by Anna Martin
“You wanted Hazel?”
“Yeah. It was my grandmother’s name. Damn, I loved that woman.”
“It’s a pretty name.”
Tyler hummed. “I have loads of nicknames for Juniper now, so I don’t mind as much.”
“You know she asked me to call her June?”
“No? That’s sweet.”
“Yeah. I told her she didn’t have to call me Mr. Max anymore.”
“That’s a thing in our family,” Tyler said. “My mom instilled those manners into us. I guess it was just instinctive for me to do the same with June.”
Max was silent for a few more minutes, and then he leaned back, wiping at Tyler’s skin.
“That’s the outline done.”
“That was quick.”
Max nodded. “The shading and color takes more time. Do you need a break?”
“I’m fine.”
“Water?”
“No. It’ll just make me need to piss.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Max laughed.
Tyler surprised himself with how much he was able to relax as Max worked, talking to Max about his work and what had changed in Sweetwater in the years since Max left.
“Almost done,” Max murmured.
“Okay. Do you think I’ll be able to show it off at the cookout?”
“When is that again?”
“Two weekends from now.”
Max nodded. “You should be through the other side of the scabby/flaky period by then. You need to make sure you don’t get sunburned on that area, though. If you’re going to take your shirt off, you need to put sunblock on it. Not sunscreen, full sunblock.”
“That’s okay. You’re coming, right?”
“Yeah. Shaun was berating me about it. My mom and John are coming too.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“Do I need to bring anything? You said before it’s potluck.”
“Anything,” Tyler said. “We always have so much food anyway, it really doesn’t matter.”
“I’m totally going to bring a cooler full of Popsicles.”
“You know what, you’ll probably be the most popular person there if you do that.”
“Sold,” Max said. “I just want to put some highlights on this thing, then we’re done.”
“Can I see?”
“Not yet,” Max said, pushing him back down. “It’s not finished.”
His skin was starting to feel like it was sunburned now, hot and itchy and gently throbbing with pain. The whole process hadn’t been nearly as painful as he’d expected.
Only a few minutes later, Max wiped off his skin for the last time and sat back.
“Here,” he said, passing Tyler a small hand mirror so he could look.
“Oh, wow,” Tyler said.
Max had taken his idea and transformed it into something far bigger and better than Tyler could ever have imagined. The addition of Juniper’s name in loopy script just tied it all together, and he loved the muted, natural tones of the juniper berries and leaves.
“It’s perfect,” he said.
Max beamed. “Good.”
He covered the tattoo in ointment, wrapped it, and gave Tyler strict instructions on how to care for the tattoo over the coming days and weeks.
“Stop poking it,” Max said. “And make sure you wash your hands thoroughly if you’re going to touch it. It’s an open wound. Are you listening to me, Tyler?”
“Open wound,” he echoed. “I’m listening.”
He leaned in and kissed Max, softly at first, then grabbing his shoulders to do it properly. Max went with it easily, opening his mouth when Tyler’s tongue curled at the seam of his lips.
Max kissed Tyler’s cheek softly when they pulled away, and rubbed his hands all the way up, then back down Tyler’s arms.
“You can put your shirt back on now, Deputy Reed,” he said with a wink. “I’m going to open the door again.”
“I can’t wait to show June tonight.” He grabbed his shirt from where he’d tossed it earlier and carefully pulled it back on, wincing when his skin stretched. “She’s going to love it. Especially since you’re the one who did it.”
“Tell her to come see me in… twelve years?”
“You’re not tattooing my daughter,” Tyler said with a laugh.
“Spoilsport.”
“What do I owe you?”
Max shook his head. “I can’t take anything from you,” he said. “It’s a gift.”
“Max.”
“No. I never do this. You and my mom are the only people I haven’t charged for their tattoos. It doesn’t feel right.”
“Thank you.”
“I’d say anytime, but I’m going to make you pay for the next one.”
Tyler laughed and leaned in to kiss him again. “Let me take you out for dinner.”
“If you bring June, it’s a date.”
Tyler felt his heart clench. He definitely didn’t deserve this—a wonderful man who was willing to put up with all of Tyler’s baggage and didn’t just accept his daughter, he clearly adored her.
“I’m sure we can make that happen. What time do you close on Friday?”
Max went over to his exceptionally ugly desk and pulled up his calendar on his laptop.
“My last appointment is at four thirty, so I can be done by six at the latest.”
“That should be fine. Can I bring Juniper in here?”
“Not while I’m working,” Max said. “If I’ve closed to the public, it’s okay, though.”
“Okay. She’s going to want to come visit you at some point, so that might be a good opportunity.”
“That works for me.”
Tyler wanted to hang out all day and give Max lots more thank-you kisses, but he really did have chores to do at home.
“I’ll call you.”
“Make sure you do. And look after it!” he called after Tyler as he headed back to his car.
Max didn’t have to worry about that. The tattoo was amazing, and Tyler was going to make sure it stayed that way.
Juniper was overjoyed with the tattoo and very impressed to learn that Max had been the one to do it. She was excited to go out for dinner on Friday night too and insisted on dressing up.
She had a few party dresses and plenty more outfits that she seemed to accumulate every time Josh and Toby or Tyler’s mom took her out shopping.
“That’s your Christmas dress. You can’t wear that,” Tyler said as she pulled a red, sequined dress out of her closet.
“But it’s pretty, Daddy.”
“I know. But it’s almost summer, sweetheart. You can’t wear a Christmas dress, you’ll be too hot.”
She huffed and tossed the dress onto the bed.
“What about that purple one? With the daisies on it. You can wear that nice white sweater with it—the one Grandma bought you.”
June planted her hands on her hips and considered her options for a moment. “Okay,” she said eventually. “Will you do my hair for me please?”
“Of course.”
“And paint my nails?”
“We don’t have time to paint your nails if we’re going to get to Max in time. You don’t want to be late, do you?”
“I want to look pretty for Max.”
“You will. You always look pretty.”
She grinned at that.
Tyler managed to wrangle her into the dress, matching shoes, and the delicate white sweater with the minimum of huffing. That left him with about four minutes to get changed himself. He grabbed a pair of black jeans and a light gray button-down shirt, splashed on a little cologne, and fiddled with his hair.
“It’s not a date. It’s not a date,” he murmured to himself as he frowned at his reflection. “You’re taking June. It’s not a date.”
He was damned nervous, considering it wasn’t a date.
They pulled up to Sweetwater Ink at three minutes after six. The sign on the door said Closed, but when Tyler pushed the door, it wa
s open.
Juniper stuck to Tyler’s leg like glue when they walked in. She wasn’t always comfortable in unfamiliar places.
“Hi, Tyler. Hi, June.”
“Hi, Mr.—hi, Max.”
“You look lovely, June.”
She beamed at him. “Thank you. Is this where you did Daddy’s tattoo?”
“Yep. You want me to show you around?”
She nodded and went easily when Max led her by the hand.
It looked like Max had made an effort for their group not-date too. He was wearing dark blue jeans with a white shirt, open at the collar to reveal his tattoos just peeking out from under the fabric. It looked like he’d gotten his hair cut as well; it was buzzed shorter at the sides and carefully styled on top.
Tyler leaned against Max’s desk, watching Max show June each of his paintings and telling her about the history behind them. For a long time, Tyler had justified not dating anyone by saying he’d only date if the person got along well with June. Now it felt like he didn’t have an excuse anymore. Max was amazing, he was super hot, and he got along with June like a house on fire.
“Daddy, can I have a tattoo?” June called over.
“Not until you’re eighteen,” he said. “And maybe not even then.”
“I can only do tattoos on adults,” Max explained.
“That’s not fair.”
“Tell you what, next time I see you, I’ll bring my pens. We can do some tattoos on you that will wash off after.”
“Promise?” Tyler asked in a low voice.
Max laughed and winked at him over the top of June’s head. Tyler’s stomach pitched. He was definitely developing a thing for the way Max’s eyes sparkled with laughter.
“Come on, June Bug,” Max said. “Where are we going for dinner?”
She looked over at Tyler. “Daddy, where are we going for dinner?”
“Where do you want to go?”
Her eyes widened, and he realized his mistake a moment too late.
“Can I take you to my favorite place?” Max said, interrupting Juniper right before she could scream “McDonald’s” at the top of her lungs.
“Where’s that?”
“Do you trust me?” he asked her.
It took June a moment to respond. “Okay.”
Tyler got June buckled into her booster seat while Max locked up the studio.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he drove them up toward Main Street.
“You know the diner downtown? Next to the arcade?”
“Really?”
“Really. I went there with Shaun the other week, and it was so good. Even better than I remembered.”
“We get takeout from there at the station sometimes. I haven’t actually been inside in ages, though.”
“Is that okay? We can go somewhere else if you want.”
“No, that works,” Tyler said. “I’m sure we can all find something to eat that we like there.”
It was Friday night, so the diner was busy with families, though Tyler was sure it would get busier as the night went on. Even though they were early, they still had to wait for a booth to be available. Max was good at entertaining June, telling her about the escapades he used to get up to here with Juniper’s uncle Shaun. Tyler was grateful for June being with them. He was still a little nervous about being outed—not that he was ashamed. He just wanted to control that narrative himself, rather than falling victim to speculation and gossip.
“So, what’s good here?” Tyler asked as he got June settled with coloring pencils and a printout.
“Me and Shaun always get burgers and sweet potato fries. It’s tradition. But we don’t have a tradition yet, so I don’t have to get that. Apparently the fried chicken is good.”
“I like fried chicken,” Tyler said.
“It comes with mashed potatoes and really good green beans or waffles. You get to pick. Oh, and we need to save room for dessert.”
At the magic word, June perked up. “We can get dessert?”
“Definitely,” Max told her.
Tyler hid his smile in his menu.
As promised, the fried chicken was amazing. Tyler hadn’t ever considered that dating with his daughter would be this easy. Max shared bites of his food, stole fries from June’s plate, and managed to hold a conversation that included them both.
“Well, I definitely think we should come back here. What do you think, June Bug?” Tyler asked.
She nodded. “Next weekend, for sure.”
He hadn’t quite meant it like that.
“I refuse to apologize,” Max said, folding his arms over his chest. “In fact, I’m disappointed in you for not coming here every weekend anyway.”
“We don’t eat out all that often,” Tyler admitted. Only in the past six months or so had he felt comfortable taking June to places like this. Most of the time she was well-behaved, but McDonald’s and Taco Bell were far less risky options than the nicer restaurants in town. It was less of an issue if your kid threw a fit and tossed their juice on the floor in McDonald’s.
For dessert, June ordered a strawberry shortcake, Max wanted a slice of chocolate peanut butter pie, and Tyler said he’d eat whatever was left over when the two of them were done. He didn’t have the biggest sweet tooth anyway. It was worth it, to watch June as she attempted to dig into the enormous pile of ice cream and fresh strawberries, which had been her favorite dessert since Max brought it over.
He snapped a few pictures of her on his phone to send to his mom. Not that she would approve of him feeding June sweets, but the look of determination on his daughter’s face made his mom’s disapproval totally worth it.
June fell asleep in the car on the way home.
“Wow, she conked out,” Max said softly, looking over his shoulder, where June was slumped over in her car seat.
“She does that. She’s all go go go, then crashes.”
Tyler pulled up outside Sweetwater Ink and got out of the car so they could talk without disturbing June.
“You’re still coming to the cookout, right?”
“Yeah. Of course.” Max leaned back against the car and curled his fingers into Tyler’s belt loops. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too. I’m not… I think…” Tyler squirmed. He carefully stepped back, and Max dropped his hands from Tyler’s waist.
“I’m not going to out you,” Max said gently.
“I don’t want you to think I’m ashamed of you. Of this.”
“We get to do things in our own time, okay? There’s no rush.”
“You’re a really great guy.”
Max laughed. “Nah, I’m not really. I’ll speak to you soon, okay?”
Max gave him another chaste kiss on the cheek, very different from the kisses they’d shared at the end of their last date. Tyler couldn’t help but think this one had been just as world-shattering, though. He’d only really ever dreamed about being able to include June in his romantic relationships. Mostly Tyler had assumed he’d leave dating again until she was much older.
He got back into the car and waved to Max as he pulled away.
When he and June got home, Tyler carried her up the stairs and helped her change into her pajamas, then lay down in bed beside her for a while. She was already asleep again, but he wanted to be with her for a little longer.
Chapter 13
The morning of the Reed family cookout dawned with the sun working hard to burn off the mist from the mountains. Max had worked late the night before, keeping the studio open when a group of people came in, all wanting to be tattooed.
Unexpected walk-ins late in the afternoon was always Max’s worst nightmare, but the group turned out to be pretty awesome. They were from Richmond and had heard about the grand opening party at Sweetwater Ink from the Instagram stories of one of the tattoo bloggers who’d attended. The four girls and three guys all had dozens of tattoos each and seemed to be on more of a fact-finding mission than a well-thought-through plan to get tattooed.
He’d played with little gap-filler tattoos—a black cat, a skull, a key, a bottle of poison. The designs themselves were fun, and the atmosphere in the studio had been buzzy. The group were respectful and attentive, even if they had ordered pizza to be delivered halfway through the evening. Max hoped he’d sent them back to Richmond with a good impression of his studio. They were definitely people who would influence future customers.
He stretched on the bed, rolling over to tug his curtains open. Yep, today was going to be a scorcher. When he was younger, Max had loved summer days like this. He’d hang out at the lake on the ranch’s property with Shaun and their little gaggle of friends. Summer in the city was never the same, and he relished the opportunity to lie out and enjoy the sun.
Shaun was driving back this morning and said he’d pick Max up on the way over to his parents’ house. That gave Max a couple of hours to run his chores and still have time to make himself look pretty for the party.
He hadn’t managed to catch up with Mr. and Mrs. Reed since he’d been back, and he was excited to see them. When he was growing up, he’d spent as much time at Shaun’s house as he had at his own. At graduation, Mrs. Reed joked with Max’s mom that they took joint responsibility in raising their sons.
It was a little after eight thirty when Max finally rolled into the shower.
He could admit to himself that he was nervous about the cookout. Shaun was his best friend, practically his brother, and Max still hadn’t told him what was going on between himself and Shaun’s older brother. They had never kept secrets from each other as kids and he hated the idea of doing it now.
Tyler had slipped into being comfortable with their relationship easier than Max could ever have anticipated, though Max was still waiting for the shit to hit the fan. He didn’t like the idea that Tyler was basing his big gay crisis on his attraction to Max. He’d been in a similar position before, with someone who’d used Max to explore their own sexuality, and it had sucked.
Max had to remind himself that this wasn’t college, and Tyler wasn’t the sort of guy who would treat him like that.
He headed out with a bug in his ass about the whole thing. He hit the button to lower the windows in his truck all the way down as he drove to the big Walmart on the edge of town. Most of the time he got his groceries from the smaller family-owned grocery store in Sweetwater, but this exercise meant pulling out the big guns.