Laura Ray (Ray Series) by Kelley Brown Page B

eight years ago.
    When Art came home he came with hopes of building a new life for himself and to enjoy being around his nephew. He smiled remembering the first time he had seen Laura wearing those boyish clothes at the Halloween carnival. Had it not been for that blond ponytail she might have been more successful in pulling it off. He felt that night the first awakening since his wife died that he could be attracted to another woman.
    Art asked Mary to invite her over to her house so that he could get better acquainted. He enjoyed her cute demeanor and competitive spirit while they played cards that night. Then the rape occurred. He gladly helped Harold that night mostly for what the man had done to Laura, but he felt that the man had taken away from him also. Laura needed time to heal emotionally from the rape, time Art didn’t want to lose. It had been a year now and he wanted to see if Laura was ready to begin a relationship with him.
    Laura walked out of Cherokee Togs looking all around to find her car, then she saw him standing there with a big grin on his face. Feeling happy to see him but her heart thudded wondering if her car had extensive repairs that would cost her a lot of money that she didn’t have.
    He opened the pickup door for her to get in. As soon as he climbed in on his side, she turned to ask questions. He held up his hand. “ Your car is okay and no, it will not cost you a fortune.”
    “Are you a mind reader?” she asked relaxing a bit.
    “Let’s just say, I’ve been around the block, so to speak,” he smiled to release her tension some as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I have given your car a complete inspection and am happy to tell you as your car doctor that she is now in very good health.”
    “I’m happy to know that, Doctor Arthur,” she quipped.
    “Please call me Art. I know that’s what Mary calls me, but nobody has called me Arthur in twenty years except my family.”
    “Sure, Art, I like that much better anyway.”
    “Okay,” he glanced at her in appreciation, “Now, back to the car. I drained the radiator and put new antifreeze and water in it. I drained your transmission and replaced it with new fluids. I put in new brake fluid and checked your shocks. I greased underneath the car. I put in new spark plugs and wires. I checked your battery and cleaned the posts and cables. Your carburetor, fuel pump, and water pump seem to be in good working order. It doesn’t seem to be getting hot so your thermostat seems to be good. I balanced and rotated your tires for you so that’s taken care of for a while and changed the oil. I also replaced your windshield wipers; they seemed to be old and stiff.”
    Laura sat there in shock with her mouth open. “I thought you said that this would not cost much. I’ve never heard John talk about even half of that stuff .”
    Art just chuckled. “I promise you will be able to afford it.”
    “I will bring the car by your house at six o’clock. You see, I’m not entirely innocent here,” he confessed. “When I bring the car over, I will need a ride home and I hoped you and Danny would go to dinner with me.”
    Laura hesitated, this sounded entirely too much like a date. Was she ready for this? He had been nice and he did include Danny.
    “If you don’t want dinner, that’s fine. I can go home and eat a TV dinner by myself,” he glanced her way to see her reaction .
    Oh, well, she resolved within herself, it’s just dinner, “You know what, I really would hate for you to have to eat another TV dinner, by yourself. Why not? It’s just dinner. Right?”
    “Right,” he grinned, “Just dinner.” Whew, he thought, got through the first hurdle .
    Laura and Danny were ready when Art drove up. “You drive,” he said handing her the keys, “I want to know what you think.”
    She started the engine and there was no whine or knock. The car purred like a kitten. “Wonderful,” Laura said as she drove out on the highway for a test