Page 6 of Restless Ink

“Thanks, Dimitri.”

She hung up, and Dimitri pinched the bridge of his nose before gathering his belongings and heading out of the classroom and toward the exit and faculty parking lot. It had always been a joke that he was Director Fury to his golden retriever, Captain. Dimitri had been—and still was—a huge fan of that team and would always be Team Captain, no matter the world the current comic and movie franchise inhabited. The fact that Molly had been okay with the name and had even encouraged it when they first got married and adopted the golden retriever had made him feel as if the two of them had connected. But she’d never watched the movies and never wanted to read a comic with him. He hadn’t minded since it was okay that they never shared that particular interest, but it made him wonder why she was calling him Fury now.

Shaking that thought off, he drove toward the house he’d made into a home for ten years before being forced to walk away. The thing was, he was glad Molly had gotten the house since he wouldn’t want to live in it now, not with the lasting memories of what they’d shared. He hadn’t understood why Molly wanted to stay, and since she had a considerable trust fund he hadn’t touched in the divorce or even during their marriage, she could have moved anywhere she wanted. But she’d stayed, and he assumed she had her reasons. It wasn’t his job to try and figure those out anymore, and while that made him sad, he knew that he would still try to be civil. Maybe not her friend like she seemed to sometimes want, but friendlycould work.

Of course, that just made him think of Thea and the fact that he missed her. The three of them had been friends before he and Molly got married, so it was weird that when he was no longer in Molly’s life, he was also no longer in Thea’s. And because he couldn’t stop thinking about how to change that, he knew he would have to figure that out. Maybe he’d go visit Thea tonight at the bakery since he remembered that she worked most Friday evenings so the other workers could have a good start to their weekends.

He still couldn’t get the thought of her in that dress and the way she’d appeared at the grocery store the other night out of his head. He’d sworn she looked as if she’d been hurt, and it had taken everything within him not to throw his jacket over hers and carry her out of the store to somewhere safe. Then he’d been embarrassed as hell when he realized exactly why she looked the way she did, and then a little weirded out that he’d been…happy that she hadn’t had a good time.

There was something there, something different about his reaction to her, and he knew he’d have to think about it more in-depth later—just not when he was pulling into Molly’s driveway. He rolled his shoulders after he’d turned off the engine and prepared himself. It wasn’t that Molly was mean or that she ever did anything wrong. In fact, as far as most divorces went, he figured theirs was pretty amicable. It wasn’t as if they hated each other. They just didn’t love each other anymore. And every time he saw Molly, it reminded him that he’d failed, and that wasn’t something he particularly wanted to remember day in and day out.

But he wanted to see his dog and spend time with him, and if his ex-wife needed help around the house, he’d do that, too. It had been his job to take care of the maintenance of the house when they were together. She’d done other things so he didn’t have to. They’d had a partnership, each having their own list of chores and upkeep to take care of. And though Molly was learning a lot of what she needed to do now, sometimes, it was just easier for him to do it.

He knew it might not be the healthiest choice, but hell, it was hard to stop ten years of routine when it came to their house. No,herhouse. He needed to remember that.

And though Dimitri had a key, he still rang the doorbell. It wasn’t his place anymore, and Molly needed her space, just like he did at his apartment.

She opened the door with a soft smile, but before she could say anything, Captain bounded through the door and right into Dimitri’s crotch.

He winced, and Molly laughed as he went to his knees, hugging his dog and petting him like he hadn’t seen him in weeks rather than the few days it had been. He didn’t care that it was cold outside or that the snow from the prior night had already melted so now everything was wet, he just wanted to be near his dog.

“Hey, buddy. You’re looking mighty fine today.” And that was true. Captain was ten years old and completely white in the face, he napped more than he used to, and had some aches in his joints, but he was still a really healthy dog. And if Dimitri had been able to find a damn apartment that allowed pets, he’d have taken his golden with him in a heartbeat. In fact, Dimitri wasstilllooking for another place because as soon as he did, and could have Captain, he’d have his dog back. Molly knew the deal when it came to that, and she had agreed, even though Captain had been her dog, as well. It was just that Captain was moreDimitri’sdog.

The kid they’d never had.

Not that they’d ever really wanted children together. He was just glad that they hadn’t had to deal with that part of the divorce, but Captain was stillhis.

“Well, he seems glad to see you,” Molly said with a laugh. “Let me get his lead since, apparently, he’s ready for his walk now.”

At the wordwalk, Captain pranced in circles a few times before sitting carefully on the porch step and raising his paw for a shake. They’d done two rounds of obedience classes over the years, and Dimitri’s brothers and sister had helped along the way also, making sure Captain was as trained as a golden could get. Captain was lovable, adorable, and just plain loyal.

And Dimitri hated the fact that the big lug couldn’t sleep next to him every night like they had for the past ten years. If Captain were smaller, Dimitri might have been able to sneak the dog into the complex, but there was just no way with the size of his dog.

“Thanks, Molly,” he said when she handed him the lead. “I’ll be back soon.”

She waved him off. “Take your time. I know you hate not seeing him every day. When you get back, I’ll have coffee for you if you want. We should talk anyway.” There was something in her tone he couldn’t quite catch, but he was too tired to deal with it.

He thought of his plans to go to the bakery later and shook his head. “Maybe another time. I’m just going on a quick walk since it’s cold out here, but I’ll be back this weekend to take him hiking.” He’d just pulled that out of thin air, but now that he thought about it, he knew that’s exactly what he wanted to do. Captain circled Dimitri’s legs, and he started down the walkway so they could get going.

“No problem. If I’m not here, use the key to get him. I know you don’t like using it, and I understand and appreciate that, but I also can’t be here all the time for you to pick him up.”

He nodded. “No problem.” He didn’t mind using the key at times like those anyway, not when it came to Captain. With one last wave, he headed down the sidewalk and tried to just enjoy his time with his dog. Later, he’d deal with whatever was wrong with Molly’s faucet and the other myriad chores he had on his list, but for now, it was him and Captain.

And later…later, he’d go see the friend he missed.

Later.

Chapter 3

By the time Dimitri got Captain back to the house and pulled himself away, over an hour had passed, and his stomach was rumbling. He made his way to the highway and drove a couple of exits down to North Academy, where Colorado Icing was located. Thea’s building was the second to last unit in the strip, and a couple of doors down from the tattoo shop her brother and sister co-owned—Montgomery Ink Too.

He hadn’t been there for the grand opening, but he planned to stop by soon for some new ink. He’d gone to Thea’s sister, Adrienne, in the past at her old place downtown, as well as to Thea’s cousin up at the original Montgomery Ink in Denver a couple of times, but he was glad there was a place with immense talent in his neighborhood. He wanted to finish his other arm soon, and since he already had to wear sleeves, he might as well have both arms done.

He parked in the lot and looked around. He liked the area and shopped at a couple of the other places in the strip, as well. He really liked Teas’d, the newer tea shop near Montgomery Ink Too. The owner was a sweet woman with a sad smile and sorrowful eyes, but she always picked out the best tea for his mood. He had no idea how she did it, but then again, Thea could do the same with sweets and coffee.

Apparently, he was spoiled when it came to this part of town, but he wouldn’t complain. He made his way to the bakery, hoping Thea was actually working. If not, he’d still get something sweet to eat before going home to make dinner. It was Friday, so he might as well splurge on his calories for the week since he hadn’t yet.

When he went inside, he grinned. Thea was behind the counter, smiling at something another customer was saying. She had flour on her cheek, and if he didn’t know better, he’d have assumed she added it daily as part of her work attire. But since the spot seemed to be in a different place every time he came into the shop, he figured it just showed how into her work she actually was.

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