his hands up. “And what the hell am I finding out exactly? That didn’t exactly look like a friendly embrace.”

“Should I go?” Archer asked softly.

“No,” both Danny and I said in unison.

Danny said, “Both of you are going to tell me what the fuck is going on. You owe me that. You both owe me that. I’m sick of being kept in the fucking dark.”

“This wasn’t about you, Danny,” I said, my voice rising.

“It sure as hell looks like it involves me! My dad and my best friend. My dad and my best friend!” he repeated.

“We were going to tell you.”

“Tell me what? Tell me exactly what’s going on here, because this isn’t really making a lot of sense. It looks like something’s going on that my mind can’t quite wrap itself around.”

“Archer and I are seeing each other.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re—” Danny waved his hands around at both Archer and me.

“I’m what? He’s what?”

“Well, he’s gay, for starters.”

“I noticed that, Danny.”

“And you’re not gay!”

“I’m not straight.”

Danny ran his hands over his face. “For how long?”

I couldn’t help it when I rolled my eyes at him. “My entire life.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he snapped. “I meant how long between you two? Is this the reason you two had that big blowout years ago and Archer couldn’t even look me in the eye?”

“Danny—” Archer began to say.

“Not now, Ace,” he snapped in reply, cutting him off. “Not now. You should’ve told me.”

“This wasn’t about you,” I bit out. “This wasn’t about anyone but me and Archer. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for us to try to piece together what this is between us? I was with your mother for so long, Danny, and finally I met someone who makes me feel alive again, and he’s my son’s best friend. A man seventeen years my junior. A man who was forced out by a horrific accident in his life. And you think for even one second that telling you was our first priority? Don’t be so selfish, Danny.”

That immediately stopped him. He dropped his arms to his sides and stared at us. Back and forth, back and forth.

“Is this the reason why you were different after you came back, Ace?” Danny asked Archer.

“It wasn’t a good time for me, Danny. It was a dark part of my life.”

“It’s not anymore?”

Archer paused, just for a moment, almost to search for the answer. “No. It’s not.”

“I can’t believe this.” Danny ran his fingers through his hair.

“I’m sorry, Danny. I wanted to tell you. I wasn’t brave enough,” Archer admitted.

“Neither of us were,” I added. “But I was going to tell you when you came home this time. I know that you deserve to know, but it wasn’t right to tell you before.”

“So, what is this exactly?” Danny motioned between us. “Is this a serious thing? Or is it some kind of weird rebound that I never, ever want to hear any details about?”

Without a second thought, I reached out and took Archer’s hand in mine. I could feel him stiffen in surprise.

“It’s real for me,” I told Danny. “I never thought I’d have this kind of happiness again, not after your mother died. But this is real. What I feel for Archer is real.”

“You too, Ace?” Danny asked, sounding sad or defeated, I couldn’t tell.

Archer looked at him, then nodded.

“I need some fresh air,” Danny announced.

Immediately, he turned on a heel and left down the hallway. I called after him, but Archer squeezed my hand.

“Sorry he had to find out this way,” Archer said.

I sighed heavily. “Yeah, me too. But he’ll get over it. This isn’t about him. This is about us.” I brought Archer’s hand to my mouth and kissed his fingers.

“Mallory,” Archer said gently. “I’d like to stay.”

“With me?” My heart began galloping inside my chest.

He smiled brightly. “No. In the forest behind the house. Of course with you.”

I pulled him into a tight hug. “You’ve just made me the happiest man on the planet.”

“I should go talk to him.”

“Yeah. Or I should.”

“I think it’ll be better coming from me. Plus, I owe him that much, like he said. I didn’t tell him I was gay, and I didn’t tell him about us. I know you’re right and it wasn’t about him, but I don’t want him to feel like I keep things from him. Not on purpose.”

“Okay. You go talk to him. Be careful, though. He’s got a pretty good right hook.”

Archer left to follow after Danny, and I wrapped up the sandwich on the counter and put it into the fridge. Since Danny was home too, I figured we’d all be needing a bigger meal, even if Danny wasn’t exactly likely to come and sit with us for dinner.

I put on some classic rock music as I began making a vegetable lasagna. The distraction was welcome since my mind was somewhere else.

Almost an hour ticked by before I heard the front door open. I stayed where I was seated at the kitchen table, an opened bottle of Merlot in front of me.

I heard footsteps on the stairs, and then a few moments later, Archer walked into the dining room. His shoulders slumped and he looked exhausted, but there was a smile on his face he wore proudly.

“You were right,” he said, motioning to a blossoming red mark on his face. “He does have a good right hook.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” He pulled out the chair next to mine, and I poured him a glass of wine. “He didn’t hit me all that hard. And I deserved it.”

“Do I even want to know?”

He shook his head. “Probably not.”

We sipped our wine, neither of us able to help the smiles on our faces. Things hadn’t exactly gone smoothly, but they were coming together.

I looked over the mark on Archer’s face, and he assured me he didn’t want an ice pack. We talked about Amanda and Aiden and how excited Archer was to chat with them next week and hopefully fly down to visit them in the near future. We talked about Danny and how in the future, he wouldn’t keep things from him. We talked about Archer going home to pack and ship his things here and about what he’d do for work once moving here.

We talked until the contents of the bottle of wine were long gone and night had fallen over us.

Archer yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

“Bed?” I asked.

“Yeah, I could use some sleep.”

I smirked at him. “I said bed, not sleep.”

He laughed. When he stood, he took our wine glasses and put them into the kitchen sink before joining me in the hallway.

Hand in hand, we took the stairs together.

---

The sound of thunder drew both my and Archer’s attention.

Only it turned out not to be thunder, but Danny barreling down the stairs first thing in the morning.

Archer and I were already up and preparing to eat. We’d woken up with the sun and Archer crawled out of bed to go for a morning run while I showered and prepared breakfast. As I moved around the kitchen, he stayed perched on his stool watching me and chatting about the next time we’d head out to the gun range.

When Danny walked into the kitchen, we both paused and looked at him.

“Morning,” he said, yawning and stretching his arms out in front of him. He sat down on the stool next to Archer, took the glass of orange juice from in front of him, and downed it in one swallow.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned.

“Real cute,” I said, pointing the spatula at him.

“Everything I do is cute.”

Archer snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

Danny laughed and playfully shoved him. “Like father like son, right, Ace?”

Rolling his eyes, Archer said, “Not even close.”

“Hey,” Danny said. “Did I hear you two talking about going to the firing range?”

“Yep,” I replied.

“How the hell did you convince him to go to the firing range?” Danny asked Archer. “He’s not exactly an advocate for guns.”

“I didn’t,” Archer replied. “He offered.”

“Wow. Hell really has frozen over.”

Archer glanced down at the countertop in front of him. “It’s because I can’t shoot anymore. You know, because of my arm? I told Mallory and he offered to go with me each year on the day of my parents’ death, like I used to go alone. But since I can’t shoot, he’ll do it.”

Danny blinked at him. And then at me. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Archer replied.

“Dad, that’s pretty fuckin’ romantic.”

I laughed awkwardly. “Stop.”

“No, really. That’s thoughtful. And… every year, you said?”

“Hopefully. If Archer lets me,” I told him.

“So, this is pretty serious then, huh?” Danny crossed his arms over his chest, but he didn’t look upset, just thoughtful.

“I think Archer’s going to move in here with me, Danny.”

Danny nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I kinda figured. Ace always did seem happiest here in Banff. Wasn’t sure if it was because of the fresh Albertan air or the mountain ranges or the hellish cold in the winter. But now I figure it was because of you.”

“And all the beavers in the streets,” Archer added.

“Hell, they’re running rampant this year, huh?” Danny said, visibly lighting up.

Archer chuckled. “You practically trip over one anywhere you walk.”

“Ridiculous, right?”

“Okay,” I said, turning around to go back to cooking. “I think I missed something.”

Archer and Danny chatted while I cooked. When everything was done, we sat down together at the table.

Danny said, “Listen, guys, I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“We’re sorry too,” Archer said. I nodded.

“You were right. I was making it about me again when I didn’t understand how hard it must’ve been for you guys. It was just… well, it shocked the hell out of me. It still does, honestly. I never would’ve thought my best friend and my dad… But that’s not the point. The point is I love you both and want you both to find happiness, and if that’s with each other, then I’m happy.”

I reached out, put my hand on Danny’s shoulder, and squeezed. “Thank you, Danny.”

“So,” Danny said with his mouth full of toast. He looked at Archer. “Does this mean I have to call you Mom?”

“Yes,” Archer replied, stone-faced.

I put my hands over my eyes and groaned. “Son, why do you have to be so weird?”

“Hey, I got it from you.”

The rest of the morning passed by quickly. It seemed like the entire situation from the day before had vanished and there was nothing left but ease and comfort. I knew Danny would get past it quickly. Deep down, he was one of the most selfless people I’d ever known.

Archer told Danny about Amanda and Aiden, and Danny seemed almost as excited as we were. Danny mentioned seeing the new website Archer had set up, and then the two of them went off on a tangent about sales and marketing. Putting my business online had done wonders for my shop, and I was busier now than ever. I had custom order inquiries coming in all the time, and I’d never been more thankful for Archer’s help in setting up a schedule and dealing with the social media part of the business.

Danny told us about his job and how much he enjoyed it but how busy he was. He was thinking of accepting an offer with another company. It would be a pay cut, but he thought he’d have more free time and would be overall happier. Archer and I both agreed that it would probably be best to follow his gut.

We talked about the project Archer was working on while in Banff for the summer, and Danny offered to come over and help him pack his things before the big move. I offered too, but Archer declined, stating I was too busy now and would have to work to catch up on some new orders.

“Hey,” Danny said as the afternoon sun began to sink into the vast space behind the mountains. “I think I’d like to go visit Mom. Will you come with me?” A brief pause. “Both of you?”

I took Archer’s hand, feeling like I’d been struck through the heart. “Yeah, Son.”

Archer said, “We’d love to.”