Innocent Ink by Ranae Rose

Author:Ranae Rose
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 9781484947692
Publisher: Createspace
Published: 2013-05-27T08:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

A shadow slipped over Jed’s empty tattoo chair, and he knew it wasn’t a client – none were scheduled, and he’d have heard a walk-in. “Everything okay?” He looked up and caught Mina’s reflection in the mirror that lined the back wall of his half-booth.

One second of eye contact in the mirror and it was obvious everything wasn’t.

“Sorry Jed, but would it be all right if I left early? Karen’s grandmother had a heart attack and is in the hospital in critical condition. Karen’s there alone – her parents live in Scranton.”

Scranton was on the other side of the state – Jed didn’t need to do the math to know that unless someone went, Karen would spend an agonizing night alone in the hospital. “Yeah, of course you can go. I’ll take care of any walk-ins.”

The day was almost done anyway – Hot Ink was scheduled to close in just over an hour.

Mina thanked him and Jed watched her leave, still in his half-booth as he wracked his mind for some reason – any reason – to go with her.

But Mina had a car; she didn’t need a ride. And Karen didn’t need him, anyway – not when she’d have her best friend. Mina knew Karen much better than he did.

That didn’t stop him from aching to be there for Karen. He knew exactly what it was like to spend the night in a hospital, not truly alone, but alone in every way that counted, keeping watch over someone as you tried to convince yourself that they even knew you were there. It made his gut clench and his head ache to imagine Karen going through that.

“Hey, Tyler.” He turned to the only other person left in the shop. “Let’s close up early. Neither of us have got anything else scheduled.” There wasn’t really enough time left to deal with any walk-ins, and he’d be shit for tattooing for the rest of the night, anyway.

Tyler seemed happy enough to check out ahead of time, and Jed closed the shop without fanfare, locking the doors, flipping the sign to ‘closed’ and making a pathetic attempt at paperwork before he shut off the lights and headed upstairs.

The usual, almost-comfortable solitude of his apartment had vanished. In its wake was a conscious emptiness, a feeling that reminded him the place was just a shell of the less lonely times he’d shared with others inside its walls. Alice, Karen – he thought of them both as he sank onto the couch.

It seemed stupid now – selfish, somehow – that less than an hour ago, his biggest concern had been how he could get Karen to see what a mistake they’d made by sleeping together, by beginning a romance that was destined to disappoint her. Those things were true, but he still cared about her and knew he’d lie awake that night, thinking of her suffering at a hospital bedside.

The fact that he’d promised to call her hadn’t slipped his mind, either, but she had enough on her plate without him interrupting.

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