by Nicole James
Liam—
I swung the ax up and brought it down with driving force, the handle gliding through my palms until the blade sunk deep into the bark of the spruce tree. I yanked it out with a jerk, the muscles in my arms flexing. A couple more swings, and the tree toppled over. Wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my glove, I bent and grabbed the trunk and dragged it down to where I’d parked my truck and hefted the tree into the bed. We’d had a dusting of snow last night, just enough to leave a trail of my boot prints.
Jumping in the cab, I pulled my buckskin gloves off and started the engine, imagining the smile I hoped the tree would put on Velvet’s face when she saw it. She’d hinted around about it, but I’d been vague and noncommittal. I wanted it to be a surprise.
I drove into town. Lights were already strung across Main Street and had been since Thanksgiving. Every tree along the sidewalk was lit. I loved when the town decorated. It looked beautiful at night, like driving through a tunnel of lights.
I parked in front of Coffee on the Corner and hopped out. Dropping the tailgate, I grabbed the tree. It slid across the bed liner without a single dropped needle. That was the awesomeness of a fresh cut tree, that and the fabulous scent.
The tree was eight feet and I had to wrangle it in the front door, but with the help of a customer who held the door for me, I managed. The ceilings inside were twelve feet high and I knew she’d need a tree big enough to fill the space.
I stopped just inside the door, standing the tree up with a thunk.
Velvet had just finished waiting on a customer, and when she saw me, or maybe my gift, her face lit up. She ran around the counter, and I caught her to me as she threw her arms around my neck. “You brought me a tree!”
“You dropped enough hints. Did you think I was dense?”
She pulled back and kissed my mouth. “Of course not.” Her eyes swept over it. “It’s gorgeous, and it smells so good.”
“Where do you want it? In the front bay window or back by the fireplace?”
She bit her lip. “I think by the fireplace. That way it’s near the children’s reading corner. I don’t want to block the window or have to rearrange the tables. People love sitting near the bay windows and people watching.”
“You got it, babe.” I carried the tree to the back and leaned it against the wall. Then I went to the truck and carried in the big stand. When I had it all set up, Velvet came and admired it.
“It’s perfect, Liam.”
“Glad you like it.” I pulled her against my hip and kissed the tip of her nose. “The place looks great. You really went all out decorating. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, considering how you had the place fixed up for Halloween.”
“Well, it was my opening month, and I wanted this place to be a place that kids wanted to visit.”
I glanced around. True to her word, she’d put in a children’s reading corner with a big colorful rug and several soft beanbag chairs. The walls were lined with shelves full of children’s books. There were also several cozy stuffed chairs for parents to sit and read to the younger ones. “Well, you managed that.”
On Halloween she’d outdone herself with decorations, turning the shop into something right out of Harry Potter. Then she’d had a Halloween party with free apple cider and cookies for children, inviting them to come down in their costumes for special prizes. It had been a huge hit with not only the kids, but the parents as well, who were always looking for something fun to do with the little ones. The community had looked past her tattoos and accepted her wholeheartedly.
The coffee shop was cheerfully decorated and very inviting and soon became a real gathering place. Velvet was in her element.
And now as I looked around at what she’d done for the children in decorating for Christmas, I knew this place was going to be somewhere they remembered from their childhood long after they’d grown up.
She had a toy train running around the shop up on shelving that she’d had my brothers and I install when we remodeled the place for her. She wouldn’t tell me what it was for, but had insisted on it. It was a big hit with the kids.
There were decorations everywhere, Santa figures and snowmen and elves galore. Combine that with the smell of her fabulous coffee drinks and the baked goods she sold, and the place was a hit.
The bay windows were frosted with fake snow, and a sandwich board sign out on the sidewalk noted the coffee of the day. Today’s was Peppermint Swirl.
A child ran up to us and tugged on her apron. “Miss Velvet, I can’t reach the mailbox slot to drop my letter to Santa.”
She squatted down and looked at the letter the child had written at the small round table in the children’s reading corner. Velvet had asked me to create a mailbox on a stand that said North Pole on it so the children could mail their letters.
“Well, come with me. I’ll help you.” She took the little girl with her bouncing blonde ringlets and walked her over to the box. “We need to fold it and put it in an envelope so it fits.”
I watched my angel as she helped the child mail her letter. My heart was full to bursting, seeing the joy on her face. My Velvet had longed to be accepted in the community. She’d achieved that and more. She wasn’t just accepted, she was loved.
Pam from the animal shelter walked over to me. Her eyes on Velvet, she leaned close. “Everyone loves her, Liam. The children, their parents, the whole town… You should be proud.”
“I am.”
“You look happy.”
I nodded. “You don’t have to look too far to see the reason why.”
She smiled and patted my cheek. “We’re having a holiday adoption fair at the shelter next weekend. You’ll be there?”
I pulled her against my side for a hug. “You know I will.”
“I’ve got a cute little tabby cat that just came in. I think it would look really cute curled up in front of that fireplace. She could be the coffee shop cat.”
I grinned. “Oh, Lord. You show her to Velvet, we’ll be taking it home for sure.”
“That’s the plan. I’ll see you later.”
Pam walked toward the front door, and my eyes shifted to Velvet. She was so good with the kids that came in here, always squatting down to their level and talking to them, always that big smile on her face. The funny thing about kids, they didn’t see the tattoos; they saw her, recognizing innately the good person she was underneath. I knew someday she’d make a wonderful mother.
A few minutes later she returned to my side.
She went up on her toes and kissed my lips. “Thank you for my tree.”
I caught the back of her head and brought her in for longer kiss. I released her, and she made a purring sound. “That’s just a preview of what you’re going to get when you get home tonight.”
She gave me a saucy wink that promised all kinds of things. “Oh, honey, you have no idea.”
“Hmm, I may have to leave the shop early tonight.”
She smiled up at me and tucked a folded piece of paper into my flannel shirt pocket and patted her hand over the pocket. The diamond ring she’d picked out at the jewelry store down the street, sparkled. We’d gotten married outside at the farm, and although I wanted to give her a big wedding, she’d wanted it simple. I loved her, and I’d give her anything she wanted, so we’d kept it simple with just my immediate family.
I glanced down and frowned. “What’s that? Another honey-do list?”
“Nope. Just a little note for you to read later.”
I started to pull it from my pocket, but she stopped me, insisting, “Later.”
I noticed the paper she’d written it on was the cute stationary she’d put out on the kid’s table for them to write their letters to Santa. Apparently she’d just written it a few moments ago.
She’d been working hard the last few months learning to read and write, and I was so proud of her. I helped her whenever I could. I knew the fact that she’d spent her life illiterate was especially painful for her and
that was one of the reasons she was so intent on having the children’s reading corner at the coffee shop. She wanted to provide easy access to books in a place that was fun for both parents and kids to come and hangout.
“All right, weirdo, I’ll read it later.”
“Get out of here. I have to get back to work.”
“Yes you do. Go make us some money.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too, babe.”
I walked out to my truck and got behind the wheel. I pulled out onto the street, but I didn’t make it farther than the red light before I dug the note from my pocket and read it.
Liam—
When I was a girl, I always hoped that one day someone would walk into my life and get it right where everyone else got it wrong.
I hoped that one day I’d finally meet someone who wanted to help me grow in life, someone I could finally trust with everything.
And I hoped that one day I’d have my best friend, my biggest supporter, and my lover all wrapped up in one person.
That day arrived the day I met you.
I love you, Liam, with all my heart.
—Velvet
My eyes glazed over as I stared down at the words. Her handwriting was still childish and inexperienced, but I would treasure this note all the rest of my days.
A car horn blared behind me, and I glanced up to see the light had changed to green. My boot slipped off the brake pedal and I gave the old truck some gas. I looked around my town; joy soaring through my veins, truly happy with a feeling of belonging that I had been missing for a long time. Everything in my life was finally settling perfectly into place.
Velvet—
That night, when Liam got home from work, I walked him into our bedroom with my hands over his eyes, hoping he’d love the surprise I’d had made for him. I’d been nervous all day for him to see it.
There up on the wall above our bed I’d framed the photo Aaron had snapped of me that day at the expo in LA. I was in the pose Liam had talked about, laying on the bed with my legs in the air looking back at the camera.
“You bought a white fur rug?” Liam guessed, teasing me, my hands still tight over his eyes.
“Nope.”
“Good, because I already got one on order.”
Ignoring his reply, I pulled my hands away and watched his face, holding my breath for his reaction, hoping he’d like my gift.
A big grin formed on his face as he took it in. “There’s my girl.”
He hooked his arm around my neck and pulled me to him. I had to ask. “Do you like it? I can take it down. Maybe it’s too much.”
“I love it, and you’re not touching it.”
“Liam, you know, I’m not the girl in that picture anymore. That girl was a façade, a character, a persona I made up to cope with what I had become. She was a way to save myself.”
He turned me to him. “And now you’re saved.”
“Yes.”
He pulled my skimpy tank top over my head, leaving me standing in only my silk pajama shorts. His eyes moved over me, and I stood, content to let him take my body in.
“I can never get my fill of you, sweetness.”
The man could turn me on with just a look, especially when his eyes darkened like they did now.
“I’m glad you let me put some new ink on you.” He reached up and brushed the back of his fingers down the skin along my ribs. I’d picked out the wording and Liam had designed the swirling pattern that was intricate filigree twining down my curves.
It read, I don’t need you to save me—I just need you to stand beside me while I save myself.
He tipped my head back with a finger under my chin, and I was lost in his warm brown eyes. He nodded to the portrait on the wall. “Velvet, I get what you just said, every word. But, baby, to me, a part of you will always be that sexy woman in that picture—the hottest woman I’ve ever seen. And I love that pose; it reminds me of how later that same night I had you for the very first time, and it was everything I ever dreamed. I married that girl, and she sleeps in my bed every night, and that makes me the luckiest man on the planet.”
“Oh, Liam, you’re going to make me cry.”
“I’ll love you forever, Velvet.”
“Promise?” And then he did the one thing that had my heart melting and always would. He made an X over his chest.
“Cross my heart, baby-girl.”
***
Rory
Brothers Ink #4
Chapter One
August—
Rory bent over the hip of his client, the tattoo machine in his steady hand as he worked the swirling lines along her skin. She was reclined on her side on the padded table. He paused to swipe away the excess ink and blood, then reapplied the needle.
The girl sucked in a breath, her flat, toned stomach quivering, and he glanced up. She was just twenty, and this was her first tattoo—one she’d told him she’d saved up for all year.
“You doing okay, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” she replied, but her voice was tight, and he could tell the sting was getting to her. She’d been sitting for almost an hour. “How much longer?”
“Just about finished. Can you hold out another couple of minutes?”
She nodded, blowing out a long breath.
“That’s my girl. You’re doing great.” He glanced up to give her one of his killer smiles.
She flushed at his praise.
Rock music pulsed through Brothers Ink, the shop his oldest brother had started up years ago. Now all four of the O’Rourke brothers worked here. It was the family business, the one Jameson had supported them all with when their parents died. It had also become Grand Junction, Colorado’s primo shop.
Brothers Ink meant a lot to Rory. It meant family. It meant home. But tattooing wasn’t his passion; music was. He played guitar, and he had a decent voice, and he hoped one day he’d be able to pay the bills with his music.
The girl blew out another long, slow breath.
“All finished.” Rory shut off the machine and wiped her skin clean. Taking her hand, he pulled her to a sitting position and helped her off the padded table. He gestured to the mirror on the far wall. “Take a look.”
She moved to it and twisted, studying the reflection. “Oh, my God, I love it!”
Rory couldn’t help but be pleased by her reaction. In his heart he was a musician, but art of any kind was fulfilling.
“My girlfriend said you were good, and she was right.”
“Thanks. Glad you’re happy with the work.” He jerked his chin. “I still need to bandage it.”
She stood still while he placed a square piece of gauze over the ink and taped it down.
When Rory was finished, he pulled his gloves off with a snap and tossed them in the trash. Then he handed her a sheet of aftercare instructions. “Everything you need to do is spelled out here. I’ll give you some ointment. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call the number on the bottom.”
She smiled as if he’d given her his personal cell phone number. She paused, staring down at the paper, then tilted her head and gave him a flirtatious look. “Is it true you’re the lead guitarist for Convicted Chrome?”
He nodded. “Guilty as charged.”
“Could I get a picture with you?”
He smiled, indulging her. “Of course, honey. Come here.” He put his arm around her shoulders and pressed his cheek to hers as she held her phone out and clicked the picture.
“Thank you so much!”
“No problem, sweetheart. Let’s get you rung up.” He guided her to the register.
His brother Liam, only two years his senior, stood at the front counter, finishing with one of his customers. “One more session and we should be able to get that piece knocked out.”
The man nodded, taking his receipt. “Great. I can’t wait.”
“See you then.”
When the guy left, Rory moved to the register, which really wasn’t a r
egister at all, but a state-of-the-art, point-of-sale system complete with touch screen and chip reader. It was something Jameson’s wife, Ava had introduced to the shop for efficiency and brought Jameson—who’d fought it tooth-and-nail—finally into the computer age. And all the brothers were grateful to her for doing the impossible. None of them had been able to succeed in convincing Jameson to make changes, something he hated.
Liam bent to Rory’s ear. “You’ve got three hotties waiting for you.”
Rory twisted his head to look at the leather couch and velvet chairs in the lobby. Sure enough there were three chicks, all watching him and giggling to each other. He thought he recognized them from the last show his band had done in town, but that was months ago. Now his band was the opening act for female rocker, Charlotte Justice.
They’d just wrapped the California leg of the tour, and this weekend they’d be starting another run of shows, kicking it off with the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. “I can’t take anymore clients today. I gotta get on the road. I’m already running late getting out of here.”
Liam chuckled. “Then you tell ‘em. I’ve got to clean my station before you leave.”
“Thanks for nothing.”
“Anytime,” Liam called over his shoulder, his laughter echoing through the place.
After he finished taking her payment, Rory’s client looked over her shoulder at the other women. “You must get that all the time, huh? Now I feel like a pest for asking to take a picture with you.”
“Hey darlin’, don’t feel like that. I’m always pleased to take a picture with a beautiful girl like you.” Rory grinned, folded his arms, leaned on the counter, and whispered, “And I’m happy I got to pop your tattoo cherry today.”
She flushed and smiled. “Me too.”
“You take care now.”
“Thank you. Maybe I’ll see you next time you’re in town.”
“Maybe.”
When she’d gone out the door, he rounded the counter and approached the women. They looked up excitedly.
“Are you the guitarist for Convicted Chrome?”
