The Delivery of Decor (Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers #7) - Liz Isaacson Page 0,85

washing machine before she padded into her master bathroom and got in the rainfall shower.

“Ah, yes,” she said, another sigh passing through her as she stood under the hot water in her own house. Everything was better in her own space, though she hadn’t minded being at Ward’s.

Bull House was spacious and wonderful, and it sat on a beautiful piece of land, with a great view of the town of Three Rivers to the northeast. She could only imagine what spring and summer would be like on that back porch, and as Dot showered, she found herself daydreaming about being there with Ward year-round.

Before she knew it, the water started to cool, and she hadn’t even washed her hair yet. She quickly got the job done and stepped out of the shower. Wrapped in her own towels, she brushed her teeth, moisturized her skin, and headed into the bedroom to get dressed.

Her coffee waited for her in the kitchen, and Dot poured a familiar tumbler with her favorite drink.

She wasn’t sure what she’d find at From the Ground Up, but everything looked so…normal. The wind clearly hadn’t blown down here, because none of the trees even bent over. The piles of rock and bark had been raked back into order. Cars and trucks sat in perpendicular lines in front of the storefront.

Dot went around to the back, but Calvin and his truck weren’t there. Of course, she didn’t really expect them to be. Since she’d taken a delivery up to Shiloh Ridge, they hadn’t had her truck to do that for the past four days.

She could only imagine the state Wendy would be in, though she’d kept in touch with her staff via text and email. Wendy had told her they’d “make do,” and she hadn’t bothered Dot much.

Dot parked Brutus in his usual place and went toward the building. Inside, she expected streamers and people to jump out from behind racks of fertilizer. No one even looked in her direction, as Amber had a line three deep at the register, and Wendy wasn’t at her desk at all.

She wasn’t sure why her chest pinched, but it did. She waved to Amber as she went past, and the woman’s face did light up. She’d come talk to Dot once the customers had been helped, and Dot passed into her office.

Once again, she expected something quite different than what stared back at her. As she stood just inside and recognized the desk had barely changed, she realized what had.

She had.

She’d changed since the last time she’d left From the Ground Up with the gravel Shiloh Ridge had ordered.

Ward had ordered it.

Dot drew in a breath and quickly stepped further into the office so she could close her door behind her. She just needed a minute to figure out what was happening. Who she was if she was no longer the Dorothy Crockett she’d always been.

Not always, she thought as she sat behind her desk. She’d changed when she’d left Albuquerque too. One of the great joys of life was that people could change. Even in the past week since she’d gotten back together with Ward, he’d changed. He didn’t ask her about her blood sugar, and he didn’t act quite so arrogant.

Dot looked at the invoices in front of her, something beating through her mind. You love him. You’re in love with him.

She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. She’d vowed once never to open that door inside her heart again. She knew what kind of bleeding could happen if she did. Just because she liked Ward and let him kiss her didn’t mean she was in love with him.

To distract herself, Dot got to work. She examined the papers Wendy had left for her, and by the time someone knocked on her door, Dot was ready to leave the office and go do some deliveries.

“There you are,” Wendy said with a warm smile when Dot opened the door. “How are you, dear?” She hugged Dot, who clung to her as if the older woman was Dot’s mother.

“Good,” she said, clearing the emotion from her voice. “What needs to go where?”

“Only one delivery this afternoon,” Wendy said, handing her a paper. “I didn’t know what time you’d be back or how you’d be feeling. We’ve rescheduled everyone else to next week.”

“What about tomorrow?” Dot asked. “I can deliver on Saturday.”

“It’s New Year’s Eve.”

“I can do a half-day,” Dot said. “That’s three small deliveries.”

“Everyone understood,” Wendy said with a smile and a