Inked Obsession (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,19
go to sleep.
I didn’t know how to tell him that my back ached because of the shelving unit. I didn’t know how to tell anybody. Lee only knew because he had been friends with the man we’d lost. And he had been the one to sign me out of the hospital. I couldn’t tell anyone else because I didn’t want the pitying looks, and I didn’t know how to say that I had been so scared, I hadn’t even been able to save my friend.
I didn’t say anything. I just shrugged and gave my brother a smile that I knew was probably fake enough that my twin could see right through it. After all, he had the same face I did.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying to me, but that’s okay. I get it. I don’t mean to be nosy. I’m here if you need me. And so is Brenna. Talk to her.”
I cringed. “Go to work,” I growled.
“Will do. We don’t have to be as touchy-feely as some of us may want,” he said with a shake of his head, and then he headed out to his project site. I sighed, picked up my things, and headed over to the house where Clay had gone.
This wasn’t the main project we were working on, but a smaller side one. Montgomery Builders constantly had more than one thing going since each of us had priorities. Paige put us all together, and I was grateful that she was so good at organizing everything.
As I pulled into the site, my phone rang. I looked down at the readout. My dad’s number flashed on the screen, and I held back a curse. Well, hell. This’d better be him just saying hi, and not double-checking my work like he had been doing for most of my career. I turned off the car and answered the phone so I didn’t have to deal with Bluetooth.
“Hey, Dad. What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m not calling about work,” he said quickly, and I cursed again under my breath. We were both so touchy about that, but we were learning what we needed to do to get our relationship back on track.
It had been a year, and we were doing better. Still, I knew my dad felt like shit for how he’d treated us, and I didn’t know how to make things better. It didn’t help that I was keeping secrets, and I knew that weighed on me just as much as other things weighed on him.
I cleared my throat. “How are you doing?” I asked, trying to remain casual.
“Your mom’s birthday’s coming up,” he said quickly. “I wanted to make sure you remembered.”
“Sure did,” I said, cringing.
My dad let out a rough chuckle. It reminded me of my childhood when things had been a lot better—or at least easier.
“Well, I’m calling each of you to ask you to come over for dinner on her birthday. It’s a Saturday night, and I know you guys have your own lives, but I’d like to do a big dinner. I’ll be cooking.”
I blinked. “You?”
“I can cook.” I nearly laughed at the sound of his voice. Honestly, he sounded like me when it came to cooking.
“I know you can. Mom usually takes over the kitchen, as does Benjamin for that matter.”
I could practically hear the smile in my dad’s tone. “Who do you think taught Benjamin how to cook? Don’t worry. I’m going to make something nice, and I’d like you guys to come for a family dinner. Bring a date if you’d like.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“What? You don’t want a first date with a woman to be where you bring them over for a special occasion?” my dad asked with a laugh. “Fine, I know three of you will bring dates, and you and Benjamin can just bring yourselves.”
“Ouch.”
“What can I say? Brenna, Eliza, and Lee are invited, as well. I would call them, but that would feel weird. Do you mind letting Brenna and Lee know? I’ll have Annabelle ask Eliza.”
“I can do that,” I said. “Actually, I’m headed to Eliza’s later today, I can ask her then.”
My dad went silent for a moment. “You’re heading to Eliza’s?” he asked softly.
I cleared my throat. “To help with building bookshelves or something.”
“Oh. Annabelle asked, then?”
“You know it. And you know my love of bookshelves.”
Dad snorted. “Well, you’re not as bad as your cousin at putting them up.”
“Wes is never going to live that down, is he?” I asked with a laugh.