Inked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “I don’t need anyone to handle things for me.” She frowned, and he shook his head.

  “It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it. Hell, Jilli, I think you can handle most things, but you shouldn’t have to. And this is still my family company. If someone is being a sexist prick, we need to know about it.” He met her gaze and made sure she understood. He wasn’t sure she would come to any of them so he’d have to keep watch. That’s what he did, though, he looked out for his team, and Jillian was part of that now. And now that he thought about it, he’d put Tabby on the task, as well. As their administrative assistant and the brains of the operation—as his father joked—she knew more about what happened onsite than he did sometimes. He still wasn’t sure how she did that, but she was damn good at her job and just knowing things.

  “We good?” he asked after Jillian didn’t say anything for a bit.

  She let out a breath. “Sure. Now, how about we get started?”

  Luc, Meghan’s husband and their lead electrician, pulled up right then, and Wes nodded. “Let’s.”

  No matter what, he’d push all thoughts of whatever the hell had happened between them out of his mind. Forever.

  They were about done with their first day of demo, and Wes was pretty sure not even a long, hot bath would help his muscles at this point. He clearly wasn’t young any longer, and his body was reminding him of that.

  The project was so huge, that even with almost all of his crew working on this site rather than the others for this one day, it would take at least four more days of demo to get it even remotely ready for the next step. And that was if he had the whole crew. Since some would need to go back to the bookstore or one of the other jobs they had going on, it would take far longer than a week. Thankfully, Wes had calculated that in, but he still wasn’t looking forward to it.

  He was just about to go check on the other side of the building when Storm walked up to him. He narrowed his eyes at his twin.

  “Why are you still here?” Wes asked, calculating how long Storm had been on his feet and not liking the answer.

  Storm held up his hands and snorted. “Okay, master, stop grilling me. I was sitting on my ass most of the day, I promise. And I wasn’t here for most of the afternoon since I had a call with a potential client. I’m not about to overdo it and fuck up my back any more than it already is.”

  Wes went to run his hand over his face, realized he still wore his gloves and thought better of it. Instead, he bent down and grabbed his water bottle, chugging a third of it before speaking.

  “Good to hear. And potential client? We’re pretty full up, aren’t we?”

  Storm nodded. “Yeah, and I told them that, but they said they’d wait since they want the best.”

  Wes couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah? Cool. But you know, if they don’t want to wait, we can send them over to the Gallaghers.” One of Maya’s husbands, Jake, owned a restoration and construction company with his three brothers, and they were steadily growing. Whenever one of them couldn’t fit a client in, they usually sent them to the other if they could.

  Storm shook his head. “They said they wanted us and would wait, but I did offer.”

  Wes nodded. “Sounds good. Send me the notes?”

  “Already did. Tabby has everything entered, too. We can go over it later since it’s almost quitting time and you look like you need a beer.”

  “And a shower,” Wes added. Of course, just saying the word shower brought to mind Jillian, and he had to hold back a curse.

  “A shower sounds like a plan,” Storm said right as his phone went off. He looked down at the screen and grinned. After nodding at Wes, he answered and walked off. “Hey, Ev. I was just thinking about you.”

  Seriously, every single Montgomery was so in love right then, it was a little scary. Except him, of course. He’d been in love once before, and it hadn’t worked out. And though he’d dated off and on since, he hadn’t found anyone to get serious with. As the last single Montgomery in Denver, he should probably start looking.

  “Wes?” Jillian called out from a floor below.

  He frowned and looked down over the railing at her. “Yes?”

  “Can you come down for a minute? I think I found something.”

  Confused, he jogged down the stairs, grateful those were still intact—as well as the service elevator on the other side of the building. Somehow, those two things had been kept up to code even when the place had been vacant for so many years.

  “What’s up?” he asked as he made his way to her side. They were in the basement that had seen far better days, but Jillian had been working on taking out the old and useless water heaters that would need to be replaced in a different area of the layout.

  She knelt beside a large lockbox that looked dented on one side and had such a thick layer of dust, he knew her eyes were probably watering. Hell, he could feel his sinuses clogging already.

  “I found this in the wall behind one of the water heaters, I have no idea what it is.”

  He knelt beside her and frowned. “Weird. It must have been there for ages from the looks of it.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking. It’s locked and looks like someone tried to pry it open at some point.” She gestured toward the hinges on the side with her gloved hand. “The water heater was blocking the part of the wall where someone had hidden it and probably put up shitty drywall when they did. It crumbled as soon as I went back there, and I didn’t even touch anything. Thankfully, it’s not a load-bearing wall, you know?”

  Wes froze at the thought of how dangerous that could have been and blew out a breath. “Well, shit. I’ll get our engineer out here to look at the wall just in case.” He had a mechanical engineering degree, but he had another guy on staff these days since Wes knew it wasn’t smart to juggle everything on his own when it came to safety.

  “What should we do about the box?”

  “I guess we take it back to the office. There’re a few things for the new owner that we found throughout the day in the back of my truck.”

  “I don’t know, Wes, this seems way older than the amount of time he’s owned the place.” She bit her lip and focused on the box between them. Wes shrugged.

  “I don’t know if he bought the whole place, contents included, or if there were provisions for lost and found items or something like that. Either way, though, this looks like something we shouldn’t throw away, so we’ll store it in the room in the back of the office with the other things. We’ve done it before.”

  Jillian nodded and stood up, groaning as she rubbed the small of her back. “I’ll help you lift this upstairs because it’s damn heavy, and then I’m heading home to rest for as many hours as I can.” She grinned up at him though when she said it, and Wes couldn’t help but smile back. “I love demo day, though.”

  “Yeah, it’s fun knocking shit down even though it makes me feel like an old man.”

  Jillian chuckled. “I know what you mean. Ready?”

  He nodded, and together, they lifted the heavy box up the stairs and carried it out to his truck. He probably could have done it alone, but since it had been a long day, he was glad he didn’t have to. Jillian said goodbye once he closed the tailgate of his truck and leaned against it, rolling his neck so he could stretch out before he went back inside.

  As always, he would be first on the site and the last to go home with a new project. This was his family’s legacy, and his personal one, as well. He’d put the Montgomery stamp on it and then walk away, ready to start something fresh. It was what he did, what he loved, and throughout it all, he would not be thinking about Jillian.

  No matter what.

  Chapter Four

  “Why on earth did you keep this?” Jillian asked with a laugh. She sat on the floor next to a large cardboard box and shook out her old Little League uniform. “I mean…did you even wash it?” She winced at the smell and couldn’t help but melt at her father’s deep chuckle.

  “Other paren
ts were talking about keeping theirs for memories once the season ended, and since they were doing it, I figured I should, too. Didn’t want to miss out.”

  And that was just one more reason she loved her father more than words could say. It had been the two of them for so long, she knew that he’d done all in his power to make sure she never felt as though it was just the two of them. He’d been everything she needed, and he’d proven that over and over again.

  “I’m pretty sure they probably washed them first and put them in a sealed bag or something.” She paused. “Or, actually, I have no idea. It’s cool you kept this, though.” She folded the uniform back up and went to look for what else her father had saved over the years. There were birthday cards, photos that hadn’t made it into an album, report cards, and even her blanket she’d carried around with her for years. It had helped her sleep when she was sad over her mom, or if she had a bad dream. Her father had worked nights for a long time at his old job and hadn’t been able to get the day shift until she was eight or so. It hadn’t been too bad since that meant she could see him during the day after school. He’d sleep when she was in class, and then they had the afternoons together. She honestly didn’t know how he’d managed to do everything he did when she was younger, but he had, and she was grateful for it.

  “You’re looking sad over there. What’s on your mind?”

  “Just thinking about how hard you worked at the factory for me. And you.” She shrugged and swallowed the knot in her throat. “I know it wasn’t easy, but I never once heard you complain.”

  Her dad frowned at her. “Why would I complain? I had a job with benefits and a little girl who liked to watch me work and lived life to the fullest. I had everything I needed.”

  Without another word, Jillian stood up and went to her dad, giving him a big hug. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “Aw, Jilly-bean, I love you, too.” He patted her back with his shaking hand, and she held back tears. Her dad had always been so strong, so solid, and every day, the disease progressed, taking a little bit more from him. It made her want to shout at the sky and ask why. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to happen to the one person she had left in her life, the one person she knew deserved only peace and happiness?

  She kissed the top of his head, reining in her emotions so he wouldn’t see them and get worried, and pulled away. “Let me finish this box, and then I’m heading out to my friend’s.”

  “Storm?” her dad asked, his face carefully blank. She knew her dad liked Storm, but she still didn’t know if he was sad that it hadn’t worked out, or grateful that at least Storm was moving on.

  Jillian smiled and shook her head. “No, Meghan actually.”

  “So Storm’s sister,” her dad said dryly.

  This time, she rolled her eyes and went back to the box. “Yes, and my friend and my coworker.” Well, technically, since Meghan had been born a Montgomery, she was her boss. Each Montgomery that worked with the company had a share in it, though Wes and Storm were the main bosses. Meghan was in charge of the landscaping arm, however, and didn’t have direct contact with Jillian. It was all a little confusing to her, but they made it work, considering how well the business was doing.

  “I’m glad you’re going out. You need to do that more.”

  She snorted and went back to sorting. “Whatever. I go out.”

  “Having a beer at a bar before going home to relax doesn’t really count, young lady.”

  “As I’ve said before, you’re one to talk. And there might be wine tonight, actually. Since she’s teaching me to knit, we figured we’d add wine and make it a night.”

  Once her dad quit laughing, she glared. “What’s wrong with knitting?”

  “Nothing, Jilly-bean, but you? Knitting? That’s something I’ll have to see. You’re great with your hands and have patience for pipes, but that’s about all.”

  She’d have flipped him off if he weren’t her father. She might be an adult, but he’d still threaten to swat her ass for something like that—not that he’d ever actually done anything like that when she was a kid, but whatever.

  “Just for that, I’m finding the ugliest yarn I can find for your scarf.”

  His eyes brightened, and she couldn’t help but smile. “You’re making me a scarf? Well, I like that I’m going to be your first project. Maybe I’ll wear it for a bit and add it to that box with your uniform.”

  Her smile was wide this time as she looked up at her dad. “I love you,” she repeated, needing to make sure he heard it often and knew it was true. They’d never been good at saying things like that when she was younger, and she’d be damned if she let that continue. Not when…no, she wouldn’t think about that. He saw far too much, and she wouldn’t put him through that.

  By the time her dad went back to his afternoon nap, and Jillian had cleaned up everything they’d messed up during their afternoon, she was feeling a little all over the place when it came to her emotions. Well, actually, she’d been feeling like that for the past few months now, even before her father fell off the ladder and everything changed. She’d been looking for a change in her life, a new purpose, and trying to come to terms with her father’s illness hadn’t been something she’d ever thought to do.

  She was running late, so she quickly stopped by her house, picked up the two bottles of wine she’d gotten earlier for the evening, and changed into something slightly cuter yet still comfortable. While she knew Meghan and Adrienne—Meghan’s cousin and the other knitting trainee for the time being—wouldn’t mind what Jillian wore, she liked wearing something other than a holey T-shirt and jeans when she met up with people.

  Meghan and Luc lived about ten minutes away from her if she caught all the green lights. Thankfully, tonight she had. She’d been told this was Luc’s home before he and Meghan got married, and they were slowly updating it to accommodate their growing family. Meghan had two children with her ex-husband, as well as one with Luc. The two older kids lived with them permanently since Meghan’s ex was in jail for many things including attempted murder.

  She’d sort of known Meghan during her marriage to Richard, but hadn’t gotten to know her well at all until recently. In fact, when she was with Storm, Jillian had done her best not to get to know many of the Montgomerys that well, other than saying hello here or there. She and Storm had both known their relationship was better with just each other without a future paved out for them. Having her integrate herself into his family when they were only semi-dating would have only made things more confusing.

  But now that Storm and Everly were engaged, and Jillian was working with the Montgomerys, she was becoming friends with many of them on her own, not because of her connection to Storm. As others had said before, once the Montgomerys drew you in, it was hard to leave.

  Jillian parked in front of Meghan’s home behind Adrienne’s vehicle. She hated being the last person there, but she’d lost track of time. To her, being on time was actually late, and being early was the only way to do things. Considering Adrienne lived about an hour or so away down in Colorado Springs, Jillian really hated that she was running late for her.

  Grabbing the wine and her knitting bag from the back of the cab of the truck, she jumped out and headed up the walkway to the front of the house. She didn’t even have to knock before Adrienne had the door open and was gesturing for her to come inside.

  “Hey, Jillian. Meghan’s in the back with Emma, putting her down for the night.” The other woman moved back so Jillian could come in and smiled.

  Adrienne looked a lot like Maya, the darkest haired of the three Denver Montgomery women. Adrienne’s dark brown hair flowed over her shoulders and back, and she had those swoopy side bangs that Jillian had never been able to pull off. The other woman had half sleeves on both arms, and Jillian knew she had more ink than that. Considering she was a tattoo artist like Maya and Austin, that made sense. She also had a small nose ring, and Jillian was pretty sure she’d seen a tongue ring, as well. All
of that with her curves and pinup body? Well, Adrienne Montgomery was damn hot.

  And now Jillian was extra grateful she’d put on a flowy top instead of the stained and holey shirt she’d been wearing earlier. It was hard not to feel frumpy around any of the Montgomerys even when they were wearing casual clothes.

  “Hey, how are you?” Jillian asked as she hugged the other woman, putting those weird thoughts from her mind. There was no use thinking that at all since none of the women she’d met in this family—married in or blood—would ever purposely make her feel that way.

  “Good. Tired, but the usual.” Adrienne tattooed hourly and didn’t own her own shop like Austin and Maya. Jillian didn’t know why Adrienne didn’t work with her cousins—or if she had in the past—but figured it wasn’t any of her business. All of the Montgomerys were talented, though, and when Jillian was ready for another tattoo, she knew where to go.

  “Same here,” Jillian said after a moment and went to set the wine on the counter. “Where are the others?” she asked, taking the bottles out of the bag so she could chill the white she’d brought. The red she left on the counter. She might be a beer drinker, but she knew at least that much.

  “Luc took Cliff and Sasha out for dinner and then a movie since they have one more week until school starts.”

  Jillian grinned and shook her head. “Didn’t the summer just start?”

  “That’s what you’d think,” Meghan said as she walked in, a sleepy Emma on her shoulder. The little girl was around eight or nine months now and looked like a little person instead of just a baby.

  And that wasn’t something she’d ever say to a parent because, geesh.

  Emma’s skin was a lighter brown than Luc’s, and her cheeks so plump that it took everything within Jillian not to go and pinch the chubbiness. She just wanted to gobble that baby all up. Before meeting the Montgomery babies, she’d had no idea she had that ticking clock within her that caused her to act like this.