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right not to bring you something.” Uncomfortable with the attention, he looked back down at the baby, whose eyes were closed. “I think she’s asleep.”
    “She is. If you don’t mind, I’ll ask you to take her upstairs and put her to bed,” Emma requested softly.
    “I’ll be glad to. Show me where you want her.”
    Moving as carefully as though he held a stick of dynamite, Archer followed her up the stairs, Eliza behind them. Emma turned in at the first bedroom on the left. “Over there, in the bassinet.”
    Archer did a quick double take when he realized this was Emma’s bedroom and not the nursery. He tried to hide his reaction, however, and went to the wicker basket on a rocker base that sat beside the bed. “Just inside?”
    “Just inside, like it’s a bed. Head at the top. Make sure you support her neck when you lower her.”
    Under close supervision he managed to get the baby in the bassinet without waking her. When she was safely down he stepped back with a relieved breath. “I did it.”
    Eliza chuckled from behind him. “One would almost think you’d never held a baby before from the way you’re acting.”
    “I haven’t. She’s my first.”
    She came to his elbow and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Well, you handled her like a pro. She would have let you know if she didn’t feel safe. Our little girl is very particular about who she lets hold her, even as young as she is.”
    Archer was doubtful. “Really?”
    “Cross my heart.”
    Emma reached down and straightened the blanket covering the baby. She stifled a yawn with her free hand. “I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to her schedule.”
    “I’ll head out. I just wanted to swing by, offer my congratulations. She’s beautiful. You did a good job.”
    “Thank you. And again, for what you did the other day.”
    “Don’t mention it.”
    Eliza showed him to the door. “It was sweet of you to drop by, young man. And it was nice to see you. How are you settling in?”
    He shrugged. “Well enough. I lived my whole life near Ashland but it was time to go. I’m glad to be able to get a fresh start.”
    She leaned against the doorjamb. “Sometimes a fresh start is exactly what we need. I left here almost thirty years ago, went to Georgia to live after I lost my husband. I only came back about a month ago. I had to get away from the memories to heal the wounds.”
    The insight was so close to the feelings that had driven him away from Ashland it was startling. He sent her a questioning look.
    “After you told Emma that you’d been shot–which she thought was a joke, as I’m sure you intended–I asked Jack about you. He gave me the short version. That you really were shot, that you’re having to start over. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Shame that it happened the way it did. I’m sorry.”
    Hearing his secrets laid out so starkly was shocking. “So am I. Sorry, I mean.” He rubbed his chest where the physical scars were healed but served as a reminder of what he’d gone through. “Take care of yourself and those girls. I’ll see you around.”
    “I hope so. I think you’d be a nice addition to the family. Oh, not by marriage necessarily,” she hastened to add with a slightly wicked grin when his eyes widened. “But by proxy. There’s more than enough room for you. Goodnight, Archer.”
    As he drove away he realized he wasn’t quite ready to go home for the evening. He’d gone to a quiet bar on Main Street, the Bent Wheel, a couple of times with co-workers. He headed there now. He wasn’t going to get drunk but a little distraction wouldn’t hurt. No, it wouldn’t hurt at all.

Chapter Five

    A melia dragged the truth about his illiteracy out the next time she saw him, at the family’s Labor Day celebration. Once again, they were sitting on the incline watching John and Ben play with John’s children.
    “So what do you do in your spare time?”
    “This and that. Work on my truck, go target