Page 24 of Last Light

They were never very comfortable.

In the next drawer are the men’s underwear. I shake out a pair of gray boxer briefs and hold them up to gauge the size.

Travis is on his hands and knees in the closet, rooting through the shoes.

“These look like they’ll fit you,” I say. “You want a couple of these?”

Travis straightens up and glances over. Maybe I’m imagining it, but it looks like his face flushes slightly.

“Sure,” he mumbles, dropping his eyes back to the shoes. “Looks like the woman’s shoes are too big for you and the man’s are too small for me.”

“Naturally. But at least we got some clothes. There are men’s T-shirts here and some shirts I can use.”

“Don’t get too much. We don’t have room for everything.” His voice is slightly muffled by the closet.

“I won’t. This woman’s jeans are way too long for me anyway, but I can at least get a couple of spare shirts.” In the bottom drawer of the dresser, I find sweats and pajamas. I grab a pair of gray sweatpants for Travis and thick black leggings for me.

It will be nice to have something to change into at night or while we rinse out our jeans.

I’m stroking a pretty red silk camisole when I feel Travis standing behind me.

“Not gonna take that, are you?”

“No.” I sigh and stand up to gather my finds.

I want that camisole. I want it so much my mouth waters.

But there’s no room in my life for pretty lingerie.

We haul everything out to the Jeep, and it takes almost half an hour to organize the cargo compartment to fit everything we’ve found.

I’m so excited about everything we’ve added to our supplies that I’m clapping my hands as Travis slides the last bottle of water into place.

When he turns to face me, I like his expression. He’s not smiling. He never smiles. But his face is relaxed, and there’s a glint in his eyes that matches the way I’m feeling myself.

Without thinking it through, I throw my arms around him in a hug.

He doesn’t return it. Not immediately anyway. He stands stiffly as my arms wrap around him, and then slowly his hands move up to rest lightly on the back of my ribs.

I bury my face in his shirt for just a minute before I pull away.

He’s staring down at me, his eyes appearing very blue. And the corners of his mouth are tilted up just slightly.

I gasp. “Are you smiling?”

“What?”

“Are you actually smiling?”

“Course not.” But his lips twitch up again, almost imperceptibly.

I giggle and hug him again. Just a quick squeeze of my arms. “Yes, you are. You can act grumpy and stoic all you want, but I know you, Travis Farrell. And you’re just as excited about all our new loot as I am.”

He mumbles something incomprehensible and gives me a little shove toward the vehicle. “Time to go.”

***

AS WE’RE ON OUR WAYout of the town, we pass an old Dollar General.

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