“He likes watching some pro sports. Not everything, mind you. He’s not that much into football, but he’s followed the Blazers since he was a kid. Well, other than the years when they were such a mess no one wanted to follow them.”
“That helps too.” Dillon pocketed her phone then led the way out, carefully locking the door behind them.
“Before you go,” Donna paused in the driveway, “I’d like to say something.”
“Sure.” Dillon braced herself for another warning, but Donna smiled.
“I hope I didn’t scare you off last night. It’s just that, well . . .”
“You love your son,” Dillon finished for her. “I understand. And I actually think it’s very sweet. Jordan is lucky to have you.”
“Well, thank you. But I have a feeling you didn’t need me to say all that, Dillon. You appear to be a genuinely good person. I should’ve known that when the twins and Janelle were singing your praises. But I suppose I needed to see it for myself.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you saying that. And I honestly wouldn’t do anything to hurt Jordan. Not intentionally.”
“I believe you.” Donna nodded.
They said goodbye. As Dillon drove back toward town, she felt awkward about her conversation with Donna. Although she appreciated the kind words, they were adding even more pressure. The expectations were quickly rising. And Dillon wasn’t sure if she’d be able to measure up . . . or whether Jordan would approve of these assumptions his mother was making. Maybe he really was a confirmed bachelor who wanted nothing beyond friendship and a little help with his trailer’s décor.
As Dillon came into town, she knew her first stop would be the Silver Slipper, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. Unfortunately, no other business could compete with Vivian’s well-stocked shop—or her vintage trailer section. Hopefully the proprietress wouldn’t be working right now. Dillon was about to go inside when she noticed the antique emporium across the street. Curious as to what they might have, she decided to go there first.
With her eyes peeled for anything red, white, or black, she perused the various vendor sections until she found one that screamed “Jordan’s trailer.” Plus everything in this section was 20 percent off. Before long, she’d collected an interesting assortment of old-fashioned Coca-Cola signs and paraphernalia, a pair of red-and-white salt-and-pepper shakers, and several other charming pieces. As she set her collection by the cash register, she asked about car-related collectibles.
“One guy has a whole section with car stuff.” The woman told her where it was located and Dillon went back to look. Sure enough, there were lots of interesting pieces and plaques, and although she wasn’t quite sure what kinds of cars they were, or how she’d use them, she selected several items that looked bright and fun. Hopefully Jordan would agree.
“I’m making these purchases for a friend,” she explained. “If he doesn’t like them, would it be a problem to return anything?”
“It’s fine as long as it’s within two days and you have your receipt.”
Dillon thanked her, and feeling like a successful huntress, carried her bags to her car. This was a good start. She braced herself for the Silver Slipper, but before she crossed the street to go inside, she watched as a pickup carrying a load of lumber passed by. The red bandana attached to the back of the wood caught her eye. And instead of going into Vivian’s chic shop, Dillon headed for Atwood’s.
As she went inside, she was glad not to spy Jordan around. She didn’t really want to explain why she was on the hunt for red bandanas because she wasn’t even sure if her idea would work. The clerk directed her to the aisle, and she gathered up all the red bandanas they had. Then, feeling inspired, she gathered up black ones too. Next she went to the kitchen aisle, thinking she might save a few bucks by getting some of the necessities here, rather than at the Silver Slipper.
Her instincts proved right. She found a shiny teakettle, ceramic mugs, and several kitchen utensils—all in red. She also found red-and-white gingham towels and a few other cute plastic containers that looked useful. She was surprised Jordan hadn’t gathered up some of these things himself. Maybe he hadn’t liked them. Well, she would keep receipts, and anything he didn’t like would be returned.
Getting a cart, she decided to check out their camping section. There she discovered a perfect set of unbreakable dishes in red-and-white checks. Also some acrylic glasses trimmed to match the dishes. They even had an inexpensive set of silverware with red Lucite handles that looked perfect with the dishes. She also got a couple strings of camp lights and a pair of shiny silver oil lanterns. This was fun! Even if Jordan didn’t like anything she’d picked out today, she was still enjoying herself. And she would enjoy putting the whole thing together. In fact, that gave her an idea.
“Is Jordan here today?” she asked the clerk as she was checking out.
“Not right now. He’s making a delivery.”
“Oh.” Dillon got out her phone, thinking she could just text him her idea. “By the way, these items are for Jordan’s vintage trailer,” she said suddenly. “I guess I should’ve asked if he gets a discount.”
“He gets a big discount. But he has to authorize it.”
“Can he do that by phone?”
“Of course.”
So Dillon called his number. “Sorry to bother you,” she said quickly when he answered. “But I’m getting a few things for your trailer at the hardware store. You guys have some great stuff. Anyway, I guess you can get a discount?”
“Yeah, absolutely. And they can put it on my account too.”
“I’ll hand you over to the clerk.” Dillon gave her the phone and waited. When she got the phone back, she stepped away from the counter and continued. “And I got an idea. I thought if you could bring your trailer out to the farm, it would be easier for me to work on it. I need to do some measuring and sewing for your curtains and things.”
He chuckled. “You’re making me curious now.”
“Would you mind bringing it out there?”
“Not at all. I’ll drive it over this evening.”
She thanked him and said goodbye, waiting as the cashier finished ringing up her purchases. Thanks to Jordan’s discount, the total was very reasonable. Hopefully Jordan wouldn’t think she was trying to be cheap. More importantly, when it was all said and done, she hoped he would approve. But there wasn’t time to obsess over that now. She had a busy afternoon ahead.
CHAPTER
27
Still needing to get groceries for tonight’s dinner with Jordan, Dillon was tempted to skip the Silver Slipper altogether. But she was parked right in front and knew it was the only store in town that sold fabric. Plus she suspected she’d find some trailer treasures inside. So once again she loaded her purchases into the back of her car, and then she braced herself. The little silver bell dinged as Dillon went into the pretty shop. But not seeing a salesperson around, Dillon picked up a shopping basket and slipped back to the vintage trailer section to peruse. Ironically, there were some things back there very similar to items Dillon had already gathered, but with much higher prices.