The Delivery of Decor (Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers #7) - Liz Isaacson Page 0,40

will not even blink for longer than it takes to breathe in.”

He studied her, and Dot wasn’t moving until he promised. She needed to get a hot shower going and get him in it. She needed to then meet him at the bathroom door with super-heated towels. While he got warm in the shower spray, she’d make hot apple cider and force it down his throat.

“Ward,” she said. “Promise me.”

“I won’t move,” he said. “I won’t fall asleep.”

Dot stared at him for another few seconds, and then she spun and ran down the hall. She gathered as many towels as sat in a stack on the shelf, and she practically slid down the steps to the basement she went so fast.

She found the dryer and tossed the towels inside, twisted the knob, and started the appliance. She took the steps two at a time back to the kitchen, where she said, “Talk to me, Ward. If you’re asleep, I’m going to lose my mind.”

His sexy chuckle filled the room. “I’m not asleep.”

“Tell me your greatest fear.” She filled the electric kettle with water and switched it on.

“I’m terrified of being inadequate,” Ward said, and Dot looked over to the couch. He was lying on it, and she couldn’t see him.

“Cider or tea?” she asked, puzzling over how in the world Ward Glover could ever be inadequate.

“Tea,” he said. “I hate hot apple cider.”

“Good to know,” Dot murmured. She opened the same cupboard that he’d pulled hot chocolate from last night and found a box of herbal tea. She put a bag in a mug and hurried to the couch. She leaned over the end of it and looked into Ward’s eyes. “Warm or cold?”

“Getting warmer,” he said.

“Do you want me to put you in the shower?” she asked. “It’ll warm you right up.”

“No,” he said, his eyes drifting closed. He pulled them back open again. “Just come lay with me.”

“Give me another minute,” Dot said. She returned to the sliding glass door and made sure it was locked. She took off her boots and wet jeans too. She picked up everything she could and then dropped it on the counter when she saw the steam rising from the kettle.

She poured the hot water over the tea bag and then reclaimed the wet clothes. Back in the basement, she swapped out the now hot towels for the clothes, restarted the appliance, and hurried back upstairs.

Her heartbeat sprinted around her chest as she lifted the blanket from Ward’s body and started tucking the hot towels around his torso and legs, reserving one for his head and neck.

“We have rice bags in the cupboard beside the microwave,” he said. “They heat up and get real nice and toasty.”

“I’ll get you one for your hands and one for your feet,” she said. “I’m going to change so I’m dry, and then I’ll come lay by you.”

Her hair dripped, because it had been wet when she’d gone outside, and it had frozen. She fetched his tea and handed it to him. “Sit up and drink, Ward.”

“Those towels feel great,” he said, taking the tea. His eyes caught on her bare legs. “You’re not wearing pants.”

Dot grinned at the shock on his face. “Neither are you, cowboy.” She hurried into the kitchen and started two rice bags in the microwave before going into her bedroom and put on his college clothes she’d worn to bed, kicking her wet shirt out into the kitchen so it wasn’t resting on carpet.

She finally joined him on the couch, lifting the blanket to tuck a rice bag against his bare feet. She handed him the other one, added another log to the fire, and slid beneath the blanket to share her body heat with him.

“Better?” she asked, noting that he’d wrapped all ten fingers around the hot mug and that he inhaled the steam rising from it too.

“Getting better,” he said, his eyes darting around the room without looking at her. “I feel so stupid.”

“You should,” Dot said. “But not as stupid as me. I showered and chit-chatted with my mom while you were—” She cut off, because she could not imagine how she’d feel if he’d died while she was lying in bed, safe in his house, talking to her mother about cooking too much chicken.

Tears filled her eyes, and Ward moved. He switched position on the couch so he could wrap her in his arms and hold her against his chest. Dot allowed herself to shed a few