Ink Enduring (Montgomery Ink #5)(15)

Instead of standing in his kitchen staring the coffee machine like an idiot, he made his way to the back of the house where he’d converted the second master into a workshop. For some reason, the people who had owned the place had made two masters. He figured maybe they’d had a parent or someone living there with them, but either way, he’d been able to use the room that got the best light and happened to have wide doors leading to a large deck as his workshop. While it would have been nice to have it as his own room, it worked better for all his clay.

While the rest of his brothers were in the restoration business and worked with their hands to rebuild homes and aging structures, Jake used his hands to sculpt artwork. He made the usual pots, plates, and vases, but also different pieces that were unique for each buyer. His main medium was clay, but he also used stone and other gemstones. It was really what worked for the project. He even had his own kiln out in the backyard in a specially designed structure he could walk right out to from the deck.

He also did some work with his brothers since sometimes they needed small details done that weren’t in Graham, Owen, or Murphy’s wheelhouse. Jake was a Gallagher brother, so even if he sometimes felt like he was on the outside looking in when it came to their business, he still helped out when he was needed. They were family.

He sat down on his stool and rolled his neck, knowing he needed to get to work and maybe even let his mind get lost in the project. If that worked, maybe he could think about what to do next. Because if he kept lying to himself, people were going to get hurt. And no matter what, Jake refused to hurt someone he cared about. He’d been kicked before, even if inadvertently, and he didn’t want that for Holly…or Border…or f*ck, Maya.

Jake turned on his music and went to work. The soft, wet clay slid over his fingers, and he let out a breath. This would help. It had before. He let himself get lost in his work and the music and pushed all thoughts of what if out of his brain.

Much later, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and he shut off the pottery wheel and radio before slowly turning around.

Griffin and Luc stood in the doorway, their brows raised. Griffin was one of the middle Montgomerys and a writer while Luc had married into the family when he’d wed his childhood friend, Meghan. Either way, though, they’d become Jake’s friends since the Montgomerys were good at collecting strays—even if Jake hadn’t really been a stray.

“How long have you two been staring at me like the creepers you are?” Jake asked as he stood up, trying to ignore the creak in his lower back. Apparently, he wasn’t as young as he once was, and bending over a table for so long wasn’t the best choice. He ignored the inner teenage boy giggling at that thought and went over to the sink he’d installed in the room. He also had a master bath attached to the studio, but he tried to at least get the first layer of clay and crap off his skin before he used it. His cleaning lady appreciated it.

“We just got here,” Luc said. “We brought Thai food from that place you love since we were around.”

Jake frowned as he dried his hands. “You mean to tell me you two just happened to be nearby during a workday and brought food?”

Griffin shrugged. “I finished my book last week, and I’m letting the next one stir a bit in my mind before I sit down. Autumn is at Montgomery Ink today rather than doing admin things with me, so I’m not working.”

“And I’m off today,” Luc said. He ran a hand over his shoulder, and Jake winced for him. The man had been shot by Meghan’s ex not that long ago, and while he wasn’t wearing a sling, Luc still had to hurt most days. “I don’t work full-time yet,” he explained. “So I figured instead of bothering Meghan, I’d see what you were up to.”

Jake still didn’t quite believe everything they’d said, though it sounded as if it was all truth. His stomach, however, wasn’t listening to his brain and grumbled loudly.

Griffin grinned at him and motioned him over. “Come on. We set everything on your coffee table.”

Jake sighed and followed him, knowing resistance was futile. The Montgomerys were like the freaking Borg. Even the ones who’d married into to family and didn’t carry the name tended to use their long tentacles of caring and over-protectiveness to bring others in. And if Jake didn’t feel like he needed it today, he might have felt constrained. But either way, these two were here, and Jake was going to eat some food and try to let his mind settle.

The three of them being friends at all was a little weird. Jake was Maya’s friend, not boyfriend, and Luc had been living outside of Denver for a decade or so before he’d come back home and eventually married Meghan after he’d joined Montgomery Inc.. Griffin had shut himself off from most of the Montgomerys since he was a writer and not part of either family company, but he’d slowly been working his way back into every family connection.

Jake had a relationship of some sort with each Montgomery, and yet, these two were the ones he saw the least. After all the crap that had happened recently, though, the three of them were hanging out more. He was forever woven into the Montgomery fabric, and if he didn’t have such a foreboding feeling about a certain member, he might have been able to relax more.

The three of them ate delicious curry and Pad Thai and talked about their current projects and Luc and Meghan’s kids. It was nice to take an afternoon off and just eat and talk. He had this kind of relationship with his brothers and now the Montgomerys. Jake was damned lucky, he knew that, and yet the other shoe was about to drop—he knew that, too.