Restless Ink: A Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs Novel

by Ryan, Carrie Ann

  “It’s always the little things…” Thea whispered.

  “Conveniently forgetting and remembering a deadly allergy isn’t a little thing.”

  Thea pressed her lips together, her head pounding. “You’re right. But I don’t like what it all means. Or at least what it could mean.”

  Roxie looked at her for a moment, raising a single brow. “You know, something sounds fishy, and I’m not just talking about the shellfish.”

  Thea groaned. “Really? That’s the joke you’re going for when I’m having a crisis of friendship or faith or love or all three at once?”

  “I can’t help it. Your so-called friend sounds a little…shellfish to me.”

  Roxie grinned, and Thea put her head in her hands, realizing too late that she was smearing dough all over her skin.

  “Crap.” She went to wash her hands and face, then went back to finishing up her dough so it could rest overnight and not ruin the whole batch.

  Thea looked over her shoulder as Roxie laughed. “You need to stop with the fish jokes. This is serious.”

  “I know. Sorry. I guess I’m just coming out of my shell.” They both laughed, tears threatening to stream down Thea’s face as she finished up the dough and set it in the fridge to rest overnight. Brioche was tricky, but she knew what she was doing, even with some unexpected resting in the middle of her prep.

  “You’re a dork, but I love you.” Thea rewashed her hands and cleaned up after herself, gesturing for Roxie to meet her up at the corner table in the front area of the bakery where they could talk. She’d been keeping up with the goings-on up front while she stressed out and worked her hands sore doing prep. Her two staff members were working hard, as well, but the place hadn’t been busy for the past hour or so, which was okay since it was the normal lull. Moments where they could catch up for the next rush were needed—expansion or not.

  Thea checked in with her staff then went back to the table where she and Roxie wouldn’t be overheard, bringing two cups of tea with her.

  “Thanks,” Roxie said, taking the mug from Thea and blowing across the top. “I love Abby’s teas. I mean, I love your coffees and cakes, too. But tea sounds perfect right now.”

  “I know. I’ll always be grateful that she moved into the building because our partnership works perfectly.” She let out a sigh and sipped a bit since it was still too hot to gulp like she wanted to. “I’m so confused, Roxie.”

  “I bet. There’s something off with that woman, Thea. I know you don’t want to hear it, but from the outside looking in, it’s like she’s trying too hard to make you and Dimitri happen so she can watch you fall apart. Or maybe she’s not that smart and is trying to be okay with you and Dimitri being a thing, but also realizes that she’s not the center of attention anymore. I don’t know.”

  “I don’t know either. That’s the problem. There are a hundred different possibilities for why she’s doing what she’s doing. When I really look at everything that’s happened. But those answers running around in my head all say that something is off, and I have a lot of thinking to do.”

  Roxie reached out and gripped Thea’s hand. “What about Dimitri? I know he’s not far from your thoughts when it comes to what Molly’s trying to do. What are your plans when it comes to him? Are you going to tell him what you think could be happening with her?”

  “I think I need to.” She sipped again. This time, the tea had cooled enough that she could taste more of the peppermint she loved. “Damn it,” she whispered into her mug. “How did this get so complicated? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It does if you’re a spoiled brat who pushes at people when you don’t get what you want.”

  Thea winced. “Every word you just said is true in retrospect, but she’s always been so nice to me. We’ve been friends for years, have supported one another, have held one another when things got hard. We might not have similar friends other than Dimitri, but I thought we had more than what she’s reducing this to.” If that’s what Molly was doing. Maybe Thea was overthinking everything because she hadn’t been able to sleep. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she thought.

  “People grow out of each other. Sometimes, you can’t help it.”

  The way her sister said those words, she had a feeling Roxie was talking about more than Molly, but Thea didn’t pry. Not when she was trying to deal with her own messes.

  “I just need to think some more about what’s really going on with Molly and what’s true versus what my brain thinks is happening because I’m confused. As for Dimitri?”

  She let out a breath, unable to voice the words.

  “As for Dimitri?”

  “I love him.” She whispered the words, a little startled she’d said them at all.

  “I know you do.” Roxie’s words jolted her.

  “How could you know when I haven’t been able to think the words?”

  “Because I see the way you look at him. And the fact that this whole thing with Molly is making you think about you and Dimitri—together and separately… You’re not sad that you might not have Molly in your life. You’re worried about the choices you made to be her friend and the choices you’re going to have to make to keep Dimitri in your life.”

  Thea’s brows lifted. “That’s very insightful for someone who used to get Backstreet Boys and NSync mixed up.”

  Roxie narrowed her eyes. “It was only the backup ones. I knew Brian and Lance. They were the only two that mattered.”

  “Sure, honey.” That made both of them laugh, and Thea unwound just a little and finished her tea with her sister, relaxing just a bit more when she hadn’t thought she would be able to.

  Roxie hugged her hard before she left, kissing her on the cheek. “Talk to him, Thea. He’s yours. You know? Don’t run away because you’re scared of what could happen with Molly. She’s…well, something is wrong with her. You know?”

  “I do.” And that was the problem, wasn’t it?

  “Thea? There’s a delivery here, but I think it’s wrong.”

  Thea looked over at Lucy, her staff member, and frowned, glancing at her phone. It seemed they were early, or she would have been back there to take care of it. “I’ll go check it, but why do you think it’s wrong?”

  “It looks like a different brand or something. I don’t know, but I figured you should be the one to take care of it.”

  “Thanks, Lucy. I’ll head back.”

  “No problem, Thea. Hey, Roxie.”

  “Hey, Lucy,” her sister said with a smile. The Montgomerys were a fixture at their businesses, and everyone knew each other decently.

  “I’m going to go deal with this guy,” Thea said, frowning.

  “I’ll go with you,” Roxie said. “You know how they try to intimidate the little lady sometimes. Having two of us might help.”

  As Thea understood, she nodded before heading to the back where the delivery man was trying to unload cases of flour. The wrong flour. The far more expensive flour that was out of her budget and not needed for her particular recipes.

  “Hi, I’m Thea Montgomery, and I own Colorado Icing. Where’s Wyatt, my usual delivery man?”

  “Out sick. I’m here with your order. Your girl who came out here earlier wouldn’t sign for it, and I don’t have all day. I’m running behind thanks to Wyatt’s lazy ass.”

  What a charmer.

  “Let me see the invoices because, unfortunately, your day just got longer. This isn’t the flour we ordered. The flour we always order.”

  “Don’t know what you usually order. Don’t care. I have what I have, and you’re the one that ordered it.”

  Thea let out a breath, trying not to get too angry. Roxie tapped her foot next to her but remained silent. They were better when they worked as a team and only one of them spoke. That way, the man figured Thea wasn’t weak or some other patronizing crap that she’d have to deal with.

  “Let me see the papers.”

  “Fine. Here.” He tossed the dirty clipboard
at her, and she frowned at the names listed. Yes, it was her bakery, yes, that was her name, but there was an astronomical delivery change fee as well as the flour she hadn’t ordered.

  “This isn’t right. This isn’t what I ordered. I don’t know how this happened, but this isn’t what I need or want.”

  “No, lady, you called and changed it. We had your info, and you authorized the higher price and the late-change charge. No idea what you're talking about it not being yours. Take it up with your boss.”

  “I am the boss.”

  “Then take it up with yourself. Sign the paperwork so I can unload.”

  Thea shook her head. “I can’t use this. I need my normal stuff. Take it back.”

  “You’ll be charged.”

  “Then I’ll take it up with your boss.” She was seething at this point, now confused for a whole new reason.

  “Whatever. Don’t give a shit.”

  “And we’ll be sure to mention your rudeness,” Roxie said from her side, holding up her phone. “I’m recording, so be nice.”

  He growled at Roxie before taking his clipboard back with deliberate movements and stomping back to his truck, the flour Thea didn’t need going with him.

  She shook her head as he drove off, and Roxie stopped recording. “Thanks for the backup. He was an asshole.”

  “Yup. And there’s something hinky about all of this. You know?”

  Thea nodded. “Hinky is a good word for it.”

  A word she’d used when it came to Molly, and now it seemed someone was out to hurt her shop. She thought about her paperwork for the expansion and Molly’s reference and couldn’t help but wonder if she’d made a mistake.

  She had no idea what she was going to do next when it came to anything right then. All she could do was wonder if it was all connected or if maybe she was losing her mind along with everything else.

  It didn’t make sense. Nothing did right then. And all she wanted to do was text Dimitri and tell him that she missed him.

  But first, she had to deal with the flour.

  Chapter 22

  Dimitri grinned as his sister rolled her eyes behind his brothers’ shoulders. They weren’t kids anymore, but damn if they didn’t act like it sometimes. Amelia was a decade younger than Dimitri, but still well past being an adult, and yet she hid behind Devin. Devin was two years younger than Dimitri and tried to shift out of the way so Amelia wouldn’t use him as a shield anymore, but their sister was fast and wouldn’t let Dimitri get to her. Caleb, younger than Devin but older than Amelia, stayed in place, his arms folded over his chest as the other two moved around, though their sister used him as a shield, as well.

  It wasn’t as if he were going to throw something at Amelia. He just planned to throw her onto the couch or something since she’d been annoying him. She’d always been one of the boys with them and rough-housed as well as the rest of them. She’d taken his phone earlier to try and text Thea, and since he and Thea were going through a rough patch—something the others didn’t know about—he didn’t want Amelia to text something that might upset Thea.

  Not that his sister would do that on purpose, but even texting kissing and heart emojis right then wasn’t a good idea. He and Thea had texted some over the weekend, and he planned to call her that night after he got home. He’d stayed up at Devin’s place for the long weekend since everyone had off except Thea that Monday, but he wanted to try and see her either later that night or the next day at the bakery. The holidays were fast approaching, and he wanted to make sure they spent them together rather than them sitting on the odd precipice they were currently on.

  “I wasn’t going to hit send,” Amelia said. “And you’re too old to pick me up without hurting your back anyway.” She went to her toes and hopped a bit to whisper over Devin’s shoulder. “You’re almost forty.”

  Devin grinned, his eyes dancing. “Yeah, old man. Shortcake here might be too much for you.”

  “I’m not that short,” Amelia growled. “You’re just obscenely large.”

  Devin was pretty big. While all three of the Carr brothers were over six feet tall, Devin was the widest muscle-wise, though Caleb wasn’t that far behind. Dimitri’s two younger brothers were big, built, and heavily inked—even more so than Dimitri. And all of the Denver Carrs went to Montgomery Ink, though they did because of reputation, not because Dimitri knew the Colorado Springs cousins. The latter was just a happy coincidence.

  “Hey? Why are you coming down on me?” Devin said, sidestepping completely so Amelia had to hide behind only Caleb. “I thought you were fighting with Dimitri. I’m the good brother.”

  That made both Dimitri and Caleb snort.

  “Really? The good brother?” Dimitri grinned as he said it.

  “Well, okay, fine. Dimitri is the good brother. I’m in the middle.” Devin glanced at Caleb, who shrugged.

  “I was never charged. So, technically, I’m not the bad brother either.” Since that was fact, Dimitri couldn’t argue, though Caleb had gotten in trouble for stupid stunts and underage drinking in the past.

  That had all changed though when they lost their parents. Not that Dimitri wanted to think about that. It had been a long time ago, and he’d gone through other things in his life that had made him who he was now. Like getting married too young to the wrong woman.

  The completely wrong woman now that he was getting to know a side of Molly that he was actually starting to fear.

  Amelia let out a dramatic sigh before putting both hands up in the air in mock surrender. “Before you boys get your tighty-whities in a twist because you’re too busy comparing who’s the badest of the bad boys or most beta or whatever, know that I’m the best and favorite Carr sibling. It was written, and therefore it is known.” She lifted her chin, her long, dark hair falling behind her shoulders as she tried to act high and mighty.

  That sent the three brothers into deep belly laughs, and Amelia rolled her eyes once again before coming toward Dimitri and wrapping her arms around his waist.

  “Sorry for taking your phone. If I had known something was going on between you and Thea to the point it’s making you nervous, I wouldn’t have teased you like that. I was just going to be a dork with her since I like her so much, but I didn’t mean to almost make things worse.”

  And that was his family in a nutshell. Each of them had been through their own ups and downs, some far more than others, but they were all there for each other no matter what. Yeah, they play-fought and sometimes really went at it, but they had each other’s backs.

  That’s why he was here with them even though he hadn’t been able to bring Captain thanks to Molly’s schedule. He’d needed his family, and with how careful everyone was being with their own personal lives and what they said about them, he had a feeling they needed him, too. Not that they’d told him what was going on. They would when the time came, but right then, they just needed each other.

  And now he needed a beer because that was way too much emotion in his thoughts.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. Not really. Thea and I…”

  Caleb wordlessly held out an open beer, and Dimitri took it, nodding in thanks. He took a swig, then sighed before he started speaking.

  “I love her. I didn’t mean to, and it sure as hell would have been easier to stay away when it came to her and all the other crap in our lives, but I fell in love with her, and I’m afraid she’s going to push me away because it’s not easy.”

  “She wouldn’t give up like that,” Amelia said softly. “Not that I know her all that well, but from what you’ve said about her over the past few years, she works hard and puts her all into everything she does.”

  “Business-wise maybe,” Devin added, then shrugged when Dimitri glared. “Not saying she’ll walk away. I don’t know her, Dimitri, but she does put everything she has into her business, and since we’re all wired that way, I can’t judge her for that. But if your ex is muddling everything up, then maybe walking away is what Thea needs
to do to keep sane. From what you said, Molly is acting fucking crazy, bro, and you know I don’t use that word lightly. If Thea needs to protect herself and her own sanity because of Molly, then you might have to let her.”

  Dimitri set down his beer and sank onto the couch, covering his face with his hands. “Jesus. I don’t know when and how this got so complicated.”

  “I’d say around the time you married the giggly socialite who hated your family.” Caleb gave Dimitri a pointed look but continued. “What?”

  “No, you’re right. Molly clearly isn’t the woman I thought she was. And that’s after I thought we’d both changed before the divorce.” The others were seated around him now. They had already gone over Molly’s weird actions over the past few months, including the shellfish and restaurant incidents. Each sibling had taken their turn with incredulous looks and outright pissed-off attitudes, and Dimitri didn’t blame them.

  “People change,” Amelia said softly. “Just because she’s this way now, doesn’t mean she was when you married her. I know you’re blaming yourself for choosing her, because…hello, in some cases, it totally does reflect on the other person for their choice, but that’s not the case this time. You chose someone you thought you loved. You were wrong. And I’m guessing Thea is feeling the same way.”

  “Add all of that to falling for her best friend’s ex, and she probably needs this break.” Devin just shrugged when they all looked at him for being so insightful. “What? I know things. And I’m not saying she needs a break from you forever, but you clearly needed Carr family time this weekend, and you got it. Hell, I’m pretty sure you made yourself at home in my guest room.”

  “It’s larger than my bedroom at home. I can’t help it.”

  “We’ll find you a new place,” Amelia said as she leaned into him. “And not up in Denver like I’ve been trying to get you to do for so long. Because you clearly need to be down in Colorado Springs near Thea.”

  “When you see Thea again, can we come, too?” Caleb asked, and Dimitri blinked.