She nervously rubbed her finger up and down the side of her warm cup as the lights of Braden thinned.
Just a workshop. Just a workshop.
Just. A. Workshop.
Finally, when the lights behind them had fallen away altogether, she felt brave enough to tackle the lingering sense that there was something amiss. “We were still talking about the women’s expo, right? The workshop.”
He waited a beat. Long enough for the skin on the back of her neck to prickle.
A lot.
Then it was just one word from him. “Sure.”
She was not reassured.
But it wasn’t as if he could commandeer her into becoming a real partner. She had a job now, anyway, working for his grandmother. At least temporarily until the library was truly underway.
And what are you going to do then?
There were so many thoughts circling in her mind, it was exhausting. She was glad she wasn’t the one behind the wheel. Until she’d driven with Archer to see Lincoln Swift earlier that evening, she hadn’t realized how the road became even narrower and more winding on the way to Braden once it passed where Archer lived. Considering how distracted her thoughts were, she’d be a danger on the road.
“Thanks for bringing me.” She meant it, but mostly she needed to hush the noise inside her head. “To see your brother-in-law, I mean.” Seeing Lincoln had been the purpose for the trip, but that seemed to have taken a back seat once Archer had pulled her inside his parents’ home. “It was really nice seeing your folks again, too. It doesn’t seem like they’ve changed a bit. They’re so—” She broke off, hunting for the right words.
He seemed to understand, though. “I know. They fit. You look at them and you think, this.”
She shivered and all of the busyness inside her mind went still.
This.
He shifted slightly in his seat and if he noticed her startled reaction, he didn’t show it.
“If you had to pick two people who seem ideal for each other, you’d never think to pair a guy like my dad with a woman like Meredith. He’s rules and order and always hedging against disaster. The only thing orderly about Meredith is her constant disorderliness. But together, they’re like two halves of a whole.”
He dropped his right hand down to his own to-go cup on the console between them.
Nell knew the contents would be the exact opposite of hers.
She rested her head against her backrest and studied him. His profile was little more than a shadowy outline. Not even the bluish glow from the gauges on his dashboard was enough to penetrate the utter darkness.
She could look her fill and he’d never be the wiser.
She fit her coffee cup into the holder molded into the console. She was very aware of his arm just a few inches away from hers. If she spread her fingers, they’d be touching his. “Ros always saw that, too. The way her mom and your dad were together.”
“It’s part of the reason why she didn’t like having to come and visit.”
“You knew?”
“Hard not to. Through no fault of her own, she got the short end of the stick.”
She felt indignant on behalf of her friend who no longer even wanted to be her friend. “If you feel that way, why have you always been so at odds with her?”
“Calm down, Cornelia. Understanding her situation doesn’t mean she wasn’t a pain in the butt.” He let out half a laugh. “Even under the best of circumstances, Ros is competitive as all hell.” She felt his gaze. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
She couldn’t. Her indignation was dribbling away. “There’s nothing wrong with having a competitive streak, though.” Ingrained habit still made her defend Ros. “It makes us all strive to do better.”
“Some people strive to do better just because they want to do better. Not because their life seems to depend on outrunning the person in the lane next to them.” He lifted his cup for a drink and when he lowered it once more, his arm seemed to be resting even closer to hers. “Problem with Ros is that she’s never understood she didn’t have to compete for Meredith’s love. She was always so busy trying to outrun us all that she couldn’t see she was also running in the wrong direction. You know why Meredith left Martin?”
The abrupt question took her by surprise. She moistened her lips, feeling suddenly awkward. “Not, um, not really.”
“For a lawyer, you’re a crappy liar.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment since I don’t have any desire to be a really good one!”
“You heard that she was having an affair with my dad when they worked in the same office. That’s why you think they split up.”
“It’s none of my business!” She wished they’d never ended up on the subject. Meredith held a secretly special place in Nell’s heart. She had done so ever since that long-ago summer. Whatever her history was, Nell had no intention of sitting in judgment.
“Martin beat her.”
“What?” Shock slid through her with nauseating speed. “How do you know?”
“Because my dad had the pictures he took of her when he first realized what was happening.”
Archer looked toward her, as if he expected her to say something, but she was too busy struggling with her dismay and after a moment, he turned his attention back to the road. “Ros was just a baby then,” he went on. “When Dad first left the army, he moved with Hayley and me to Cheyenne. He went to work at the insurance company where Meredith was working part-time as a file clerk. That’s how they met.”
“If Martin was abusing her, how did he ever end up with custody of Ros? How—”
Archer closed his
