Inked Persuasion (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #1) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,67

way to help her however I could.

So, here we were, meeting at the hospital because my mother loved both of us. I’d almost said those words to Annabelle casually over the phone just now. And I was fucking worried that she’d almost said the same to me. But that wasn’t what we wanted. Wasn’t what I wanted. Something needed to change.

I didn’t know how I was going to do it, not when change was the thing that inevitably crept up and smothered me these days.

Annabelle and I needed to talk, to get things situated. But first, I needed to hold my mom. And my dad. And I needed to remember why I was back in town.

Chapter 18

Jacob

I rubbed my temples and did my best not to scream in frustration. I didn’t push everything off my desk and pretend that it would make it all go away. I didn’t shout to the heavens and rage and confusion. Instead, I took a deep breath and searched my desk for water.

We had won the case yesterday, but I wasn’t sure about my next one. I was so pissed off about everything, and it wasn’t even about the defendant or the prosecution. No, it was about the fact that I couldn’t focus. And it wasn’t just one thing. It was a thousand of them.

“Jacob?” Seressia asked, walking into the room hesitantly. Seressia never walked hesitantly. But the fact she was, told me that I was likely scowling once again, something I didn’t do before we moved here. Now, she was afraid of me. Damn it.

“Yeah?” I snapped. Even after that deep breath, I was still snapping. Today was not a good day.

“I wanted to see if you were okay. It’s been a tough day, and with the internet down for those three hours, I know we’re all a little behind. Can I get you anything?”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “I’m fine. Just get back to work.”

“Okay, we can do that.” She paused as Dustin whispered over her shoulder, and I opened my eyes to glare at them both.

“What?”

“It’s your father. On line one. We’re transferring it back.”

I met Seressia’s gaze, then Dustin’s, and cursed.

After the incident at the emergency room, my entire family was on edge.

Annabelle and I had shown up separately to the emergency room, much to my parents’ confusion, but we had both stayed long into the early hours of the morning. Annabelle had been fantastic and had studiously ignored me the entire time—probably because I acted like a bear with a thorn in its paw. Exactly how I was acting right now.

“Thank you, I’ll answer it. When you guys are set with your to-do lists for the day, you can head home. I’m in a shitty mood, and I don’t want to take it out on you.”

“We’re not in the best moods either,” Seressia said. “Internet outages do that to a person. We’ll be here for the duration.”

I met Seressia’s gaze, and she just lifted her chin. I gave her a tight nod. “Understood.”

She left, and I let out another deep breath as I answered the phone. “Dad? What’s wrong?

“We just got back from your mother’s appointment. We have a better picture of what we’re dealing with. Can you come over later so we can talk about it?”

Ice filled my belly, and I swallowed hard. “Is there something I should know right now?”

“Your mother wants to see you. But we’re okay. As okay as we can be.” She paused. “Your mother’s still here, son. Remember that. She’s still here. And so am I. This isn’t easy, but it is our life, and this is what we do.”

Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, but I ignored them. “Okay. I’ll be there soon.”

“I thought you were working,” my dad said.

“Well, I’m the boss, and I’m coming home.”

Home. To the house that wasn’t mine but was filled with my family. My home.

I thought about the other home I had, the one next to Annabelle. Our situation, or whatever the hell we had, was getting too complicated.

“Okay, she’ll be glad to see you.”

“I love you, Dad,” I said quickly.

“I love you, too. And I’ll see you soon.”

He hung up, and I swallowed hard before looking down at everything at my desk. “Seressia, I’m heading to my parents’.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked, Dustin on her heels.

I met their gazes, not knowing what to feel or say. They didn’t know my family all that well, mostly because they hadn’t lived here long enough