Inked Obsession

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “We know you got the SGLI and the death gratuity. And there was back pay and other things. We know that you might need some of it, but you have a good job. You’re doing well for yourself. Madison is Marshall’s daughter, Eliza. Natasha and Madison need help. So, we were wondering if you could aid us somehow.” My mother-in-law’s eyes narrowed. “Natasha doesn’t want to have to go through legal means to make this happen, but she will. Still, we told her that we would hold off for the moment and come see if you could help a child that lost her father, out of the goodness of your heart. We want to make sure Maddy has a good education. And a good life.”

  I looked at them, wondering who these people were. I’d always known that they had loved Natasha more than they loved me. She was Marshall’s high school sweetheart. They had mentioned it over and over, but I had ignored it. Because it wasn’t like I was always with them. We had been stationed around the country. Then we came here, and I had stayed when Marshall went overseas. I stayed when he died. And I stayed when I thought he loved me and was faithful.

  I stayed.

  I hadn’t been enough.

  I hadn’t been enough at all.

  I had never given Marshall a child. I would never be able to give him a child. We had been working on the adoption process when they sent him overseas.

  All along, he already had a daughter. With another woman.

  I had never felt that I was less than given my inability to conceive. I knew who I was, and I knew who I wanted to be. Even if I had been able to conceive, I knew I would still want to adopt and make sure a child out there had a good home.

  Marshall had a child of his own. I couldn’t breathe. I knew my in-laws were speaking, trying to talk to me, and I could only stare at them. In answer to whatever they said, I grabbed my bag, stood up, and walked away.

  I had always known I would become a parent somehow. There was a multitude of ways to make that happen.

  It seemed Marshall had already become a father.

  There was a little girl out there with his eyes. A mother who wanted money.

  She had lost Marshall, too.

  I had lost Marshall long before war took him from me. I just hadn’t known.

  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.

  Chapter 5

  Beckett

  * * *

  I tried to focus on the portfolio in front of me, but my eyes were crossing. I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t need to think about my nightmares or the shooting that’d started it all. I was safe—as safe as I could be. I needed to remember to breathe. Something I wasn’t great at.

  The family worked out of Fort Collins, and in the surrounding areas. One set of my cousins owned Montgomery Inc., another set of builders. However, we weren’t connected to them, other than being family.

  My father and his family had begun Montgomery Builders, and my mother’s family, the Montgomerys down south, had begun theirs. Apparently, building homes and other things was in the blood—or at least the last name. My father had once had a feud with the other Montgomerys, but it was dying down now after a blowup that had nearly cost us our family. We were still figuring things out, though the Montgomerys down south didn’t really care about the feud. It had never been one on their end. They were nice, kind, and always helpful. In fact, all of us worked with them in terms of making our projects more economical and ecologically safe. Our goal was to build a better tomorrow and all that lovely rhetoric. Though we truly believed in it.

  For now, I needed to focus on the set of homes we were building that would be a fully green community.

  Clay knocked on the doorframe, and I looked up and grinned. “Is that coffee in your hand?” I asked.

  “You know it. I don’t go anywhere without some form of caffeine. The kids kept me up all night.”

  “Is everyone okay?” I asked.

  Clay nodded. “Yeah, everyone’s fine. My cousins are just in a mood.”

  Clay was only in his mid-twenties, and his cousins were either hitting their preteens or getting close.

  I had met them a few times, but Clay was rather private when it came to them. I didn’t mind. I understood that he needed to remain sheltered. The kids had gone through hell, and so had Clay, but they were all finding their paths in their new city. Originally, they had been in Denver, down with my cousin Storm, who happened to be an architect like Annabelle. Storm had a complicated history with the family, as well. We were all friends and pretty damn close, so when a position opened up, and Storm had said that Clay needed a new job, I’d offered the position to him. And it was working out well.

  I just wished that Clay got more sleep than I did. “By the way, a couple of nights ago, Riggs asked about you.”

  I winked as I said it, and Clay rolled his eyes. “That’s not happening until the kids are at least in college. Of course, they’ll need to actually afford it first.”

  “I thought there were college funds for that,” I said, treading carefully.

  Clay shrugged. “There are. Who knows what the actual cost of college will be by the time the kids get there? It’s fine, we’re doing well. We have a nice home, thanks to the ones that you built,” he added, and I laughed. “They have food in their bellies, they have afterschool care, and we’re doing okay. It was just a long night, and I haven’t been sleeping well. Of course, from the bags under your eyes, it looks like you didn’t sleep well either.”

  I shrugged. “Long night, I guess.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  I froze and looked up at him. “What do you mean?” I asked carefully.

  “You don’t have to tell me, but I know that you’ve had a rough go of it the past couple of months. And since I know Benjamin has been pestering you about what’s going on, as well—and Brenna now that I think about it—it seems you aren’t telling anyone.” He paused. “Maybe Lee. Though he seems to be keeping secrets, too.”

  “It’s amazing how you become one of us once you started working with our family,” I said dryly.

  Clay shrugged. “I care. I can’t help it. And this can be the last that we talk about personal shit for the day if you’d like.”

  I shook my head. “I’m fine. Really. Just had a rough night, but I’m ready to go.”

  “Drink your coffee, and then we can refrain from discussing our personal lives for the rest of the day. At least, between the two of us. However, you do work with your entire family, so who knows how long that’s going to last.”

  I sighed. “You’re right. Thank you for that.”

  As if on cue, the rest of my family arrived.

  Annabelle walked in, decaf tea in her hand. I knew it was decaf because she was scowling at it, and she still had the teabag inside. Paige was right behind her, her planner, tablet, and a few notebooks in her hands. She was humming, and I had a feeling she had just gotten off the phone with Colton. She was always a little happier after she talked with her boyfriend.

  Archer and Benjamin followed, Archer scowling at his phone, and Benjamin looking down at his notebook. They were both working given what I could tell from the expressions on their faces. Hopefully, this family meeting would go quickly.

  “Okay, today’s your turn to host the meeting,” Annabelle said as she took a seat on the couch I had in the corner. I met with clients in here, as well as in the meeting room. Our family liked to go from office to office for our internal meetings; that way, nothing became stale. I also thought we just liked invading each other’s spaces once in a while since we were siblings and that’s what we did.

  “Scooch over,” Paige said and sat down on the other end of the couch before leaning down and pulling Annabelle’s feet on top of her lap.

  “You’re wearing a cute little skirt. You don’t want my shoes on you.”

  “I’m helping your ankles now. The better we keep your circulation, the easier it’ll be when you’re in your final trimester.”

  “I’m not rubbing her feet,” Archer said with a dry laugh as he took a seat
next to Benjamin and Clay on the other side of my desk.

  “Dear God, don’t make me do it,” Benjamin said dryly, and I snorted as Annabelle scowled at all of us.

  “My feet are clean. It was my shoes that I didn’t want to put on her lap. Now that I know you’re all against it, I will be sure to force you to rub my feet. How dare you talk about my feet in a way that could be construed as them being dirty?”

  “Look at you, using the big words,” Archer said, teasing his twin.

  I shook my head and met Clay’s gaze. When Clay had first started here, he had been a little awkward, sitting in the corner and not wanting to join in. He had been around my cousins enough to know that the Montgomerys worked together, played together, and joked together. Now, he fit right in, but he still didn’t tease a pregnant woman. He was probably smarter than the rest of us.

  “Okay, let’s get going,” I said, clearing my throat.

  “Aw, big brother, starting the meeting off right,” Paige said as she handed out notebooks to everyone. “I know we have it all on tech, but the client wanted us to have notebooks, as well.”

  “We’ve got it, and it’s helping me keep notes,” Benjamin said as he went through it. “I’m working on the design they want for this, but they keep changing how they want the gardens to look, and the stones, and other aspects. Nobody wants a full lawn, but they want it to at least look nice and be up to code, so this will be interesting.”

  “Well, don’t plan too far ahead. I have a feeling they’re going to force Annabelle into some changes,” I said softly.

  Annabelle cursed. “Already? We’ve already made four different changes for them.”

  “I’m the one on-site, and I can tell you they’re going to want changes.”

  “Probably the things I was against in the beginning that they’ll now want to change to what I suggested in the first place,” she grumbled and then let out a breath. “And that’s enough complaining about that. Because we can’t do anything but go with what works and what the client wants.”

  “I like that refrain,” Archer said, laughing. “So helpful. I have a few jobs around the city for the rest of the week, and Jillian needs me to come down and help her with a major project at the end of the week down in Denver. Is that still okay with everyone?” he asked, and I nodded.

  Jillian was Archer’s counterpart back in Denver, and I knew my cousins were working on a major renovation and needed more than one master plumber on hand for it. Archer was the best, so I let him go down there when he could.

  “Okay, what else do we have to go through?” I asked as we went over the rest of our checklist. We met like this three times a week, sometimes more, because texting and emails just weren’t enough with a few clients and projects. And it was nice to see my family. I didn’t know if all families could work like this. All five of the kids in my generation worked in one building. Yes, we were on-site constantly, but we still worked together. And we hung out together, did dinners together, and we genuinely liked each other. I didn’t know if everybody could handle that. It had been a little touch and go when my parents weren’t able to let go of the company completely, even though they had said they would walk away. Things were better. There was just that one minor hiccup, but we had moved past it. At least, that’s what I told myself. I still didn’t know exactly what everyone was doing in their personal lives that might hurt how we did things at work, but I wasn’t going to think about that now. Three of the siblings were in steady relationships. Benjamin and I seemed to be the only two bulldogs left. That was fine. I didn’t need anyone. I just needed a good night’s sleep.

  Most everyone left, Clay heading over to the project site before me. I had a few more pieces of paperwork to finish. Benjamin had stayed. I glanced at my twin.

  “What’s up?”

  “I know Clay already bugged you, but do you want to tell me what’s going on with the bags under your eyes?”

  I stiffened before I forced myself to relax. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

  “Okay, I’m here if you need me. It’s weird that you’re keeping secrets from me, though. You don’t usually.” He tilted his head, and I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to say that I had watched somebody die. I didn’t know how to say that I could still feel the blood on my hands.

  I didn’t know how to say that I could still hear the echo of that pop, pop, pop in my ears when I tried to go to sleep.

  I didn’t know how to tell him that my back ached because of the shelving unit. I didn’t know how to tell anybody. Lee only knew because he had been friends with the man we’d lost. And he had been the one to sign me out of the hospital. I couldn’t tell anyone else because I didn’t want the pitying looks, and I didn’t know how to say that I had been so scared, I hadn’t even been able to save my friend.

  I didn’t say anything. I just shrugged and gave my brother a smile that I knew was probably fake enough that my twin could see right through it. After all, he had the same face I did.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re lying to me, but that’s okay. I get it. I don’t mean to be nosy. I’m here if you need me. And so is Brenna. Talk to her.”

  I cringed. “Go to work,” I growled.

  “Will do. We don’t have to be as touchy-feely as some of us may want,” he said with a shake of his head, and then he headed out to his project site. I sighed, picked up my things, and headed over to the house where Clay had gone.

  This wasn’t the main project we were working on, but a smaller side one. Montgomery Builders constantly had more than one thing going since each of us had priorities. Paige put us all together, and I was grateful that she was so good at organizing everything.

  As I pulled into the site, my phone rang. I looked down at the readout. My dad’s number flashed on the screen, and I held back a curse. Well, hell. This’d better be him just saying hi, and not double-checking my work like he had been doing for most of my career. I turned off the car and answered the phone so I didn’t have to deal with Bluetooth.

  “Hey, Dad. What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I’m not calling about work,” he said quickly, and I cursed again under my breath. We were both so touchy about that, but we were learning what we needed to do to get our relationship back on track.

  It had been a year, and we were doing better. Still, I knew my dad felt like shit for how he’d treated us, and I didn’t know how to make things better. It didn’t help that I was keeping secrets, and I knew that weighed on me just as much as other things weighed on him.

  I cleared my throat. “How are you doing?” I asked, trying to remain casual.

  “Your mom’s birthday’s coming up,” he said quickly. “I wanted to make sure you remembered.”

  “Sure did,” I said, cringing.

  My dad let out a rough chuckle. It reminded me of my childhood when things had been a lot better—or at least easier.

  “Well, I’m calling each of you to ask you to come over for dinner on her birthday. It’s a Saturday night, and I know you guys have your own lives, but I’d like to do a big dinner. I’ll be cooking.”

  I blinked. “You?”

  “I can cook.” I nearly laughed at the sound of his voice. Honestly, he sounded like me when it came to cooking.

  “I know you can. Mom usually takes over the kitchen, as does Benjamin for that matter.”

  I could practically hear the smile in my dad’s tone. “Who do you think taught Benjamin how to cook? Don’t worry. I’m going to make something nice, and I’d like you guys to come for a family dinner. Bring a date if you’d like.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “What? You don’t want a first date with a woman to be where you bring them over for a special occasion?” my dad asked with a laugh. “Fine, I know three of you will bring dates, and you and Benjamin can just bring yourselves.”

  “Ouch.”

  “What can I say? Brenna, Eliza, and Lee are invited, as well. I would call them
, but that would feel weird. Do you mind letting Brenna and Lee know? I’ll have Annabelle ask Eliza.”

  “I can do that,” I said. “Actually, I’m headed to Eliza’s later today, I can ask her then.”

  My dad went silent for a moment. “You’re heading to Eliza’s?” he asked softly.

  I cleared my throat. “To help with building bookshelves or something.”

  “Oh. Annabelle asked, then?”

  “You know it. And you know my love of bookshelves.”

  Dad snorted. “Well, you’re not as bad as your cousin at putting them up.”

  “Wes is never going to live that down, is he?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Not so much. Now, I know you’re probably at the jobsite, and I’m taking up your time. I hope you can come.”

  “It’s Mom. Of course, I’ll be there.”

  “Okay, it’s in a few weeks, so we have time. I wanted to make sure I scheduled everyone in.”

  “It’s fine, and I’ll even think of a good gift.”

  “You know the best gift for her is all of us being together.”

  “Yes, but I want to get her something shiny, too.”

  “That’s my son.”

  I smiled, warmth filling me in a way it hadn’t in a while. This was the dad I remembered. I just hoped he stayed that way. Things had been different recently, and I had to keep hoping.

  We hung up, and I headed inside. Clay was working with our electrician over in the corner, and he nodded at me. He raised his brows and tilted his head towards the front. I held back a curse and looked over at Sarah Michaels. Our client. She had on a little hardhat, expensive shoes, and was over in the corner, surveying. She was paying for all of this, but was handsy as hell.

  I walked over to her, a professional smile on my face. “Mrs. Michaels.”

  “You know it’s Miss,” she said and grinned. “I just wanted to come see how you were doing. Just look at all of you guys work. It’s enough to give a woman the vapors,” she said, mimicking an odd mix of Southern belle and Yankee. I didn’t know what accent she was going for, but she clearly wanted to have that cool sophistication and the sound of money in her voice and worked for it. She put her hand on my arm, giving it a squeeze as she said hello. “Beckett, darling, it’s so good to see you.”