Home Free. Claire McEwen

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СКАЧАТЬ rising to meet the afternoon sky and the fall-burnished aspen gilding the lower slopes. Trying to give them a moment of privacy. Trying to find the peace he’d felt earlier when he’d listened to the pines and caught Shrimp.

      They must have reached some kind of understanding, because Wade cleared his throat and turned to face him squarely. “The house on Marker Ranch is empty. Nora lives with her husband, Todd, on his property now. And I live here with my fiancée...” He paused and a smile lifted all the tension off his face. “I mean, my wife, Lori. Mandy’s sister. So there’s plenty of room for you to stay there.”

      “But if there are any problems, you’ll have to go,” Nora added.

      Relief, so sweet it choked him up again, shook his voice. “I understand. There won’t be any problems.”

      “The thing is,” Wade continued, “I’m leaving on my honeymoon. Tonight. And Nora’s leaving tomorrow to do some work up near the Oregon border for a few weeks. So you’ll be on your own.”

      Nora turned to Wade. “Todd will be around. He was going to take care of Marker Ranch anyway. He can keep an eye on Arch.”

      It was humiliating to be spoken about in the third person. As someone who needed to be watched. But how could he blame them? They didn’t know him beyond their memories, and those memories sucked.

      Mandy broke the awkward pause. “I’ll be here, next door, if he needs anything.”

      She was so sweet. Somehow, when he’d caught that cake, he’d caught an ally along with it.

      Wade shook his head. “We can’t ask that of you.” Distrust weighted every staccato syllable. It made sense. For all his little brother knew, he was a rapist, too.

      “It’s not asking anything. We’re neighbors. I’m happy to help out.” The sharp note in Mandy’s voice surprised him. She might be sweet, but she was tough.

      Nora looked surprised, too. She studied Mandy for a moment. “Are you sure?”

      Mandy nodded. “He saved the wedding cake, you know. I almost dropped it. And I think he caught a stray donkey for me, as well.”

      Nora’s stern expression softened at Mandy’s words. “You and your strays. Looks like you found another one today.”

      Arch saw Mandy flush a little. “I’m just grateful she did,” he threw in, to cover her discomfort. “And I did find the donkey. It’s safe with the goat.”

      “Thanks,” Mandy said, and the warmth in her eyes was a tonic.

      It seemed to soothe Wade, too, because that worry was gone from his eyes. “I still have a few horses and my cattle grazing on the ranch. I’ll expect you to look after them. That way Todd won’t have to. And there are a lot of repairs to do. We’ll leave you a list.”

      “I can fix stuff,” Arch told him. “I took machine shop, woodworking, metalwork—pretty much every class they offered while I was locked up. Otherwise I would have gone crazy. I even worked with livestock the last few years. The prison had a program. But not a full-scale cattle operation.”

      Wade gave a wan smile. “Well, we’re not that yet. We’ve got a small herd and big plans.”

      “Then I know I can do it.” He turned to Nora. “I’ll listen to your husband. I’ll get his advice if I have any questions. And I can ask...” He paused, strangely aware that it was the first time he was going to say her name. “Mandy. It will help to know I can turn to both of them with any concerns.”

      He glanced at Mandy, noting the faint flush on her cheeks. There was some kind of connection between them. Or maybe not. After ten years locked away from women, he had no idea. But damn, she was beautiful. And her name had been honey on his tongue.

      Nora’s brows drew in, schoolteacher serious. “We’re giving you the chance. It’s up to you to take it and run with it.”

      “Thanks, truly.” Arch wished he could give her more reassurance. But nothing he could say would help. All he could do was not screw this up.

      He turned to Wade, swallowing to clear the catch in his throat that just wouldn’t go away. “I’m sorry to interrupt your wedding. I had no idea you were getting married when I came here today. Congratulations.” He stepped back, giving them all space. “I don’t want you to miss any more of your party. I’ll just head on over to the ranch.”

      Wade nodded. “The house isn’t great, but it’s livable. Nora and I fixed it up a little when we stayed there.”

      Arch couldn’t help but smile at that. “Trust me, after prison it will be a palace.”

      “I’ll come see you later tonight to make sure you’re settled,” Nora said.

      “We leave a key on the beam above the kitchen door,” Wade added. “Just go on in and make yourself at home.”

      Home. Marker Ranch had never been a safe haven. Funny that it felt like one now. “Thanks,” Arch muttered through the tightness in his throat. Maybe it was too much, but he had to say it. “I know sorry doesn’t fix anything, but I wish I’d been different. Been a better brother. Been an honest man. Prison gave me a lot of time to regret the way I was.”

      Wade smiled faintly and reached out, bumping Arch’s shoulder with his knuckles. “Just don’t screw this up too badly.”

      “I won’t.” Arch glanced at Mandy. “Thanks for helping me out today.”

      “You’re welcome.” Her voice was everything gentle and warm. “Thanks for rescuing the cake.”

      Arch nodded and stepped back, wanting to free them up to finish out the wedding. He watched as the three of them turned back to the reception. Nora took Wade’s hand in hers and put an arm around Mandy. They were a unit. Family. Friends.

      Loneliness wrapped its cold hands around his insides.

      But friendship and family had to be earned. Especially after you’d thrown it all away.

      Arch turned to go, grateful that he had a place he could go. His feet ached from all the walking he’d done today, and it was still a couple of miles between Marker Ranch and this one, but he welcomed the pain. Each step on the dirt road was a reminder. He was free. He could walk fast, or slow, or he could run if he wanted, for the first time in a decade.

      His heart lightened at the thought. He was free. His fifty-third day of freedom, and even when it had brought him this low—broke, unwanted and crawling home for help—he still cherished it beyond anything. He veered left at the driveway that would take him off Mandy’s ranch.

      “Arch!”

      He turned, surprised, and saw Mandy hurrying after him. In her hand was a paper plate piled high with an enormous slice of cake. He started back toward her, admiring how elegant she looked in that wine-colored dress.

      “You saved it. You earned a slice.” She was a little out of breath, like she’d jogged, cake and all, to catch him.

      Arch tried to remember the last time someone had reached out to show him a kindness like this—he couldn’t. The plate was heavy in his hand, she’d СКАЧАТЬ