Page 76 of Beck

“She said you’ll want to take this one.” Finn scrunched his forehead. “And that you might need…support, which is why I’m here.”

Kole’s stomach churned. Who the fuck was it?

“Who the fuck is it?” Beck echoed his thoughts.

“Seven women who each want something small on their hands.”

Kole’s heart started a rapid tattoo, an inkling of who it was filtering through his brain. But seeing the confusion on Beck’s face, he hadn’t made the potential link.

“Why would I need support for that?”

“Because of who they are,” Kole guessed.

Beck glanced at him. “Who?”

“I’m only guessing, but I bet it’s the seven women who stood up against Drake.”

Finn nodded slowly. “It is.”

Beck let out a long breath, rubbing his hands over his lower face. “Do you think I can do it without breaking down?” he asked Kole.

“I think they won’t care if you do.”

Beck stared into space for a few seconds. “Okay. Let them in.”

Finn paused for a moment and then nodded and disappeared.

“Are you okay?” Kole asked.

“I think so. This is hard, but it’ll be nice to do this for them.”

A knock sounded again, and Finn entered, followed by Becca and the others. Becca stepped straight over to Beck and hugged him.

“Thank you for agreeing.” She pulled back. “We wanted something to unite us when we go back to our normal day.”

“It’s a great idea. Do you know what you want?”

She wiggled her head, glancing at the others. “Not really. Just something small we can have on our hand that when we see it, we remember.”

“How about a ribbon?” Kole said, suddenly remembering something his mother once said to him. “No matter how tangled it gets, it is still one entire piece.” Silence in the room, and he fidgeted. “And it’s something different to the usual semicolon, but you don’t have to.”

Becca smiled. “I love that idea.” She turned to the women. “What do you think?”

“I like the idea, but how would it look?” a woman said.

Beck glanced at him. “Want to design something?”

Kole blinked. “Um, I could.” He grabbed his book. “Give me a minute.”

Settling into the chair, he flipped to a blank page. He tried a few designs, but quickly dismissed them, although he’d still show them in case they worked better for the area being tattooed, but then hit on an idea. As his pencil scratched across the paper, his excitement grew. When he finished, he studied it for a second and then stood, heading over to where they were all chatting. Just his initial standing got their attention.

“These are some ideas.”

Becca took the book and everyone crowded around it, discussing which they preferred. When Becca pointed at the last design, Kole smiled. Beck took it and chuckled.

“So simple, yet so poignant. Perfect.” He winked at Kole, then turned to the women. “Are you all sure?” They nodded. “Okay, who’s first?”

“Me,” Becca said.

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