Page 31 of The Texas Ranger: Saddled Up
“No apology needed. That’s what friends are for.” He stood and crossed to the dresser. “That shirt has vomit on it. I don’t think you’ll want to wear it outside.” He took out two items and held them up. “T-shirt or flannel?”
She looked up from her stained blouse. “How about the button down. I think I can work with that one.”
He tossed it onto the bed and returned the T-shirt. “I’ll let you get dressed and meet you outside.”
“Bear?” She caught him at the door.
He looked back at her. “Yeah?”
“The bathroom? Where can I find it?”
“Down the hall to the right. Watch for piss on the seat. Although they can shoot a tin can four hundred yards away, they can’t find the toilet bowl.”
She waited until he had time to get outside and she jumped up, shaking her head. She’d slept in Bear’s bed and he’d done the gentlemanly thing and slept on the sofa. There was something immensely absurd about this situation.
Aasia picked up the borrowed shirt and held it against her frame, then brought it to her nose to inhale the scent. It smelled like him. A blend of rain, spice and honey. The material was soft and worn, like it was his favorite. Sliding her arms in, she slid the buttons through the holes, feeling the hug of the flannel against her skin. The fringed hem nearly reached her knees.
Grabbing her skirt off the floor, she dragged the belt from the loops and swung it around her waist, clasping it. She turned the shirt into a dress. Now no one would know she was wearing Ben’s shirt, except for her. That made her smile. There was something cozy about wearing something of his.
She swiped up her things and her phone and gasped at what she saw. The message she wrote to Bentley had been ‘sent’.Oh no!She snapped her chin up, looking at the cat who played with a loose thread on the blanket.
“Young man, did you do this?”
He paused in his shenanigans and stared back at her innocently.
She rubbed the tension from her forehead.
Taking a deep meditative breath, she tucked her clothes tucked under one arm and the kitten under the other, dangling her boots from one finger.
“You and I are going to have to discuss manners, my friend,” she whispered to the kitten as if he could understand. He lifted a paw and tapped the end of her nose. He was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.
Pausing in the open doorway, she glanced up and down the long hall to make sure the coast was clear. Although she’d slept alone in Bear’s bed, she doubted any of the cowboys would believe that story. Tiptoeing to the bathroom she locked the door, dropped her armful onto the floor and placed the kitten down on the sink. “Behave yourself. Got it, mister?”
She looked into the mirror and nearly scared herself.
If there was ever a visual for a drunken mess, she would fit that description perfectly.
Her hair looked like a straw broom. Her make up was smeared. And did she have a speck of vomit on her cheek?
“Gross.”
Scrubbing her face with the bar of soap that smelled like the forest after a downpour, she then dried off with a towel that had a trace of woodsmoke in the material. She did her best calming her wild hair by combing her fingers through the mess. She decided it was a lost cause.
Scooping her belongings up again, she opened the door.
She ran her face—literally—into a bare, hard chest. She looked up—way up—into Echo’s wide-eyed expression. His shock quickly turned into an easy grin that lit his eyes.
Thankfully he had his pants on.
“Morning, Aasia.” His teasing tone made her cheeks warm. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Morning. I was just…well…” How could she explain what she was doing there? “Using the bathroom.”
“That shirt looks familiar.” He touched the sleeve.
Where was that hole in the floor when she really needed it to swallow her?
“Really? I wouldn’t have a clue why? It’s new. The rustic, worn look is all the rave in women’s fashion these days.”
