Captured In Ink (Art of Love Series)

by McDonald, Donna

  “And I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud,” Will began, “but I’m missing your piercings. You look strange now.”

  “Luke advised me to lose them, but I kept the important one,” Shane said, sticking out his tongue for his father to see.

  Will sighed and shook his head. “I knew better than to mention them, but I did it anyway.”

  Michael was snickering from his seat. “When you’re my age, maybe you won’t need toys to improve your performance, bro. Want some pointers about how to please a wife on a regular basis?”

  Shane gave his brother an evil look. “Really? Well, you won’t know what I know until you test drive one of these with a woman. If you ever get the guts to get one, I’ll draw you a picture of what you can do with it.”

  “Boys,” Will said sternly, his face filling with an embarrassed flush. “We’re in public. Shut the hell up.”

  Shane and Michael both burst out laughing.

  Will rolled his eyes and walked away. “I’m done here. Shane needs shoes for those suits. Meet me at the shoe store when you both decide to act your ages.”

  After his father left, Shane gave his brother a dirty look. “You are a master of embarrassing Dad, and of harassing me into being a part of it.”

  “I wasn’t the one bragging and showing Dad my tongue stud—again,” Michael said, grinning.

  “This is still your fault,” Shane said firmly, walking off even though he was laughing. “You made me break my own rule about not bragging about the details of my sex life, even if it was just to you and Dad.”

  Michael smiled at his brother’s retreating back. Slouching back down, he leaned his head back in his chair again, thinking about how much life had changed for the men in his family over the last six months.

  “Evidently Reesa Callahan is so great you can’t hold it in,” Michael said aloud, even though Shane probably couldn’t hear him from inside the dressing room.

  Chapter 21

  “So what are you telling the kids?” Jillian asked.

  “As much of the truth as I can,” Reesa said quietly. “I told them Shane had to go out of town to defend his dissertation and that he’s really busy.”

  She and Jillian were in the bedroom folding the typical mountain of laundry four kids created. They had it spread out on the giant bed because it was the largest surface in the house.

  Jillian looked at Reesa’s sadness and wanted to choke Shane Larson. Two weeks ago the woman was glowing. Now she looked like hell. “You said he called last week?” she prompted.

  “Just the one time last Friday and just for five minutes to let me know his dissertation defense had gone well. He didn’t come by all weekend, so I thought maybe he wasn’t back yet. When he didn’t show up Monday morning, I knew—oh, never mind. I really shouldn’t be thinking of this right now,” Reesa said flatly. “It’s probably my fault because I told him I couldn’t talk about us until the court case was over.”

  “You don’t seriously believe the man is still mad at you for not taking the money he offered?” Jillian asked.

  Reesa nodded. “That’s the only explanation that makes any sense. I guess I’ll know for sure after tomorrow.”

  “Are you nervous about the hearing?” Jillian asked. “I already know Mom and Dad aren’t going to be here. I heard them tell their attorney over the phone to just get it done and over. That should work in your favor if it makes the judge as mad as you think it will.”

  “Yes. I just hope coming up with part of the money is going show the judge I’m willing to do anything for the kids,” Reesa said. “I took both jobs. It still wasn’t even half of what I needed.”

  “I have another ten thousand you can have, honey,” Jillian told her.

  Reesa shook her head. “No. You can use some of it to help with clothes and stuff. Plus, if Zack and Chelsea end up with your parents, you might need it for other things.”

  “Girlfriend, even if it goes down like that, Zack and Chelsea are going to be so miserable without the rest of you that even my self-absorbed parents are going see they were wrong,” Jillian said fiercely, hoping like hell it was true.

  “It might not be just the money. Shane kept asking me to marry him,” Reesa said, sniffing.

  “Let me guess, you kept saying no? Why? Shane Larson is a damn sight better than Brentwood Addison and you said yes to him. Now instead of letting Shane help, you’re back in Brentwood’s pocket again financially. The man is a weasel,” Jillian said firmly.

  “I do trust Shane a lot more than I ever did Brent,” Reesa said. “But we barely know each other out of bed, Jillian. I admit I’m falling in love with the man, but he’s just—rushing me.”

  “I hear you,” Jillian said, carefully. “But I think maybe you’re afraid too.”

  “Afraid of being married? I don’t think I am,” Reesa said, surprised, thinking about it as she sorted the folded laundry out by owner.

  “No, honey,” Jillian said softly. “I don’t think you’re afraid of marrying Shane Larson. I think you’re afraid of loving him, and then maybe losing him. You’ve already lost most of two families. I doubt your poor heart could take losing that big shaggy tattoo guy.”

  Reesa stopped what she was doing and swallowed. Jillian had always seen straight into her. She was the first person outside of April and her parents that Reesa had ever told the truth of how she felt about losing her first family. The only other person she ever told was Shane, and that was in the middle of an argument.

  “I don’t know how not to be afraid,” Reesa said softly. “I tried to tell Shane about my concerns. Maybe he’s too young to understand.”

  “I don’t think it has a damn thing to do with his age,” Jillian said harshly. “He’s just one of those guys who’s like a steamroller when he’s made up his mind about fixing something and doing it his way. You have to put a big rock in front the machine to slow it down when it gets that bad. You know my brother Jackson was the same way with April. She so did not want to marry a player like him and, girl, he was bad with the ladies. But I got to admit my brother shed those other girls hanging around him like they were nothing. He might only have been twenty when he met your sister, but he loved her hard.”

  Reesa sniffled, but laughed at the idea of Jackson being like Shane. “I think not taking the money Shane offered me was a giant boulder to his machine, not just a big rock.”

  “Maybe,” Jillian agreed, relieved to see the beginnings of a smile on Reesa’s face. “And maybe you need to head over to his place and find out for sure.”

  “I can’t go running to the man when he’s not even talking to me right now,” Reesa said. “Besides, it’s late and I couldn’t stay long anyway.”

  “Sure you can,” Jillian said easily. “I’m sleeping with Baby Girl tonight. Take my car and go get you some fun. I can’t stand seeing you all depressed like this. Damn, that’s why I took the district sales manager job at the company. I’m tired of leaving you alone to deal with all of this by yourself. I want to be here for you and the kids more, not just be the drop-in aunt.”

  “No matter where you are physically, I never feel alone knowing I have a friend like you,” Reesa said, walking to Jillian and letting the taller woman fold her into her beautiful arms as she hugged her waist.

  Jillian sniffled as she held her tiny friend. Being reminded of Reesa’s petite size also reminded her that the woman was way more vulnerable than she seemed. There was no one who could handle more crises at once, but damn, everyone cracked under the strain now and again. Reesa was way, way overdue for a meltdown, and Jillian could feel it coming.

  “Oh God, stop that sniffling right now, will you? You know I can’t stop once I get started,” Jillian protested. “Every sad thing in my life has to be cried out before I can quit.”

  Reesa pulled away and swiped at her eyes. “What if Shane isn’t home?”

  Jillian shrugged. “You’ve had a little drive and a few minutes to yourself.”

  Reesa nodd
ed and walked to the bathroom. “I guess you’re right.”

  Jillian swore at the closed door, more angry at her parents than she ever remembered being in her entire life.

  She looked at the picture of her brother and sister-in-law on the dresser. “I hope you two know that Reesa and I are trying like hell to keep it all together,” Jillian said to the couple in the picture. “If you sent Shane to Reesa, do you think you might send someone to help me out too?”

  Jillian sighed at the heaviness in her heart as she walked back to the living room.

  ***

  Everyone ended up in Zack’s room, sprawled on the bed and floor. They were trying to decide how bad the situation was going to be if Zack and Chelsea had to go live with their grandparents.

  “We won’t let it be a problem,” Zack said with more confidence than he felt. “Aunt Teresa said she would make sure we all got to see each other at least twice a week and every other weekend.”

  “Where’s Shaney? He said he was coming back,” Sara stated fiercely, finally saying what she’d been thinking about for the very long time he had been gone.

  “Shane has his own stuff to deal with right now,” Zack said softly. “He’ll be back, Sara.”

  “But what if he doesn’t come back?” she wailed.

  Sighing, Chelsea held out her arms for Sara to climb into her lap. “He will,” she said to her sister, making herself echo Zack’s confident tone, though she didn’t really feel as confident about it as he did. She figured Aunt Teresa and Shane had a fight because she’d caught Aunt Teresa sniffling several times over the weekend.

  “Of course he’ll be back,” Brian said, speaking up finally. “This is the dark moment of our story. Whatever is keeping Shane away won’t stop him from helping Aunt Teresa when the time comes for him to do it. That’s how every story works. Why am I the only one who sees this?”

  “You think Shane’s really like the comic book character he creates?” Zack asked, surprised at his brother’s faith in the man who had dropped completely out of their lives almost two weeks ago.

  “Yes. I do,” Brian said. “I have a feeling about it. I don’t see why I can’t come to court with you two tomorrow.”

  Zack shrugged. “I wish we could all be there, but the advocate said only me and Chelsea could go. We promise to tell you everything after—no matter how it turns out.”

  Brian nodded. “I’m not worried, dude. I just wish I could see it go down.”

  Zack fought not to roll his eyes at Brian’s dreaming of some grand save he thought Shane was going to make. Not that he blamed his brother for hating reality. Reality sucked. If it didn’t, he and Chelsea wouldn’t be skipping school to go to court tomorrow.

  And Aunt Teresa and his grandparents wouldn’t be fighting over them.

  And his parents wouldn’t have died in a stupid plane crash.

  Zack sighed and pulled his mind back to the room and his siblings. There was no sense dwelling on what couldn’t be changed about the past when you had enough to worry about in the present.

  “Whatever happens, we’re in this together. Nothing and no one is going to change that about us as a family,” he said, his tone adamant. “I won’t let anything change it.”

  “That’s because you’re a hero like Shane,” Brian said with a shrug.

  Zack was speechless for several moments, and then he grinned. “Was that an actual compliment, bro?”

  Brian shrugged. “Not really. It was more like my lame attempt to prop up your brave speech, dude.”

  Zack grabbed his pillow and proceeded to pound on his laughing brother while Sara squealed for them to stop.

  There was a knock on the bedroom door, and their Aunt Jillian opened it to stick her head inside.

  “Anybody dead or bleeding in here?” she asked. “I heard screaming.”

  “We’re all fine,” Chelsea said. “Zack and Brian are just pounding on each other.”

  “Okay. Well, no serious fighting. I sent your Aunt Teresa out for a drive to clear her mind. She’s trying to make herself brave enough for tomorrow,” she said.

  Jillian looked at Zack and Chelsea. “How are you two doing? I’m going to be there, and your grandparents probably won’t. So it’s all good.”

  They all nodded, feeling better that their other aunt was around. She wasn’t as nice as Aunt Teresa. When she was mad, everyone knew it, but maybe that would be good tomorrow.

  “Okay. I’ll be in the living room watching TV. That model show is about to come on, and I love seeing those skinny girls crying when their clothes don’t look right. Makes me grateful I’m a full figured woman,” Jillian said, hearing the older two teenagers laugh as she closed the door and walked back down the hall.

  “Larson, you better be good to my friend or I’m going to kick your big blonde Viking-looking ass all the way back to Valhalla.”

  ***

  Brooke sat at Shane’s drafting table, flipping through the folder full of pictures. They were all of the mysterious Teresa Callahan whom she hadn’t met yet, but felt like she practically knew after seeing over fifty drawings of her. She could see why Carrie wanted to use some of them for a collage in the gallery. Shane was very talented.

  “You know, Dr Larson, some of these really should go into your private collection instead of on display,” Brooke said, brandishing the one of the woman in mid-orgasm. “This is practically porn. That’s a whole different kind of graphic novel for you, isn’t it?”

  Shane laughed and walked over to snatch the drawing out of Brooke’s hand. “It’s art and meant to evoke strong feelings. Have you ever held one of your mother’s glass vaginas in your hands? All of us have. Not to mention that bust Dad made of Jessica which is about the most sensual piece I’ve ever seen. We can have a great philosophical debate about art versus porn, Dr. Daniels.”

  Brooke laughed at his slam. “Okay. I get your point. Human nature. You drew what you saw, and I feel what I feel when I interpret it. Chalk it up to envy that your girlfriend has someone to do that for her and I don’t.”

  Shane laughed even as he paced restlessly around the room studying the picture and missing Reesa more than he ever thought it possible to miss someone. He sighed as the doorbell rang.

  “Damn it. I told Michael I’d send the pictures to Carrie by you. My brother has no patience at all,” Shane said, pulling open the door to find Reesa.

  “Hi, Dr. Larson,” she said, nervously looking up at him. “I need some therapy.”

  “Reesa,” Shane said softly, welcome in his tone as the very sight of her flooded his body with relief. He was suddenly sure that he shouldn’t have stayed away from her this week, but he hadn’t trusted himself not to start another argument.

  Reesa held out her arms and Shane bent to hoist her up, hugging her just as tightly as she hugged him. He took two steps backwards and kicked the door closed with his foot.

  His arms were bands of steel around her and his body as solid as one of his father’s statues. He could have held her forever.

  Reesa lifted her head to kiss Shane, but froze at the sight of the tall redhead staring at her with twinkling and very interested eyes.

  “Put me down,” Reesa ordered stiffly. “You should have said you had company.”

  Still dazed to see her, Shane was confused by Reesa’s furious glare, but didn’t loosen his hold. Instead, he tightened it. “What are you talking about?”

  Across the room, Brooke laughed at her sudden invisibility to her future step-brother. She closed the folder and walked over to pluck the orgasm drawing now dangling from Shane’s fingers as he clutched the real life version of his model instead.

  “I’m Shane’s step-sister, or at least I will be soon,” Brooke said to Reesa. “Not worth glaring over, I promise.”

  “Reesa, this is Brooke, who is leaving. You can talk to her some other time,” Shane said, watching the fury seep away little by little, trying not to think about how hot it was that Reesa was jealous of Brooke. He was dumb guy en
ough to enjoy it, not that he’d admit it to her. He was smarter than that.

  Reesa leaned out and smacked Shane hard in the shoulder. “Put me down, Shane. You’re embarrassing me.”

  “Sorry no—missed you too much,” he said. “Bye, Brooke. Tell Carrie I want final say on her selection.”

  Brooke smacked Shane on the back of his head with the folder. She was feeling both sorry for and envious of the tiny woman Shane wasn’t letting go of at all, not even to say good-bye.

  “See you two later. Nice to meet you at last, Reesa,” Brook said. “He talks about you all the time.”

  Brooke closed the door behind her, and Shane reached out to click the lock into place. “Hi—we’re finally alone,” he said. “Where were we?”

  Reesa searched his eyes and his face. She wanted to chastise him for embarrassing her, but instead ended up studying all the changes he’d made. “You’re not wearing your piercings.”

  “That’s right,” Shane told her. “But I kept the important one.”

  He stuck out his tongue, gratified when Reesa sighed and relaxed against him again. Happy with her reaction, Shane walked to his bedroom with Reesa in his arms. When he sat on the bed with her, Reesa grabbed two handfuls of his hair.

  “You cut your hair too,” she noted, not liking how disappointed she sounded about the fact.

  “Just a trim,” Shane told her. “Trying to look presentable like I promised.”

  Reesa snorted. “There’s still no style in it, but I’m glad you didn’t cut it off really short.”

  “Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. Wait until you see the clothes I bought,” Shane told her. “I don’t look as good as you all dressed up, but I think even Jillian would approve.”

  “Shane, you don’t have to change for me. I just didn’t like the beard,” Reesa protested.

  “I know, baby. I’m shaving every day now. No more beards. Now enough fashion talk—are you worried about tomorrow?” he asked, knowing without a doubt that fear of it had brought her to him.