Captured In Ink (Art of Love Series)

by McDonald, Donna

  “No. It’s exactly right,” Shane said firmly.

  “Shane drew that picture of her before he even knew her real name,” Michael said proudly, relieved that Shane didn’t look maniacal anymore.

  “I’m the last man you would ever have to convince about love at first sight,” Luke said, then zipped his lip before he said more to Ellen’s sons than they probably wanted to hear about him and their mother. “Shane, I think what you’re doing is admirable too. You’re a good match for her. ”

  “Reesa shouldn’t be losing the kids over money. Unfortunately, what I’m giving her is only half of what she needs. Her part-time work might be another quarter of it. I think she’s still going to be short of the court’s income goal,” Shane said, running a restless hand through his hair. “Got any more ideas?”

  Luke laughed and shook his head. “What do you want me to do, Shane? Ask the judge to order her to marry you?”

  “Can you do that?” Shane asked, looking hopeful.

  Luke laughed at his own joke and narrowed his gaze on Shane. “You can do a lot of things, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. The risks of being thrown out of the courtroom are too high to calculate. If you decide to put in an appearance, you might want to fake the Dr. Larson persona a little better before pleading your matrimony case before the judge. Lose the piercings and wear a suit at least.”

  Shane stood up. “Can I get back to you about last resorts?”

  “Certainly,” Luke said.

  “I really like your idea about paying Reesa for using her image. You deserve these great chairs. That was sheer legal genius,” Shane said.

  “Well I do love being a genius. Bye, guys. Let’s do lunch sometime. Shane has to buy,” Luke said, grinning as Michael reluctantly stood.

  “Where are we going now?” Michael asked, following Shane out of Luke’s office, his mind still reeling. “I still need food.”

  Michael was still finding it hard to accept that Shane was going to give Reesa Callahan fifty thousand dollars whether she wanted to take it or not. Now he had to also take in that Luke was actually going to help him.

  “So now that you’re out of the mood to kill furniture, what’s next on your bucket list of crazy things concerning your girlfriend?” Michael asked, joking to cover up his state of shock.

  “I guess I need to get a haircut and buy some new clothes,” Shane said as they stepped into the elevator. “And I need to pick up a set of wedding rings.”

  “You can mark the last thing off your list. You don’t need to buy wedding rings,” Michael said, laughing.

  “The hell I don’t,” Shane said fiercely, tired of the resistance his family had to Reesa. “I may not need them tomorrow or next week, but I will one day in near future. I am going to marry Teresa Callahan. People better start taking me seriously when I say that—including her. I’m buying damn wedding rings, Michael. You’re not going to stop me.”

  “Yes—damn it. I am going to stop you,” Michael said, laughing almost too much to talk. “God, you sound just like Dad when you get so wound up. I’m making you a set of rings, you big dork.”

  “You’re making me a set of rings?” Shane repeated in shock, letting Michael pull him out of the elevator by his shirt.

  “Yes,” Michael said firmly, thinking it was the first time he could remember truly surprising his brother. “I wanted to show you how much faith I had in you working this out. Reesa is going to be the only hard sell on the marriage idea.”

  Shane stopped, picked his brother up in a giant hug, and swung him around like he weighed no more Sara. “You’re the best brother ever.”

  “Put me down, idiot! We’re in a public place. People are staring at us. God only knows what they’re thinking,” Michael said, feeling his face redden with pleased embarrassment. “I don’t think I like the effect being in love has on you. You’re never calm anymore.”

  “Haircut and clothes,” Shane said firmly, walking out of the building, not answering any of Michael’s complaints. “I think I’m going to call Dad. He can come shopping with us.”

  “Clothes shopping with the men in my family again. Yippee—can’t wait,” Michael said sarcastically. “Didn’t we just do this for Dad a little while ago?”

  Shane tossed him the keys. “You drive. I’m taking my piercings out. I want to get a haircut first. We can eat in the food court at the mall.”

  Michael rolled his eyes. “Great—mall food. This deal couldn’t get any worse.”

  Shane glared at him.

  “Fine. We’ll eat mall food,” Michael said dryly, pulling the driver’s seat in Shane’s car forward enough to be comfortable. “You call Dad. I don’t like to talk on the phone when I’m driving. Sitting next to you is taking all my energy today. If I hadn’t had sex this morning, you’d already be a dead man for stressing me out this much.”

  “I knew fighting was foreplay for you and Carrie. I bet you guys didn’t even make it out of the kitchen,” Shane declared, laughing at the guilty grin on his brother’s face.

  “Yeah? Did you make to the bedroom when you went to Reesa’s?” Michael asked, seeing the answer in Shane’s smile.

  “I barely made it through the front door, and I can’t believe this is the first time you’ve asked about my sex life with her,” Shane said, liking his brother’s chuckle. “The answer is no. She put her hands on me and I dragged her to the floor where we stood.”

  “I didn’t see any need to pry into your business. I figured you would have been asking me questions about how to improve things if your girlfriend had turned out to be a lousy lay,” Michael teased, wincing when Shane punched him hard in the arm.

  “Don’t be crude,” Shane ordered. “Thanks for coming over and making me listen to reason. I don’t know how long it would have taken me to calm down on my own.”

  “You’d have gotten there eventually,” Michael replied. “I just saved your furniture and kept Reesa from worrying you were going to kill yourself.”

  “I swear I’m growing up as fast as I can,” Shane said sincerely, listening to Michael snicker.

  “Well don’t blow up that Einstein brain of yours trying to jump from immature to mature in a single day. It doesn’t work like that. Maturing is more like trying to fit mismatched puzzle pieces together, most of which have to be rearranged over and over, and then finally the picture starts to emerge,” Michael said.

  “Wow—that’s so poetic. I love it when you talk like that,” Shane teased.

  Michael swore under his breath. “Stop making fun of me and call Dad.”

  Shane grinned wider as he picked up his phone.

  Chapter 20

  Shane ran a hand through his shorter locks, wondering if he’d done the right thing.

  “What are you so worried about? You can’t even tell it was cut. Did you actually see her removing hair?” Michael teased. “Looking at you, I am not convinced.”

  “I chickened out,” Shane said, sighing. “Reesa plays with my hair, and I thought of that and stopped the stylist from taking off more than a couple inches.”

  Michael snorted and went back to his sandwich. “Since I’m never cutting my hair without Carrie present, I have no room to judge. It’s just that you didn’t change the style either.”

  “I like the style. What’s wrong with it?” Shane asked.

  “You look like some seventies hippie in a time warp,” Michael said. “I’ve gotten used to it, but people who don’t know you might not think it’s so great.”

  “Reesa thinks it’s great,” Shane said, defending himself and swiping a hand through his hair again.

  Will walked up in the middle of the argument, laughing at his sons who were pretty much always squabbling over one thing or another. They were now totally exhausting to spend time with after getting used to having the quiet of Jessica’s house to himself most of the time. And soon he and Jessica would have their own place. He was so looking forward to it.

  “Hey, guys,” he said, sliding into a
chair next to Michael. “Wow, Shane. You got a haircut. Your dissertation committee will be impressed.”

  “See? Dad noticed,” Shane said, sweeping his hair back with one hand.

  Michael rolled his eyes and smiled as his father. “Five weeks and counting down. Are you getting nervous yet?”

  “About getting married?” Will asked. “Not hardly. I don’t see it stopping men from asking Jessica out, but I hope it slows them down some to see a wedding band on her hand. I’d hate to have to kill someone at my age and end up dying in prison.”

  Shane stopped eating and looked at his father, realizing just how much like him he sounded when it came to Reesa. “God Dad—I am becoming you.”

  “Gee, that’s too bad, Shane,” Will said unrepentantly, snagging Michael’s soda for a sip.

  Shane smiled at his father, always amazed that he liked him so much.

  “How’s the gallery coming along?” Will asked his eldest, who smiled in reply.

  “You tell me. Jessica is there as much as I am,” Michael said, grinning.

  “Can you keep a secret?” Will asked.

  “Sure,” Michael said, nodding. “Sounds like a good one.”

  “Jessica is working on a sign for it. Carrie said she couldn’t afford to buy a sign and was planning to spray paint the name on the front window. Jessica’s being so careful that she only does like two inches of it every day. She’s using gold paint and outlining the letters in a stripe of black and then white. The letters really jump off the wood,” Will said. “It looks pretty good so far.”

  “Carrie’s going to be thrilled,” Michael said. “She’s still planning to open right after Thanksgiving. I’ve stopped asking what kind of favors she’s promising all those men passing through the shop. I’m just keeping her as busy as I can at home and hoping for the best.”

  Will laughed and looked back at Shane, who was barely eating.

  “You’re not eating, Shane. What’s wrong? You nervous about your defense Friday? Don’t feel any pressure to succeed just because you’re getting the most advanced degree of any of us,” Will teased. “Your mother and I intend to send a gloating email to your high school guidance counselor, but that’s not a good reason either.”

  Shane laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m not worried about the defense. It’s other things, and complicated, Dad. Do you mind if we don’t talk about it right now? I need to think it through first. I had my first serious fight with Reesa this morning and haven’t recovered.”

  “Sure,” Will said, concerned now because it wasn’t like Shane to sidestep and not just say what was going on with him. “So what are we doing today?”

  Shane sighed. “I need clothes that make me look like a grown-up.”

  “You sound so thrilled about it. Really anything sans rips and tears would do the trick,” Will teased. When his young fashion rebel shook his head sadly, all he could do was laugh.

  “I need suits for work,” Shane said. “I need to look like Luke when we’re done.”

  “The research center is making you dress up?” Will asked, not sure he liked Shane wanting to emulate Luke Cannon.

  Shane shook his head. “No. I saw Reesa dressed in business clothes last week. And when I talked to Luke today and saw his office, I realized how far away from being professional I was.”

  “You went to see Luke today? Can I ask why?” Will demanded, trying to keep his voice as soft as possible.

  “Come on you two,” Michael said, tired of watching the big dogs circling each other. “I’ll explain things to Dad while you try on clothes, Shane.”

  ***

  Later as he was waiting outside the dressing room, Will decided he was going to lecture his second son for even entertaining the idea of trying to coerce the woman he loved into marriage. It was bad enough Michael had done it, and more amazing that his relationship had survived it. Luck like that didn’t happen often.

  Shane stepped out of the fitting room dressed in a dark blue suit that Will thought made him look good enough for the cover of a men’s magazine. He watched his youngest look in the mirror, and then over at him with all his insecurities naked in his gaze. Will saw the unsure boy in the maturing man staring back at him. And because Will saw the boy still, there was really only one thing he could say.

  “If Reesa says no to you looking like that, she’s a crazy woman,” Will said firmly.

  Shane’s soft brown gaze lit with amusement, crinkling into lines at the corners of his eyes, reminding Will again that his youngest was indeed getting older. Then he noticed the piercings were gone as well, even the earring like his. It made him equally sad and proud. Parenting was always full of emotional surprises.

  Will walked over and pretended to shift the coat on Shane’s shoulders, when what he wanted to do was hug him tightly and tell him how proud he was of his willingness to change.

  “Very impressive, Dr. Larson. You can wear this one to the wedding,” Will said carefully. “Both your mother and Jessica will be thrilled at how grown-up you look. I highly recommend wearing this one to get you through Friday.”

  Shane sighed and shook his head. “Maybe I should be worried about Friday, but I’m just not. Maybe that makes me immature,” he said quietly. “Dad, what if Reesa says no to marrying me again, even if I look like this?

  “Would her saying no again change your mind about marrying her?” Will joked, laughing at the first genuine worry over a female he had ever seen his youngest son show.

  Shane sighed. “No.”

  “If it’s as right as you think it is, the woman is eventually going to say yes. It just might take some time. I imagine accountants are cautious people by nature, and that kind of person would be a good balance for a rapid decision maker like you,” Will said.

  “She the right one for me,” Shane said. “I feel it in here.” He tapped his chest and saw his father nod in approval.

  “Then you’ll just have to be creatively persuasive in showing her how good of a deal you’ll be as a husband. I think what Luke is helping you do is a questionable method, but at the same time, I admire you for wanting to help her bad enough to do it,” Will said.

  “Dad,” Shane said seriously, “I have to help her. I can’t stand by while she loses custody of two of the kids over money.”

  “Which is the main reason why I am so proud of you right now, and I don’t have any words big enough to describe how I feel,” Will said, his throat tight.

  Shane stepped into his father and hugged him then, feeling comforted as his father rubbed his back in support.

  “I just hope I can be as good to the Lansing kids as you’ve been to Michael and me. You’re a great father and role model,” he said.

  “Well, I have great sons—irritating—but great,” Will teased, laughing again as he eased away.

  “Dad? What would you do if Jessica refused to marry you?” Shane asked.

  “Love her anyway,” Will said on a sigh. “There’s really no choice about loving someone you feel so strongly about, but I wouldn’t be truly happy, and eventually it would become a problem. I’m the kind of man who needs to be married. It’s just how I’m wired.”

  “I must be like that too. The moment I realized how much I cared about Reesa, my mind jumped to marriage. I would fit in her life. I know I would. But also, I’d just be good to her. She deserves a guy willing to rub her feet as well as—well you know what I mean,” Shane said harshly. “I am that guy, Dad.”

  “Save your angst for your woman. You don’t have to convince your father about how great you are,” Will joked, laughing at Shane’s huge frustrated sigh.

  “Well, don’t worry about me getting her pregnant to force her into marrying me,” Shane said flatly. “Michael has already been on my case several times about that idea and how badly it turned out for him.”

  “Tell me you weren’t even thinking along those lines,” Will demanded.

  “No, of course not,” Shane said quickly, shrugging out of the jacket as he hea
ded back to try on one more suit. “That’s why I went to see Luke. I don’t have enough time to do that anyway.”

  Will was unsure what Shane meant by “not enough time to do that anyway” and wasn’t really sure if he wanted to know. Still he looked over at Michael, who was slouched down in a chair, head back and almost asleep.

  “Shane wasn’t really considering trying to get Reesa pregnant, was he?” Will asked.

  “He’s so obsessed with helping her that I think Shane would be capable of anything where that woman is concerned,” Michael answered, not opening his eyes or sitting up. “Luke’s suggestion is a good alternative, in my humble opinion.”

  Will closed his eyes in dismay. “The last thing Reesa needs right now is more children. I hope to hell Shane can see that despite what he wants from her.”

  Michael raised his head, looking at the sincere concern on Will’s face. “I think it’s very interesting that Shane is like you in some ways and I’m like you in others.”

  Will shrugged. “Genetics.”

  “More than that,” Michael said, smiling when Shane came back out in a brown suit as dark as his eyes. “That one looks good too. You look rather striking in dark brown, Dr. Larson. Use that one for meetings where you have to fake being smart.”

  Michael was disappointed when Shane didn’t even react to his taunt. Instead, Shane looked in the mirror with a frown on his face.

  “I don’t even know that man,” Shane said, pointing at his reflection.

  Will stepped closer, almost eye to eye with Shane in his boots. He was glad he’d worn them today. It made it easier to get Shane to pay attention to him.

  “Of course you know that man,” Will said sternly.

  Shane stopped adjusting his cuffs to listen.

  “By day, he’s a research psychologist. By night, he’s a graphic novelist slash mild-mannered husband and step-father of four.” Will pointed in the mirror at Shane. “That’s just your alter ego staring back at you.”

  Shane snickered, then laughed. His father always seemed to know the absolute right thing to say. “I suppose it is,” he admitted. “I can’t believe my alter ego is going to be wearing suits.”