Page 13 of Devoted Enough

She slowly shook her head. “It’s stunning.”

“Thank you. It’s smaller than Josh’s house, with just three bedrooms, but it works for me.”

I showed her to the bathroom, and she grabbed onto my arm. “It’s like a spa in here. Look at that bathtub.”

With a chuckle, I said, “You can take a bath if you want. I’ll run up to my room, which is right above here, and grab you something to wear. I’ll leave it on the bed and meet you in the family room. In how long do you think?”

She eyed the bathtub like she longed to get into it. “I’ll take a quick shower just to warm up.”

I nodded. “Fresh towels are in here.” I pointed to a cabinet. “And there should be some fresh soap and shampoo if you need it in the cabinet by the tub.”

“Thanks. I won’t take very long.”

“Take your time. I don’t think we’ll be leaving anytime soon. I’ll call about your car as well.”

I left her alone in the bathroom and shut the door. I closed my eyes and drew in a few deep breaths. Knowing she was naked under that robe was driving me insane. Who was I kidding? There is no way I could be friends with Haven. Not when the only thing I wanted to do when I was near her was kiss her.

With a shake of my head, I headed to my room to get her something to wear.

Chapter Two

HAVEN

I stood in the middle of the massive bathroom and did a three-sixty.

“Holy crap,” I whispered as I took in all the rich woods and soothing colors. From what I could tell, all the cabinets in the entire house were a dark shaker style. The bathtub was a huge soaker tub that sat in front of a large picture window. I was dying to know what the view looked like from that window.

The shower was also oversized and all glass. I removed Nate’s robe and laid it over the small bench in the room. I stepped inside the shower and laughed.

“What in the heck are all the knobs for?”

I pressed myself against the stone tile wall and turned one of them on. The rain shower came on. I adjusted it to hot and then started playing with the other ones. Water came from everywhere, so I quickly turned them off and kept the rain shower on. I hadn’t grabbed any soap or shampoo. All I really needed to do was rinse off with some hot water to get warm.

Closing my eyes, I dropped my head back and let the water run over my face and down my body. It felt so dang good.

A light knock on the bathroom door pulled me out of my trance.

“Yeah?” I called out.

“I put some clothes on the bed for you. It was the best I could find until yours are dry.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you, Nate.”

I paused to see if he said anything else. As I stared at the door, I frowned. Why was he being so nice to me? He was usually very standoffish and avoided me like the plague. Seeing me looking like a drowned rat probably made him feel sorry for me. And why did I have to have another flat when he came across me? It was just my luck, at least when it came to Nathan Shaw.

After getting good and plenty warm, I shut off the water and dried off. Using the towel Nate had given me earlier, I wrapped that around my head. I opened the bathroom door slightly to ensure Nate wasn’t still in the bedroom. He wasn’t, and he had shut the door when he left. A small part of me was disappointed.

“Stop that, Haven. He made it perfectly clear ages ago that you aren’t his type.”

I stepped out and looked around the guest room once again. It wasn’t anything over the top, with a simple queen-size bed with an iron bed frame sitting against the feature wall. Three large windows were at the top, most likely allowing light into the room. A small sofa sat to one side, and on the other side was a giant picture window, with a smaller window to the left and a glass door to the right. Above the picture window was another smaller window. The view from the room must be crazy nice. I peeked out to see a table and two chairs out back, but with the rain and the darkening sky, I couldn’t see anything else.

In the corner was a small antique writing desk with an oil lamp sitting on it. I smiled as I walked over to it. I ran my finger along the glass and smiled as I thought about the oil lamp my grandmother used to have on her writing desk. This lamp was a beautiful piece, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a family heirloom. Just like that, however, I was reminded that my fatherbroke my grandmother’s lamp one night when he was angry with my mother.

I sighed and turned away from the desk. What must that be like to have things like this passed down through families. I chewed on my lower lip. I wouldn’t know. The only thing I had ever gotten was a small inheritance from my grandmother that I was going to use for the dog park. Unfortunately, my mother fell on hard times, and I had to use the money to get her mortgage payments caught up. My father came from a poor family who made their living either farming or mining. My father had left home when he was fourteen because his father was abusive. The apple hadn’t fallen far. I closed my eyes and forced myself not to go down that road. It had taken me years to learn to drown out what that man had done to me.

Turning, I saw the clothes Nate had put out for me: a Montana State T-shirt, black sweatpants, and an oversized sweatshirt with the Shaw Ranch logo. I picked up the sweatshirt and brought it up to my nose, taking in a deep breath as the smell of Nate filled my senses.

“Stop it, Haven,” I said, dropping it back to the bed. I was glad he brought the sweatshirt since I also put my bra in the dryer. After slipping on the T-shirt and the sweats, which I had to tie super tight to keep them from falling off, I put the sweatshirt on. He had even put a pair of wool socks out for me. I put them on and headed back into the bathroom. I towel-dried my hair and then glanced around for a blow dryer. I found one in a cabinet and was able to dry my hair. My curls would be out of control since I had no product or hair straightener in it, but it would have to do. I had long ago stopped trying to impress Nate Shaw. He wasn’t interested in me, and I would do good to remember that.