Page 93

Archer eyed his father, who was chuckling along with the interaction. He hesitated, then turned to Tea. “Hey, go with them, I’ll catch up.”

Tea kissed him on the cheek, then followed Jorge and Lily.

Astor titled his head. “You okay?”

Archer cracked his knuckles. “Oh yeah. I’m glad we figured out who was doing it. Cleaning that cabin every week was driving me crazy.”

“At least you cleaned it. If it were me, I would have left it to rot until the culprit came forward.”

“That’s…disgusting, Dad.”

“And that’s why you are the best person for this job.”

He paused. “Thank you,” he replied gingerly.

Astor patted his back. “I’m proud of you, son. This summer hasn’t been easy.”

“No, it has not.”

They remained there for a beat, Astor’s hand on his back, the trees rustling from the warm breeze coming from the east.

Eventually he watched his father walk away, stunned by his words of praise.

His mind raced as he made his way to Jorge’s cabin. Four Pisco sours sat on the table beaded with perspiration. Jorge was busy in conversation with Tea, Lily nodding along to whatever her husband was saying.

Archer took the seat next to Tea and reached for a glass, then took a large sip.

Jorge looked smug. “Good, right?”

He shrugged. “Needs more simple.”

“You’re such an ass.”

Archer smirked as he leaned back, throwing an arm around Tea’s shoulders and kissing her on the head.

“Hey, Jorge was telling me that he got his job back,” Tea said.

Archer’s brows shot up. “Seriously? Dude, congrats.”

Jorge sighed. “Yes, back to the office three days starting the second week of September. I don’t love the idea of going to the office, but I do love the idea of making money again.” He lifted his glass to the two of them. “Thank you for being kind about my delayed payments. It meant a lot to us.”

“We could probably pay you soon,” Lily added. “Potentially in a week or so.”

Archer swiped his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Tea was able to work out finances so we could pay the association in full. As long as you pay what you need to before the next season, we will be good.”

Jorge sighed, leaning back in his chair as he took a sip of his drink. “That must be nice. Having someone working for you who actually knows what they’re doing with finances.”

Tea frowned. “Do you guys not have someone working on your accounts?”

“Oh we do, but he’s horrendous at it. I mean, clearly. Half of us were furloughed this summer because he didn’t consider the right amount of savings to take care of employees in crises such as this. Which is embarrassing considering the company relies so much on public donation. Me and a few of my colleagues are advocating for new financial management; someone who actually knows what’s best for those kinds of resources.”

Archer couldn’t help himself. His eyes flicked to Tea as Jorge talked. Her face was pinched into a scowl, the crease in her forehead visible, deep in thought.

Financial management? Someone new? Minneapolis?

He closed his eyes. No. He couldn’t hope like that. She had her heart set on being with her mom, and he wouldn’t be the one to sway her decision. She’d made it clear that he should move forward with his life in Minneapolis. He just wished she would consider a life where he wasn’t only a part of it for three months of the year. He didn’t want to settle for only the summer. He wanted the whole year. He wanted years to come. He wanted it all.

Chapter 25