The Delivery of Decor (Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers #7) - Liz Isaacson Page 0,26
It held a ready-to-sleep-in queen bed, a dresser she’d already dug through, and a nightstand with a single lamp on it.
She hadn’t asked who’d slept in here before, but it didn’t matter. Everything looked and smelled clean and fresh.
Dot closed the door behind her and set the spotlight so the light shone toward the ceiling. It illuminated the room decently, and Dot stripped out of her clothes and picked up the T-shirt and sweat pants Ward had found for her.
The T-shirt said TEXAS across the front of it, along with a pair of longhorns. It was bright orange, and Dot couldn’t believe this was what he’d chosen. He couldn’t be playing a joke on her, because Ward didn’t strike her as the type of man to even know how to joke. He could tease, sure. But a joke?
No way.
The sweat pants were gray, with a similar T down on one ankle.
A knock sounded on the door, and Dot gasped as she spun toward it. “I’m not dressed,” she said, her voice an octave higher than normal.
“Do the clothes fit?” he asked through the closed door. “They’re from my college days, and the smallest stuff I’ve got.”
“I’m trying them right now,” she said, still holding the ugly T-shirt in front of her like a shield. She quickly put her arms through it and stepped into the pants. They were still too big, but not so large that she was drowning in cloth.
She opened the door and put one hand on her hip like a real supermodel. “They’re not terrible,” she said. “Except for this color. What is this?”
Ward’s eyes dripped down to her toes and back to her eyes. A smile formed, and it wasn’t so dark that Dot couldn’t see the glint of attraction in his eyes. It surprised her a little bit, though Ward hadn’t been shy about how he felt about her.
The memory of kissing him filled her mind, and Dot leaned into the doorway for support.
“I did this accounting certificate from the University of Texas,” he said. “It was a two-year program, distance education, and I don’t know. I wanted to feel a part of the university.” He shrugged and reached out to touch one of the sleeves on her shirt. “I bought all this Texas stuff and I’d wear it when I did my classes.”
Dot grinned at him. “You have many layers, Mister Glover.”
“I think that’s a compliment.”
“It is.” Dot didn’t have anything else to say, so she straightened. “I’m still trying to figure out who you are.”
“Me too,” he said, dropping his eyes. He was softer without the cowboy boots and hat on. Right now, he wore a pair of shorts made out of the same material as her sweat pants and a T-shirt with the words Home is Where the Herd Is splashed across the front of it in a western font.
“Yet another layer to uncover,” Dot said. “But we’ll have to do that tomorrow, Woods. I’m exhausted even though all we did was watch movies and talk this afternoon.”
Ward lifted his eyes to hers when she used his first name. She needed to use it more often so she’d start to think of him as a Woods. The name didn’t quite fit though, and she knew why he’d looked up at the use of it.
“Why don’t you use your first name?” she asked.
“It’s a long story,” he said. “I’ll have to tell it another time.” He nodded at her and turned toward the kitchen. “Good night, Dot.”
“Night,” she said, retreating into the bedroom. She didn’t close the door though. If the generator went out, she’d need the heat from the fireplace to keep warm.
She gathered her torch and put it on the nightstand with her phone, which was nearly dead. She’d put it on power saving mode hours ago, and that was the only way she still had any battery life left. She had a charger in her truck, but Ward said he’d get it in the morning when the storm had calmed down.
Dot climbed beneath the thick quilt on the bed and reached over to switch off her light. She was physically exhausted, but the moment she closed her eyes, she was wide awake. Ward had said he’d be going to bed right away too, but he bumped around in the kitchen and living room for several more minutes before the house dropped into silence. Even then, Dot didn’t hear him go past her bedroom to his.