Where the Heart Is (4 page)

“Can't wait.”

“Me neither.” He gave her a last, lingering stare before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Chloe touched the door as if she could still feel his imprint on the handle, then turned around and pressed her back to it. Then she heard voices in the stairwell and pivoted to reopen the door.

A petite woman with pale blond hair was just ascending the last few steps, a gray bundle of fur in her arms.

“Ashley!” Chloe held out her arms, absurdly happy to see the kitten she'd only barely met but felt incredibly possessive of.

The woman—she had to be Emily Archer—transferred Ashley into Chloe's waiting embrace. “She's doing very well. Takes her eye drops like a champ.”

Chloe stared at her little kitten who was now looking up at her, which she hadn't done the other night. “Oh, thank you so much. It does look as though she can see better, doesn't it?”

Emily nodded. “Definitely. She found the food dish quite easily this morning.” She paused. “I'm Emily, by the way.”

“Oh, yes, sorry.” Chloe nestled Ashley into the crook of her left arm and then held out her right to shake Emily's hand. “I'm Chloe.”

“Oh, nonsense, young lady. We're huggers.” She reached over and gave Chloe a quick squeeze. Then she pushed by her into the apartment. “I've put Ashley's eyedrops in the cupboard next to the sink there. And there are cat food dishes and cat food in the cabinets.”

“I don't know how to thank you—for the groceries, too. How much do I owe you? And for the vet.”

Emily waved her hand. “Nothing. I insist. If you can't rely on the kindness of strangers to help you amidst a terrible tragedy, what good is this life?” She continued bustling around the apartment. “There's a litter box in the bathroom. I wouldn't let Ashley outside, especially until she's better, though I wouldn't let her be an outside kitty at all. There are too many coyotes around Ribbon Ridge.”

Coyotes? Yeah, she lived in the boondocks, all right. “I think Ashley has had a hard enough time outside. Something tells me she'll be perfectly happy inside as a TV-watching, bon-bon eating kitty.”

Emily smiled. “Exactly! Now, did you see the closet in the bedroom?”

“Not yet.” Chloe followed Emily to the bedroom, where she opened the accordion doors to reveal a couple pairs of jeans, some shirts, a jacket, and a sweatshirt. She gaped at the lovely woman. “Did you do that too?”

“Guilty.” Though her warm smile said she felt anything but. “I interrogated Derek about your size.”

Chloe went and looked at one of the tags. He'd nailed it. Damn, he was good. She turned back to Emily. “I don't suppose I can reimburse you for these either?”

Emily's grin was infectious. “Absolutely not! You're going to have to suffer our generosity, I'm afraid.”

“You've done so much. This apartment is incredible.”

Emily's face darkened with regret. “I'm only sorry you can't stay here longer, but it's a good thing Derek's house is available.”

An inexplicable bead of unease settled into Chloe's spine. “Derek's house?”

“He didn't tell you?” Color flagged Emily's cheeks, but Chloe couldn't decipher what emotion had sparked the reaction. “Well, I'll let him do that. Sorry.”

Chloe wanted to ask for more details, but didn't think they would be forthcoming. Emily had clearly said something that she maybe wasn't supposed to, and didn't want to get Derek into trouble.

Problem was—and Chloe suspected Emily knew this and it was the reason for her blush—she probably already had.

 

D
EREK HAD
forgotten he'd agreed to cover a meeting for Hayden Archer. He'd been so wrapped up in helping Chloe, he'd practically forgotten he had a job. And he most certainly did. As CFO of Archer Enterprises, he was incredibly busy and tasked with an enormous amount of responsibility. That Rob had believed in him enough to promote him last year meant the world to Derek and he would strive to never, ever let him down.

After he'd taken care of the meeting, he went to his office, which overlooked a fantastic view of the Red Hills, the tips of which were cloaked in low clouds today. This time of year, the countryside looked mystical, like it belonged in some sort of
Lord of the Rings
-esque fantasy novel.

“Hey, thanks for covering for me, I appreciate it,” Hayden said.

Derek turned from the windows as the youngest Archer stepped into the office. Hayden was the only kid who wasn't a sextuplet. At twenty-six, he was just fourteen months younger than his siblings, and the only one aside from Alex, whose health problems required him to stay where he could receive care, who hadn't moved away from Ribbon Ridge. He was also the only one who currently worked for Archer Enterprises, as vice president of Operations. Most importantly, he was a good friend.

“Mom says you helped the woman from the fire move into the apartment today. She hot or something? That why you almost missed the meeting you were supposed to cover?”

Derek recognized the teasing tone to Hayden's questions. “Maybe. But she's spoken for.”

Hayden sprawled into one of the leather chairs in front of Derek's desk. “Married? That's a bummer.”

“Not married.”

Hayden's brows rose. “Oh? Spoken for . . . by you?” When Derek didn't say anything, Hayden nodded once. “Interesting. Didn't you just meet her?”

Derek shrugged, not wanting to draw too much attention to it. “Hey, I have to keep you Archer boys from stealing all the girls. Do you know how hard it was to get a date with Liam and Kyle around?”

Hayden snorted. “Um, yeah. They're my older brothers, remember? But your memory's faulty, old man. I seem to recall you doing just fine scoring dates, so you won't be getting any pity from me.”

Derek smiled as he dropped into his chair. Hayden was right, but that didn't stop Derek from flipping shit as good as he got it. “I know Liam's coming to the party, but is Kyle?” Though Kyle had once been Derek's closest friend, they hadn't spoken in months.

Brows dipping over his blue-green eyes, Hayden shook his head. “Too busy starring in his own version of
Cocktail.
”

Derek bit out a humorless laugh. “He's no Tom Cruise. When is he going to get his shit together?”

Hayden shrugged. “You know him as well as any of us.”

Better, probably. But he still didn't understand why someone with Kyle's cooking talent was squandering his life pouring drinks for a bunch of bikini babes and retirees. He was an amazing chef and could establish himself as a major force in the culinary community. “Emily can't be happy that he's not coming.”

“Not at all.” Hayden leaned back in the chair. “But don't say anything. You know how she gets.”

Of course he did. Emily was practically his mother. She was frustrated with Kyle's aimlessness, not because he was bartending. She could totally get on board with that, if she thought he was happy. But she was convinced he wasn't.

“How who gets?” Rob walked into Derek's office.

“Oh, hey Dad,” Hayden said. “We were just talking about Kyle.”

Rob's forehead creased and his gray eyes darkened to storm clouds. “Don't get me started. I can't believe he's disappointing your mother by not coming to the party.” He cut his hand through the air. “But I don't want to talk about him. I came to talk to you.” He pointed at Derek.

Derek sat up in his chair, responding to the fatherly tone Rob used rarely, but effectively, with him. “What did I do?”

“I thought you were going to offer your house to that young woman? Emily said you didn't.”

Dammit. Emily had to have mentioned it to Chloe . . .
crap
. What kind of knight in shining armor was he? “I meant to, it just didn't come up.”

“That sounds like a load of BS.” Rob didn't suffer fools, or half-ass lies. “She needs a place to live and you've got one.”

Derek
had
meant to mention it, but he had to admit—at least to himself—that he'd been procrastinating in the hope that something else would present itself. “I said I was going to do it, okay?” He rarely got irritated with Rob, but he didn't want to be pushed on this.

Rob held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. But if you flake, I'll find her something else. My inventory in town is full at the moment and she'll probably have to go to Newberg.” That was nearly thirty minutes away.

“I'm not a flake,” Derek said grouchily, thinking of Kyle who
was
a flake.

Rob's features softened. “I know, son. And I know this is difficult for you, but try to think of it as a positive step.”

It was the only way he
could
think of it. Really, it wasn't too difficult. He liked Chloe. A lot. Shouldn't he want someone like her to live in that house? No, because he hated it. He tried to suppress a shiver, but his shoulder gave a slight twitch. “I'll talk to her about it tomorrow. It's a great solution,” he forced himself to add, “for everyone.”

“Good attitude.” Rob nodded at him, pride shining in his eyes and in that moment Derek wanted this to work. He could manage Chloe living there and dating her at the same time. He
could
.

Rob turned to go, but paused at the door and looked back at Derek and Hayden. “Almost forgot. Partial family dinner tonight. Tori's getting in around four, and Evan should be here by then, too. Sara met your mom and Alex at the hospital in Newberg.” Sara only lived about forty minutes away, just outside Portland, and came down frequently to help out, particularly with Alex's medical issues. “See you at seven.”

“See you, Dad,” Hayden called after him. He steepled his fingers on his chest and stared at Derek. “What's up with you and that house? Just get rid of it already if you hate it so much.”

It wasn't quite that simple. It was a love-hate thing, and he highly doubted Hayden, who'd never lost a parent, let alone both of them, would understand. “I can't now, can I? Chloe needs a place to live.”

Because Derek wanted desperately to change the subject, he asked, “What's the appointment for Alex? It's not his monthly checkup—that was last week.”

Alex suffered from chronic lung disease and had regular appointments to monitor his lung capacity. He was the only sextuplet with a debilitating defect as a result of the multiple birth. Though Evan suffered from Asperger's Syndrome and Sara from sensory processing disorder, their challenges weren't physically limiting like Alex's.

“He's been having some trouble lately. You know how hard this time of year is for him. It's so damp. Actually, Mom is thinking of moving him to Arizona—for the drier climate.”

“By himself?” Derek asked, surprised he hadn't heard anything about this.

“No, she'd go with him—just for six months out of the year.”

“What about Rob?” He couldn't leave Archer Enterprises. Not because the staff couldn't handle it, but because it was the core of Rob's identity. He'd taken the family real estate business and made it into something far more. Still, Derek also couldn't see him letting his wife and sick son leave the state and not go with them.

“Look, it's just talk for now. I don't even think she really wanted me to know, but I overheard her and Dad talking about it.”

“Fair enough.” It was very hard to keep secrets in such a large family, but Derek did his best to respect every single one of them, probably because he was still Derek Sumner and would never be Derek Archer—not that he expected to be. Damn, those Archer kids didn't know how good they had it. They had this wonderfully supportive family and they'd all picked up and left town. All but Hayden, and Alex, of course. And Derek suspected Hayden might've left too, but Derek was sure Rob had applied pressure—probably unwittingly—on his youngest son to stay since everyone else had abandoned him. Why had they all been so anxious to fly the coop? Derek couldn't imagine wanting to leave the comfort and security of a family, but then in his experience, everyone else did the leaving.

Hayden uncrossed his legs and sat up straighter. “What? You look irritated.”

“Oh you know me. I don't get why they all left. And I really don't get why they only come home maybe once or twice a year.” Except for Sara.

Hayden frowned at him. “You don't get what it's like for them. They've spent their whole lives as a six-person-unit instead of as individuals.”

Derek had heard that argument before, and didn't buy it. Life wasn't easy, sure, but in the larger scheme, the Archer sextuplets had a golden ticket. “Yeah, they've had it so rough. Unlike Alex.” Who couldn't leave even if he wanted to—at least not without considerable help.

Hayden stood. “Tell you what, you lay off everybody for wanting to go out and find themselves, and I won't tell them what a lame-ass you're being about your house. And yeah, it's the same thing. Don't knock other people's neuroses when you've got plenty of your own.” He flashed a quick smile to show he wasn't mad, then took off.

Derek stared at the empty doorway. Maybe he wasn't any better than they were. Actually, he knew he wasn't. He was a mess, not that he ever bothered to look closely enough to see it. No, doing that meant getting really messy, and he wasn't going there.

His mind turned to Chloe and her relocation to Oregon. Was she doing what the Archer kids were doing—leaving home to find herself? She said she'd come here because it was more laid-back. However, he sensed she'd left Pittsburgh for a more specific, more personal reason.

He stared at his desk, but the paperwork he needed to address and the e-mails he needed to answer faded and reformed into the gorgeous face of Chloe English, with her seductive hazel eyes and tempting pink mouth that tasted like cream cheese and dark chocolate. He swallowed. Damn, it was going to be a long day.

And he wasn't even seeing her until tomorrow. Unless he wanted to be a complete nuisance and show up at the pub later. But no, she was trying to learn the ropes and make a good impression. No, he'd bide his time—hard as it would be—until 6:00 tomorrow night.

Or maybe he'd do himself a favor and show up at 5:55.