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

Tabby raised a brow. “I have my own reasons, and I told you both last week that I plan on working from home in the afternoons. Now let’s go to lunch. I’m starved.” With that very cryptic statement, Tabby bounced away, her hand moving frantically over her tablet as she did so. How the woman didn’t trip while multitasking like that, Autumn would never know.

“Oh, stop being pains in the asses,” Decker muttered. “Tabby works her ass off. You don’t need to know everything she does.”

“But what if she needs help?” Wes asked, his gaze on Tabby. Again, Autumn would have thought that look meant something more at one point, but now she saw the same type of brotherly worry there he had for Meghan, Maya, and Miranda.

“Then she’ll ask for it,” Autumn said simply. Just because she didn’t know how to ask for help, didn’t mean that was the case for most people. “Tabby seems like she trusts you guys enough to ask for help if she needs it. Now I’m freaking freezing. Can we please go? Or are we going to stand here and look like sad puppies while the lovebirds make out some more and Tabby ends up alone and warm at Taboo eating all the food?”

The twins huffed then did that chin tilt thing once again before heading off to their vehicles. Since Autumn had ridden in with Meghan, she jumped in the back seat of the truck, knowing Luc would rather sit up front. He wasn’t quite cleared to drive yet since his shoulder was still technically healing, and Autumn knew that bugged him to no end. Hence why she didn’t tease him. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to get the image of him lying pale on the ground in a pool of his own blood out of her brain; no matter how hard she tried.

Though perhaps that was a good thing.

It was a stark reminder that no matter how hard someone tried, their past could return with a vengeance and hurt those around them. That’s why it was a good idea to never get too close.

She pressed her lips together as Meghan drove them to Taboo. It would do Autumn well to remember not to get too close. Or at least not get closer than she already had. She knew the others wondered about her and had probably figured out that she was always vague when she talked about what she did and why she was in Denver. It wasn’t as if she could actually tell them, but it was starting to wear on her that she couldn’t say anything.

They pulled into the parking lot and headed into Taboo without much fuss thankfully. And since it was technically after the lunch rush, the place wasn’t too busy. Hailey stood behind the counter, talking to one of her customers. Her thick blond bob shifted from side to side as she shook her head. Her blunt bangs and bright red lips made her look like she should have come from the age of starlets and bombshells, instead of working at a Denver café in the twenty-first century.

Hailey’s eyes lit up when she saw them, and Autumn gave a little wave before sitting down at the long table in the corner. She took the seat closest to the end and kept her back to the wall and her eyes on the door. It was instinct to sit like that, and she hoped no one would notice that she tried to sit there—or in places like it—every time.

She ended up sitting by Tabby, who also sat next to Meghan. The boys took up the other side of the table, with Luc sitting at the head next to his fiancée. That left one more chair next to Autumn, but since they weren’t expecting anyone else to join them, it seemed she’d have some space.

Hailey came over with a smile and a roll of her eyes. She handed out waters to each of them, balancing her heavy tray like it weighed nothing. “Couldn’t keep away from me?”

“You know it, sugar,” Storm drawled, and Hailey snorted.

“The usual coffees for everyone?” Hailey asked.

“Yes, please,” they all said in unison. Kind of creepy, but Autumn liked feeling part of a unit. Plus, Hailey knew exactly how to make each of their lattes, cappuccinos, and chicory coffees. That was just one of the many reasons they all came here so much. Hailey smiled then bounced away to get their drinks.

“Don’t say things like that around Sloane, or you’re likely to end up with a black eye,” Wes muttered.

“Like what?” Storm asked before taking a drink of his water. “I was just being polite.”

“And don’t mention Sloane around Hailey,” Tabby said softly. “You know that’s a sore subject.”

Autumn frowned but didn’t voice the questions she wanted to ask. Everyone had been friends for much longer than she’d been in town, so it wasn’t as if she knew everything that was going on. But sometimes it was as if she were on the outside looking in with her nose pressed up against the glass.

Of course, wasn’t that what she wanted?

It was the safest place to be.

It had to be.

“How’s Alex doing?” Tabby asked in a whisper as the guys talked amongst themselves.

Autumn leaned into Tabby as she spoke to Meghan about one of the other Montgomery brothers. Alex was in rehab after having a breakdown at Decker and Miranda’s wedding. Her heart hurt for the man and his troubles, but at least he was most likely getting help now.

Meghan met Autumn’s eyes, then Tabby’s. “He’s okay. I think.” She worried her lip, and Luc reached out and gripped her hand without her even having to look at him.

“He won’t let us see him,” Wes said, letting them know he was indeed paying attention to the other side of the table.