Kashvi considered the picture. “As it’s all one color, probably about an hour and a half, maybe two if you’re a wriggler.”
“I can just about stay that long,” Evan confirmed.
“Where exactly does Jeff think you are?” Josie asked.
“I told him I was helping Ben count cattle at his place. Ben agreed to cover for me if Dad checked.”
Josie tried to remember exactly which Miller brother Ben was and recalled Ines telling her that their parents had thoughtfully named their kids alphabetically.
“Ben’s your second oldest brother, right?”
“Yup. He and Silver bought the Perez Ranch.”
“Silver Meadows?” Kashvi was busy tracing something out on a piece of transparent paper. “I did a tattoo for her last week at her place. She’s supernice.”
“She is.” Evan snorted. “I bet it was something romantic, like Ben’s name in a heart.”
Kashvi laughed. “You’ll have to ask her about that.” She presented Evan with the piece of paper. “Normally I’d print this out, but as I’ve done something similar before, I think you’ll get the idea from this drawing.” She leaned over and applied the paper to Evan’s bicep. “How’s the size and placement?”
Evan looked it over and then flexed his muscles, which made Josie want to purr. “I like it.”
“Great! How about the design? Do you want to customize it further? What are some features of Joker you could add in there?”
Evan took the paper and studied it, his face a picture of concentration.
“Joker has this bit of mane that whatever you do it always falls down between his ears and onto his brow. It’s kind of cute.”
“Do you have a picture of him?”
“Yeah.” Evan pulled his cell phone out of his jeans and flicked through the photos. “He’s very photogenic.”
He handed his phone to Kashvi who smiled. “He sure is. I think I can get some of his quirkiness into this image. Just give me a minute to redraw.”
* * *
Evan waited quietly in the chair, his fingers tapping on the arms as Kashvi and Josie chatted about something in the design. He reminded himself that he wanted to do this—that no one was forcing him, and that he was a big, strong boy. Why he’d decided to start with the tattoo and not some of the other stupid things on his list was beyond him. But he hadn’t expected Sonali to have a professional tattoo artist as a friend who just happened to be staying in town....
Wasn’t this his problem all along? The way he either sat back and did nothing, or rushed into things before he thought them through?
Kashvi sat back on the stool beside him, her expression serious. “Before we start, I want to remind you that tattoos are permanent, and that aftercare is a very important part of the procedure. Once I ink you, it’s going to cost you ten times as much and take ten times as long to get rid of it—and your skin will never be the same again. Are you still sure you want to go through with this?”
Evan glanced at Josie who was regarding him expectantly.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, then.” Kashvi handed him the new draft of the tattoo. “What do you think of this?”
“It’s awesome.” Evan couldn’t believe how she’d managed to get a sense of Joker right in there. “He’s going to love it.”
A small snort escaped Josie and he glanced over to find her grinning at him like a fool.
“Hey, he’s my best friend,” Evan protested. “I helped birth him and then brought him up.”
“That’s so sweet.” Kashvi went to wash her hands again and then pulled on a pair of gloves. “Shall we get started?”
As soon as she laid one gloved finger on him, Evan tensed like a bull about to erupt from the bucking chute. He’d just remembered how much he hated needles.
“Evan,” Josie said quietly. “Look at me.”
He turned his head away from the whirring sound of the needle and focused all his attention on Josie’s big, brown eyes, wide, generous mouth, and arching dark eyebrows. Seeing her now, this close up, he could see her likeness to her half brother, and yet she was still uniquely herself.
Even as the needle began to scratch into his skin, he considered the kiss she’d given him, and the way he’d wanted to pull her closer and make it into something even better. He’d always loved women, but he tended to keep them as friends because—he jumped as the needle tone changed.
“It’s okay, Evan.” Josie took his right hand in hers. “Just relax.”
“I’m trying,” he murmured. “It reminds me of when we had kittens in the house. I woke up one morning thinking someone was pricking my toes with a pin, and discovered a kitty attached to my big toe.”
“That’s a great description.” Kashvi didn’t look up as she outlined the shape. “If it gets too much for you at any point, just let me know, and you can take a break.”
Seeing as his father would expect him back to do the evening chores, Evan wasn’t planning on hanging around. He resolved to sit as still as a statue and not complain. He’d never been a big fan of needles, but at least he had something pretty to look at while Kashvi worked.
Eventually, just when he was beginning to think he couldn’t bear another minute of the continual pricking, Kashvi stopped.
“I think that’s it.”
Evan turned his head to squint at the design on his upper left arm. “Cool.”
“Okay.” Kashi stripped off her gloves, rewashed her hands, and put on a new pair. “A healing tattoo is basically an open wound, so it’s easily irritated. I’m going to apply a thin layer of sealant and slap a bandage over it. For the next few weeks, depending on how fast you heal, you’re going to gently wash the tattoo with antibacterial, unfra-granced soap and pat it dry. Do that twice a day and moisturize the hell out of it. You also need to keep it out of the sun, don’t swim, and not scratch or pick at it when it scabs over. Got it?”
Evan nodded.
“I’ve got a sheet of written instructions for you and I’ll put my cell number on there so you can call me if you have any problems.” Kashvi gently covered the tattoo with a bandage. “You can take this off tomorrow and follow the instructions on the sheet.”
“Thank you.”
With a bit of help from Josie, Evan put his T-shirt back on and then added his other shirt. His arm felt kind of awkward after being stuck in the same position for two hours. Kashvi handed him the aftercare instructions and he folded them up and put them in his pocket.
“How much do I owe you?” Evan asked as he got out of the chair.
Kashvi, who was busy sorting her stuff out at the sink, didn’t turn around when she answered, “My hourly rate’s about one hundred and fifty dollars, so let’s go for that.”
“But it took almost two hours,” Evan pointed out.
She swung around to smile at him. “And you get the family rate, which is fifty percent off, okay?”
“I wouldn’t argue with her,” Josie said. “She might want her tattoo back.”
“If you can get me cash, that would be even better,” Kashvi said hopefully. “Then I don’t have to pay the credit card fees.”