When I got to the gate, I paused, looking back at the small house behind me. It suddenly occurred to me that Archer Hale had taught himself an entire language, but hadn't had a single person to talk to.

Until me.

**********

The next day, as I was carrying a reuben with a side of fries to Cal Tremblay and a BLT with a side of potato salad to Stuart Purcell at table three, the bell rung over the door and I looked up to see Travis walking in wearing his uniform. He smiled big at me and gestured to the counter, asking if I was working it. I smiled and nodded, saying quietly, "Be right there."

I delivered the food in my hands, refilled their waters and then walked back behind the counter where Travis was now sitting.

"Hey," I greeted him, smiling. "How are you?" I held up the coffee pot and raised my brows questioningly.

"Please," he said to the coffee and I started pouring. "I've been trying to call you," he said. "Are you avoiding me?"

"Avoiding–oh crap! I ran out of minutes. Damn." I put my palm to my forehead. "Sorry, I have one of those pay-as-you-go phones, and I rarely use it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Isn't there any family back home that you keep in touch with?"

I shook my head. "A few friends, but my dad passed away six months ago and… no, there's really not."

"Jesus, I'm sorry, Bree," he said, concern filling his expression.

I waved it away. I refused to get emotional at work. "It's okay. I'm okay." I was mostly okay, sometimes okay. Better these days.

He studied me for a second. "Well, the reason I was calling you was to see if you'd like to do that dinner we talked about?"

I leaned my hip against the counter and smiled at him. "So you tracked me down when I didn't answer my phone?"

He grinned. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a high level, spy-caliber track down operation."

I laughed, but his wording reminded me of Archer and for some strange reason, something like guilt fluttered in my gut. What was that about? I had no idea. Our friendship was blossoming, but he was still closed off in many respects. I understood it I guessed, and it made me so mad that the whole dang town ignored him, when in fact, he was this incredibly smart, gentle man who as far as I could tell, had never done anything wrong to anyone. It wasn't fair.

"Hello, earth to Bree," Travis said, snapping me out of my reverie. I had been staring out the window.

I shook my head slightly. "I'm sorry, Travis. I just got caught up in my own thoughts there for a minute. My brain can seriously be a black hole sometimes." I laughed softly, embarrassed. "Anyway, uh, sure I'll go to dinner with you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, try not to sound too excited about it."

I laughed, shaking my head. "No, sorry, I just… just dinner, right?"

He grinned. "I mean, maybe an appetizer… maybe even some dessert…"

I laughed. "Okay."

"Friday night?"

"Yes, okay." I held my finger up to a couple that had just sat down in my section and they smiled. "I gotta get back to work, but see you Friday?" I scribbled my address down on a piece of paper from my order pad and handed it to him, smiling.

"Yeah, how about I pick you up at seven?"

"Perfect." I smiled again. "See you then." As I walked around the counter to the table, I could see him leaning back on his stool to check out my ass as I walked away.

CHAPTER 12

Bree

I worked early on Friday and drove home to get ready for my date with Travis.

I took a long, hot shower and took extra time with my hair and makeup, trying to work up some excitement at just being a girl who was about to be picked up for a date.

What if he kissed me? Nervous flutters started in my belly. Strangely, again, Archer came to my mind and so did a vague sense of guilt. That was silly though–Archer was only my friend. I thought maybe there was a little something between us though, only what it was, I had no real clue. It was confusing and strange, unknown territory. He had a nice face, from what I could see of it anyway, but was I attracted to him? I furrowed my brow at myself in the mirror, pausing in my eyeliner application. He definitely had a nice body–no scratch that, an amazing body, totally drool-worthy–and I admired it constantly, but attracted? How could you be attracted to someone who was so different from anyone you'd ever been attracted to before? Still, I couldn't deny his charm. When I thought of him, pictured his shy smile and the way his eyes constantly took in every little thing about me, my tummy fluttered. Yes, there was something there–what, I couldn't be completely sure.

Travis, on the other hand, was seemingly easy to be attracted to. He had it all–smooth moves and the kind of good looks that any girl in her right mind would find appealing. Apparently, I wasn't exactly in my right mind. But maybe giving myself a little push was a good thing, a necessary thing. It'd been over six months now…

I finished up my makeup. I didn't need to over complicate this. It was just a date. With a cute guy, a nice guy.

And I didn't need to be so nervous. I wasn't inexperienced–and I wasn't a virgin. I had had three semi-serious boyfriends in college, and I had even thought I might be in love with one of them. It had turned out that he was in love with every girl on my dorm floor–or at least in love with getting into their pants behind my back, and that had ended badly. But the point was, I had no need to be nervous of Travis Hale. This was just a date, and only a first date at that. And if I didn't want to see him again, I wouldn't. Simple.

Travis knocked on my door at seven o'clock sharp, gorgeous in a pair of dress pants and a button up shirt. I had chosen a black, wrap dress that hugged the few curves that I had and my silver heels. I had left my hair down and curled it very loosely with a curling iron. He looked me over appreciatively and handed me the bouquet of red roses he had in his hand, already in a glass vase.

"You look gorgeous, Bree."

I brought the flowers to my nose, smiling. "Thank you," I said, setting the vase down on the table next to the door and taking his arm as we walked to his large, dark silver truck.

He helped me into it and we chatted about how I was settling in to Pelion on the drive to the restaurant.

He brought me to a place called Cassell's Grill on the other side of the lake which I had already heard was the nicest restaurant around. What I had heard seemed likely enough–it was dim and romantic with a beautiful view of the shoreline out the huge windows that surrounded it.

When we sat down at our table and I remarked on how beautiful the restaurant was, Travis said, "Pretty soon we won't have to come across the lake for places like this. We'll have plenty to choose from in Pelion."

I looked up from my menu. "So you like the proposed changes I take it?"

He nodded. "I do. Not only will it modernize the town, but it will bring in more income for everyone, my family included. I think most people will be happy in the end."

I nodded, wondering at that. From the talk I'd heard here and there in the diner, most people in town weren't thrilled about turning Pelion into another big, modern tourist retreat.

"Plus," he continued, "I'll be taking over the land the town is on soon, so I've been working with my mother on some of the planning."

I looked up at him, surprised. "Oh, I didn't realize."

He nodded, a slightly smug look on his face. He took a sip of water and said, "The land this town is on has been in my family since the first people of Pelion made it their home. It's always been passed down from first born son to first born son, once that son is twenty-five. Not this February, but next, I'll be running things."

I nodded. Before I had moved to Pelion, I hadn't even realized that people owned whole towns. "I see. Well, that's great, Travis. And the fact that you also followed in your dad's footsteps and became a cop– I admire that a lot."

Travis looked pleased. He wined and dined me, keeping the conversation light and fun. I was having a good time. When we were in the middle of our meal, and he asked me what I had been doing for fun in town other than my night out with Melanie and Liza, I paused, and then said, "Actually, I've been spending some time with Archer."

He choked on his sip of water, bringing his napkin up to his mouth. "Archer? You're joking, right?"

I shook my head, frowning. "No. Did you know he signed?"

"Uh, no," he said. "He wouldn't even look at me the last time I acknowledged him in town."

I studied him. "Hmm, well, he's not the most trusting person. But I think he has really good reason for that. Maybe you should try a little harder."

He looked at me over the rim of his wine glass before taking a sip. "Maybe. Okay." He paused. "So what do you two do together exactly?"

"Well," I said, "talk mostly. I sign too–my dad was deaf."

He looked surprised for a second. "Well, that's a coincidence. What does Archer have to say exactly?"

I shrugged. "We talk about a lot of stuff. He's nice, and smart, and… interesting. I like him."

Travis furrowed his brow. "Okay, well hey, Bree, be careful of him, okay? He's not exactly… stable. I know that for a fact. Trust me." He looked up at me with concern. "I wouldn't want him to do anything to hurt you."

I nodded at him. "I'm not worried about that," I said softly.

I didn't ask about his dad and Archer's dad, even though I knew a little bit about the supposed rivalry between them. For some strange reason, I wanted to hear about it from Archer, not Travis. I wasn't sure exactly why–perhaps it was the fact that Archer and I had formed more of a friendship than Travis and I had as of yet.

In any case, Travis changed the subject after that and moved us back onto lighter ground. After he had paid the bill and we got in his truck, he took my hand across the seats and held it all the way back to my cottage.

He walked me to the door, those butterflies swarming in my belly again. When we got to my porch and I turned to him, he took my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue pushed into my mouth and I froze up slightly, but he pressed forward, and after a couple seconds, I relaxed. He kissed me with skill, his hands moving down to my shoulders and then down over my back without me even realizing it until he was cupping my ass and bringing me up against him. I felt his arousal through his pants and broke the kiss, both of us breathing hard as I looked up into his lust-filled eyes. Something felt… off. It must just be me. I needed to take things slowly. The last time a man had looked at me with lust in his eyes had been the most traumatic moment of my life. I needed to take baby steps here.

I smiled at Travis. "Thank you for a really nice night," I said. He smiled back and kissed my forehead gently.

"I'll call you. Goodnight, Bree."

He turned and walked down my steps and when his truck started up, I went inside and closed my door behind me.

**********

The next day, I woke up early, had a doozy of a flashback–apparently, date nights out with cute guys wasn't the cure there either–and then dragged myself to the kitchen for a cup of hot tea.

When I remembered that today was my cooking lesson with Archer, happiness fluttered gently in my belly, replacing the feeling of dread from the flashback. I needed to figure out what I should show him how to make. A nervous thud pounded in my chest when I considered cooking again. Was this a good idea? I had said baby steps last night when it came to intimacy, and baby steps with cooking felt right too. I wasn't actually going to be immersing myself in a complicated meal creation. I was going to be showing Archer how to prepare something simple. It was perfect. I felt good about it. And I was looking forward to spending time with him.

I stood at the sink, steeping my tea bag and sipping carefully at the hot liquid, considering all of that and feeling better. The flashback had been a bad one, but once again, I was going to be okay. Until tomorrow, when it would happen again. I leaned heavily against my counter, trying not to let the depression of that thought take over.

Thankfully work was busy at the diner and the day flew by. I headed home and showered and pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top and sat down at my kitchen table and made a list of ingredients. When I was done with that, I grabbed my purse and keys and slipped on my flip flops.

Ten minutes later, I was pulling into the parking lot of the downtown grocery store. I smiled to myself as I walked toward the font door recalling the last time I'd been here and how I'd felt when Archer had turned around and said goodnight to me. I'd felt like that person who opens her door and a sweepstakes team is waiting outside. Two words from a silent boy–my unexpected windfall. It had thrilled me.

I checked out with enough money this time thank you very much, and drove the short distance back to my cottage.

Men like steak and potatoes. And Archer lived by himself. I thought I'd show him how to cook a steak perfectly, make a simple potatoes au gratin and a side of roasted parmesan green beans.

As I had been looking over the fruit selection for a dessert, I had remembered the blackberry bushes right off the beach. I didn't have anything else to do until it was time to be at Archer's, so I thought some blackberry picking for a cobbler sounded like a good plan. I'd pack everything up and head over to the lake at about four thirty to give myself a half an hour or so to collect what I needed. Might as well take advantage of summer fruit picking while I could. Plus, it was pleasant, mindless work that resulted in something wonderful. I liked it.