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“Did they name it, or did you?” The name fit what she’d told him about the purpose.
“One of my tenants named them after I added the second house.” Elizabeth unlocked the front door and handed him the key.
He mounted the steep step to follow her and Boss inside. “It’s furnished. That’s great.”
“Most of the women who come to The Oasis don’t have much, other than a car full of clothes and possessions.”
“I don’t have much more. Since my renter had furniture, I sold all my stuff to a new guy in our unit who lost most everything in a hurricane.” And Britney’s place was furnished in her style, so only Boss’s bed made the cut.
With a window in the door and behind the sofa, and a skylight in the tall ceiling, the inside would get lots of sunlight and felt roomy. White shiplap covered the walls, and a gray love seat filled the area under the window. The yellow and blue floral accent pillows weren’t his style, but this was temporary.
“There’s storage under the sofa.” She lifted a cushion for him to see. “The TV is on a swivel arm. You can watch here or angle it if you’re in the kitchen or loft.”
“Nice.” There was a built-in bookcase below the TV and cabinets above. Three cubbies had blue cubes for storage. Light-gray flooring covered the entire first floor. This was definitely an upgrade over a tent with dirt floors.
“The oven is small but will hold a cookie sheet—probably not a full-sized turkey.”
“Dang, there goes Sunday dinners, Boss.”
Elizabeth gave him the kind of smile teachers used to give him when he cut up in class. Half charmed, half warning before he got out of hand. She was even prettier when she smiled. Not everyone got his sense of humor, but he’d learned it worked better to defuse tense situations than threats or weapons.
Since she was doing him a huge favor, he kept his mouth shut as she continued the tour. Besides, it’d been months since he’d spent any time with a woman. So what if it was like some realtor trying to sell him on a property? He could enjoy the view of her appealing curves.
The large window over the sink bumped out and had a glass shelf, making the narrow galley kitchen feel bigger than the two-foot width. Floating shelves next to the sink held dishes, coffee cups, and glassware. A shelf held a microwave, and a coffee maker occupied the corner of the countertop.
“Below the utensil drawers are cans for trash, recycle, and compost, and a hidden compartment for Boss’s water and food bowls to keep them out of the way.” She pushed a panel with her toe and a drawer with the bowls slid out.
“Cool.” He wouldn’t have found that without her pointing it out.
“They maximized every inch of this place. I put the bag of dog food in here.” She touched a large drawer next to the apartment-sized refrigerator. Beyond that was a stacked washer and dryer unit.
The ceiling dropped to about seven feet under the sleeping loft.
“Closet.” She pointed. “And there’s the bath.”
Squeezing past her, he caught a whiff of a sweet smell like honeysuckle. He wanted to pause and breathe it in, but it might send the wrong signal. Especially with the way she’d flattened herself against the wall to let him pass. Though it’d been six months since he touched a woman, better not to get kneed in the groin or tossed out of his new home before he’d even moved in.
“The shower head might be a bit low for you.”
“The last few months,whenwe got showers, it consisted of a bag of water hanging from a pole. This is fantastic. It’s got everything.”
Her serious blue eyes widened while she processed that, and she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “Upstairs is a queen bed. I put fresh sheets on it for you. Watch your head,” she warned as he mounted the steep steps. “If you have any questions just let me know.”
“I need to know how much and how to pay you.”
“I’ll print off a lease agreement and get that to you tomorrow.”
“I guess you don’t have to do a background check since Jillian already did that for you,” he joked.
“I don’t require that. I know not everyone’s background is squeaky clean and sometimes people do whatever it takes to survive.” She avoided eye contact.
“Then I guess I’ll bring my stuff in and get settled. Thanks for bringing over Boss’s bed and food.”
“I set the bed there. I wasn’t sure where you had him sleep.”
“Have you been letting my dog sleep in your bed?”
“No.Mydog occasionally did, though.”
