Ride Wild(23)

Forty-five minutes later, Cora was the proud owner of her very first  car, newly washed, to boot. And a set of new floor mats. "It's mine!"  she said, gripping her key fob, awe and excitement flowing through her  in equal measure. "It's really mine."

Standing next to her driver's door, Slider chuckled. "Sure is. You did a great job in there."

"We did a great job," she said with a grin she couldn't hold back. And  she was so grateful to Slider for helping to make it happen that she  couldn't hold it in. "Thank you." She threw her arms around his  shoulders.

His arms came around her more slowly, but when they did, they held her tight. And they didn't let go.



After that, Cora hadn't thought her week could get any better. She'd  started a new job. Received a beautiful new bedroom. And had incredible  sex, even if they'd decided it could happen only that one time. And on  top of it all, she bought a new car, which also just happened to be the  single nicest thing she'd ever owned.

But then the animal shelter had enthusiastically asked her to come on as  a volunteer. Not only that, they'd been so busy lately that they asked  her how soon she could start. They'd agreed on Monday.

And if the boys thought she'd been cool before, it was nothing compared  to them knowing she now officially worked with animals, even if it  wasn't paid.

"Can we come visit you sometime?" Sam asked.

"Ooh, can we adopt a dog of our own? Can we, Dad?" Ben said, flinging spaghetti off his fork in excitement.

Cora threw Slider an apologetic look. They were having an early dinner  so he could join them before his overnight shift began, and it was nice,  the four of them eating together, talking and sharing things about  their days.

She'd never had that, even growing up. Her parents had divorced when she  was eleven, and her mother had always been too involved with trying to  please new boyfriends to pay Cora any mind. Apparently, having a preteen  daughter about had done bad things to her mom's self-esteem, which was  how Cora wound up living with her dad. So Cora intended to enjoy this,  to revel in it, even, every single time it happened. She winked at Ben  and said, "Maybe we should get used to me living here before we bring  another mongrel into the house." Ben chuckled.

"So what exactly will you get to do there?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Cora said. "Starting out, I think I'll mostly get to  walk the dogs and help at feeding time, clean out cages, and work at  the reception desk. But what I'm really hoping to be able to do is  assist in the exam rooms." She took a deep breath, and chanced sharing  her probably silly dream. "Someday, after a whole lot of classes, I  might like to work as a veterinarian, and I thought this would be a way  to see if I'd really like it."

"That's so cool, Cora," Ben said, slurping up a noodle.

"I think so, too," Sam said more quietly. From across the table, Slider gave her an appraising look.

Her cheeks heating, she chuckled. "I think so, three. And the lady I met  with said my timing was really good, because there have apparently been  a lot of dogs getting dropped off and abandoned around the area lately.  Dogs in bad shape. So I guess things at the shelter have been busier  than normal." Seeing injured and abused dogs was going to be the hardest  part of it, Cora knew. How could anybody hurt a defenseless creature?  Then again, she'd seen enough of the underbelly of human nature that she  shouldn't even be asking such a naïve question. Some people just got  off on hurting those weaker or more vulnerable than themselves.                       
       
           



       

Cora and Haven wouldn't even live in Maryland if that weren't true.

"Why would someone just abandon a dog?" Sam said, scowling.

"What kinds of dogs are they?" Slider asked, clearing his plate. "Did the lady tell you?"

"No," Cora said, shaking her head. "But certain breeds get dumped more  than others. Pretty much any shelter you look at online has more pit  bull mixes for adoption than almost any other kind. It's sad." But  hopefully, in helping to take care of the animals and maybe even helping  them to find homes, Cora could make a difference. After all, she knew  what it felt like not to be wanted, too. "I guess I'll learn more once  I'm there. For now, it looks like I'm going to volunteer on Mondays and  Thursdays, if that's okay. And maybe an occasional night, because the  shelter has an emergency after-hours clinic. Does that sound okay?"

Slider nodded. "I think it's important that you do this, so I'm sure it'll be fine."

Cora ducked her chin and kinda lit up inside at how supportive they were all being.

After dinner, Slider cleared the table as she stowed the leftovers in  containers. There was an odd intimacy to working with him in his kitchen  this way, and it made Cora feel a little tingly inside.

"I gotta go," Slider said, settling the last of the dishes in the sink. His hand fell on her arm.

"Okay?" she said, surprised at his touch. Save for the impromptu hug  she'd given him in thanks for helping her buy a car-a hug he'd let her  out of none too quickly-he hadn't initiated touching her since she'd  risen from his bed that morning.

"I just wanted to say that you doing this volunteering and talking about  taking classes, I think you're a good role model for my kids, Cora."

Cora's mouth dropped open. Her eyes pricked. Her breath caught in her  throat. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Slider."

He tucked a blond curl behind her ear. "It's just the truth."

Then he was gone. And Cora wasn't sure how she ever got so lucky as the  day she was invited to be a part of this family, even if it was just  temporary.





Chapter 12




Slider had promised himself all week that he'd finally do it, so when he  woke up from sleeping on Saturday afternoon, he got dressed, grabbed a  sandwich, and headed out back to his garage.

In the center of the space sat his motorcycle, covered by a tarp.

He pulled off the dusty drop cloth to reveal a 2009 Harley Softail Cross  Bones. Man, he'd always loved this bike. And seeing Cora's excitement  at buying her first car reminded him of how fucking thrilled he'd been  the day he'd bought this Harley.

His Cross Bones was one badass-looking ride, combining some vintage  styling with the look of a stripped-down custom bobber. Gloss black  finishes made it gleam, even in the dark, as did the bright chrome  exhaust and mufflers. It had a rough-and-tumble attitude that had been a  good match for his own personality, at least once upon a time. And it  had a crossbones-and-skull graphic on the oil tank and the Raven Riders'  raven/dagger/skull logo on the gas tank.

It was a fucking piece of rolling art and some kick-ass engineering.

And it needed a ton of TLC.

Just one more thing Slider had neglected.

So he got to work making his baby roadworthy once again. He gave  everything a once-over inspection-brakes, chain, fuel system, valves,  air filter, fluid levels. Then he tuned her up until she sang and shined  her up until she blazed.

"Looking good," came a voice from the open doorway.

Talk about blazing.

Cora stood in the sunlight, her hair like a halo, her smile like the sun  itself had been pulled from the sky. And it was all directed at him. He  shouldn't like that as much as he did. Nor should he like the way she  looked with a pair of form-fitting jeans tucked into tall brown boots.  But that shit was sexy as hell.

"Yeah?" he said, wiping his greasy hands on a rag. He didn't mind the  dirt, not when it was evidence that he worked hard on something he  loved. And that hadn't happened in a long damn time.

Tentatively, she stepped into his space and came around the other side of the bike. "I don't know anything about motorcycles."

"Ever ridden one?" he asked.

She shook her head, her expression full of admiration as she looked over  his bike. "Never. Bet it's awesome, though." Her interest hit him  nearly the same way her studying his body had. Heat stirred in his  blood.

Slider debated, but the words sneaked out of his mouth before he'd fully thought them through. "Wanna ride with me?"                       
       
           



       

Her eyes went wide. "Now?"

"Scared?" he asked, making sure there was a playfulness to his tone-despite the fact that he really wanted her to say yes.

Cora crossed her arms and jutted out a hip. "No."

He came round to where she was standing, got close, close enough to tower over her. "Then ride with me."

He wasn't sure why he was pushing her-scratch that. He knew exactly why  the hell he was pushing Cora. Because he liked her. And staying away  from her was hard as fuck. Harder than he expected, especially with her  living in his house.