Inked Expressions

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  In the end, she’d somehow been taken in by the Montgomerys in a sense, and she wasn’t sure how that had happened. They were like the Borg—resistance was futile. The family now knew that she and Storm knew each other, and it hadn’t been that big of a deal. After all, Denver was a huge city, and it wasn’t like everyone talked about every single person they knew day in and day out.

  It just made things a little weird for her some days, so she chose to ignore it. She had far more important things to do in her life than worry about who knew whom and how everybody was connected.

  Tabby and Alex had gone through hell to find each other, and Everly was so grateful that, in the end, they’d fallen in love and gotten engaged. She didn’t even have a thread of jealousy that the two across from her clearly had eyes for only each other. She’d been married. She’d loved. She’d lost.

  She wasn’t going to do it again.

  And at that weird thought, she shook her head and finally answered Tabby. “The visit went well,” she said slowly, her gaze going to the center of the U-shaped booth where her boys sat on booster seats, gobbling up fries while talking to Alex. They loved Alex and always wanted to spend time with him. Though they loved their Uncle Storm more than the others even if all of the Montgomery men looked so much alike.

  And why did she keep thinking about Storm? It made no sense.

  Tabby reached across the booth and gripped her hand. “I’m glad to hear it. Just remember, you aren’t alone in this, Everly. I know you want to do everything on your own, but we’re here for you. We love you, too, honey.”

  Everly blinked back tears, clearly too tired to be having this conversation. When Jackson had died, she felt as if she’d lost a part of herself but hadn’t been able to focus on it. She’d literally gone into labor that terrible evening and had to learn how to be a single mother when she’d planned her life around Jackson. Any friends they’d shared had slowly backed away, unable to see her and not think of the man they’d been close to. They hadn’t known how to act with her anymore, hadn’t known how to help her when she wasn’t even sure what she needed help with.

  Tabby had always been there, though, and perhaps that was because Tabby had been Everly’s friend, not Jackson’s.

  Storm was always there, too. Still is.

  She could have kicked herself for once again thinking of him and vowed she’d drink more coffee once she got to the bookstore after lunch. She was just too tired to think normally these days.

  “I love you, too,” Everly said after a moment, her voice thick. “And thank you for meeting me here for lunch rather than Taboo.” Taboo was one of the Montgomery hangouts that shared a wall with Montgomery Ink—the family’s tattoo shop. They went there often since one of their mutual friends owned the cafe, but today was about the boys, not her. “I promised the twins French fries, and while Taboo does have them, they aren’t the ones the boys were thinking about.”

  Tabby grinned. “No explanations needed. Some days, it’s all about a greasy burger, and French fries.” She eyed Alex’s chicken sandwich and shook her head. “Well, at least for some of us.”

  Alex looked over at that instant before winking at his fiancée and stealing one of her fries. “There’s nothing healthy about my sandwich, Tabitha. Don’t worry. I went grease for you.”

  She blew him a kiss. “You’re so romantic.”

  “You know it.”

  Everly just shook her head. She truly didn’t need to know what they were talking about to know they absolutely adored each other. She tried to remember if she and Jackson had ever been like that, but her memories came back a little fuzzy as usual. As time sped by, her past with Jackson continued to slip through her fingers. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, nor did she know what she would do about it. She’d loved him so freaking much it hurt to remember him sometimes, but she did for the boys. James and Nathan knew about their daddy and would continue to know more as they grew older. She wouldn’t let them think they didn’t have a father even if one wasn’t raising them.

  Tragedy happened, and others had to live with it. Even if it felt as if she were walking through sand in order to find this healing so many people talked about.

  Everly picked at her burger, not in the mood to eat anymore. Her stomach still hadn’t settled since the doctor’s office, and frankly hadn’t really been back to normal since the late-night emergency room visit with Nathan. She let out a breath, trying to keep her mind calm. She couldn’t freak out in front of her kids, even if that’s all she wanted to do these days.

  “Can we go play?” Nathan asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

  Everly turned, holding back her frown. Those places were germ magnets, and with Nathan’s recent illness and James’s surgery right around the corner, she wasn’t sure she wanted them in the ball pit of doom.

  Alex must have read her face and gave her a small smile. “I have a soccer ball in my truck from playing with my brother’s kids. Why don’t we go out to the field in the back and play?”

  She gave him a dubious look. “Don’t you think a soccer ball might be as big as they are?” Her boys might seem wise beyond their years, but they were still only three.

  “We’ll be good, Mommy,” James said with a smile.

  “Real good,” Nathan added.

  She snorted but smiled anyway. “Be safe. And since it’s so warm outside, don’t overdo it.”

  “We’ll be good.” Alex looked up at Everly. “I’ll take them to wash their hands and use the bathroom first. Is that okay?”

  She nodded, her throat closing up. “Perfect.” Her boys were getting older and taking them into the women’s restroom was getting more annoying day by day. She didn’t actually care what others thought, but she could do without the pointed looks selfish women gave her kids. What else was she supposed to do in a public place, take them into the men’s or let them go by themselves? They were three, for God’s sake. Finally—thankfully—potty trained but years from being able to be on their own in a restroom.

  Tabby and Everly slid out of the booth so the guys could get out, as well, the twins chattering a mile a minute as Alex nodded along, his attention on them even as he kissed Tabby’s cheek and waved at Everly. She reached into her bag and handed over Nathan’s inhaler just in case, and Alex pocketed it, making it look like it was the easiest thing in the world—as if there weren’t a single thing wrong with needing a little help now and then.

  She didn’t trust many people with her children’s safety, but she trusted Alex and the rest of the Montgomerys wholeheartedly.

  “Alexander won’t let them overdo it,” Tabby said softly. “And this way, you don’t have to worry about the germs in that playhouse behind us.”

  Everly gave a mock shudder. “So many germs and children with unwashed hands and God knows what else.”

  Tabby grimaced. “At that unappetizing thought, let’s clean up the table. I don’t think I’m going to finish these fries.”

  Everly laughed with her friend as they cleaned up, taking the booth over again since it wasn’t that busy this late in the afternoon.

  “So, Nathan is doing okay after his attack then?” Tabby asked, her voice soft. “I can’t believe the week you’re having.”

  Everly sighed, playing with the straw in her drink. “He’s breathing easier, and I know Alex won’t let him work himself up out there. I’m just exhausted, I think. Too many nights in a row of staying up and worrying about my boys. If Storm hadn’t been there in the ER that night, I don’t know what I would have done. They needed to take Nathan to the back for another test, and Storm was there to take care of James so I wouldn’t have to wake him up.”

  Tabby’s eyes widened. “Storm was at the ER with you?”

  Everly winced. She hadn’t meant to mention that as it had been habit to keep Storm to herself, but, apparently, she was a little too tired. And she’d have to think later on why she kept Storm to herself.

  It really wasn’t something she wanted to dwel
l on, though.

  “The boys wanted him, so I called. At three in the morning.”

  Tabby let out a breath. “I’m so glad he showed up for you.”

  “He always does,” Everly whispered, and Tabby gave her a sharp look. “He brought Jillian with him,” she blurted.

  Tabby’s brows lifted. “Really? I didn’t know they were still together.”

  Everly thought on the conversation she hadn’t meant to overhear. “I don’t think they are anymore. Not that it’s any of my business.”

  Tabby gave her a look. “Not that it’s any of your business?”

  “Storm is just my friend. Or rather, he was Jackson’s friend and likes to make sure the boys are okay. That’s it, Tabby. Nothing more.”

  Tabby gave her a long look before nodding. “Okay.” Though Everly knew the other woman wanted to say more, she didn’t. Instead, they talked about the upcoming wedding and the other things going on in their lives for another twenty minutes before her phone beeped and she knew it was time to head into work.

  “Are you sure you’re okay taking the boys?” Everly asked as they walked out to their cars to switch out the car seats. “It’s just as easy for me to take them to the babysitter.”

  Alex held both boys in his arms, his grin wide—dear God the Montgomery men were handsome. “We’re having fun. Don’t worry about us.”

  Tabby hugged Everly hard. “Really. We’re practicing.” She said the last part softly, and Everly blinked back tears. She loved that her friend was so stinking happy. If anyone deserved a happily ever after, it was Tabby.

  “Okay, then. If you’re sure.” They got the car seats figured out, and she hugged and kissed her boys goodbye, promising to see them soon. They waved as if they didn’t mind being away from her, and she ignored that kernel of self-doubt. Her boys were happy and relatively healthy, that was all that mattered.

  By the time she drove downtown and parked in her tiny lot in the back of Beneath the Cover, her indie bookstore, her nerves were less frazzled than they had been but still not quite up to one hundred percent.

  However, as soon as she stepped into her store, her spirits buoyed just a fraction. She loved her shop with all of her heart. She adored the way the scent of new books and old filled her senses as soon as she walked in. She loved the different areas of the space she’d decorated over time to signal the subject. She loved the fact that she and her assistants had made sure that each subgenre of the main genre was clearly labeled and had special decorations to match. She loved all the seating areas she’d added with comfy—sometimes antique—chairs and chaise lounges she’d placed so people could sit with a good book and bring in a cup of coffee if they so desired. There was a place up front near the window display that she’d made into a larger seating area when they had guest readings, author signings, and comedy nights. And she’d even added a used book section upstairs for people who wanted books that were either out of print or special to them for other reasons.

  This place was a part of her soul, just like her boys were, and she was grateful beyond measure that she had it in her life. Jackson hadn’t quite understood how she planned to make an indie bookstore work in downtown Denver where there was already a few chain and established indie bookstores, but she’d found a way. The early days had been hit or miss, but she’d eventually found her groove after she opened the place using her inheritance from her parents’ wills and put her blood, sweat, and tears into the project.

  Throughout the years, a few businesses had come and gone along their street off 16th Street Mall, but places like Taboo, Montgomery Ink, and the newer boutique, Eden—that happened to be owned by a woman who’d married into the Montgomerys—had endured. She freaking loved everything about the place. Even the bills.

  “Hey, boss,” Freddie said with a grin from behind the counter. She had a book open in front of her as she watched customers shop. Freddie was in her late forties, tall, curvy, and freaking amazing. She’d been an MBA and working on the top floor of one of the skyscrapers that dotted the Denver skyline, but after she found her husband cheating on her, she had decided to find her passion.

  That her passion was medical school just made Everly smile. The woman had a full caseload, three grown children in college themselves, and worked at Beneath the Cover part-time to pay some of her bills since she had been forced to pay alimony to the dumb idiot she married.

  Everly put her bag down under the counter and gave Freddie a hug. “Hey, hon. Everything going well?”

  Freddie nodded, closing her Organic Chemistry book as she started to pack up. “Yep. We had a bit of a rush earlier, which rocked. There are a few phone messages for you that I left on the desk in the back office. Oh, and I tripped up the stairs again because I’m a dork, so I called someone in to fix it since it was on your to-do list. I knew you’d eventually get around to it, but I wanted to help.”

  Everly winced. “I’m sorry. Were you hurt?”

  Freddie shook her head, zipping up her backpack at the same time. “Nope. But I know you don’t want anyone else to be. I know you, and we probably could have found a way to fix part of it on our own, but we both know it’s beyond our skill set.”

  Everly sighed and rubbed her shoulders, the tension there a permanent part of her life these days. “Who did you call?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Storm. He said he’d be here in a bit since he was already downtown at the shop.” Freddie shrugged. “I assume he meant the tattoo shop, but I didn’t ask. Anyway, I’m off to my lab.” She scrunched her nose. “I hate late-night chem labs. They’re the bane of my existence.”

  Everly ignored the worry in her gut that she’d once again be seeing Storm. She didn’t understand why she kept having a reaction when she thought of him. He was just Storm. “You’ll get through it with an A like you always do. Then you can be my doctor instead of the rude guy I have now, and everyone will be happier.”

  Freddie winked. “If you say so. Have a good night!” The other woman walked out of the shop at the same time a familiar face walked in, causing Everly’s back to stiffen.

  “Hey,” Storm said once he faced her. He had a toolbox in his hand and a frown on his face. He always seemed to scowl at her lately, and she didn’t know why.

  “Thank you for coming, though I’m sure I could have done it on my own.” And didn’t she sound like an ungrateful bitch? She needed to get the stick out of her ass and deal with whatever was going on between her and Storm, but she kept putting her foot into her mouth.

  Storm gave her a weird look. “I’m sure you could have, but I’m here now. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you have to do it on your own all the time.”

  Everly swallowed hard, not liking the way he seemed to see more than she wanted him to.

  “I’ll head upstairs,” he said after a moment. Then a loud bang rang through the store, and Storm jumped, his eyes going wide and his skin paling.

  Everly reached across the counter for him, wondering what on earth had just happened. No one else in the shop seemed to have noticed, but Storm clearly had. “It was just a car backfiring. Are you okay?” He looked as if he were ready to crawl right out of his skin, but when he looked at her again, he set his jaw and color infused his cheekbones.

  “I’m fine.” He stalked away, his shoulders stiff, and Everly’s gaze traveled down his back and rested on his very firm butt.

  She quickly turned around, hating herself more than she thought possible. Dear God. What the hell was wrong with her? Not only had she acted rude to him, but something had clearly made him freak out just then.

  And what did she do? She checked out his ass.

  She had never been so thankful for needing to ring up a sale for a customer as she was in that next moment. With clear determination, she pushed all thoughts of Storm and his fine butt out of her mind.

  Firmly.

  Chapter Four

  The next day, Storm knew if he didn’t get out of the office soon, he mig
ht wring his twin’s neck. He loved his family and, hell, he knew he and Wes were closer than close, but some days, he was just tired of it all.

  “Raymond fucked up again,” Wes growled as he stomped his way through the office. They had an open floor plan in the main office where Storm, Wes, Decker, Meghan, Harper, and Tabby each had their own desks and could easily see and talk to each other if needed. Since most of the time many of them were out on jobsites, it usually wasn’t a problem noisewise. They had offices in the back for meetings with clients and a place for Storm to work since he was the lead architect of the company, but most days, there was always a few people in and out of the main room.

  Tabby raised her finger, her attention on her phone call and her computer all at once. Storm just shook his head, his attention on the plans in front of him and not his brother. Wes was in a mood, and Storm didn’t want to deal with him. That was the problem with working with family, though—there was no hiding. Ever.

  “Are you listening to me?” Wes asked, hovering over Storm’s desk.

  Storm let out a sigh and lifted his head, annoyed at the ache in his back. He’d been sitting too long working on this one design instead of going to the back where his standing desk was. He was getting too old for long days like this.