Page 84 of Hack
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Archer stood at the window, watching Carter on the grass. At first, he thought he was asleep, but after watching for a few minutes, he saw him reach up and rub his nose. He was staying to his word and leaving him alone, but it was hard.
He turned away from the window and focused on putting the groceries away. He'd bought a ton, unsure how long they would be here. If they left, he'd call the lady who cleaned his house and tell her to come get everything. She could use it.
He hadn't expected Carter to still be here when he got back. It was a nice surprise that he was. He'd been sure he would head back to the cemetery and spend the day there. He had no clue what was going through Carter's mind, but he'd leave him be until he came to him to talk about it.
He'd picked up the local paper to read up on what was being said about Lyle's death. Searching his phone had given him a bit more information, but nothing important. Levitt and Luis were being investigated for being aware of at least the first couple kidnappings when Lyle still lived at home, and rumors were that they were aware of everything, though it hadn't been proven yet.
What touched him the most were the stories that were starting to come out from the families of the girls they'd reunited with their parents. It almost brought tears to his eyes to read how happy they were. There would need to be a lot of counseling, but hopefully, they were still young enough to be okay as they grew up.
He thought of Faith and what he'd heard of her story. If she could make it, so could these other girls.
Once the groceries were put away, he checked on Carter once more, glad to see he looked okay out in the center of that huge yard. Leaving him be, he went to his office and started going through all the phone calls and emails he'd put off since meeting Carter. Not surprisingly, half the callers had hired another investigator since he'd been busy, but there were a few who still wanted his help. He made notes, trying to decide if he wanted to take the jobs or not.
He was sure he didn't want to travel right now. He wanted to stay with Carter, be it here or in California, but the question was if Carter went back home, would he want Archer to go with him?
So many answers he wanted, but wasn't going to get, at least not yet. There would be time, but Carter needed to come to him. He wasn't going to force things, and the last thing he wanted to do was make Carter feel guilty or like he was being forced to decide what was going to happen with them.
There were two jobs that were local, both simple cases where a spouse was convinced his partner was cheating. Those cases never took long. People were careless and sloppy, and as long as they figured their spouse wasn't around to see them, they seldom hid what they were doing.
Needing something to do to keep him out of the house and away from Carter, he took both cases. That would get him out for a few hours each day, keep his mind somewhat occupied, and give Carter the house to himself. In a week or two, he'd reevaluate things and see where Carter was with things.
It took him several hours to work out the details of the cases he was taking, and then he created file folders, both digital and hardcopy so that he had all the information. He'd thought it would feel good to get back to work, but he found himself immediately back into the rut he'd been in before teaming up with Carter to work on Lyle's case. He was obviously losing his passion for the job, but he wasn't sure what else he wanted to do. He was a good investigator, but watching cheating spouses wasn't cutting it anymore. He liked working cases like he had with Carter. It challenged his mind and made him work for answers, unlike sitting in a car across from a parking lot and taking photos of a couple kissing did.
As he left the office, he noticed Carter wasn't in the yard anymore. The urge to go find him was overwhelming, but he shoved his hands in his pockets and went back to the kitchen. He was going to put dinner in the crock-pot and then he'd head out into the garage and find something there to keep himself busy.
God, giving someone space when all you wanted was to be with them was so hard.
He heard noises in the basement and figured Carter had gone down there. As long as he knew he was safe, he could make it through this. He missed his touch, his scent, his taste. It had only been a few days since they'd last been together, but it felt like years. The emotions between them had gone from serious to almost like strangers. He understood why, but it was hard to accept. He had to have faith that if they were meant to be in a relationship, Carter would come around in time.
He'd questioned himself often, wondering if leaving Carter on his own was the best choice, but in the end, he was sure that was what Carter needed. His mind was overwhelmed with things right now, and the last thing he needed was Archer adding to it. He'd get farther by just being there for him, supporting him when he needed it instead of pushing things on him and trying to force things to get serious too fast. There was no hurry. They had nothing but time.
He was about to head into the garage when his phone rang. He glanced down, shocked to see Xander's name. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Faith." Her soft voice was unexpected.
"Hi, how are you?" He leaned against the counter.
"Good. I know we all agreed to leave Carter alone, but I'm worried about him. I made Xander let me call you. Could you give Carter a message for me?" She sounded nervous, which he found odd. She'd been so confident when he'd been around her before.
"Sure, I'd be happy to." He wondered if he should grab a notepad out of the drawer or if it would be something simple.
"Do you think he'll be okay with me asking him to call me?"
"I think he'll be okay that you asked. I'm not sure he'll call you right away, but I know he'll like that you asked and want to talk to him."
"He's not okay, is he? Xander won't tell me anything, but I know. I can see it in his eyes. The whole team is acting differently, but no one will tell me anything." She sounded frustrated.
"He's okay. I promise you. I think he's just thinking about stuff that he refused to think of before. Things he should have thought about years ago. Everything sort of hit him at once. He's going to be okay, but sometimes people just need to be alone to think. That's what he's doing right now." He glanced up to see Carter standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching him. His chest tightened, hoping he wasn't mad about what he'd just heard.
"Thinking about Angel?" she asked.
"Yeah, that and a lot more." Archer kept his eyes locked with Carter. He mouthed Faith's name to him and gestured to the phone, but Carter waved his hand and shook his head. "I promise, he's okay. You don't have to worry about him. Just give him some time to relax. It's been a long time since he's taken a vacation from work. We'll let him unwind, then I'm sure he'll be ready to talk to you and the others."
"Okay. Just tell him I love him and I'm going to text my phone number to you so he has it. Xan said Carter didn't take his phone with him, so if you'll let him use yours to call me?"
"Of course. He knows he can use my phone anytime. I'll tell him you're worried and that you love him."
