Page 85 of Love at First Ink

She was a damn good event planner. If she ever decided to do this full-time, Cisco could imagine her being fully booked.

After much struggling, Cisco finally got his damn chair unfolded and set up properly. He was just about to bring over his tray of equipment when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. “Good morning, son.”

Cisco turned in time to see a well-dressed Travis Roberts approaching his booth. He wore what Cisco would consider golfing attire, which was probably exactly where he’d be going after this event. Marisol had mentioned her father coming and not just because he had a booth here too. He was pleasantly surprised to see him alone, so at least he was honoring his daughter's wishes.

The last time he saw Travis was when he picked him up from his holding cell. It wasn’t exactly how he pictured his relationship with his girlfriend’s father going, but here they were. He held no ill will toward the man, even if he had been a bystander in Marisol’s suffering. It was evident he loved his daughter.

“Mr. Roberts?—”

“Please,” he said, holding up a hand. “Call me Travis. So, this is your booth, huh? I’m sure it will gain a lot of attention.”

“That’s the goal.” Cisco eyed Travis, unsure what provoked this visit. The man stared down at the tattoo designs on the table, tracing a few with his finger.

Travis looked up, pursing his lips. He took a moment, as if gathering his words. Cisco didn’t push him, letting his curiosity simmer. Finally, Travis seemed to find the words—or courage—for what he was about to say. “I heard about the deal falling through with the building next to mine.”

Out of everything Cisco expected him to say, that wasn’t it. He wasn’t sure how Travis would hear that information, but, frankly, he didn’t care enough to know. “Oh, yeah. Sucks, but I’ll find somewhere else.” It more than sucked,but he’d find another location. Hopefully one that was as heavily populated as that area.

“Do you still want it?” Travis asked.

Cisco stared at Travis as if he just sprouted another head. What was this man getting at? “If that were still an option, yes.” Of course he’d want that property. The location was perfect, and he’d be bringing in new clientele. He didn’t give a damn if the seller was an elitist piece of shit who cared only about their image. Cisco would have enjoyed proving him wrong about “guys like him.”

Travis reached for something in his pocket, pulling out a small stack of folded papers. “Well, losing the property wasn’t your fault. I can’t in good conscience let something my family inadvertently caused be the reason you don’t receive the property for your business.”

“What are you saying, Travis?” He didn’t like riddles, and his brain didn’t have the energy this morning to figure out what he was saying.

Instead of answering, Travis handed over the folded papers. Cisco eyed them curiously before taking them. He unfolded the papers and scanned the contents. At first he had no idea what he was looking at, but then words like “seller,” “deed,” and “property” all stood out to him. His name was on the document, along with the address of the property he wanted.

“Is this…?”

“It’s not official,” Travis said quickly. “But I took the liberty of reaching out to my agent, who got in touch with yours and the seller, and, well…” He gestured to the papers Cisco was holding. “It’s yours if you want it. Just need to call your agent to get the process in motion.”

“Are you serious?” Cisco found himself asking. He didn’tknow how to think about Travis orchestrating all of this without his knowledge, but at the same time, he could appreciate the gesture. This property was something he wanted. And badly.

“Yes.” Travis nodded. “I can’t apologize enough for how things ended at my event. How you’ve been the only one who has made my daughter this happy. Truthfully, I owe you a lot more than this, but I hope this is a start.”

It wasn’t often he was rendered speechless, but this was one of those rare times. He had many thoughts rushing through his mind but couldn’t find the words to vocalize everything. So, he settled on something simple. “Thank you.”

Travis just smiled. “I’ll leave you to it. Good luck today. I might be back around, but I can’t promise I’ll be getting a tattoo.” He laughed.

“Well, if you do decide, I promise I won’t make it hurt that bad,” he teased.

Travis laughed. A full belly laugh. “Good to know, son. Good to know.” And then he was gone, leaving Cisco with the documents for his future shop.

“What are those?” Tiny appeared seemingly out of nowhere with the biggest iced coffee he had ever seen. She sipped on the black straw, gesturing to the papers.

“These, prima, are what will get me that shop down in San Francisco.” He beamed, the excitement for his future finally settling in.

“Oh shit, congratulations.” She grinned, holding up her hand for a high-five. “I call helping with decor. You need it.”

“And what’s wrong with my decor?”

“Nothing, if you’re a teenager rebelling against your parents for making you do homework.” She shrugged. “Don’tthink that is the vibe we are going for. Also, there’s a shit ton of people already here. You ready to go?”

He was. As ready as he could be. Still no signs of Marisol, but he sent her another quick text telling her to stop by when she got a chance. As soon as he pocketed his phone and filed away the papers Travis dropped off, his first customer arrived, an eighteen-year-old kid who wanted one of the skull designs on Cisco’s list. Tiny made him sign the waiver and took his money before sending him back to Cisco’s chair. Thankfully, the chair was constructed correctly and didn’t crash under the guy's weight.

So, Cisco started tattooing.

The eighteen-year-old was the first of many. Thank goodness for Tiny and her ability to manage a list because he would not have been as organized or timely as she was. By the end of the first hour, he had already completed six tattoos, but the list never seemed to shorten.

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