Page 94 of Inked Temptation
There was that familiar pain, but I still smiled. “You gave my daughter chocolate. I remember that.”
Maya shrugged as Archer slid his hands into mine. “I remember. You need to meet my husbands. I think you’d get along. Oh! And I brought my babies with me, they are over there.” She pointed vaguely at the grouping of about fifty small children.
There might have been more, might have been fewer, I wasn’t sure. It was a little hard to keep up. Lee and I were on the periphery, along with some of the other non-Montgomerys who had been invited, where we felt the safest. At least for now.
“Anyway, we love the table, and my sister Miranda has been jealous this whole time that she can never get one.”
I frowned. “You know, I could probably work on something. For family.”
Maya looked like a cat in cream, but Archer cleared his throat. “You can talk to me about it, I’ll be his agent from now on.”
“Oh really?” I said with a laugh.
Archer beamed over at me. “Of course. After all, I need to keep our best interests at heart. We’re going to have two houses now.”
“Two?” Maya said with a gasp and gripped Archer’s arm. “Tell me you’re buying that house in the woods.”
“We’re building one, and we’re buying the one I’m working on,” Archer said as we both squeezed each other’s hands. It had been a quick discussion, but we knew it was exactly what we needed. Two properties, because we had a big family now.
I thought I’d lost everything, and I didn’t have the family that I thought I would forever, but now I had more family than I know how to handle.
“Does that mean you’re going to let the Montgomerys rent out the spare house?” Maya asked as she rubbed her hands together. “Liam, one of the Boulder Montgomerys, has a cabin in the woods near you, and it’s constantly full of Montgomerys and families connected to us.”
Archer nodded. “I know. It’s a great cabin.”
I looked over at Archer. “Really?”
“I’ll introduce you. He’s over there, the former model.”
“Oh yes, I remember the model,” I teased, and Maya threw her head back and laughed.
“See? He’s perfect for you. Congratulations on the two homes, and I will be first on the list to rent out the spare. Remember, just because we’re family doesn’t mean we don’t pay. We pay our way. We’re Montgomerys. Not cheap.” She leaned forward and kissed Archer on the cheek, and surprised me by doing the same to me.
“She’s amazing,” I whispered, and Archer just grinned.
“She is.”
Somebody clinked a wine glass and everybody quieted down, even the children and Cora, as well as any other pets that had come. Cora was living in doggy bliss with so many kids who were very gentle with her, as well as other dogs who reveled in the love, including a husky of some sort.
Everybody just looked happy to be there. There was no fighting, just laughs, and maybe some tiffs, but the tension eased quickly.
Archer’s mom stood up on the dais, a small stage that they’d had built, which held a microphone and an actual live band that some of the Montgomerys had joined in at some point.
His mother cleared her throat into the mic and waved. “We want to welcome you to the Fort Collins Montgomerys. It’s been a long time coming, and we are so happy you’re here.”
“We’re happy we’re here,” Harry Montgomery of the Denver branch said as he raised his beer.
“I love my family so much. All of my family. All one hundred and twelve of you.” Everyone laughed. I was a little worried about that number being true. However, I wasn’t about to start counting.
“You’ve all been eating, enjoying some games, and mingling. Soon we will have our three-legged race and karaoke. Anything we can do just to enjoy each other. We have grandbabies here, and eventually I’m sure we’ll have some great-grandbabies.” Everyone turned to Leif, the eldest of the Montgomery next generation, and he blushed from head to toe.
“Um, give me a minute or four or ten?” he asked, his voice going high pitched. Everyone laughed, and the kid, who wasn’t a kid anymore, ducked behind his big dad. Austin Montgomery laughed and just shook his head.
“Let’s wait a while till I’m a grandpa, shall we?” Austin added as everyone laughed some more.
Archer’s mom beamed. “Anyway, we are family. We love cheese, games, ink, and working with our hands. Most importantly, we love each other. We have been through more than most, and I don’t think it’s just because of our numbers. But it’s because we face every situation head-on and know that we are the first line of defense for family. I love being a Montgomery. I love the connections that we make and the fact that we are always there for each other.” Archer’s dad moved forward wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she smiled up at him.
“I’ve never said I was good at being a Montgomery,” Russell Montgomery said with a small laugh as others joined in. “But I’ve tried my hardest. Especially now that I’ve watched my kids grow up into the strong and capable human beings that they are. They’re bringing into the world a new legacy. Just like all of you are. For those who have decided to have children or those who’ve decided to be the best aunts and uncles they could be, all of you have shown me what it is to be family. We are all here for each other, no matter what.”
