Page 95 of Deserving Cora
“You know how I went to town yesterday with Ryan, Alaska, and Reese?” Cora asked him.
Pipe was glad for the change of subject. He didn’t like to see Cora sad. This wasn’t a night for sorrow. It was for celebrating Henley, Tonka, and Jasna’s new life together…and the new baby on the way. Things were changing on The Refuge, and Pipe was happy with the direction the business was going. “Yeah?” he said belatedly, when he realized Cora was waiting for his response.
“Well, we didn’t just go to that chocolate shop and get you those British chocolates you like so much.”
“No?” he asked with a lift of his brow.
“Nope. I met with your tattoo guy.”
Pipe blinked in surprise. “You did?”
“Uh-huh,” Cora said with a small grin. “And…since he still had the art he used to ink your new tattoo, I asked him to go ahead and do mine.”
Pipe froze. “What?”
“I got the same tattoo you did,” she told him. “Right where I told you I wanted it. In the small of my back. It’s a lot smaller than yours though, because holy crap, Pipe, that shithurts.”
Without a word, Pipe grabbed Cora’s hand and began towing her toward the doors to the barn.
Cora giggled. “Pipe, wait, we can’t leave!”
“We can and we are. You should’ve waited to tell me you got inked if you didn’t want me to haul you straight to our bed.”
She laughed again. Then turned her head and called out, “Alaska! We’re headed out!”
“You told him?” she asked loudly, making everyone turn to look at her, then Cora.
“Yup!”
“Have fun!” Alaska called out.
Ryan and Carly both gave her a thumbs up, and Reese simply smiled.
When they were out of the barn, Pipe growled, “I can’t believe you got it without me.”
“I know you wanted to be there, and I wanted that too, but I thought it would be more fun for it to be a surprise,” Cora said.
Pipe grunted.
He’d wanted to be there to support her when she’d gotten her first tattoo, but he was touched beyond belief that she’d gotten the same art that he’d put on his shoulder blade.
“It’s still red,” she warned him as he pulled her toward their cabin. “It’s gonna get all scabby and gross.”
“Tattoos aren’t gross,” Pipe told her.
“You know what I mean,” she muttered.
Pipe looked down and saw she was smiling as he walked them way too fast across The Refuge grounds. “How’s your arm feel?” he asked.
“Good.”
“And your arse?”
Understanding why he was asking, her smile widened. “It’s fine.”
“No pain?”
“No. Just a twinge here and there. But it doesn’t hurt right now,” she said quickly.
