Dare You Forever (Brothers of Ink and Steel #2.5) Read online

  You can’t have one without the other.

  But remember, when your vision is obscured and you can’t see your way home to shore, it will pass—it will become clear again, you won’t ever stay lost for long. And I swear I’ll hold your hand through each storm, and even when you’re furious with me and don’t want to touch me, my sorry-ass apology will be like that life preserver around your chest, holding your head above water and hugging your heart.

  Thanks for forgiving me.

  Large, full tears tumble down my cheeks. I can feel all of the boating party—including Coors—staring at me, but I can’t bring myself to look back at them yet. I fill my lungs with the sweet fresh air around me and add being greatly poetic to my fiancé’s many incredible skills.

  We all sit quietly for a little while, and no one interrupts my thoughts. Once we’ve finished our beers, Coors brings us back to shore.

  When we reach the docks, he ties the boat and then helps us get sure footing again.

  “One more.” he says and gives me a new Ziploc baggie with another envelope protected inside.

  I read the contents without hesitation. “Take taxi to Vanhorn Metal Works.”

  ***

  The wide, handsome knotty pine barn doors are open, allowing the outside air in to cool the area where large fires burn in rugged stone fireplaces.

  It’s empty but for a couple blacksmiths working.

  Britt croons, “Nothing turns me on more than a guy pounding iron.”

  Quinn and I smile.

  One guy is welding while the other is hammering down a large plate-like shield—the guy’s arms the size of Thor’s.

  We stand there, a bit awkward, until Thor notices us and waves us over closer.

  “You must be the North party,” he states. “Which one of you is the bride-to-be?”

  “That would be her.” Britt points a thumb at me. “I, however, am available.”

  Quinn and I barely keep from busting up.

  I swear Thor undresses Britt with his eyes. “Good to know.”

  And it’s obvious she enjoys every second of it.

  When he tears his eyes away, he looks back at me. “I have something special for you from Josh.” Then he points to the wall where protective aprons and eyewear hang.

  We get the hint and prepare ourselves. When we’re ready, he indicates for us to come closer and watch what he’s doing.

  He sets the shield thing aside, walks over to the fire and removes a solid bar of iron that’s so violently hot it glows. He sets it over a thick iron cylinder and begins to hammer—hard and precise.

  Every few minutes his eyes trail up to Britt. She rewards each look with a flirtatious gesture.

  The iron bends and comes alive. Tiny chips flake off, and soon a slender decorative rod appears. He flattens the tip almost effortlessly, rotates the rod, and now the tip is a flat circle. He continues to work it until, magically, a delicate calla lily appears.

  I look to Quinn and Britt and back again. It’s flawless. And he created it with a hammer!

  He changes his tool to a smaller spike-headed hammer and carefully adds dimension and detail. After he’s satisfied with it, he uses a steel brush to smooth it out.

  “Beautiful,” Britt says.

  “I appreciate that,” he replies. “I was thinking the same about you.”

  When he looks away she wraps her fingers around my arm in a Kung-Fu grip. She’s swooning.

  Thor puts the iron flower to the side to cool then leads us to the other side of the barn where the retail shop is. Amazing works of iron decorate every square inch. He goes over behind the register counter and hands me a large box wrapped in golden paper.

  I bite my lip in anticipation. “What has Josh done now?”

  Britt starts talking to Thor while Quinn browses the shop. I take the quiet moment to step outside.

  The sun is going down. I take a seat on a wood and iron bench perched in the grass and lift the flap of the gold envelope on top.

  You watched the blacksmith create his art. Pretty fucking amazing, right? Sometimes I think of you that way—like a nearly indestructible piece of iron who was beat down for most of her life. But instead of allowing it to break you, you became the most exquisite bloom. I’m so proud of who you are.

  Now check out what’s in the box.

  I rip open my gift in excitement.

  Resting in the box is a gorgeous candle wall sconce made of intricate woven iron. I pick it up out of the box to admire it.

  Underneath it lays another golden envelope.

  See how each iron piece twists and wraps around the others, making it stronger, and how it holds the candle? That’s us—alone we could make it—but together we become whole and strong as iron, lighting each other’s way.

  I love you, Sophie.

  “I love you too, Josh,” I whisper. “I love you too.”

  Chapter Seven

  Josh

  “They’re where?” Liam’s voice raises an octave and he looks at me like I’m outta my fucking mind.

  “Chippendale’s—get over it,” I tell him, rearranging the sequence of the cards in my hand.

  “That’s the worst mother-fucking double standard I’ve ever heard!” Will blusters.

  Which only makes me laugh more at his severe frustration with me.

  Sam leans in over his cards to ask Will, “Remember the Anderson twins?”

  Will’s frustration melts into a mischievous grin.

  “I don’t get it,” Ryder confesses, throwing his cards facedown on the table. “And I fold.”

  “Yeah, guess I’m dense too,” Jake says, leaning back in his chair “Enlighten us.”

  Most of my brothers are sitting in the back of Liam’s shop at the House of Ink and Steel. It’s our man cave, our place to come unwind without women. Sophie and Quinn have been the only exceptions so far.

  It’s going on ten o’clock and we’re gathered around the poker table. Will and Sam are sons-of-bitches when it comes to cards; they have no tell. Liam couldn’t care less about the game. Reese and Connor are in their own conversation about this month’s Playboy playmate. Caleb and Nate are late and so is Chase, who was down at White Earth Reservation, finishing up some college homework before the wedding weekend, and Talon is in the front of the shop, giving a tat to a last-minute customer. We’re just fucking around before they head out to the Queen of Hearts strip club that I’m still not going to.

  “Because even though I am a jealous bastard,” I explain, “I’m not a jealous bastard.”

  “Oh yeah, bro. That clears it right up.” Jake throws down a pair of twos.

  “Her ex was abusive, possessive and controlling. She needs to know that I’ll never be like that.”

  “So you sent her to an all-male strip club with a bunch of dollar bills to prove to her that you’re not a scumbag?” Ryder asks, shaking his head like it’s a pity I’m so stupid.

  “Exactly.”

  “And if she gets drunk and takes one home?” Will counters, trying to find a flaw in my thinking.

  “Who’s getting drunk and who’s taking who home?” Caleb saunters in with Nate behind him.

  “Sophie and a Chippendale stripper.” Connor glances momentarily away from the skin mag to show he’s present. “Genius here sent her to a show.”

  “If she falls for some other guy … yeah I’d be fucking devastated, but I wouldn’t fucking destroy her. I want her to be happy.”

  “Man, you are so fucked.” Ryder laughs at me.

  “Hey,” I qualify, “I might kill him but I’d fucking never hurt her.”

  “I get it,” Nate puts in. “It’s a good idea.”

  “Yeah?” I second guess that shit. “Maybe Ryder is right and I just fucked myself.”

  Suddenly cards aren’t enough to hold my attention so I get up and storm over to the dartboard.

  “So, let me get this straight, you set up this elaborate golden envelope system with instructions and gifts like a scavenger
hunt to tell her you love her?” Will watches me as he puts together what I told him an hour ago.

  I chuck a dart and it hits the wall. Fuck! “Yeah, exactly.”

  “It’s classy,” he decides. I’m surprised he thinks so and even more surprised he admitted it. I swear sometimes Will just likes to argue for the sake of fucking arguing.

  “It is, so let it play out and don’t mourn over it like an idiot,” Jake challenges. “Now, are we playing cards or are we going to continue on with the Joy Luck Club?”

  “Too bad he didn’t send the girls to a regular fucking club; we could’ve been called in for protection when the inevitable assholes messed with them.” Ryder’s always thinking of a fight.

  “Was she getting cold feet?” Caleb inquires without even a hint of a smile as he grabs himself a beer.

  “She’s skittish as a newborn foal.” I think that sums it up. “I’m going for the hard stuff if anyone wants a drink.”

  Leaving the darts, I go behind the bar and pull out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. When I set enough glasses for everyone on the counter I notice Nate studying Caleb closely with a look of worried concern.

  “You know something about cold feet?” I scoop ice into each glass. The sound is comforting.

  “I know my baby brothers Jake and Nate are married and Sam might as well be,” Caleb snips and sits down hard as he chugs his beer gone.

  “And Piper …” I try.

  He wipes his mouth with his hand. “And Piper … is on the verge of breaking up with me. She thinks her illness defines our relationship and that she can’t give me everything I need or deserve.” Caleb is the quietest guy I know, so I’m shocked he’s giving away so much information. It must be eating him alive.

  “I’ve proposed to her five times and the answer is always the same: she loves me too much to allow me to tether myself to a woman who could be sick the rest of her life. She doesn’t or won’t understand that it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t want anybody else.”

  I give him the drink I poured for myself.

  “That’s why she didn’t come with us,” Nate says like he finally gets the answer to an unspoken question.

  A chorus of “That sucks,” “So rough man,” and “Sorry, bro” passes around the table.

  “But she hasn’t broken up with you yet,” Will, of all people, says.

  “Yeah, and …?” barks Caleb.

  Will shrugs a shoulder. “Sounds like she really doesn’t want to.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Caleb bursts up from his seat. “Last month she only let me see her a handful of times and three of those were doctor visits. Her dad is giving me the run around on the phone now too and telling me she can’t talk.”

  He swallows down the drink in three quick gulps.

  At that, I walk over and pull him into a bear hug. “I love you, brother, and I’m here for you.” I keep my voice low. “Anything I can do, let me know.”

  He steps back and nods. “Man, I’m fucking sorry. This is supposed to be a party.”

  “This isn’t the party,” I remind him. “You’re fine.”

  “How the hell did we get on this subject again?” Caleb tries to conjure the memory of the earlier conversation up.

  “Cold feet.” I don’t bother with making a pretty drink. Instead I just swig from the bottle, wishing I knew what Sophie was thinking right now.

  Chapter Eight

  Sophie

  I realize this is the grand finale as the house lights dim a little extra and the music changes to an excitement-building instrumental.

  I don’t think I can handle another stripper! I’ve been laughing, simultaneously shielding my eyes and gawking, and thoroughly embarrassed for the past two hours! My face hurts because I’ve been smiling so long!

  Honestly, though, when your fiancé is more amazingly buff than any one of these guys even wishes he was and all you can think about is him naked on top of you, pinning you down against the kitchen countertop as he pounds his amazingly long, thick … I swig back the last sip of my margarita.

  That’s when Tarzan—clad only in a leopard print loin cloth—comes out, swinging on a “vine” from the rafters!

  “I gotta go to the bathroom!” I cry and bounce from my seat.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Britt and Quinn each grab one of my arms and pull me back into my chair.

  This is killer! Of course, the guy is going to be looking for his Jane, and of course, my two best friends have not embarrassed me enough in one night and stand, pointing down at me.

  And of course, with all the women in the room screaming or pointing at their friends, I look the most mortified. So of course—he chooses me.

  “OH MY GOD!!” I scream.

  Tarzan is OVER ME, SWINGING HIS “TRUNK” WHILE GIVING ME A LAP DANCE!!!

  I’m sure I could explode from sheer humiliation, but just before I do, he moves on to Quinn.

  Ah, sweet revenge!!

  Britt is laughing so hard at Quinn’s mortification she’s crying and folds a dollar bill into Tarzan’s cloth!

  Quinn slaps Britt’s arm, but she couldn’t care less, because it’s now her turn for a lap dance.

  What a night!

  It’s two a.m. when the three of us finally get to our hotel room and I fall into bed.

  “I was there and I still can’t believe Josh paid for us to do that!” Britt crows. “Oh my God, that was the most fun I’ve had in … forever!”

  “Who would’ve thought we’d check into the hotel early and be presented with Chippendale’s tickets by the clerk?” exclaims Quinn as she digs her makeup remover from her overnight bag.

  “In a golden envelope.” I smile, more in love with Josh than ever.

  It made absolutely no freaking logical sense—he and Liam had completely foregone the sex-style party for themselves but sent us to one??

  “Holy fuck, that one guy looked just like Channing Tatum! And oooh, how he moved his package!!” No way Brittani is getting to sleep tonight. “And when he pulled you up on stage …”

  I totally tried to resist him, but the more I did, the harder he pulled. “Josh would’ve massacred him.”

  “That’s right!” Quinn says. “Him.”

  “Not me.” I feel so content at this moment—so absolutely strong and sexy and empowered.

  Jim often hit me when he got it in his head that I could’ve been looking at another guy. He hated when I wore anything provocative or sexy or showed any skin, with or without him. I shudder when I recall him forcing me to breastfeed Charlie as a newborn under a thick blanket, in case someone could see through the windows.

  “When I was married to Jim and I was at work,”—I swallow hard at the memory—“he’d call me all day long to check up on me and make sure I was really there. When I couldn’t answer because I was with a customer, he’d accuse me of flirting and cheating on him, and the death threats would start. He wouldn’t let me wear shorts in the summer. And cute dresses? Forget it.”

  Neither of them speaks. They’re good listeners and great friends.

  “And here’s Josh, bending over backwards to prove he’s a good man.” I feel tears well up and spill over for the umpteenth time today. “Do you know this afternoon we almost made love and he stopped it?!”

  Both Quinn and Britt laugh. “WHAT?! No way—why?”

  “Old fashioned gentleman-ness,” I muse, thinking about how he’s now saving us for the wedding night.

  Quinn goes quiet then asks, concerned, “Were you really considering leaving him?”

  “No, but I have considered not going all the way through with marrying him. Still being ‘unmarried,’ I know I can still play by my own rules. There’s safety in that.”

  “Maybe the two of you could make up your own rules … together?” Quinn suggests then says softly, “He’ll never hurt you.”

  I tuck that away in my heart as I fall asleep.

  ***

  For the first time in weeks I wake up refreshed and in an undeniabl
y good mood. Quinn and Britt are still sleeping when I go downstairs to hunt for a newspaper and a cup of fresh coffee.

  What I find instead is Liam Knight, sitting at a table with two coffees, and he’s smiling at me like the Cheshire Cat.

  He stands. “Josh said you woke up at this time like clockwork.”

  “Guess he knows me pretty well.”

  He looks impressed. “Guess he does.”

  “So what are you doing here?” I sit across from him and take up one of the coffees.

  “You’re my next appointment,” he tells me.

  Surprised, I ask, “How so?”

  Liam shrugs. “The man said he needed me to give you this.” He hands me a golden envelope.

  I can’t help but smile as I take it from him. “I thought yesterday was it.”

  “Looks like Josh has other plans. Open it up,” he encourages.

  I do.

  I read it.

  “No. No way, not a chance.” This is definitely where the game ends!

  He immediately begins to laugh. “What does it say?”

  “It says he wants me to go with you to the House of Ink and Steel so you can tattoo me! ME!”

  “Scared of needles?” he eggs me on.

  “Yes!”

  “Do you mind?” Liam holds his hand out for the letter.

  “Not at all. ’Cause I’m not going.” I pass it to him.

  Liam reads Josh’s words out loud.

  This is a tough one, but being the scrapper you are, you’ll come through just fine.

  Do you trust me? Go with Liam to the tattoo shop. I left the design I think you’ll like best at his station with another envelope. Now, before you go and freak out, know I love you and give it a chance.

  “No. Me … a tattoo? I don’t think so.” I sip at my coffee. Is Josh serious??

  He asks brightly, “Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

  I scowl and think. “Maybe …” I say without looking at him.