I'm here because of you, he said, and I'll always be here because of you.
I heaved out a big breath, tears running unabashedly down my cheeks now. Archer smiled gently at me and then looked back around at the crowd.
Thank you again for being here, for your support. I look forward to getting to know you all a lot better, he finished.
A single clap started in the back of the room, and then several more joined in until the whole room was clapping and whistling, and Archer grinned, and looked down shyly once more, and I shed a few more tears, laughing through them now. A few people stood up and more followed until the entire audience was standing and clapping vigorously for him.
And as he smiled around at the crowd, his eyes landed on mine again, and he raised his hands and signed, I Bree you, and I laughed and signed, I Archer you. God, I Archer you so much.
And then he shook hands with the interpreter and stepped down off the podium and I moved out of my seat, Maggie squeezing my hand as I walked by her. I walked toward him, single minded, and when we reached each other, despite the bandages under his shirt, he swept me up in his arms and swung me around as he laughed silently against my lips, those golden brown eyes filled with warmth, with love.
And I thought to myself, Archer Hale's voice was one of the most beautiful things in the whole wide world.
EPILOGUE
Five years later
I watched my wife swing lazily in our hammock, one foot dragging lightly on the grass as she moved back and forth under the summer sunshine. She twirled a lock of her golden brown hair around one delicate finger, her other hand flipping the pages of the paperback that was propped up on her swollen belly.
Fierce male pride filled me as I gazed at my Bree, the woman who loved me and our children to the very edges of her heart.
Our three year old twin boys, Connor and Charlie, romped in the grass nearby, spinning themselves around until they got dizzy, their laughter spilling joyously out of their mouths as they fell on the grass in fits of giggles. Boys.
We had named them after our fathers, the men who had loved us so fiercely, that when faced with life-threatening danger, their only thought had been to save us. I understood that. After all, I was a father now too.
I walked slowly to Bree and when she saw me, she turned her book over on her belly and laid her head back and smiled dreamily at me. You're home.
I squatted down at the side of the hammock and signed, The meeting wrapped up quickly.
I had been at the bank negotiating the purchase of a piece of land that was just outside the town limits as of now. It'd gone well.
The town had voted down the expansion plans that Victoria Hale had been putting in place five years ago when I took over the land. But as it turned out, the residents weren't against expansion or bringing in a little more business, they were just against the particular type that Tori Hale had in mind. So when I proposed opening up several Bed and Breakfasts, all with the quaint, historic feel the town had always loved, the residents overwhelmingly voted yes.
The fourth one would go up on the land that I had just purchased this morning.
The town was thriving, business was booming, and as it turned out, I was a pretty good businessman. Who knew? I had asked Bree one night, smiling when the first vote had come back in support of my plan.
"I knew," she said quietly. "I knew." And she had. She had told me my voice mattered, and her love had made me believe it might be true. And sometimes, that's all it takes–one person who's willing to listen to your heart, to the sound no one else has ever tried to hear.
I plucked a dandelion full of fluff out of the grass beside me and smiled as I offered it to Bree. She tilted her head and her eyes warmed as she took it from my fingers and whispered, "All my wishes have already come true." She glanced at our boys and said, "This one is for them." She blew softly and the fluff danced into the air and was carried up to the summer sky.
My eyes met hers again and I put my hand on her belly, feeling our baby move beneath it.
It's a boy, you know, she said, smiling.
Probably. I grinned. I think that's all us Hale men make. You okay with that?
She smiled softly. Yeah, perfectly okay, she said, and then added, As long as there's only one in there, I'm okay if it's a goat. She laughed, looking over at the little duo still spinning on the grass, the ones who hadn't stopped moving since the day they came into the world. Little rabble rousers.
I laughed silently and then clapped my hands three times, getting their attention. Their little heads sprung up and they started yelling, "Daddy, Daddy!" while simultaneously signing the word.
They ran to me and I let them believe they knocked me over, going down on my back on the grass as they tackled me, laughing again, the beautiful sound ringing out through our property.
I sat up, bringing the boys with me. Which one of you men is going to help me with the construction today?
Me! Me! They both signed together.
Okay, good. We've got a lot of work to do if we're going to finish this addition by the time your little brother or sister comes. I put my hand out to them and they put their little dimpled hands on top of mine, looking up into my eyes seriously.
I took my hand away and signed, Brothers 'til the end, and they signed along just after me, looking solemn, serious.
That's right, I said. The most important pact there is.
Perhaps someday I'd have more of a relationship with my own brother. It had gotten better since I'd taken over the town and he'd become the Chief of Police, and even I knew that Travis loved his nephews, but we still had a ways to go.