Page 123 of Let Me Keep You

“Stop,” I say before she continues. “Don’t wanna hear about yours either.”

“Don’t worry.” She chugs her wine until it’s empty. “The only action I get is from Victor the Vibrator in the shower.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Shaking my head, I walk to the kitchen and pray we have a case of beer left. “I need my own place.”

After I grab a bottle of Bud Light, I go back to the living room and sit next to Everleigh. She’s watching some dating reality show, but I’m too tired to complain.

“So what’s the letter say?”

I unfold it and begin reading. Meeting and getting to know Archer was the only silver lining while being locked up. I thought of him as the younger brother I never had. He’s five years younger than me, only a year older than Everleigh, and has a lot of life left to live once he’s out.

“He’s asking how I’m adjusting after being locked up for five years. Says he’s proud that I started over and that he wants a fresh slate too but refuses to go home. Then he mentioned some ideas of what he could do when he’s released in a few years. I’ve already told him he could come here if he wanted.”

“That long? Geez. That sucks. He totally should move here. Noah will be out by then too. You guys could start an ex-con’s club or something.” She giggles as though it’s the best idea she’s ever had.

“Har har. Time to cut you off.” I reach for her glass, but she quickly pulls it away.

“Don’t you dare!” She presses it to her chest, then gets up to refill it. “I’m not driving anyway, and I’ve had a rough day.”

“Oh yeah? Hard day of gossip and folding shirts?”

She glares, which causes me to laugh.

“What’d Archer do anyway?”

I brush a hand over my scruffy jaw and debate on what to say. It’s not my story to tell, but he’s not a bad guy either. She leans forward, waiting for me to continue.

“He took the fall for his sister so she wouldn’t go to jail for murdering her abusive boyfriend.”

“Whoa, seriously?”

“They grew up poor and knew it’d be believable if the kid from the wrong side of the tracks was the one who did it. There was a fabricated story about how he tried to get him off her but couldn’t because the boyfriend was high on something and uncontrollable. Archer explained that he walked in on the guy beating his sister and knew where the gun was kept and took the blame. When he realized what his sister had done, he wiped off her fingerprints and planted all the evidence needed, then called the cops.”

“And you believe him?”

“A hundred percent. Archer loves his sister more than his own life. She’d gone through so much already, and he wanted to protect her. It worked out because a few weeks later, she found out she was pregnant.”

“Oh my God.”

“Yeah, it was messy. I met her during visitation hours while I was waiting for Maddie and Liam.”

“So how long was his sentence?”

“Six years. His lawyer did a good job at claiming defense and unintentional homicide. It helped that the guy’s tox report showed he was loaded with drugs and alcohol.”

“Wow. That’s awful. I can’t believe he did that.”

“Once you meet Archer, you’ll understand. He’s loyal to a fault and basically raised his sister while working and going to school.”

“Hmm…kinda sounds like you.”

“He’s a good person. I hope he really does take me up on my offer because Lawton Ridge isn’t so bad. But don’t get any ideas in that horny head of yours.”

“Me? Why not?”

I chuckle at the last line he wrote but keep it to myself.

P.S. Make sure your sister is single in three years. Hahaha.