Flame and Ink: An Anthology (Happy Ever After #1)(20)

Decker rolled his eyes. Wes really liked making things sound worse than they were. “I’m fine. Just a long day.” He rolled his shoulders, and the twins did the same. They’d hauled right by his side, and he knew they ached just as much.

“Tell me about it,” Storm grumbled. “I never want to look at another toilet again.”

“Charming,” Maya said dryly.

“So, have you found a new receptionist yet?” Decker asked Maya, changing the subject from toilets to the running joke of the family. The shop had been through four or five receptionists this year alone. They had fantastic artists and had even just promoted their apprentice, Callie, to full time. However, they couldn’t keep a receptionist to save their lives. The college kids always left for greener pastures, and the other ones thought it was fun to come in high around pointy needles. It might be legal to smoke, but that didn’t mean they wanted their staff lit up while working.

“You can’t have Tabby,” Wes put it. “She’s ours.” Tabby was the Montgomery Inc. receptionist and a goddess with organization. She and Wes were a team in OCD heaven.

Maya cursed under her breath. “I don’t want Tabby. She’d color code my ink in a weird way, and then I wouldn’t want to move anything around. And no, we haven’t found a receptionist. I don’t know what it is. This latest guy just wanted free ink. Free. I pay for my own tattoos, you know. I won’t let Austin do it for free because his work is worth my money. Wanting it free in our place just shows disrespect.”

Decker snorted. “At least you get the family discount.” Maya looked over her shoulder and discreetly flipped him off.

Decker frowned since she tried to hide it then smiled as Meghan’s kids, Cliff and Sasha, ran into the backyard, barreling toward their uncles on the other side of the yard. They’d be over here soon for sure to see the rest of them. He loved those damn kids.

“You get the discount too, brother mine,” Maya said. “But the discount isn’t all that much in the scheme of things. This idiot wanted it all for free. So he huffed away and found another shop most likely.” She shrugged. “Not as good a shop as ours, but whatever.”

“There’s no shop as good as yours.” He rubbed between his shoulder blades. “Speaking of, I need to make an appointment for the ink on my back.” Maya’s eyes brightened, and he cursed. “With Austin, hon. It’s his turn.” All of the Montgomerys took turns with the other siblings when it came to their ink. Both of them were talented, and picking one over the other was nearly impossible.

Besides, they both had nasty tempers if they didn’t get to be part of the siblings’ and parents’ art.

“Fine. I see how it is. You like him better.” She sniffed and wiped a non-existent tear at the edge of her eye. Not that she actually touched her makeup in the process, but the move worked for her.

Decker rolled his eyes then punched her softly in the shoulder. “Shut up. You just did work on my arm, and you get my leg next. It’s Austin’s turn now.”

She smiled, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good one or a you’ll be sorry one, but he rolled with it.

He looked over his shoulder to see Colleen in a conversation with one of Sierra’s girls so he let her be then looked at the empty beer bottle in his hand. “I’m going to get a refill. Any of you want something?”

They shook their heads, and he said his goodbyes before walking over to the cooler. Alex, another Montgomery—seriously, there were eight siblings and countless cousins so he was always walking over a Montgomery or two—stood by the cooler, a tumbler of amber liquid in his hand.

Decker looked over his shoulder at the crowd and frowned. “Where’s Jessica?” Jessica was Alex’s high school sweetheart and wife. When they’d first gotten married a few years ago, she’d always come to the family events, though she never exactly fit in. It wasn’t like she tried, either. The Montgomerys had tried on their part to welcome her into their midst, but for some reason, it never really took. Now, come to think of it, Decker hadn’t seen her at one of these events in awhile.

Alex snorted then took another drink. From the glassy look in his eyes, this wasn’t his first drink.

Well f*ck. This wasn’t good.

“Like she’d come to one of these,” Alex drawled. He didn’t sound drunk, but Decker could never tell with Alex. The fact that he knew something was off at all was because of experience. He’d dealt with enough drunks and near-drunks to last a lifetime. “She’s off with her girls at the spa or something. She didn’t feel like celebrating Sierra and Austin’s engagement since she’s never actually met Sierra.”

Decker’s eyebrows lifted toward his hairline. “She hasn’t met Sierra yet? How is that possible?” Jessica was already a Montgomery, and it wasn’t like Sierra was new to the family. She already lived with Austin and was helping raise his son.

“It’s possible when you’re Jessica.” Alex took another drink and looked the other way.

Okay then. Conversation over.

Decker shifted from foot to foot. Alex had always been the one to joke and make people laugh. That wasn’t what Decker saw now, and it scared him a bit. The man in front of him looked angry…and drunk. Decker knew drunks. He’d lived with one off and on until he’d finally been able to break free.