Page 113 of Down & Dirty

I led Cory up to my old room, feeling a little exposed as I opened the door and realized he was about to learn far more about me from its contents than he ever had in my crappy hotel suite. Married or not, we still had a long way to go in really knowing each other.

“Wow,” he sighed, his eyes moving around the room, a juvenile grin on his face as he took in framed quotes on the wall and the trio of shelves loaded with trophies and medals. My mom had made me keep every one, even after I’d quit riding and seeing them felt like an unhelpful reminder of the past. “Ronnie wasn’t kidding.”

I shook my head, huffing out a sigh as I dropped onto my bed. “For once, my brother wasn’t exaggerating.”

Cory laughed at that, depositing the bags as he spun my way with a look of pride. “No need to tell stories when you’ve got this much metal to back it up. You were really good.” He moved toward the other side of the room, spotting the bookshelf over my desk and I felt a fresh wave of unease. “What’s all this?” he asked, skimming his fingers along the spines of my old textbooks.

“Those are called books.”

He shot me a glare before turning his attention back to them, tilting his read to read the titles. “Psychology. Social work. Adolescent counseling.” He straightened, staring at them a second longer before he came to join me on the bed. “Is that what your degree is in? Psychology?”

“No. I never finished.”

“But that was the plan?”

I shrugged, because it was the plan. Still. It wasn’t the reason I’d married Cory, but the money he was paying me had helped me imagine a way back to that vision of what my life could look like. “Someday.”

“Someday? What does that mean?” He was curious, grinning at me eagerly.

“It means, if I can get Ronnie into a position where he doesn’t need so much of my time, I can start to take classes again.” I held my breath; it felt risky to say that out loud. I admitted what I wanted so rarely, and only ever to Elle. Telling someone else felt like I might be daring enough to finally move toward it.

He hadn’t taken his eyes off me, like what I was telling him was the most interesting thing he’d ever heard. “That’s what you want to do? You want to be a shrink?”

I laughed. “Not exactly. We had a great high school counselor, and I sort of always wanted to be like her.”

The way he nodded his head, slowly, his lips peeling into a grin like he’d tasted something delicious for the first time. “I could see that.”

My breath skittered out of me. Seeing the conviction in Cory’s gaze spun through me like helium, lifting me up. I felt like I was hovering just the tiniest bit off my bed.

“Yeah?”

He nodded faster this time, his expression more earnest than I’d ever seen it. “Of course. You’re one of the most patient people I know, and you listen better than anyone. Plus, you care.” He hesitated, shrugging one shoulder before he went on. “After my mom died, I had a therapist for a little while. You’ve got the right energy for it. You see things, hear things, that a lot of people miss. Being as compassionate as you are.. .I could see you helping a lot of people.”

I hadn’t expected more of a response than “you can do anything” or some other generally supportive platitude. I was entirely unprepared for that barrage of compliments, or the flutter in my chest from how sure he sounded giving them.

“Thank you,” was all I could manage, my cheeks burning under the heat of his stare. I had to look away.

But Cory tucked his finger under my chin, gently nudging me up to look at him again. “Baby, if this is your dream, you’ve got to go after it.”

“I will,” I swallowed. “But now isn’t the right time.”

His scowl was quick. “You can’t put your life on hold for your brother.”

I could see the argument building in him, but I didn’t want to do this now. “I know that’s what it looks like. But I want to see Ronnie succeed. He’s my little brother and I love him,” I tried to assure him, but his scowl was unrelenting. “Being on the road with him, with you, works for my custody arrangement with Tommy. And I promised my family I’d do this.” I’d never want to let them down. They’d supported me in every other way, delaying my degree was a small price to pay them back for that.

“Your family wants you to be happy.”

I took his face in my hands. “I am happy.”

Right in that moment, I was. Right then everything was working just fine and I didn’t need that to change. Not yet.

Pulling him close, I kissed his lips, a gentle entreaty, hoping he’d let this drop. When I eased back, he was still watching me closely, but the fight was gone from his eyes. “I’m happy.”

“Okay,” he sighed, not looking entirely convinced before he turned to kiss my palm.

“Now let’s go see if we can keep Gordon from mounting you again.” I laughed, shoving off the bed and holding out my hand to him.

“I think he likes me,” Cory said, taking it and following me out. “He’s a smart dog.”

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