Nora put the final touches on an apple-caramel cake as she thought about the text message Davey had sent her at six a.m. He’d indicated that he looked forward to seeing her when he picked Ben up later in the afternoon. He’d apologized again and had told her that he missed her. His message had chipped away at her already crumbling defenses. In part, because she had missed him too. She was eager to see him, but a little nervous too. She didn’t know what to expect and hadn’t yet decided what she wanted.

Before the reporter issue, they’d shared a beautiful night of passion. She’d told Davey that the one night was all she could give. Since then, she’d thought about that night more times than she wanted to admit. All of the reasons why they shouldn’t be together were still there—Davey’s sophisticated world, Ben getting hurt, her getting hurt—but she wasn’t as adamant about it as she had been. Maybe because she’d been thinking about her grandfather’s advice.

Today was her day off. Earlier, she and Cosmo had taken a longer than normal morning jog then she’d cleaned the house from top to bottom. As she slid the cake into the oven, she glanced at her watch. She still had plenty of time to freshen up before Ben got home from school and Davey arrived to pick him up.

She headed toward the stairs but circled back when the doorbell rang. She wondered who it could be, since Davey wasn’t due for another hour. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find him standing on her porch. He looked sexy wearing a dark blue polo shirt and faded jeans.

Crap. She had on yoga pants and an off-the-shoulder shirt that came down to her knees. Her hair was falling out of her updo and she had flour on her shirt, maybe on her face too. She pushed a strand of hair away from her forehead. “You aren’t supposed to be here yet,” she said, her voice a little breathless because the mere sight of him brought back hot memories of the night they’d spent together. “I’m a mess.” She shoved at her hair again, feeling an uncomfortable distance that hadn’t been there before.

Davey had yet to say a word. He stared at her with heated eyes—which she had to admit was gratifying—then stepped inside, pushed the door shut, and pressed her against it.

“You’re a beautiful mess,” he said, his voice husky. He plunged a hand through her hair and pulled it out of the updo. As his body brushed against hers, tingles did a salsa up and down her body.

“God, I’ve missed you.” He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, then kissed her hot, hard, and hungry. “You should have answered my texts,” he said when he came up for a quick breath. Before she could answer, he reclaimed her lips for another sizzling kiss as he splayed his hands up and down her body.

She should have been put off by his caveman behavior. Her mind attempted to issue a cease and desist order, but her body was on indulgent auto-pilot. She kissed him back with all of the forbidden passion she had bottled up inside. When he pressed his body against hers, she discovered two things. One, he was hard as a rock. Second, regardless of what she’d told herself over the last week, she wanted Davey every bit as much as he seemed to want her.

He drew back and lowered to gaze into her eyes. Cradling her face in his hands he waited, clearly looking for her concurrence.

Once again, she gave in. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him with wild abandon. They twisted and turned their way to the couch, where Davey spun her around so they fell onto the sofa with her on top.

Then they were all over each other, her lips sucking on his neck, his mouth pressing kisses along her exposed shoulder. He moved his hands underneath her shirt. “Like the free-girling,” he said, his voice half growl as he touched her unencumbered breasts.

Damn it. She didn’t have a bra on, nor did she have any panties underneath her yoga pants. In her lust-laden state, she considered shimmying out of her pants to show him. But the oven timer went off and she jerked back instead.

“I…uh…” What was she doing? She was mad at him. She slid out of his reach. “I have to get my cake.” With as much dignity as she could muster, she straightened her shirt and disappeared into the kitchen.

When she pulled the cake out of the oven and turned around, Davey was behind her. Letting out a little squeak, she almost dropped the cake, but Davey steadied her, nudging her against the counter so she could place the pan on the cooling rack.

“Smells amazing,” he said, taking a step back.

Was he sorry that he’d kissed her? It didn’t matter because she was keeping her distance. But Pap’s guidance to live in the now popped into her head, making her second guess her stance.

“It’s apple cake,” she said inanely.

Davey ran a hand through his hair. “I’m really sorry.”

She went from undecided to pissed. While she’d been trying to decide where to go from here, he’d regretted what they’d just done. She put a hand on her hip. “If you apologize for that, I’m gonna smack you.”

Davey’s eyes lit with amusement. “Not for that,” he said, moving into her personal space. “For before that.” He put a hand on the counter on each side of her, caging her in, and then brushed his lips across the top of her ear. “For not listening to you about the reporter.” He caressed his knuckles across her cheek. “I can’t forgive myself for being an ass until you forgive me.”

Aw, damn. That was sweet.

“What do you say, Nora?” He tipped her chin up, and she gazed into his sincere eyes. “Please?”

How could she stay mad at him after what they’d just done, after his sweet words? She sighed. Pap, I hope you’re right. “I forgive you.”

Davey let out a long breath of what might have been relief, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Soft, sweet, and tender. When he drew back, it took her a moment to collect herself.

“I have to change,” she said, glancing at the clock. “Ben’ll be home soon.”

Davey slid his hands down to circle her waist. “I’ll let you go if I can have a piece—” he gave her a slow, lazy grin “—of that cake. It smells amazing.”

“Sure.”

After she’d agreed, he still didn’t release her.

“And if you’ll go out with Ben and me tonight,” he said, pressing his lips into her hair.

That wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t belong in Davey’s world, where she had to walk on eggshells and talk to reporters. The two of them were better off as friends, as co-guardians for Ben.

Davey feathered a hand through her hair and his mouth followed the same path. As he pressed tiny kisses through her hair, she began to cave. Maybe before she decided, she should show Davey a glimpse of her world. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said, pulling back so she could look him in the eye. “I’ll have pizza with you and Ben tonight if you’ll come with us tomorrow.” Her lips lifted. “We’re volunteering at a horse sanctuary.”

He flashed a quick and easy grin. “Deal.”

With Davey’s no-hesitation agreement, Nora suspected she had moved right into the palm of his hand. Even so, it was hard to be mad at him for wanting to spend time with her. Especially since that was exactly what she wanted too.

Davey hadn’t known what to expect at the horse sanctuary, but it sure as hell hadn’t been mucking stalls. When Nora had invited him, he’d anticipated a tour, maybe some light office work or a request for a donation. In her defense, she had said that they would be volunteering.

He was shocked by the number of people who had showed up on a Wednesday afternoon to volunteer. They had come in all shapes and sizes, young and old, fit and not so fit. When the owners gave out work assignments, Davey had been disappointed that he, Nora, and Ben had been assigned to the barn. Others were haying the fields—a job Davey could have gotten into—painting fences and working in the office.

Nora, on the other hand, had been thrilled with their assignment, especially after discovering two horses in the barn. While Nora easily connected with the horses, Davey was more reserved. He had no idea how to interact with them. He tried to follow Nora’s lead, but she had an innate ability that he didn’t have. He extended his palm to the smaller horse but snapped it back when the damn horse tried to bite him. The larger horse gave him the evil eye, so he hadn’t bothered to try with her. Instead, he wandered around with Ben explaining what they’d be doing. A few minutes later, Nora called him over and the big horse which had become docile let him rub her nose.

After petting the horses, they got to work. When Nora put her mind, body, and spirit into cleaning out a stall, Davey realized how entitled and disconnected he was. His idea of volunteering was showing up at an event and getting his picture taken or simply writing a check. While he wanted to believe that his photo sometimes generated a few bucks and that the dollars he donated helped those in need, it wasn’t the same as what Nora did.

She poured her heart and soul into the things she cared about. She was also teaching Ben the importance of service, which Davey appreciated. Leaning on his pitchfork, he glanced at the next stall where Nora worked tirelessly. Not only had she already cleaned two stalls to his one, but as she cleaned, she spoke to the horses. The soft blowing of their noses and bumping their heads against her made him believe she was really connecting with them.

She sure was something.

On his other side, Ben whirled around in the straw, tossing bunches of it into the air. When he got tired of the straw dance, he discovered a litter of yellow kitties and crawled over to play with them.

Even though Ben was off school for a volunteer day, he hadn’t cleaned shit, literal or otherwise. Clearly, Ben had gotten his work ethic from his old man. Davey picked up his pitchfork and shifted into high gear.

“Hey, buddy.” He waved Ben over. “We’re here to work.” He nodded at Ben’s smaller pitchfork. “Give me a hand.”

When Ben ambled over and got to work, Davey smiled at him. “It feels good to work up a sweat, doesn’t it?” He chuckled at his statement, even though it was the god-honest truth. That kind of thinking hadn’t entered his mind before today, an epiphany courtesy of Nora.

When they’d finished cleaning the barn, the volunteers gathered in the community room to watch a video about the rescue center. Horse Haven was a small non-profit that rescued any horse in need, no questions asked. They relied on community volunteers and donations to keep their operation afloat.

The video included the animal’s stories. Some had been hurt, others abused. Some were retired or discarded race horses. There was a single cow on the property that Nora had been particularly drawn to.

When the video shared the cow’s story, Davey excused himself to use the restroom. He didn’t have the stomach for it. The poor cow had been mutilated—he had a big hole in his side—as part of some new farm process. But the cow’s operation had gone bad and he’d been dying a slow death when the owner of Horse Rescue had found him. After another operation by the co-founder of Horse Rescue, who was also a vet, the cow was slowly recovering.

As Davey lingered around at the urinal waiting for the cow scene to finish, a swell of anxiety smacked him in the head. After they finished up here, they were driving to Fallsdale to meet AJ who was in town visiting his cousin. Davey and AJ had agreed to meet at Rubio’s, a steakhouse.

What the hell had he been thinking? Nora and Ben didn’t eat steak, and after today, he wasn’t sure he could either. Damn it, he needed to start paying attention to food options for the two of them. He dawdled long enough to miss the rest of the video. When he returned, the owners were wrapping up by thanking the volunteers.

The day had been a humbling experience. It made him want to get out more and really volunteer like they had done today. He’d also gained a new respect and compassion for animals. Before Nora, he’d never considered that large animals were sometimes abused or abandoned. Nor had he ever thought about the source of the food on his plate.

He loitered in the back for another minute as he studied Nora. She’d just worked her ass off, yet her body was relaxed, her features animated, her smile pure contentment. She was in her element here. He could envision her running a place like this one day, with him and Ben helping out.

He approached Nora with admiration and a little awe. He hung out with her as she talked with the owners and he offered to donate a few autographed pictures to be raffled during Horse Haven’s upcoming silent auction. He also ended up writing a check.

After the conversation wrapped up, he took Ben to the men’s room to clean up and change while Nora headed to the ladies’ room. Then they walked toward the truck together, but Nora stopped part-way there.

“Give me a few minutes,” she said, then circled back to the pasture to say goodbye to the cow. The animal must have been nearly two thousand pounds but Nora waltzed into the field fearlessly. The big black and white creature ambled right up to her and let her stroke his head.

As Nora talked with the cow, Davey took in the farm. Horses grazed in a large pasture while chickens wandered about pecking at bugs. He drew in the scent of fresh cut hay intermingled with the fragrance of sweet wildflowers. Similar to his place, the sanctuary was impossibly calm, the only sounds were those from nature. Birds chirping, bees buzzing, horsetails swishing. An owl hooting in the distance, wind-chimes ringing in the breeze.

When he’d lived in Charlotte, he had never missed the country. Maybe because moving there had been his escape from his father’s alcoholic ways. But now that he’d moved back to Serenity, he couldn’t imagine not returning to his tranquil farm in between races to restore and reenergize. And, to be close to Ben and Nora.

In the pasture, Nora continued to rub the cow. Eventually, she kissed him on the nose and then made her way back.

Afterward, they headed to Fallsdale to meet AJ. Pulling into the parking lot, Davey passed by the sign which advertised the best steak east of Omaha. He puffed out his cheeks as he parked, then got out of the truck and jogged over to open Nora’s door. As Ben hopped out of the back, Davey took Nora’s hand and helped her out.

She glanced at the restaurant sign, then shifted her gaze toward him. “Anything here for Ben and me to eat?”

“Yeah, sure.” At least Davey hoped there was. He’d eaten at Rubio’s before, but he’d always ordered steak so the hell if he knew what else they offered. He gave her a half-smile. “We’ll look at the menu once we’re inside and if you don’t like it, we’ll go somewhere else, okay?”

Nora flashed him a warm smile that did something to his gut. He wondered if he was in over his head. Every time he was with Nora, he fell for her a little more. His old MO would have been to run for the hills, but that wasn’t what he wanted now. He’d never felt this way before and wasn’t sure how to handle it. The uncertainty made him anxious, but he pushed it aside. You got her to go out with you again, he reminded himself, just enjoy it.

Inside, he retrieved a menu and handed it to Nora. Thankfully the menu was big and Nora said there were plenty of choices for her and Ben. The hostess escorted them to a table in the side room where AJ was waiting.

Davey signed a couple of autographs along the way. Right before they were seated an attractive red-head asked if she could get a picture taken with him. As he agreed, Ben bounced to his side.

“I wanna be in the picture too,” Ben whined.

He ruffled Ben’s hair. “Sure, buddy,” he said, making the red-head frown.

Pulling Ben to his side, he gave the red-head a half apologetic, half it’s-this-or-nothing look. “He’s my boy.”

After the picture, Ben raced over to greet AJ and Nora sidled up to Davey. “Thank you,” she said, and then kissed him on the cheek.

Davey linked his arm with Nora’s. If that’s all it took to make her happy, he was gonna take a hell of a lot more pictures with Ben in the future.

They greeted AJ, then took seats at the round table.

“We volunteered at a horse place,” Ben told AJ. “It was awesome.”

Davey laughed. Sure, it had been awesome for Ben. He’d gotten a day off school to mostly play in the hay.

A waitress arrived and took their drink order.

After she left, AJ raised a brow in Davey’s direction. “You got community service or something?”

He lifted his hand to flip AJ off—not to be an asshole but because that’s how they communicated—but Ben’s noisy humming caught Davey’s attention. He needed to set the right example for his son.

“No,” Davey said, lowering his hand. “They needed help.” He slid his gaze to Nora. “And it was important to her.”

Grinning, AJ nudged Nora. “Feel the power, baby. His idea of volunteering is to write a check.”

Once again, Davey had a strong urge to flip AJ off, but Nora gave him a sweet, appreciative look that dissolved it. Still, his friend didn’t do any better when it came to volunteering.

After the waitress dropped off their drinks, Davey flicked a look at AJ. “Pot, kettle.”

AJ’s grin widened. “Yeah, but I don’t have a hot mama that I’m trying to impress.”

“Hot mama,” Ben parroted. “Hot mama,” he said again, articulating the words in an exaggerated southern drawl that was similar to AJ’s.

Nora elbowed AJ. “Behave,” she said, but her lashes fluttered and her lips tilted upward. Davey shook his head. Nora seemed to be fond of his butt-head friend.

“I got the day off of school,” Ben said.

“Cool.” AJ blew his straw wrapper across the table at Ben. “I wasn’t the best student when I was in school.”

Ben scrunched his nose. “It’s not really my thing either.”

“You do well,” Nora put in.

Ben shrugged.

“What’s your favorite subject?” AJ asked.

“I dunno, maybe social studies.”

Davey grinned. “I think mine was recess.”

“Ooh!” Ben raised his hand in the air. “Can I change my answer? I like recess best too.”

Nora shook her head.

The waitress returned with Nora’s glass of vegan wine and took their order.

Nora ordered the pasta primavera, Ben a veggie burger with extra fries. AJ ordered the twenty-two-ounce Porterhouse steak. When the waitress looked at Davey, he was still hemming and hawing.

His go to was a big juicy steak and he was going to have to watch AJ eat his big juicy steak. But as he opened his mouth to order it, an image of the cow from Horse Haven appeared in his head. Remembering Nora’s gentle, loving way with the cow, he clamped his mouth shut. “I’ll take the swordfish,” he eventually said.

AJ gaped at him. “Since when do you eat fish?”

Davey leveled a look at his friend. “I love swordfish,” he said, even though he’d never eaten it in his life. Unless he counted fish sticks, although he wasn’t entirely sure they were actually fish.

As AJ smirked, Nora beamed at Davey. He reached for her hand under the table. He didn’t care about his friend’s ribbing because he had made Nora smile. She traced little hearts on the top of his hand, making him extra glad he’d ordered the fish.

“How’s your car running?” AJ asked.

He and AJ talked shop for a few minutes until salads were delivered.

“Did you always want to be a racer?” Nora asked AJ.

“Darlin’,” AJ said, pushing at his salad with a fork, “I popped out of my mama wanting to race.”

Nora laughed.

“How ‘bout you, Dad?” Ben asked. “Did you always want to race?”

“Nah, when I was younger I just wanted to work with Cruz building fast shit.” He winced at his use of the curse word and quickly corrected it. “Fast stuff, you know car engines, boat engines.”

Davey talked about a couple of the cars he and Cruz had transformed, then their entrees were delivered.

Ben stuffed a big bite of ‘burger’ into his mouth, then slid his gaze between Davey and AJ. “Which one of you is gonna win this season?”

“Me,” Davey and AJ answered in unison.

They all laughed.

“I’ll win if I can get my owner off my ass,” AJ said.

Before Ben could repeat the word, Davey leveled him a don’t-even-think-about-it look. When Ben snapped his mouth shut, Davey’s chest swelled with pride. Maybe he was finally getting this whole parent thing.

He took a few bites of the swordfish, which was pretty decent, then glanced at AJ. “Is he giving you a hard time again?”

A vein in AJ’s forehead twitched. “I got lectured about being a team player this season and—” he looked around, presumably to see if anyone was paying attention “—supporting our superstar in his quest for victory.”

“What does that mean?” Nora asked.

Davey leaned in close to her. “He’s asking AJ to run interference,” he whispered. “So his teammate—the chosen one—has a better chance of winning.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” she said, her voice indignant.

AJ’s jaw tightened. “It’s a bunch of BS.”

“Hopefully he’ll chill out when the season gets underway.” Davey popped a french fry into his mouth. “Our first race is a month from today. You two want to come?” he asked, shifting his gaze between Nora and Ben.

“Yeah!” Ben pumped his hand in the air.

“It’d be nice. I’ve never been to a race.” Nora toyed with a lock of hair. “But I’ll have to see if I can get the time off work.”

“I have an in with the owner.” Davey winked at Nora. “Cruz already talked Mom into coming and she wants you and Ben to come too.”

His statement garnered a smile from Nora. “Okay, let me see if I can swing it.”

“It’s on me,” he said. Of course he’d pay for her and Ben’s trip.

Nora gave him a look that said he was an idiot. “Some of us have bills to pay, like rent.”

“I’m paying for that now as a part of child support.” He had finally convinced Nora to accept the support last night, but only after showing her the papers his attorney had drafted. Obviously, she hadn’t read the fine details.

Nora shook her head. “You can’t pay for everything of mine.”

Davey rubbed his chin. “I have legal papers that indicate otherwise.”

AJ snickered, the bastard, probably thinking about the whole Deadbeat Dad fiasco. But some good had come from it, like Nora finally accepting his support.

“Come on, Aunt Nora,” Ben whined. “I wanna see Dad race.”

Ben’s plea won Nora over. Davey could see it in her eyes even before she opened her mouth. “Okay, but we can’t stay long because Ben has school.”

“I can miss school,” Ben said.

Nora shook her head, but before she could protest, Davey outlined his plan. “I’ll fly you in on Friday evening and home on Monday. That way Ben will only miss one day of school.”

“I could miss more,” Ben grumbled.

“I guess one day wouldn’t hurt,” Nora said, playfully nudging Ben.

Nora’s agreement brought Davey a rush of relief, followed by a surge of joy. Then he remembered the sponsor commitments he’d agreed to earlier in the week and tipped his head toward Nora. “I’ll have to work with my team on Saturday morning and I have a few sponsor events I have to take care of in the afternoon.” He gave Nora a slow smile. “After that I’ll be all yours and Ben’s.”

“If your boyfriend doesn’t have time for yah,” AJ said, “I’m at your service.” He gave Nora a mock salute.

As Nora laughed, Davey kicked AJ under the table. “Asshole,” he mouthed the word so Ben wouldn’t hear.

Throughout the remainder of their meal, Davey’s excitement soared. He couldn’t have been more pleased that Ben, Nora, and his mother were all coming to his first race of the season. A deep sense of belonging unfurled in Davey, shocking the hell out of him.

He now had the family he’d never known he wanted.