Captured in Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Boulder Novella

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  She raised a brow again, and I had a feeling she knew exactly where my mind had gone.

  “Do not think of mussing me up. I cannot go to Ronin’s family with sex hair.”

  “Again,” Ronin joked, his hands on his watch as he did the clasp.

  “Really?” I asked, intrigued.

  “It was one time,” Julia said.

  “It’s been many times, and I’m pretty sure my parents just think you have messy hair.”

  Julia’s face paled, and she shook her head. “No, your mother knows what that hair means. She’s had it before.”

  Ronin froze, and then visibly shuddered. “That’s just cruel,” Ronin said.

  I laughed, loving the interaction.

  “Okay, let’s go. Time to face the guillotine.”

  Ronin snorted and then leaned forward, brushing a gentle kiss to my lips. “They aren’t that bad. And they know that the three of us are dating. That two of us are married, and you’re dating both of us. They know we’re a throuple, a triad, whatever label you want to put on it. There’s no hiding it.”

  My shoulders visibly relaxed, even if I was still nervous. “Good. So, I have to ask what they thought about that.”

  Ronin gave me a look. “They weren’t surprised about the idea of me in a relationship with more than one person. They knew I was in one before. Though, they haven’t grilled me about it.”

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” Julia said, and I had to wonder if she was talking to herself or to me.

  We made the quick ride to Ronin’s parents’ home, with me behind the wheel, and Julia in the back seat. It gave Ronin more room for his leg, and I didn’t mind driving. It kept my mind occupied so it didn’t go in a thousand different directions about how everything could go wrong and I could fuck this up.

  Ronin slid his hand over my knee and squeezed. “Stop stressing. My parents are pretty cool people. They get it.”

  “How can they get something that I’m just now starting to figure out?” I asked, my voice a whisper.

  “How about we say that they understand the fact that we are not in a monogamous heterosexual relationship,” Julia said. “They don’t need to know every single thing we do, nor every part of our past.”

  I let out a rough chuckle. “I hope to hell they don’t need to know every single thing we do.” I raised a brow, and Ronin shook his head, his lip twitching. “What? I’m just saying. Some things people do not need to know. Especially about what I’m going to do to Julia later.”

  “If it’s anything like what my plans are, it should be fine.”

  I looked over at Ronin and grinned. “We should take notes. Make sure we’re on the same page.”

  “This is not fair,” Julia said, squirming in the back seat.

  “Life isn’t fair, but then you get fucked.”

  Julia laughed at my horribly crude joke, and I pulled into the driveway.

  I had never been to this home, as Ronin’s parents had moved in the last decade or so. But it was a nice ranch-style house and a bit unique in the neighborhood since it didn’t seem that they had an HOA. Or maybe it was just lax. Everything seemed perfect for the individuals, and their house didn’t look like anyone else’s. I liked that.

  “Okay, let’s get in. Everything’s going to be fine.” Julia leaned forward, kissed my cheek, then Ronin’s, and got out of the car.

  “She sounds like she’s raring to go.”

  “My parents love her. Considering the pieces of shit her parents are, I’m glad that she has someone.”

  “She told me some of what happened. I’m surprised that you haven’t done anything about it.”

  Ronin looked out the window to where Julia was waiting and gave me a tight shake of his head. “I don’t have time to go into it, but I do what I can. If I could take her away from her parents completely so she never had to deal with them, I would. But that wouldn’t help anything. Not when she still loves them.”

  I understood, far more than I cared to admit. But I pushed those thoughts out of my head, knowing that it wasn’t the time to deal with my family drama or Julia’s. No, today was the day we dealt with the ones that were okay with this. I didn’t want to know what would happen when dealing with the people who weren’t okay with who we were.

  We didn’t even have to ring the doorbell. Ronin’s mom was suddenly on the front step, her hands in front of her. “You’re here. It’s been forever.”

  Ronin rolled his eyes and then made his way over to his mom, hugging her close. “It has been two days since I talked to you on the phone, and we texted all day today while planning this. I saw you what? Three weeks ago?”

  “Three terrible weeks. I know you’ve been busy with work and very new, exciting things in your life, but your mother misses you.”

  She kissed Ronin’s cheek again, then held out her arms for Julia. Julia sank into her hold, and Ronin’s mom hugged Julia tightly, kissing her forehead.

  “You look amazing. So bright and happy. And this must be the reason behind it.”

  Ronin’s mother looked over and smiled. She appeared slightly older than she had the last time I’d seen her, but she was still stunning. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a wide smile.

  “Hello, Kincaid. It’s good to see you again.” I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Should I hold one out for a handshake or hug her? I didn’t know. But then she took the choice away from me and pulled me in tight. I awkwardly put my arms around her and patted her back.

  “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Boston.”

  “Oh, it’s good to see you too, darling. And you know you should call me Rose.”

  “Rose. I can do that.” I paused. “Maybe.”

  Ronin’s mother laughed and took a step back. “Come inside, Gregory is working on the grill in the back.” She rolled her eyes just like her son had. “You know men. They need to be all growly and caveman when it comes to the grill. I tried to help, but God forbid I touch fire.”

  She laughed at Julia, who grinned. “Sometimes, Ronin lets me grill. However, the one time I grilled with the two of them, Kincaid pretty much pushed me out of the way to help out. I’ve been relegated to the kitchen. Where all women need to be, apparently. Barefoot.” She snorted as she said it.

  I nearly laughed. “I did not push you.”

  “No, you didn’t push, just put your manly presence in front of the grill and glowered as if it was your territory.”

  “I like grilling, what can I say?”

  “And I’m not that bad,” Ronin added. “I let you grill.”

  “Let?” Julia asked. “See? You let me grill. As if it isn’t our grill, and as if I don’t have the option of helping whenever I want.”

  “I’m never going to win this, am I?” Ronin asked.

  “Not even a little,” Gregory said as he walked into the house. He looked much like an older version of Ronin, a little wider, gray at the temples.

  “I’m glad you’re here. Your mother hasn’t stopped talking about the fact that she hasn’t seen her precious baby boy in far too long.”

  “It’s true,” Rose said, putting her clasped hands in front of her. “However, I wasn’t nagging.”

  “Did I say nagging? You inferred nagging. I didn’t say that. I’ve learned.”

  “So you say,” Rose said before she kissed her husband’s cheek. Gregory came fully into the living room, hugged Ronin tight, then did the same to Julia, kissing the top of her head. When Gregory took a step towards me, I swallowed hard.

  “Sir.”

  “You can call me Gregory. Just not Greg. You remember how I hate that name.”

  My lips twitched. “I remember.”

  I held out my hand, and Gregory shook his head. Disappointment slid through me, but then I was enveloped in the other man’s arms, and I took a deep breath before I hugged him back.

  “It’s good to see you.”

  “It really is,” Rose said as Gregory took a step back. “And we’re so sorry about your sister. We m
et her that once, and she was so sweet. This will be the last time we talk about it if you want, because we’re not going to make you talk about anything you don’t want to. However, we are glad that you’re back.”

  Ronin’s mother said that all in one breath and then leaned into her husband as he tugged her away slightly as if to calm her down.

  Julia slid her hand into mine, while Ronin moved to my other side, resting his hand on the small of my back.

  It was odd to feel so centered around two people I hadn’t expected. But they were there for me, even if I felt like I was freaking out inside.

  “Okay, we have a few drinks for you guys, as well as a lovely non-alcoholic concoction that I made up.” Rose clapped her hands. “Have whatever you’d like, and if you want water or coffee, you can have that, but know since I haven’t been able to be near the grill, I did have fun with the drinks.”

  Julia laughed, and Ronin and his father gave each other looks. I shook my head and felt oddly at home for the first time in far too long.

  We ate ribs and grilled chicken. Baked beans and potato salad, deviled eggs, a green salad, and some type of bacon-wrapped pineapple thing that I knew I would have asked to take home if we hadn’t already eaten all of it.

  I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my stomach. “I think I’m going to have to work out an extra two hours tomorrow after this dinner.”

  “Well, isn’t that the greatest compliment?” Rose asked, taking a sip of her sparkling cider.

  “Seriously, though, I’m so full, I want to curl into a ball and take a nice long nap,” Julia said, leaning into Ronin’s side. The three of us were on one side of the table, Ronin’s parents on the other. I didn’t miss the curious look on Gregory’s face. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that Gregory was okay with what was going on, but he hadn’t said a word about it. Honestly, he outwardly seemed fine with it. It was only every so often that I would catch a glimpse and wonder. I didn’t know if it was about the three of us together or if he thought I was breaking up Julia and Ronin’s marriage. Or maybe it was because I had left like I had the first time.

  Julia reached out and patted my thigh, keeping her hand there after. I put my arm around her chair. It was the three of us, my fingers trailing along Ronin’s shoulder as I leaned a little bit closer.

  I liked that we felt like a unit, even if I hadn’t known exactly how we had gotten here.

  This was so different than it was with Alexis.

  I hated the idea that her name was even in my head. We had tried being a triad with her, but Ronin and I had seemed more suited, while Alexis hadn’t known what she wanted. And when she walked away and hurt us, I figured that my time doing something outside the norm had passed.

  And then I fell into myself, into the bottle, and it had taken me far too long to get out again.

  Julia squeezed my knee, and I looked over at her and Ronin, who each gave me looks. I shook my head slightly, not wanting them to know what I was thinking about.

  The conversation moved to work, art shows, and upcoming weddings and babies of their friends. I didn’t know their friends all that well since I had only heard of them in passing, but we had an upcoming dinner with one of Julia’s coworkers, a man who was also in a triad. It would be nice to get to know people in a relationship similar to ours, even if no two relationships were exactly the same.

  Julia and I helped Rose clean up the table after dinner, all of us in the kitchen laughing while Ronin and his father went to work on the grill.

  “Oh, can you get this to Gregory?” Rose said, handing me a glass of ice water. “He always gets headaches at night with the allergies and forgets to stay hydrated.”

  “Taking care of him still?” I asked, teasing.

  “Of course. He’s my husband, and he expects me to nag him, even if he’s not allowed to say that word anymore.”

  She winked and went back to washing dishes while Julia dried. Julia smiled at me, and I lifted a little inside, feeling as if this could be something more than just a moment in time.

  I moved out to the deck, and because the grill was to the side, Ronin and Gregory didn’t see me come up, but I could hear them.

  “Are you okay?” Gregory asked.

  “Why do you ask?” Ronin’s voice was slightly wooden.

  I froze, not knowing what to do. I wanted to know what Ronin was going to say, and what Gregory wanted. I might be an asshole for eavesdropping, but I needed to know.

  “With whatever’s happening with the three of you.”

  “I don’t know, Dad. We’re figuring it out.”

  Gregory let out a breath, and I held mine. “And Julia is okay with this?” Gregory voiced, a bit of a bite to his tone.

  Ronin let out an annoyed breath. “Yes. I’d never do anything to hurt my wife. And this was Julia’s idea.”

  I couldn’t exactly see them, so I didn’t know their body language, but I wanted to walk away, to make things easier. And then Gregory spoke again.

  “Okay, that’s good. I had to ask because I love you. And I love that little girl in there, too. Just remember there are now three hearts involved. I don’t want any of you hurt. Including Kincaid.”

  I swallowed hard, emotions overwhelming me, and I tried to catch up to my thoughts.

  I was deep into this already, and I hadn’t meant to be. If I weren’t careful, the time to walk away would pass quickly, and we’d all end up hurt. And with Julia and Ronin, I would never forgive myself if I broke them.

  I’d never forgive myself if I was selfish and stayed when I wasn’t wanted.

  Chapter 10

  Julia

  “How many plants do you need?” Kincaid asked, and I heard the trepidation in his tone. I held back a snort, doing my best not to laugh at him. After all, he was on an afternoon date with Ronin and me, doing something very domestic—plant shopping for my garden.

  “I have a setup in mind,” I said, pulling out my tablet. “I even drew up my plans, but some areas are filled with what inspires me given what we see. That way, I’m not too disappointed if they don’t have the exact blooms I had in mind.”

  Kincaid gave me a look, and I blushed.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You amaze me more every day.”

  My heart flooded with happiness, and I smiled at him. I looked over at Ronin, who had his hands in his pockets. He looked between us, a small smile playing on his face, and, oh, I wished I could read my husband’s mind. Kincaid might joke that we could hear each other’s thoughts, but not in reality. I wanted to know what my husband was thinking, what he wanted, what he thought of Kincaid every day.

  Hopefully, soon, I would figure that out. But for now, we were on a day-date and looking for plants.

  “You don’t have to pick out anything,” I said. “You do have to be my heavy labor person, though.”

  Kincaid groaned. “Great. I’m so excited.”

  “You don’t have to sound too enthusiastic.” Ronin shook his head. “This is one of our favorite days, and you’re going to get sweaty. Really sweaty.” Ronin practically groaned when he said it, and I pressed my lips together, holding back a laugh.

  “Okay, enough of that. We could play who gets sweatier faster later. For now, we are going to get two of those carts there and start looking for pallets.”

  “Did she say pallets?” Kincaid asked.

  “Oh, she said pallets. Why do you think she and I have been digging out the beds for the past three weeks?”

  “I don’t know. How full do your gardens get?”

  I turned and looked at him, my tablet in my hands. “Pretty full. I love plants. I may be analytical and love science, but I have a green thumb.”

  “I do not.” Kincaid looked down at his hands. “They’re pretty black. If I touch anything, it could die. I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

  I snorted. “I don’t believe in black thumbs. Just the idea that you need a little more help. And if you do not want to help with digging or p
lanting, you don’t have to. You can stand and brood and watch me bend over.”

  “You know, I don’t know about the brooding, but I could definitely watch the bending.”

  He leaned over and kissed me on the lips, and I was aware that Ronin still had his hand on my hip. Others could see us connected, but I didn’t care anymore. We weren’t hiding, we hadn’t been, but we hadn’t been truly open either. Nobody was paying attention to us, and I was grateful for that. One small step at a time, I told myself.

  Kincaid seemed to realize what he was doing and pulled away, blushing. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” I gave him my free hand, squeezed his, then leaned over and kissed Ronin on the lips. “We’re doing this, right?” I asked, far more scared than my tone let on.

  But Ronin seemed to read my mind, even though I had told myself he couldn’t. “We are. Now, come and tell us where you want us.”

  “Oh, so many wicked ways. I could have fun with that.” We laughed, and the three of us moved our way through the nursery, our carts filling up quickly.

  “These are beautiful,” I said, leaning over a small garlic bush. “They get little purple blooms.”

  “It’s garlic?” Kincaid asked.

  “Yes, come and smell.”

  He did and wrinkled his nose. “That’s not too floral.”

  “No, it’s garlic, but they’re pretty, and my bees will like them. And there’s this bottle brush over here that I want for that back corner. We lost a couple of trees in the blizzard that hit us hard over the winter, and this one should be hardy enough.”

  We went through my list, both of my men straining their muscles as they moved everything for me. I tried to lift flowers and other things, but they kept nudging me gently out of the way, saying they could handle it. And if I got to watch my men in tight T-shirts lifting heavy things and looking sexy as hell? I was a very happy girl.

  “Are we going to have enough room in your truck?” Kincaid asked, and I grinned.

  “Yes, we’ll make it work. And if not, we’ll call one of our friends, and they can bring one of their cars, too. But we’ve done this before.”