Tattoos and Transformations

by Melody Snow Monroe

  The Callens 8

  Tattoos and Transformations

  Dakota Smith has lusted after her best friend’s two brothers, hunky landscaper Clint Callen and sexy rancher Morgan Callen, for twenty years. Too bad they’ve always treated her like a pest. To protect her heart, she adopts the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense and dons combat boots, face piercings, and colors her hair blue, pink, and green. But when her best friend moves out of her warehouse and leases the space to Dakota for an art gallery, she realizes it’s time to act her age.

  After a complete transformation, Clint takes notice of the totally hot woman and pursues her, realizing that the sensitive and artistic Dakota is the one for him. Morgan, however, believes leopards never change their spots and keeps his distance. What will Dakota and Clint have to do to change Morgan’s mind about joining them in a ménage relationship?

  Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre Length: 51,633 words

  TATTOOS AND TRANSFORMATIONS

  The Callens 8

  Melody Snow Monroe

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  Copyright © 2012 by

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-965-1

  First E-book Publication: September 2012

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of by from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

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  DEDICATION

  To all the brave souls who wear their artwork with pride.

  Copyright © 2012

  Chapter One

  Dakota Smith watched as the last of Jade Callen’s blacksmith equipment exited the back of the old factory. The last six months had been exciting helping to sell Jade’s fabulous pieces of art, but now Dakota was out of a job and pretty much out of options.

  Thrilled for the change in her best friend’s life, she grabbed Jade’s hand. “Are you beyond excited?” Jade now had the perfect life—two men who adored her and a space to create her outdoor sculptures.

  She blew out a breath. “I can’t believe I’m getting three times the space.”

  Dakota rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about the space.” Jade smiled. “Yes. Logan and Parker are wonderful. I have more than I ever could have dreamed of.” She held out her new engagement ring. “To think I’ll be marrying my dream men in a few months.” She squeezed Dakota’s hands. “You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”

  “You know I will. Besides, it’ll give me another chance to charm your brothers.” She winked.

  Since the first day her father stepped onto the Spencer Callen ranch to shoe the family’s horses and brought her with him, she’d had a crush on the two Callen brothers.

  9

  Jade laughed. “Let’s go to the front. I want to discuss a proposition with you.”

  “What is it?”

  All that was left of the storefront was the sales counter and a bench along one of the walls. Jade had transferred her beautiful iron sculptures to the new living space. She motioned they sit on the bench.

  “Have you noticed that I haven’t removed any of my upstairs furniture?”

  She had wondered why only the bottom floor of the three-story factory had been vacated. “Kind of.”

  “I want to rent out my furnished apartment, along with the downstairs studio space.”

  The idea that someone else would be here didn’t sit well with her, but she was glad Jade would get some return for all her hard work after renovating the factory from a broken-down shell to a fabulous space. She’d spent a year bringing this old factory to life. “Someone will be happy.”

  Jade leaned back. “I want to rent the whole place to you.” The words didn’t register at first. When they did, all Dakota saw were obstacles. For starters, she could never afford a three-thousand-square-foot home. That was why she’d always lived with her dad.

  They didn’t really get along, but then again, they didn’t not get along.

  “Did you forget I don’t have a job?” Jade didn’t need help selling her artwork anymore, so her job as salesperson no longer existed.

  Everything Jade created was going to be by commission only.

  Her friend twisted on the bench to face her. “I know, but you are an amazing artist. Everyone who has seen your work says so. Here’s my plan.” She clasped Dakota’s hands in hers. “You could convert this bottom floor into an art gallery where you could display not only your work but other artists’ work as well. You’d live upstairs.” Her pulse spiked. The opportunity was too good to be true. “I don’t know what to say, but as I said, I can’t afford it.” What if no one bought her work and she failed to make a go of it? She couldn’t 10

  chance not succeeding.

  “Look, I know you don’t have much money. Instead of paying for rent, I’ll take a twenty-five percent cut of the profit. If you don’t make any money for a while, then I don’t get paid.” She was marrying one of the richest men in town, so it wouldn’t hurt Jade if the business wasn’t in the black right away. Her stomach twisted as excitement sp
iked up her body. “You’re sure?” This was a dream come true, along with marrying Jade’s two brothers, which would never happen, but a girl could always have hope.

  “Yes. As soon as everyone sees your talent, you’ll be the talk of the town. I want this for you.”

  She’d always been second fiddle to Jade. Being on her own needed careful thought. “Can I think about it?” Jade drew her brows together. “No. I know you. You’ll start doubting yourself. You’ll convince yourself you aren’t good enough, when I know your work is fantastic.” She shook her head. “It’s your time to shine, and what better opportunity is there than this?” Part of her wanted to believe everything Jade was saying. She loved to paint more than life itself, but she feared she couldn’t make a living doing it. However, being able to provide a place for other artists to showcase their work would be pretty cool. Maybe the best reason to move forward would be she’d get to move out of the house and banish those demons once and for all.

  Dakota inhaled and shut her eyes. “Okay.” Jade leaned over and gave her a hug. “Yes!”

  * * * *

  Dakota lay in her new bed staring at the ceiling, surprisingly missing her old bedroom. Even though she’d sat on this bed hundreds of times talking with Jade, she felt a bit funny actually being in the bed. After Jade dropped the bombshell about opening her own studio, Dakota’s mind hadn’t stopped working. She’d gone home, packed a

  11

  few bags, and waited for her father to come home from work before moving out.

  When she told him about this great opportunity, he’d shrugged and told her he was happy that she’d found something she wanted to do. She thought he’d complain that he’d be losing his cleaning lady and cook, or at least make some comment about his having to live alone after twenty-eight years of watching over her, but he didn’t. Oh, well. It was his loss.

  The problem was that despite his inability to express his feelings, she missed the curmudgeon even after one night. She refused to let that stop her from changing her life, though. Being in total control of her future overwhelmed her, but she was determined to give the gallery a try.

  Most of the patrons who’d visited Jade’s store treated her like a conduit to buy Jade’s iron pieces and not someone almost as knowledgeable as the artist herself. What many didn’t realize was that it was her father who’d trained Jade. Dakota had been alongside her best friend during the training, but petite women often didn’t do well wielding heavy anvils.

  Besides the fact that Dakota sucked at the actual creation process was that she had three visible face piercings, a tongue stud, and blonde hair tinted with purple, blue, and magenta streaks. She believed in expressing herself, but now she wondered if people might not take her seriously as a business owner. Jade always said she was hiding from the real Dakota by looking like a freak, but what Jade didn’t seem to get was that this was who she was.

  Hell, maybe it was time for a change. As the old saying went, no time like the present.

  Unable to sleep, she crawled out of bed and stepped into the bathroom. She might have been way past her teen years, but because she was only five foot two and had multicolored hair for as long as she could remember, she looked closer to sixteen.

  One by one, she removed her eyebrow ring, nose ring, lip ring, 12

  and tongue stud. Jade always said that Morgan and Clint might not be interested in her because she didn’t conform to the norm. After all, Spencer Callen had very peculiar ideas about women, and his sons might have inherited those beliefs.

  When she recalled who’d they’d dated over the years, the Callen brothers liked their women a bit more cleaned up. She’d always believed that the men she married would love her for who she was, but she no longer wanted to be the freaky girl who Morgan and Clint avoided at parties.

  As she reached up to feel her naked eyebrow, the scars on her wrists glistened in the light. She quickly dropped her arm. “No more.” She’d gone through her cutting phase around the age of fourteen when she really hated herself. Stupid.

  From now on, she was going to be a responsible art gallery owner.

  Her blonde hair mocked her. A brunette by birth, she’d always wanted to be someone other than the girl whose mom didn’t want her.

  Tomorrow, she’d transform herself from punk Dakota into sophisticated Dakota Smith, entrepreneur extraordinaire.

  * * * *

  “How do you like it?” The hairdresser turned the chair around and Dakota just stared. On purpose, she hadn’t worn her usual excessive eye makeup and black lipstick. A light dusting of blush and pink lipstick Jade had bought her two years ago were the only things she’d put on her face.

  “It doesn’t look anything like me.”

  “Wasn’t that the point?”

  Yes, it was. “It’s going to take a while to get used to the new me.”

  “I think you look not only beautiful but sophisticated.” Really? She removed her smock and hugged her stylist. She took one more glance at the strange girl in the mirror and gave Charlene a good tip. Given how brittle her hair had become because of the

  13

  excessive bleach, the beautician had spent a long time conditioning it.

  “Thanks. I love it.”

  As she walked outside into the warm sunshine, she nearly froze when she spotted Morgan Callen coming toward her. Her old self probably would have raced up to him and said something snarky to get his attention. The new confident Dakota decided to play it cool.

  She’d purchased a rather subdued yellow sundress and plain yellow heels. She held her head high, but kept her gaze on him as they neared.

  He seemed to be a man who knew where he was going, but when his glance swept her way, he gave her the old elevator once-over. As he got closer, there seemed to be no recognition.

  Hot damn.

  She’d really changed. Indecision tugged on her. Should she stop and say hi or let him pass? Before she could make up her mind, Morgan had whizzed on by. Even if he found her attractive, he wasn’t the type to stop and make conversation. His younger brother, Clint, however, would have gone out of his way to get her attention and perhaps even asked her out for a drink.

  All the way back to her shop, she hummed. Just getting to feast her eyes on Morgan made her day. When she arrived at her new shop, which she’d simply named, Dakota’s Art Gallery, she headed upstairs to begin the ordering process to get the studio ready. Logan Smithfield, Jade’s fiancé, had agreed to finance the start-up costs.

  Fortunately, Jade’s cousin, Dustin Callen, who owned a construction company, said he could spare two guys to put strips of lathing on the brick and run chains from them so she could hang the artwork.

  Her father said he’d gather her paintings and bring them over later today. She wasn’t sure which ones she wanted to display, but she needed something on the walls to start. Cody Callen, another one of the many Callen cousins, owned the town newspaper. He was running ads for free requesting commissioned artists’ work. Until their pieces came in, she’d be displaying only her canvases. Tomorrow, she’d see about making a banner to go across Main Street advertising her grand 14

  opening in three weeks.

  She inhaled, not really believing her dream was about to unfold.

  A few hours later, the bell above the store door dinged. That must be her dad. Wouldn’t he be surprised to see her transformation? Or maybe not. She’d changed so many times over the years that he seemed oblivious to her various looks. Jade always said that Dakota reinvented herself just to get her dad’s attention. So far, it hadn’t worked.

  She trotted downstairs. Her flowing skirt billowed out, making her feel really feminine for the first time. Maybe it was changing from combat boots to heels that made the difference. Her father stood in the front store with at least ten of her paintings.

  “Hi, Daddy.”

  “Dakota. Got what you asked for.”

  She held out her skirt and twirled. “You like?”

  “You look nice.
Where do you want these?” She worked hard to keep the smile on her face. “Just leave them there. You want to check out the place?” He’d helped set up Jade’s blacksmith shop and had stopped in periodically to see her work, but since Jade left, this was the first time he’d come by.

  “I have to get back.” He turned around and left the store. Even the bell’s tingle seemed to mock her.

  She dragged a finger under her eye. Do not cry. Inhaling, she picked up her paintings, brought them into the back, and leaned them against the wall to decide which ones she wanted to put up.

  He could have given her a hug, said he missed her, or commented about the change in her hair color. Jerk. Fine. Wait until he sat alone night after night without her company. He’d miss her, or at least she hoped he would.

  She looked through her paintings to get her mind off the hurt.

  Most were landscapes, but she did have other collections. Her most-bizarre pieces of art were a series of photos of her grapefruit tattoos.

  She would create intricate tattoo designs and then put the tats on the

  15

  fruit. Since this art was perishable, she took pictures of them. She debated trying her designs on herself but never had the courage to prick her own skin.

  Once she decided how she wanted to display her work, she easily hung them on the metal chains draped from the ceiling. She stepped back to admire her work. “Lookin’ good.” Now all she needed were a few other pieces. Jade said she was trying to convince Parker, Jade’s other husband, to put his paintings in the gallery, but he kept saying his heart was in the theater. She could understand that.

  The furniture she’d ordered for the front entrance and for sitting in the gallery wouldn’t be delivered for a few days. With nothing else she could do in the studio, she decided to give Harley a call to see if he could fit her in for a tattoo she’d been wanting to get for a while.

  Moving out of the only home she’d known needed a bit of closure, and the tattoo she’d designed would be a fitting tribute to her dad, though at this precise moment, she wasn’t sure he deserved the homage.