The Archer House (The Archer Inn Book 1)

by Kimberly Thomas

  "At least I got to sit in the front seat?" she offered with a slight smirk. She didn't have to be a mind reader to know Randy's ride hadn't been nearly as pleasant.

  "You've got that right. Your brother's just lucky it was me who nabbed him and not one of the other cops. They'd have locked him up and thrown away the key." Jake sighed and shook his head. He gave Holly a sympathetic look. "He was drunk off his ass, driving down the highway toward Islamorada, like he was heading home."

  Holly bit back a string of curses. It sounded like what Dean had told her really was true. Part of her hadn't wanted to believe it, but she didn't doubt Jake for even a moment. The idiot was lucky he hadn't killed anyone with a stunt like that.

  Any other cop really would've locked him up without a second thought. It was a miracle Jake hadn't decided to do just that. Not yet, anyway.

  "Look, I know you've all been through a lot over the last couple of years. He didn't hurt anyone, but this is going to be his only freebie. If you don't get him to straighten out, I can't make any promises next time."

  "Thank you," Holly said, fighting against the emotions whirling around inside her. The look Jake gave her told Holly he hadn't done this for Randy's sake. He had done it for her. Just like when they'd been younger, Jake was still looking out for her. She was going to owe him big time for this.

  When she looked into his eyes again, something inside her snapped. She couldn't keep it all buried inside her anymore. After everything Jake had done for her, she couldn't keep lying to him.

  "You were right," she said suddenly. Jake's brow furrowed, and Holly continued. "Will and I are divorced. I'm sorry for lying to you, for not telling you right away. But it's just been the life from hell lately, and I just wasn't sure how to tell anyone."

  Jake offered her a sympathetic smile, then reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. That simple gesture of reassurance was just what Holly needed to keep herself together. "I guess this is what adulthood is all about, huh?" Jake said with a smirk. When she looked into his eyes, though, Holly knew he understood exactly how she felt.

  She returned his smirk as her heart skipped a beat. Holly had the urge to lean into Jake, to want his arms wrapped around her again, just like when they'd been young. Holly held her breath and fought against those urges, refusing to give in.

  With everything going on, a relationship was not something she needed right then. Right then, she needed to find her brother and slap some sense into him. Whatever issues he was dealing with, she was going to have to help him find a new way to cope.

  Thankfully, Jake must have had the same thought. He took a step back and then nodded toward one of the doors. "Come on. He's back here in the drunk tank, no doubt trying to sleep off some of the alcohol. He's gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning."

  Jake wasn't kidding either. When he opened one of the cell doors, there was her younger brother, curled up on a metal bench, snoring away. For a long moment, Holly just stood there, hands-on-hips, staring at him and wondering how she was going to deal with him.

  She glanced over at Jake, and he gave her that sympathetic smile again. She wasn't sure how she would ever be able to repay him for this. If Randy thought he had issues now, she could just imagine how his life would be if he had a DUI on his record. If that had happened, a few missed days of work would've been the least of his issues.

  "If I can ever repay you for this, just let me know," Holly told Jake, knowing she was going to have to do something for him. Right then, she just wasn't sure what. But the smirk Jake gave made her shiver, and she wondered just what she might've gotten herself into.

  "Oh, I'm sure I can think of something." For a brief moment, Holly swore his eyes roamed up and down her body. But considering she wore a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, she knew she'd imagined it. Then, he turned his gaze on her sleeping brother, and she knew it had to have been just her imagination going wild. "Did you get the tire replaced on your Jag?"

  Holly nodded. She took a deep breath and then let it out as she turned her own attention back to her brother. She'd had Cara drive her over to the cabana the other day, and the body shop was kind enough to meet her there with her new tire. They hadn't charged her extra for having to come out there.

  But then, that was Islamorada. In Miami, she would have paid a fortune for them to consider sending a guy out to get it. Instead, they'd have wanted her to hire a tow truck to tow it into them. Here in the Keys, though, life was different. It was slower, more intimate.

  Here, they might have charged a tourist a surcharge for service like that, but even then, it wouldn't have been too much. For a local? They bent over backward to help out. Everyone did. It was the only way a place like this survived. If they didn't look out for each other, no one would be able to survive outside of the tourist season.

  And even though Holly hadn't lived on the island in almost thirty years, that didn't matter to a lot of people. Once a local, always a local. At least that was their way of thinking. A lot of them thought the same way her cousin Jason did. No one ever left the islands for good. They always ended up back there, one way or another.

  Holly had just taken her sweet time about it.

  "I'll help you get him to the car," Jake offered. His gaze flickered between her and Randy, and Holly ran a hand through her hair as she nodded. If he was as drunk as Jake claimed, she doubted he would be able to walk on his own. She was the eldest sibling, but Randy had about seven inches on her with muscle to boot.

  He may have been an alcoholic, but somehow he had managed to maintain the athletic physique he'd had in school. Either working at the marina was more physically strenuous than she thought, or he was still working out regularly.

  Maybe that was what he needed, Holly thought suddenly. If he wasn't working out still, getting him back to the gym might lend him something to focus on other than drinking. He had started working out in middle school, so he could join the football team with Dean and Logan, his best friends.

  When she had visited during her college years when Randy had been in high school, it had been the same thing. His free time had always been spent in the gym or on the football field. He had still gotten into his fair share of trouble, thanks to the influence of a dozen hormonal teenagers on his team, but football had helped keep him pretty well-grounded.

  She made a mental note to get a hold of Dean. Since the two of them ran their business together, he was the one person who knew Randy best. That was going to be the best place for her to start if she really wanted to get him back on the straight and narrow.

  For now, though, Holly stood in the entryway to the large cell they used as a drunk tank. They could have easily fit two dozen people in there if they'd needed to, but right then, Randy was the only resident. Come the weekend, though, and there would be at least a half dozen, if not more, tourists sleeping off their booze.

  "He better not puke in my car," Holly muttered, making Jake laugh.

  "Well, if he does, let me know. I've got a buddy who does detailing, and I'm sure he would love to get his hands on that Jag of yours, even if it did mean cleaning up puke."

  Holly rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. She would keep that in mind, but she was hoping it wouldn't come to that. But then, with the way her life seemed to be going, it was better to be prepared for anything, just in case.

  She wouldn't put it past the universe to add a ruined interior to her never-ending list of problems.

  "First, we have to wake him up." Holly pursed her lips. He had to weigh at least two hundred pounds. Two hundred pounds of limp weight was not going to be easy to move, even for the two of them. If he was awake, even if he was drunk as a skunk, it would be easier to hold him up and guide him toward the car.

  Holly strode forward and poked her brother in the side. He was so out of it; he didn't move. So Holly poked him again, harder. Still, no response. After a couple more jabs to his ribs still didn't rouse her drunken brother, her patience wore off.

  She st
arted swatting at him, venting out some of the frustration that had been building up inside her. At first, the lug head still didn't move, but as Holly continued to slap at her brother, he finally started to rouse.

  "Wake up, you damn idiot!" Holly shouted at her brother. "I swear to God, if I have to call Amy because of this, I'm not going to save you from her wrath!"

  Out of all his sisters, Amy was the one Randy was closest to--which made sense since they were twins. Even they didn't stay in contact anymore, as far as Holly knew, but she was pretty sure Randy still wouldn't want to be on her bad side. She was the one woman in the house Randy didn't want to disappoint.

  "Holly?" he asked groggily. He blinked at her, but after a few moments of staring right at her, Holly could tell he could barely see her. God, he really was drunker than she had ever seen him. "What are you doing here? Where am I?"

  His words were slow and slurred as he spoke. Christ, if he was like this after having slept a bit in the cell, Holly could only imagine what he'd been like on the road. It was no wonder Jake had pulled him over, and it was a good thing he had. Randy was very lucky he hadn't hurt anyone before getting stopped.

  "You're drunk, you idiot. Apparently, you decided to get wasted and try to drive home! God, I can't believe you would do something so stupid!" Maybe she should have been a bit kinder, more understanding, but she was just too annoyed right then to be a doting motherly figure to the man. Besides, he probably wouldn't remember this come morning. "Now get your butt up, so we can get you in my car. And, I swear to God Randall Alvin Archer, if you puke in my car, they will never find your body!"

  Jake chuckled from behind Holly. The sound must've caught Randy's attention since he tried, and failed, to look at its source. "You know, as a cop, I really should say something about those threats, but I think this time I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear anything."

  "Smart idea," Holly said dryly, though she couldn't quite hold back her smirk. "Now help me haul my lug head brother outside and stuff him into the passenger seat of the Jag."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Holly sipped at her steaming coffee. She wanted more than anything to just chug the entire mug in the hopes it might make her headache go away, but she knew if she did that, she would just end up burning her mouth and throat.

  "It looks like I'm not the only one who needs some bed rest," Nelly remarked. She sat on the opposite side of the kitchen table, a mug of coffee in front of her alongside the eggs and bacon Holly had cooked up for breakfast.

  She still looked quite weak and frail, but there was more life in her eyes than Holly had seen since she had returned to the Keys. The depression meds really seemed to be helping with her mother's energy levels, which in turn was helping with everything else.

  As long as she kept on this path, Holly was confident her mother really would make a full recovery. It would no doubt take time, but that was the one thing they seemed to have in abundance right then.

  A thudding sound on the stairs caught both their attention. Holly winced as her mother turned in the direction of the stairs, worry evident in her eyes. Last night, she had barely managed to get Randy up to his old bedroom before she had gone to her room to collapse.

  And so far this morning, she hadn't had the chance to tell their mother about what had happened last night. So when Randy appeared in the doorway, looking very much like he'd been run over by a truck, Nelly squealed in surprise.

  The woman moved faster than she should've been able to in her condition. She rushed over to wrap her arms around her only son. Randy stared in surprise for a moment and then carefully hugged her back.

  "Oh, my God!" Nelly squealed loud enough they could hear her back at the inn. "I can't believe you're here! Oh, Randy! It's been so long since I've seen you. And I swear you've somehow managed to grow since then!"

  Randy forced out a laugh. He locked eyes with Holly for a moment as if trying to reassure himself that this wasn't a dream. "Still the same height, Mom," he said carefully. "Haven't grown an inch since I was eighteen."

  "Then, I must be shrinking!" Nelly stated. Finally, she pried herself away from her son just long enough to take his hand and guide him over to the table. Even though she was supposed to be the one resting and being taken care of, she busied herself getting Randy a cup of coffee and a plate of food before Holly could say anything.

  Randy had a look of shock on his face like he wasn't sure this was all really happening. Holly couldn't blame him. He probably didn't remember a single thing from the previous night. All he knew was he'd randomly woken up in his childhood bed. And now, the woman he had been so sure had hated him, was doting on him like he was her favorite child.

  It really must have been like he was in a dream.

  Holly smirked as she sipped at her coffee and watched the scene in front of her. Nelly didn't once ask why Randy was there or when he'd gotten there. No doubt, she had taken one look at him and decided she didn't want to know, which was just fine with Holly.

  Nelly didn't need that stress right now. Once they were alone, Holly would talk to her brother, try to get him back on the right path. If she could do that, then Nelly would never need to know about his monumental mistake.

  Once she finished her coffee, Holly left the two of them to catch up while she went to do the rounds and check up on the staff. Most of them had been working at the inn for ages, so they knew how to do their jobs without her having to hover over their shoulders. But she still liked to check in regularly and make sure no new crisis had popped up.

  By the time she returned to the Archer House, Randy was sitting out on the porch on one of the small swings that overlooked the water. He looked a bit more put together than he had that morning, but his eyes were still bloodshot, and he looked more than a little lost.

  Holly stood on the stairs leading up the porch and the two of them locked eyes. Randy at least looked sheepish, knowing Holly had bailed him out the night before. She could also see gratitude in his gaze. Whether it was from her helping him out or from her not spilling everything to their mother, she wasn't sure.

  Not that it really mattered. When it came to things they needed to talk about, that was probably near the bottom.

  She nodded toward the pier, not far from the house. A single boat was tethered there, bobbing up and down on the gentle waves. "I checked out Dad's boat the other day. It's still in pretty good shape. Why don't we get out on the water for a bit?"

  Randy frowned but nodded. When he stood from the bench, Holly noticed how slowly he moved. No doubt, he was still nursing that hangover and would be for at least the day. But hey, a hangover was probably the easiest of the potential consequences.

  Their dad's old boat wasn't anything special. A twenty-four-foot center console he had bought used and restored himself. It had just barely fit the six of them, though as they'd gotten older, rarely did all of them ever go out at the same time.

  Right then, it would be perfect for the two of them to get away from everything and just talk.

  Randy took control of the moment they stepped on board. And, in minutes, they were out on the crystal blue ocean, the shore getting farther and farther away with each passing moment. Neither of them spoke until the beach was only barely visible in the distance.

  "You're an idiot; you know that?" Holly told him. She wasn't angry this time, but she wasn't going to lie to him either. What he had done last night was beyond stupid, and he needed to understand that.

  Randy winced, but he nodded. Chewing on his bottom lip, he stared out over the water. "I'm guessing by the fact my truck isn't here that I didn't drive here on my own."

  Holly snorted and shook her head. Just as she thought, he didn't remember any of the previous night. "Not even close, though you were on your way down here when Jake pulled you over, drunk as a skunk."

  Again, Randy winced. He didn't look over at Holly. He may have been prone to making stupid mistakes, but he wasn't dumb. Randy knew what he had done last night was irresponsible and fooli
sh. And he knew what the potential consequences could have been.

  "You're right, I am an idiot," he said at last.

  Holly sighed and then went to sit next to him. He had been lucky. No one had gotten hurt, and it had been Jake who had caught him. That meant this wasn't a life-ending mistake. It was one he could learn from, provided he never made it again.

  "What's going on, Randy?" Holly asked in a gentle voice. It had been a long time since she had taken up this role for her siblings, but she slipped back into it with ease. "Talk to me."

  "I just-- I panicked. When you called and told me about Mom being sick. I freaked out. I didn't know what to do. So I went to the bar to have a drink to help calm my nerves. And one drink turned into two and then three and then..."

  He didn't have to continue for Holly to understand. Addiction wasn't something you could just turn on or off. Once he had gotten started, he couldn't stop himself.

  "God, I swear I'm always the family fuck-up. It doesn't matter how old I get. I'm constantly messing everything up." Randy still stared out at the water. His entire body was tense and stiff. More than anything, Holly wanted to pull him into her arms and tell him it would all be okay. But while they were making progress in their relationship, they weren't quite to that point yet. "It always seemed like no one other than Dad ever had time for me. And I mean, why would they? You've always had your life together. Even Amy and Rina were always doing better than me."

  Holly let out a snort. That caused Randy to look over at her; his eyes narrowed. She smirked and shook her head. "Christ, it only looks like I have my life together. In fact..." Holly took a deep breath and held it. There wasn't going to be any better time than this, but it still wasn't easy. "Will and I got divorced. He got involved in some shady business deals and ruined our entire business. All I've got left is the bit of money I squirreled away."