Page 2 of Inked Temptation
I couldn’t help but laugh. Montgomery Inc., down in Denver, was our sister company. It was always funny to me that both sets of cousins opened up construction companies and contracting.
We worked in the Fort Collins and Boulder areas, and they worked down in Denver and Colorado Springs.
I liked what they did; they were terrific. And, after many years of my father hating them, it was nice that everyone was getting along again. We could hand over recommendations to anyone outside of our usual space.
“Are you moving in soon?” I asked.
“Next month. Most of our things are in storage now, but we stay here occasionally. But I do believe we have now spent our last night in this home.” She looked up at the place, slid her hand into her husband’s, and both of them leaned into each other, sighing.
I stood in silence, giving them some space. I didn’t want to encroach, but I liked the fact that I could at least be on the periphery of this, to see the love and family that came after time. I was good at that, living on the fringe. But, it wasn’t a place that I was entirely used to.
After a while, we said our goodbyes, and I went to my notes, looking through everything that I had to do.
I was the master plumber for Montgomery Builders. I had a full team that helped me with all of the plumbing for every new build or restoration that we did. We worked on neighborhoods, corporate buildings, and unique pieces. We didn’t do full restorations of cabins like this often, only when something special came along. And this one was special.
They wanted to restore it to its former glory, as well as adding a few modern touches, and it just so happened that every single thing that they wanted in it for the sale was exactly what I would have done.
I wanted this house, but it didn’t make much sense. I had a beautiful apartment that I loved in Fort Collins, over an hour away. It wouldn’t make much sense for me to have a place here, too. And yet, this place called to me.
That was probably another reason I was working on it alone rather than asking my family to help. After all, my family consisted of architects, actual builders, electricians—everything that you could ever imagine.
And I was the plumber.
I knew how to do nearly everything that my siblings could do, and what I couldn’t for this project, they would help in an instant. We all had our own individual projects; we didn’t work on every single thing together. It made for a healthy family and business.
I wanted to make my mark on this place, even if I wasn’t the one that was going to end up living here.
A car pulled up after Evelyn and Robert left, and I turned to see my twin sister driving, and a familiar face in the passenger’s seat.
I knew that my twin Annabelle was here because this was a Montgomery project, and she had every right to be here. After all, she had helped me with all the designs since she was a brilliant architect. But she was also here to check on me. Yes, everybody was worried about Archer. That wasn’t something I was necessarily used to, yet I couldn’t walk away from it.
“Oh good, you’re here.”
I rolled my eyes. “You knew I was going to be here.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re still here. You don’t have cell service right now.”
I cringed and looked down at my phone. “It seems not. One of the mudslides from last week knocked out a tower, and everything’s a little spotty right now.”
“I don’t know how you people can stand being so rural out here. I’m attached to my phone at all times.”
“Well, you’re a businesswoman, a mother of two, and constantly addicted to the internet. It only makes sense.”
I held out my arms, and my twin wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. I did the same to her, shuddering a bit despite wanting to be strong.
My sister looked like me, with deep blue eyes, with her long flowing brown hair tied up behind her today. My hair was getting a little long, though hers had always had a slight wave to it. Maybe if I let my hair grow out, that wave would show up.
We were twins and looked enough alike that most people knew we were siblings right away. That was the case with all of our siblings.
Annabelle was shorter than me by a few inches, but I didn’t tower over her too much. Probably because while my shoulders were broad, I was on the slender side. Annabelle was a little curvier, and our brothers were far more muscular. Our little sister, Paige, was smaller than Annabelle but full of way more energy. The fact that Paige was now a mom, and our brothers Benjamin and Beckett were parents as well, meant that I rarely got to see them as much as I used to. Even our board meetings had to be digital these days unless something was super important and we had to meet in person. We were on individual projects or working from home. Montgomery Builders had put in an entire childcare facility in our expansion. That way, anybody that worked for us could have childcare without having to have an additional expense or worry about it in the slightest. But sometimes, they wanted to work from home or bring the kids with them to the job sites. At least when it was safe to do so.
Everybody was growing up and moving on, and I loved them for it. I loved the expansion of our family and how our business was booming, to the point where we had to turn down jobs or change the way we were doing things with our larger teams.
Only, it still felt like I was holding on to this one project far harder than I should because I needed it to be mine.
“Well, I’m glad I’m here because this project of yours is going to be amazing.” She kissed my chin and moved back, so Leif could step forward.
My nephew surprised me because he did not look like he could be our nephew. The kid wasn’t a kid anymore—he was now in his twenties and in art school. His nearly black hair was pulled back in a small ponytail, his eyes blue and piercing, and he grinned at us, looking like a man instead of the little kid that I had once known.
