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wasn’t quite sure what to do about that.

Chapter Four

    A ll that next week, Jack clapped him on the shoulder at random moments through the day, thanking him time and again for having taken Emma to the hospital. He’d also been urging Archer to stop by Emma’s house, say hello.
    Archer had resisted, using the excuse that he hadn’t wanted to bother the new mother. “Besides, it was just a lift to town. You’re making it sound like I delivered the child,” he told her uncle.
    “Not to hear my sister tell it. Whatever you said to Em helped. Sarah’s been awfully worried about her.”
    He wasn’t sure he believed that. “She’s probably relieved to have a healthy baby, some kind of post-pregnancy happiness or something.”
    “Go see her.”
    Archer was determined to stay away. That determination melted Friday evening when he swung by a local department store after work to grab some supplies for the apartment. He detoured quite by accident through the baby department. Sitting on an end shelf looking dejected was the softest, cutest stuffed bunny. His fur was pastel pink and lavender, and he had one ear up, one ear down. Archer was almost afraid to touch it with his work-roughened hands.
    “Damn. You’re going to give in, aren’t you?”
    He set the rabbit in the buggy in the little space designed for children to sit and finished his shopping. He got a few odd looks when people noticed the bunny but he ignored them.
    Almost ready to check out, he hesitated in front of the perfume counter. When the older woman working behind it noticed him, she came over.
    “Can I help you?”
    “Um, maybe? I have a friend–just a friend–who had a baby last weekend. I found the bunny for the baby but I don’t know what to take Mom.”
    “Does she like perfume?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t know her very well.”
    She tapped her fingers on the glass. “Then jewelry is out. And her husband probably wouldn’t appreciate that.”
    Archer let that statement slide. He wasn’t going to correct her and tell her Emma wasn’t married.
    “You could get her some nice lotion. That’s something that’s practical but also something that would be a nice gift. Won’t get you into any trouble, either.”
    “Perfect.”
    Not sure what scent Emma would prefer, he chose a selection of small lotions that the lady directed him to.
    “Would you like me to wrap this for you?” she offered.
    “That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
    She patted him on the arm. “Why don’t you go pick out a nice card to go with these things, and I’ll get the wrapping taken care of?”
    Grateful for her guidance but with a nervousness in the pit of his stomach that was a familiar companion, he headed to the card aisle. Despite his tendency to brush things off and joke, he settled on a serious message of congratulations. Thankfully, it was in the first card he picked up and he didn’t have too much trouble reading the message. Just to make sure he got it right he read it three times.
    After his mother had died when he was six, focus on school and academics was something that had fallen through the cracks in the Gibson household. His dad was so grief-stricken that simply keeping Archer and Logan fed and clothed was almost too much responsibility, never mind worrying about school. So when Archer’s progress had started slipping, Steve Gibson hadn’t noticed. Feeling sympathetic but overworked, his teachers had passed him from grade to grade, most probably not even realizing he could barely read. He’d learned early on to pay close attention to his lessons, and he had strong math skills that had helped mask how poorly he read.
    He was twenty-five now and barely literate. Logan and Candace were the only two people in the world who knew that. His illiteracy was something Archer was deeply ashamed of. He knew there were programs he could join but he’d not been brave enough to seek out help. The shame was too strong.
    Card in hand, he went back to the