Oh, man, Playful Slider was even more appealing than Talkative Slider. Gah.
Finally, Herb returned with a deal sheet that took eight hundred off the price of the car.
Cora stood up, and Slider rose with her. “Oh, I’m sorry, Herb. I thought you were interested in my business. Given that the car needs tires, that price needs to come down at least another twelve hundred before I’ll think you’re serious. If that’s not possible, please tell me now so I can head back to that other dealer.”
“Oh, no, no. Please sit, I’m sure we can work something out.” Herb gestured to their chairs. With a little back-and-forth, he came down another seven hundred, which had been Cora’s goal all along. She was completely flipping out on the inside. “I’ll write it up,” he said, shaking her hand.
“Write it up with new floor mats, Herb. Won’t you?” Slider asked, eyebrows arched, hands crossed over his flat belly, legs extended, and ankles crossed. The picture of ease. The picture of sex on a stick, too.
Cora wanted to hug him. Or kiss him. Or straddle him in that chair.
Herb sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
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.