When Nathan and Allie had made it home, Nathan told Allie to go inside and start her homework and that he would put the horses away. As Nathan got closer to the stables, he heard someone coughing inside. Nathan peaked around the corner and saw Archie bent over coughing into handkerchief. Once Archie's coughing had calmed down, he took the handkerchief away from his mouth and looked at it. Nathan saw that there was blood on it.
"Archie. What's going on?" Nathan said stepping into the stables.
"Nothing." Archie said clearing his throat.
"Blood coming out when you cough is not nothing. I want to know what is wrong." Nathan said.
"I'm sick." Archie said.
"Sick? How? Have you seen a doctor?" Nathan asked.
"Yes. I have seen a doctor. They told me that I have abnormal cells in my lungs and that whatever I have has already spread." Archie said.
"What does that all mean?" Nathan asked.
"It means I'm dying." Archie said.
"Dying? Isn't there anything that they can do?" Nathan asked.
"No." Archie said.
There was silence between them. It all made sense now. He was dying and wanted to spend time with Allie. As Nathan started to think about all of this, he became angry.
"You just decide to show up here, get to know Allie, die and break her heart?" Nathan asked.
"My biggest regret in life is not being there for you or your sister growing up. When I heard Colleen died, I realized that I didn't want to regret not spending time with my granddaughter. I thought the only way to do that was through Dylan because I didn't think you would let me spend time with her. I had no idea how bad of a father he was.
"How long do you have to live?" Nathan asked.
"I saw the doctor a month ago, he said maybe three months. Please don't tell Allie." Archie said.
Nathan put buttercup away and then mounted Newton and rode off.
Nathan had no idea where he was riding to, but he wanted to get away from Archie. As Nathan rode, he thought about how his father was going to break Allie's heart. Typical Archie. Always leaving destruction behind him. Nathan rode up a hill and when he made it to the top, he stopped and looked over the hill. The trees had lost their leaves and they were getting closer to winter.
Nathan sighed. He could agree with his father on one thing; regrets. Nathan regretted not being there for Colleen. He regretted not being there when she was sick. It made Nathan sick to think that Colleen died alone with no one holding her hand.
Nathan rode Newton over to the saw mill. He met with Lee and bought some lumber. Nathan hooked Newton up to a wagon that Nathan was borrowing to haul the wood back home. As he got closer to the house, he saw Allie and Archie sitting on the front porch.
"Where did you go?" Allie asked when Nathan got closer.
"The saw mill." Nathan said.
"What are you building?" Allie asked.
"We are going to put an extended room on the house." Nathan said.
"Why?" Allie asked.
"Because grandpa can't sleep on the couch every night." Nathan said.
Allie's smile got wider.
"Grandpa is moving in with us?" Allie asked.
"He is." Nathan said.
Allie ran over to Archie and hugged him.
"I can't wait for you to live with us." Allie said.
"Me either." Archie said to Allie. Allie ran inside. Archie walked over to Nathan.
"Thanks, son." Archie said.
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for her." Nathan said.
Archie nodded.
"I can help build the room. It doesn't have to be big. I have stayed in places smaller than a jail cell." Archie said.
"It's not going to be a jail cell. There will be enough room for a bed and a couple pieces of furniture. I talked to Lee Coulter, the owner of the saw mill. I am going to hire a few of his men to help build it. It should take a couple of weeks and be built by thanksgiving." Nathan said.
Archie gave a small smile.
"You're a better man than me." Archie said. Nathan nodded and pulled the wagon around back.
Nathan wasn't sure if he was a better man than Archie, but he strived to be better for Allie's sake.
