[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
As such, he was particular as to who laid a needle on his skin. He only let Maya ink him when he
couldn t do it himself. Maya was the same way. Whatever she couldn t do herself, he did.
They were brother and sister, friends, and co-owners of Montgomery Ink.
He and Maya had opened the shop a decade ago when she d turned twenty. He probably could
have opened it a few years earlier since he was eight years older than Maya, but he d wanted to wait
until she was ready. They were joint owners. It had never been his shop while she worked with him.
They both had equal say, although with the way Maya spoke, sometimes her voice seemed louder. His
deeper one carried just as much weight, even if he didn t yell as much.
Barely.
Sure, he wasn t as loud as Maya, but he got his point across when needed. His voice held
control and authority.
He picked up a juice box for Rick from their mini-fridge and turned down the music on his way
back. Sloane scowled at him, but the corner of his mouth twitched as if he held back a laugh.
Thank God one of you has a brain in his head, Maya mumbled in the now quieter room. She
rolled her eyes as both he and Sloane flipped her off then went back to her sketch. Yeah, she could
have gotten up to turn the music down herself, but then she couldn t have vented her excess energy at
the two of them. That was just how his sister worked, and there would be no changing that.
He went back to his station situated in the back so he had the corner space, handed Rick his
juice, then rubbed his back. Damn, he was getting old. Thirty-eight wasn t that far up there on the
scales, but ever since he d gotten back from New Orleans, he hadn t been able to shake the weight of
something off of his chest.
He needed to be honest. He d started feeling this way since before New Orleans. He d gone
down to the city to visit his cousin Shep and try to get out of his funk. He d broken up with Shannon
right before then; however, in reality, it wasn t as much a breakup as a lack of connection and
communication. They hadn t cared about each other enough to move on to the next level, and as sad as
that was, he was fine with it. If he couldn t get up the energy to pursue a woman beyond a couple of
weeks or months of heat, then he knew he was the problem. He just didn t know the solution. Shannon
hadn t been the first woman who had ended the relationship in that fashion. There d been Brenda,
Sandrine, and another one named Maggie.
He d cared for all of them at the time. He wasn t a complete asshole, but he d known deep down
that they weren t going to be with him forever, and they thought the same of him. He also knew that it
was time to actually find a woman to settle down with. If he wanted a future, a family, he was running
out of time.
Going to New Orleans hadn t worked out in the least considering, at the time, Shep was falling
in love with a pretty blonde named Shea. Not that Austin begrudged the man that. Shep had been his
best friend growing up, closer to him than his four brothers and three sisters. It d helped that he and
Shep were the same age while the next of his siblings, the twins Storm and Wes, were four years
younger.
His parents had taken their time to have eight kids, meaning he was a full fifteen years older than
the baby, Miranda, but he hadn t cared. The eight of them, most of his cousins, and a few strays were
as close as ever. He d helped raise the youngest ones as an older brother but had never felt like he
had to. His parents, Marie and Harry, loved each of their kids equally and had put their whole beings
into their roles as parents. Every single concert, game, ceremony, or even parent-teacher meeting was
attended by at least one of them. On the good days, the ones where Dad could get off work and Mom
had the day off from Montgomery Inc., they both would attend. They loved their kids.
He loved being a Montgomery.
The sound of Sloane s needle buzzing as he sang whatever tune played in his head made Austin
grin.
And he fucking loved his shop.
Every bare brick and block of polished wood, every splash of black and hot pink colors he
and Maya had fought on and he d eventually given in to made him feel at home. He d taken the
family crest and symbol, the large MI surrounded by a broken floral circle, and used it as their logo.
His brothers, Storm and Wes, owned Montgomery Inc., a family construction company that their father
had once owned and where their mother had worked at his side before they d retired. They, too, used
the same logo since it meant family to them.
In fact, the MI was tattooed on every single immediate family member including his parents.
His own was on his right forearm tangled in the rest of his sleeve but given a place of meaning. It
meant Montgomery Iris open your eyes, see the beauty, remember who you are. It was only natural
to use it for their two respective companies.
Not that the Ink vs Inc. wasn t confusing as hell, but fuck, they were Montgomerys. They could
do whatever they wanted. As long as they were together, they d get through it.
Montgomery Ink was just as much his home as his house on the ravine. While Shep had gone on
to work at Midnight Ink and created another family there, Austin had always wanted to own his shop.
Maya growing up to want to do the same thing had only helped.
th
Montgomery Ink was now a thriving business in downtown Denver right off 16 Street Mall.
They were near parking, food, and coffee. There really wasn t more he needed. The drive in most
mornings could suck once he got on I-25, but it was worth it to live out in Arvada. The burbs around
Denver made it easy to live in one area of the city and work in another. Commutes, though hellish at
rush hour, weren t as bad as some. This way he got the city living when it came to work and play, and
the option to hide behind the trees pressed up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains once he got
home.
It was the best of both worlds.
At least for him.
Austin got back on his stool and concentrated on Rick s sleeve for another hour before calling it
quits. He needed a break for his lower back, and Rick needed a break from the pain. Not that Rick
was feeling much since the man currently looked like he d just gotten laid pain freaks, Austin loved
them but he didn t want to push either of them too far. Also, Plus Rick s arm had started to swell
slightly from all the shading and multiple colors. They d do another session, the last, hopefully, in a
month or so when both of them could work it in their schedules and then finish up.
Austin scowled at the computer at the front of shop, his fingers too big for the damn keys on the
prissy computer Maya had demanded they buy.
Fuck!
He d just deleted Rick s whole account because he couldn t find the right button.
Maya, get your ass over here and fix this. I don t know what the hell I did.
Maya lifted one pierced brow as she worked on a lower back tattoo for some teenage girl who
didn t look old enough to get ink in the first place.
I m busy, Austin. You re not an idiot, though evidence at the moment points to the contrary. Fix
it yourself. I can t help it if you have ape hands.
Austin flipped her off then took a sip of his Coke, wishing he had something stronger considering
he hated paperwork. I was fine with the old keyboard and the PC, Maya. You re the one who wanted
to go with the Mac because it looked pretty.
Fuck you, Austin. I wanted a Mac because I like the software.
Austin snorted while trying to figure out how to find Rick s file. He was pretty sure it was a lost
cause at this point. You hate the software as much as I do. You hit the damn red X and close out files
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]