Free Black Magic Shadows by Gayla Drummond

were racing back and forth, barking and chasing each other, the toy forgotten. I moved to the steps to get out of their way.
    Sitting next to Diablo, I put my arm around him and scratched his chest. He grunted and leaned against me.
    "Why aren't you playing?"
    " Playing's for pups ."
    "Bone and Leglin aren't pups."
    Diablo grunted again.
    "Playing's good for everyone," I said.
    The black pit bowed his head and mumbled, " I don't know how ."
    "You played in the snow at the park." I moved to scratching behind his ear.
    " We were knocking each other down. I know how to do that ."
    Of course he did. He'd been trained to fight, so knocking an opponent off his feet had been part of the training. I hugged him. "I didn't know how to play when I was a dog. But there's an extra tennis ball."
    " Can't catch it ."
    Diablo had a habit of making my heart hurt. I thought he'd settled in well considering his past. He'd been super careful with the little ones. In fact, all the ex-fighters had.
    "We can go around back and practice," I suggested, not really expecting him to take me up on the offer.
    He watched Bone leap into the air, catching the ball Dane had thrown, and twitched. Licking his chops, he said, " Okay ."
    I hugged him. "Let me put the little ones inside and get the ball."
    Five minutes later, we were in the back yard. I held up the tennis ball. "We'll start easy. I'll just toss it in the air, and you try to catch it."
    " Sure ." Diablo was tense, his tail tucked.
    "No pressure, okay? I bet it's hard to learn to catch like this. I can't even catch popcorn with my mouth." I saw his tail relax a bit. "It'll take practice."
    " Right ."
    He missed the first three tosses, but didn't give up in disgust, to my pleasure. Instead, he relaxed and kept trying. The seventh, he caught, his ears flattening and then perking in surprise.
    "Yay!" I scratched his neck. "You did it. Give me the ball."
    " No ." Diablo backed away, his tail high and beginning to wag.
    "Come on, I can't throw it for you if I don't have it."
    " You can have it if you catch me ." He took off running; laughing, I gave chase.

NINE

    ––––––––
    B y six-forty, I was ready for my date, and wondering why the hell I felt so nervous. It wasn't as though I were going out with a stranger or someone I barely knew. Logan had seen me in all sorts of situations. We'd already had a sort-of date, had even cuddled and slept together. We didn't need to do anything impress each other. He'd seen me with morning hair.
    Yet, I had to leave the living room window, where I'd been standing to watch for his arrival, to go wash my hands. My palms were sweating like crazy. I went to the kitchen, washed and dried my hands, and seriously considered a trip upstairs to rub some antiperspirant on my palms. Sweaty hands were gross.
    The dogs were lying around the living room, and Bone stuck his head over the back of the couch. " Logan's here ."
    "Crap."
    My white pit cocked his head. " I thought we liked him? "
    "We do. Sorry, it's weird people stuff." I hurried to the front door, hearing the rumble of Logan's dark green, classic muscle car as I got there, and opened the door. He was just pulling into the parking area in front of the garage. "Crap. Over-eager, much?"
    Since I already had the door opened, I waved at him before grabbing my coat and purse. "See you later, guys. Keep an eye on the littles. Leglin, you're in charge. Bye."
    By the time I stepped out and shut the door, Logan was out of his car. "Hi."
    "Hi." I began to put my coat on while heading for the stairs, and had to stop when it tangled around my legs. "Just a minute."
    "I thought I was supposed to come to the door?" He walked toward me. I dropped my purse, trying to wrestle my coat on. "You want some help with that?"
    Totally flustered, I stopped struggling. "Yes, please."
    He climbed the steps, picked up my purse, and took my coat. "There's this trick to it. You put one arm in at a time."
    I accepted my purse when he