"There's a bathroom over here, too," Ben said, skipping through the room and turning on the light inside.
"Really?" she asked, crossing to peer into the adjoining room. Larger than the hall bathroom the three of them shared, it had a separate shower and tub, a big linen closet, and double sinks. "This is all for me?"
She turned to find all three Evans men nodding, and each looking prouder than the last.
Slider gave a nervous shrug as he glanced around the space. And, man, all his raw masculinity was ten times more potent when you could see his handsomely rugged face. "If you don't like the color, or anything, we can-"
"I love it. I just can't believe you did all this. It's beautiful. It's the most beautiful bedroom I've ever had," she said, blinking away threatening tears. It was just that no one had ever done something like this for her before. She'd left their house midmorning yesterday, which meant they'd spent all day yesterday creating a place for her, just like Slider said he would. It really touched her.
Ben scrambled awkwardly up onto the bed. "You gotta try the mattress. It's new." He bounced as much as he could with one arm in a cast.
"New?" she said, sliding up next to Ben. "I'm going to have to pay you all back for-"
"No way," Slider said. "This is the least we can do. You're our guest, and we want you to be happy here."
He nailed her with a stare that stole her breath. Because she believed him, and it made her feel hopeful and valued. Cared for. Wanted, for the first time in so very long. Maybe ever.
"Well . . ." She flopped back onto the bed, and a giggling Ben flopped back next to her. "I think I'm going to be so happy here you guys just might never be able to get rid of me."
Chapter 9
"We brought a bottle of champagne, strawberries, and dipping chocolate," Haven said when she and Cora walked through the front door of Maverick and Alexa's house, "because we have things to celebrate." Maverick was gone on the same club business Dare was, so Alexa had proposed a girls' night in on Tuesday since Cora didn't have to babysit. They'd readily agreed.
"That sounds fantastic," Alexa said, welcoming them into the lakeside cottage out on the edge of the Raven Riders' property. Not many of them lived on club lands, but this house had once been Bunny's, the founder's sister, and now belonged to Maverick. "I also made a seven-layer dip, salsa, and a big pot of chili. So I hope you're hungry."
When they'd served everything up, they settled around the table in front of a window that looked out at the lake. From the cat climber a few feet away, Alexa's sweater-wearing Sphinx cat Lucy watched them.
"Okay, what are we toasting first?" Cora asked. "Definitely Alexa's engagement." That got the first enthusiastic round of toasts. The bubbles in the champagne tickled Cora's nose.
"Are you setting a date?" Haven asked as she scooped some dip.
Alexa shook her head. "Not yet. But maybe next spring. I'm holding out hope that my mom could still get better, and I'd like all the stuff with Grant to be entirely behind us." She shuddered a little when she mentioned her ex's name.
"How about a toast to the fact that the people who hurt us will never be able to do it again," Haven said, raising her glass.
"Hell, yes," Alexa said. They all clinked glasses, and Cora joined in the toast, even though she felt a little guilty that they didn't know all the ways she'd been hurt. No one did.
"You okay, Cora?" Haven asked.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just daydreaming." She forced a smile. "I understand I have you to thank for my pretty new blue bedroom."
"No, no," Haven said. "That was all Slider. I just helped with a few ideas. Seriously, it was so cute, Cora. He really wanted everything perfect for you."
Cora couldn't quite bite back her grin. "He and the boys are being really sweet about it. And with what he's paying me, I might be able to join you in a class in the spring."
Eyes wide, Haven gasped. "Really? That would be great. I think that's toast-worthy, too."
Cora didn't disagree, so they raised their glasses one more time.
"We better keep eating with all these toasts," Alexa said.
Laughing, Haven nodded. "Especially because I kinda got a job today."
Pandemonium erupted around the little table.
"It's just part-time. But, do you remember Dutch, the man who owns that little diner downtown? Well, I sent him a basket of my baked goods after his hip replacement surgery, and he liked them so much he wants to hire me to do all his pastries, cakes, and cookies for the shop. Apparently, he wants to try opening for longer hours, so he needs the extra help."
"Haven, you got a job as a baker. A real, honest-to-goodness baker," Cora said, just beside herself for her friend.
"I did," Haven said. "Can you believe it?"
"Yes," Cora said, just as Alexa said, "Absolutely! When do you start?"
"Soon, but we're still figuring it out," Haven said. "We're going to go over his current menu, and then I'm going to suggest a new one and he'll order all the supplies and inventory in time for my first shift."
"Wow, this is so awesome. What did Dare say?" Cora asked.
Haven's smile was immediate. "That he wanted to be my very first paying customer."
It was all news that necessitated another round of toasts.
"Look how far we've come," Alexa said. "We should be proud of ourselves."
Cora laughed, but it was true. They'd all walked through their own paths of fire, and come out the other side. Maybe not unscathed. Maybe with some scars. But they'd made it through. And that counted for something. No, it counted for a lot.
And it made her feel bad for not coming clean with them about everything she'd been through, when they'd been so open about everything that'd happened to them. But tonight was about triumphs, not trials.
At least, that was how Cora justified it to herself.
Between dinner and the movie that followed, they ended up polishing off the bottle of champagne, and a bottle of wine besides, so they decided a sleepover was in order.
Except Cora didn't anticipate Alexa suggesting that they all sleep on the couches in the living room together, the three of them and Alexa's weird little cat, too. And that put Cora in the position of having to ask something she'd rather not. "If we're going to sleep out here, can we leave a light on? I always have to get up to pee and I don't want to wake you guys up stumbling around."
"No problem," Alexa said. "I'll grab us blankets and pillows."
"I thought you hated sleeping with the lights on," Haven said, laughing. Of course she would remember that, given how many sleepovers they'd had growing up.
"Yeah, well, I guess it doesn't bother me as much as it used to." Not after months of getting used to it, it didn't. And, usually, it helped keep the nightmares away, because her dad had come after her in the dark. First, where she'd fallen asleep on the living room couch, and then where he'd chased her into her dark bedroom.
Problem was, Cora was so nervous that she'd have a nightmare in front of Haven and Alexa that she never fell asleep. She'd had this problem before, back when she and Haven were on the run, but then she'd brushed off her sleeplessness as keeping a lookout and being cautious.
When morning came, she was absolutely wrecked.
"Did you sleep at all?" Haven asked.
"A little," Cora hedged. "Just insomnia, I guess."
"Probably all the excitement of moving," Alexa said.
"Yeah, probably," Cora said.
That poor night of sleep no doubt explained why she fell so dead asleep when they got back to the clubhouse-and was still sleeping when Slider arrived to pick her up on Wednesday afternoon.
A knock at her door jolted her awake. "Yeah?" she called, still half asleep.
Slider stepped in, his expression immediately transforming into a frown. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, God, what time is it?" she said, shifting out of bed.
He caught her by the arm, and sank down on the bed next to her. "Seriously, it's okay. There's time."
She dropped her face into her hands. "I'm sorry," she said. "I slept terrible last night, so I laid down for a nap, but I didn't mean to sleep so long."
"If you're not up for working tonight, I'll figure something else out," he said, concern etched onto his face. He wore a thin layer of scruff on his jaw, and somehow it was even sexier than the clean shave had been.
"No, I'm sorry, I'll be fine."
But by the next day, it was clear, she wasn't fine. She was getting sick. But she refused to give in to it, not when Dare and Maverick had returned from their relocation, which meant they could both move a day earlier than planned. This was supposed to be a good day for her. So she pushed on, popped some ibuprofen, packed up all her meager belongings, and arrived at Slider's via her final clubhouse pickup.