Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)(3)

Decker, their lead contractor, tilted his head at the loving couple in front of them. “I thought you weren’t going to let them make out at the job site anymore.”

Luc and Meghan each held a hand out, flipping the group off even as they kept their eyes on each other.

“Considering you make out with our sister whenever she visits, you don’t have much room to speak,” Wes said dryly. Decker had recently married the youngest Montgomery, Miranda. He’d been a part of the family long before that, however; though Autumn wasn’t sure of the exact specifics.

“And I will keep on making out with her as long as I damn well please,” Decker said before running his hand over his beard. His ink flexed over his muscles as he did, and Autumn couldn’t help but admire the work. Each of the Montgomerys and their loved ones had ink—some more than others—and Autumn was pretty sure the two tattoo artists in the family, Austin and Maya, were the ones who had done it. As if either of those two would let anyone else touch their family’s skin. In fact, Autumn was going to find it hard to have anyone else do her ink once she moved away. But it wasn’t as if she could afford to come back just for Maya’s or Austin’s talent. As much as she loved their work, it wasn’t worth their safety.

She forced that thought out of her mind. This wasn’t the time or the place to worry about things like that. Though, in all honesty, she was always worried about that.

“Anyway, once the couple is done, we’re going to lunch,” Tabby said with a smile. “Are you planning on joining us? I know you don’t work with Meghan full-time, so you probably have other plans.”

Autumn shrugged. “I get work where I can,” she said vaguely. Always vaguely. “I’m hungry. Food sounds good.” She shivered again. “And if we could eat indoors with a nice heater and maybe a roaring fire, I’d be even happier.”

“It’s not that cold, cupcake,” Storm said dryly.

“Don’t call me cupcake.” She raised a brow at him, but he didn’t even bother to look repentant. Damn Montgomery men.

She looked back over at Meghan, who had her hand lightly resting on Luc’s shoulder with a sad look in her eyes. Autumn held back another shiver, this one having nothing to do with the cold. She remembered the first time she’d met Luc, though she knew he didn’t. He’d been on the floor, covered in his own blood, Meghan’s hand on his shoulder then, as well. But that time, his fiancée had been trying to keep him alive.

He’d been shot, and Autumn couldn’t do anything to help him but try to keep Meghan calm. Others said that had been enough, but she wasn’t sure. She could still remember the screams…though she wasn’t sure if they were Meghan’s or her own.

She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and tried to shake off the memories that were best forgotten.

“You weren’t lifting anything, right?” Meghan asked, worry in her tone.

“He better not have been,” Wes snapped.

Luc shook his head. “I only bent over to point something out to another person earlier. I’m just observing, and I’m not even working full days yet.” He cupped Meghan’s face. “I promise.”

“Good.” Meghan rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him again. This time it was Tabby who sighed.

“I know, right?” Autumn said to the other woman.

Tabby snorted. “You should see it when Austin has Sierra, Shep is with Shea, Morgan gets with Callie, Decker has Miranda, and now…Luc with Meghan. It’s like love and heat and romance all rolled up in ink and shivers.”

Autumn smiled at the thought. “I don’t think I’ve met a few of those you mentioned, but I can guess how all of that in one place could almost be too much.”

Tabby shrugged. “I think once the rest of the Montgomerys settle down, Harry and Marie will be in grandbaby and new family heaven.” She winced as she said that, but Wes rubbed her shoulder. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Wes said. “Dad’s getting better.” From the way he’d ground that out, it was as if it were a forced hope, not an actual fact. But Autumn wasn’t about to comment on that. “No use tiptoeing around it.”

Ah, that was right. Harry Montgomery was going through chemo and radiation for cancer. The mention of the heaven of such a perfect future, or even just the word heaven like that might bother some of them. Sometimes just the casual word here and there could hurt more than intended.

“Okay, enough of the making out,” Storm muttered. “Let’s haul it in and head to Taboo.”

Autumn smiled. She loved Taboo. Their friend Hailey ran the small café that was located right off the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. Plus, a side door to Montgomery Ink connected it with the café so the family could walk back and forth between the two places easily. Since the job site was in Edgewater, they were only fifteen minutes away. And, Montgomery Ink had parking in the back lot. Not an easy thing to come by.

“Come on, then,” Wes said, wrapping his arm around Tabby’s shoulders. She rolled her eyes and took a step back, poking him in the ribs as she did so.

“I’ll drive myself, thank you very much. I need to head home instead of back to the office after lunch.”

Wes and Storm both frowned, looking very much like the twins they were. “Why?” they asked in unison.