Free Slow Ride by Kat Morrisey Page A

cuddled with a man who apparently
     had something going with another woman. She sighed, picking at the fruit salad on
     her plate.
    “So, Kyla, you’re into music, huh?” She would be grateful for Steve’s change in the
     subject until the day she breathed her last breath. She pushed thoughts of Cooper
     and Marla out of her head and focused on getting to know her new friends and letting
     them get to know her.
    • • •
    Marla stood in the doorway of her apartment and watched Cooper pull out of the spot
     in front and head back the way he came. He barely spoke as he drove her home, no matter
     how much she tried to get him to engage. When she had lifted herself into the truck
     she slid to the center seat, but he gently pushed her over to the passenger side.
     His silence and distance bothered her. She’d been hanging around Cooper and his friends
     forever, even when her brother was alive.
    Marla turned and shut the door, her mind spinning at the memories of her brother.
     She missed him. The day she found out he died, when she opened the door to two men
     in Army dress uniforms, her world had shattered into a million pieces.
    But she knew everything would be okay, because eventually Cooper would remember the
     magic of their time together. He would come to her when he realized he couldn’t live
     without her and beg for her forgiveness. She wouldn’t hesitate and the two would get
     married and have babies and live happily ever after. That was the way life was supposed
     to be.
    It wasn’t supposed to be about funerals with military honors or men who used you for
     one night and left the next morning. It wasn’t supposed to be about needing to sell
     yourself for the best things in life.
    She just had to be patient.
    Marla knew Cooper was going to that party to see the new woman in town, Kyla. Her
     nose wrinkled. The new girl wasn’t his type. She was all hips, and her ass was big.
     Her hair was dark and long and everyone knew Cooper liked petite, thin blondes with
     big boobs. Women like her. Not women like Kyla.
    But clearly Cooper wasn’t ready to settle down yet. She would have to give him more
     time. He needed time to get this dark-haired whore out his system. Then he’d come
     to her again. Marla could give him that. She’d let him have his fun one last time
     and then. . . and then they would start their forever.
    • • •
    Cooper had gone back to the motel after dropping Marla off at home, intent on finding
     Kyla. Maggie told him she’d gone off to the pier. He could not believe she had just
     walked off, at nightfall, to the pier. It wasn’t in the best part of town, and at
     this hour, who knew what kind of trouble she could get into. Scratch that, he knew
     just what kind of trouble she could get into and to say it freaked him out would be
     an understatement. He walked quickly and hit what constituted the boardwalk in town.
    As his eyes adjusted to the coming dark, he saw Kyla at the end of the pier. He spoke
     only when was close behind her. “It’s nice out here in the early morning and just
     at sunset, watching the boats coming in from their day. Wondering what they got in
     their hold for the market. That curiosity hasn’t gone away, not since I was a kid
     and stood here watching ‘em.”
    His eyes flicked down to her face. “Sorry about having to leave—I was on duty, getting
     the girls home who need rides. And Marla always needs a ride.” Cooper moved his hand
     around her waist. “I didn’t want to leave though.”
    Kyla relaxed and raised her eyes to his face. “Apology accepted, though you don’t
     really have to apologize to me for being a good guy and making sure people get home
     safe.” She paused and then asked, “Is she your girlfriend?”
    He grinned. “Nope. And if I had one, I am not the type of guy who would have his arm
     around another woman in front of her. If you ask around, that’ll be confirmed.”
    He dropped his eyes to her mouth as her teeth