by Vella, Wendy
The street was busy with tourists and locals. People running across the road. She loved this town, but today she barely saw it.
“Why the panic?”
“My aunt has hurt herself!”
“Okay, tone it down. Just trying to work out what’s happening.”
“I don’t have to tone it down. Don’t tell me to do that!”
“It’s her leg and her head, both of which will likely be fine. The woman is in a better physical condition than most of us,” he added as if she’d not spoken.
“Do me a favor, Ted, and shut up,” Mandy gritted out.
“Nice. That had some bite to it. But you need to stop the panic and put a smile on that pretty face of yours before we reach the hospital. One look at you would make anyone sick.”
Mandy inhaled and exhaled. “Are you deliberately trying to insult me?”
“No. I’m telling you the truth.” He looked at her briefly.
“You don’t understand.”
“Possibly not, care to enlighten me?”
“Is this where you ask me a question and I ask you one?” Mandy felt calmer now that she was arguing with him. She hadn’t argued often in her life; confrontation wasn’t her thing. It appeared she’d been missing out.
“Sure.” He lifted his fingers off the wheel briefly.
“My aunts are everything to me. I have no one else, and they helped me when I needed help.”
“From what?”
“That’s two questions.”
“I didn’t ask a specific question.”
“‘Care to enlighten me’ sounded like a question to me.”
They were pulling into the hospital parking lot, so she had to be quick with hers.
“Do you have other siblings?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
He pulled the car into a parking space.
“That’s two questions.”
“Damn, I should have worded that better.”
“Yes, you should. I guess you’ll know better next time. Let’s go.”
She didn’t stop him from coming in with her, because both her aunts liked him. That was the excuse she told herself, but there was also the fact it felt good having him there.
“Hi, Ted.”
“Hello, Lucy. We want to see Miss Marla.”
Mandy knew the woman at reception; they’d gone to school together. They’d just not been friends or talked much. Mandy hadn’t talked to many people, if she was honest. The smile on Lucy’s face when she looked at Ted made something burn inside Mandy’s stomach. She had a feeling it could be jealousy, which was a shock because (a) she’d never felt jealousy, not over a man anyway, and (b) why was she jealous at all over Lucy smiling at Ted, a man who meant nothing to her?
“Hi, Lucy,” Mandy said. The woman looked surprised. Clearly she’d never taken the time to say hello to her before.
“Oh hi, Mandy. Your aunt is still in emergency, but you should be able to see her. Go on down the hallway, follow the signs.”
“Thanks.”
“So you and Lucy, that was weird,” Ted said as they walked down the hall.
“I beg your pardon, what was weird?”
“Lucy was shocked when you said hello to her. I was wondering why that was? I could hazard a guess.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I just bet you would. However, in the interests of the rebuild of Mandy Robbins, I will. You never spoke to her before, you just ignored and shut everyone out. Right?”
“I have friends.” She hated the defensive tone in her voice.
“Mr. Goldhirsh and the rest of the knitting group are not friends.”
“Shut up.”
Ted whistled as they entered the ward. His big jeans-clad legs were taking smaller steps to accommodate hers, but still he shot ahead of her.
“Why do you have ketchup on your T-shirt?”
“Gracie smeared it on me when we had breakfast together, and don’t think I won’t ask that question again when your head is not all over the place.”
“It’s none of your business what went on in my life.”
“It is, because you made it my business that night when you were frolicking in my basil.”
“I relieve you of all responsibility. In fact, it was a mistake.”
“Mistake to want to change, or mistake to tell me you wanted to?”
She rounded on him. “You’re really annoying. I thought you were like this strong silent type of hotshot tycoon. But you’ve been messing around with the Trainers too long. You’ve picked up some of their annoying traits.”
His smile reached all the way to his eyes, and Mandy refused to acknowledge how hot it made him look. The man didn’t smile anywhere near enough.
“Maybe I realized I needed to change too.”
“Do you?”
“No. I’m pretty damn near perfect.” The look on his face told Mandy he knew how much he was annoying her.
She muttered something unflattering and entered the emergency room. She could hear her aunts laughing.
“Sounds all good in there, so I’ll leave you, Mandy.”
“Look, Ted. I’m sorry, okay? It’s not like me to be rude, and you’ve done a lot for me, but—”
“I’ve been insulted by five-year-olds who pack more of a punch than you,” he said. “Don’t sweat it. Besides, I’ve been provoking you.”
“Why?”
He studied her silently. Around them were beeps and noises. The hum of medical staff and the sound of her aunts still laughing.
“Because you need to stop hiding from yourself and whatever happened to put you in there.”
“It’s not your job to make that happen.”
He shrugged. “Someone has to do it.”
He touched her cheek and then he was gone, and Mandy exhaled.
Opening the curtain, she found her aunts. Marla on the bed and Sarah in a chair at her side.
“She’s been given something for the pain, Mandy, and is high as a kite,” Aunt Sarah said out of the side of her mouth. “Mandy’s here, Marla.”
“Hello, darllllling.”
“Hello, Aunt Marla.” She moved to the other side of the bed. Her aunt’s leg was in a brace, and she looked older lying there, and fragile. “How are you feeling?”
“Well it did hurt, dear, but it is a great deal better now!”
“Don’t yell, Marla,” Aunt Sarah said.
After more X-rays, they put her in a cast and they were able to take her home. Once there, she was set up on the downstairs sofa.
“And now you need to get back to Tea Total and relieve Buster and Aunt Jess, Mandy, dear.”
“I just phoned and Buster said everything is going fine, and not to rush back, Aunt Sarah.”
“But you’ll need to go in and close up, so you get going. There’s no need for both of us to watch Marla.”
Someone knocked on the door, and Mandy rushed to answer it. Dylan Howard stood outside with a tool box in one hand.
“Hey, you want me to look at that handrail?”
“Oh, thank you so much, Dylan. I’m not sure who told you to come, but I was worried about how we were going to get Aunt Marla up the stairs without it.”
Mandy took him to inspect it and then sat on the step above him.
“It’s worn the screws are loose, I need to put longer ones in this time.,” Dylan said, taking out his tools.
“They’re always running up and down the stairs and it terrifies me.”
Dylan laughed. “They make me feel tired.”
“You should try being related to them.”
They chatted about Grace and Piper as he worked. Dylan loved his girls. Mandy made herself stay there and talk to him, where before she would have left that to her aunts.
“Are you nervous about the baby, Dylan?”
He was different to Ted. Taller, definitely, but nowhere near as big.
“A bit, but we have Grace, and that’s gone a long way to p
reparing me. I’m excited mainly, and I don’t mind adding that Piper will be a whole lot happier when the baby’s arrived.”
“She’s an awesome mom, just like you’re a great dad.”
Dylan finished the last screw, then sat on the step below to look up at her.
“Thanks. You want kids?”
“I’ve not really thought about it. I guess I didn’t think it would factor into my life.” Mandy went for honesty.
“And now?”
“Small steps, Dylan.”
“Change is hard when you’re the one doing it all. How are you really doing, Mandy?”
Her response would normally be “good, thanks.”
“Ted said something today,” Dylan went on before she could speak, “and it made me realize that I’ve never really taken the time to talk to you. So here’s my chance.” He gave her a gentle smile that she was sure had had Piper falling in love with him.
“I’m okay, thanks, Dylan.”
“You’ve had a rough time, is my guess, before coming here?”
His words surprised her into silence.
“I don’t mean to pry, just wanted to let you know that I know.”
“How do you know?” She had to ask. Was it written all over her that she’d been through what she had?
“I’m a profiler, we see stuff.”
Right. She’d forgotten that. He was usually building these days.
“You don’t do that at all now… the FBI stuff, I mean?”
“I consult sometimes, and I’ve flown out for a few cases. But my life is here.”
He was a nice man, she thought. Like so many of them in Ryker. The problem for Mandy had always been that she didn’t want to take the time to really get to know them. She’d isolated herself.
“When I was young, something happened. But I’m okay now.” She told him the truth.
“That’s good to know.”
“I’m thinking of moving out, Dylan.” Mandy wasn’t sure why’d chosen him to tell, and yet the words came out.
“Where are you thinking of moving to?”
“The apartment above Timms’s Bookstore.”
“I’d say that’s a great idea. What do your aunts think?”
“They’ll like the idea simply because they want the best for me and believe that’s doing things like this.”
“They’re pretty cool, it has to be said. My mom is way too uptight.”
“She means well.”
He laughed. “You’d be the only person in Ryker Falls who has something nice to say about her. Nice work on making her pay for the catering, by the way. You should have done that years ago.”
“She told you that?”
“Yup, and I told her she should be ashamed of herself.”
“She loves Grace, and for that you can forgive most things.”
“There is that.” He got to his feet. “If you need anything or just want to talk, you know where to find me, Mandy.”
“I do, and thanks, Dylan.”
“And now I need to go and see the patient.”
“And I need to close up Tea Total.”
“Take care of you, Mandy.”
“I will.”
She sat there watching him walk down the stairs. Heard him talk to her aunts, and only when the front door had shut behind him did she get to her feet.
Take care of you, Mandy.
She was going to try that. Just like she was going to try and be more open and stronger. The Mandy rebuild would be slow and steady. She’d try not to let that asshole who’d scared her dictate what she did in her life any longer.
Chapter 12
Ted liked his life to run smoothly, just like the lodge, which usually was the case. Lately, not so much. Needing an outlet for the frustration and time to work through his thoughts, he decided to work out.
With sweat running down his body, he felt good pounding on the punching bag. It was only when he stopped and moved to the rowing machine that the tension inside him climbed again, because Mandy arrived.
“Hi.”
He grunted a hello back, and continued rowing.
He’d said she could come anytime, so chances were they’d meet up at some stage. Today, however, he wanted solitude.
He’d ignore her. It couldn’t be that hard to do.
She started stretching like he’d told her to, just inside his peripheral vision. Ted was fairly sure those deep blue tights were new ones. The small white dots stretched as she moved.
Focus.
Strangely, the view of Phil and Roxy wasn’t holding his attention today like it usually did.
She arched sideways, and her top rose, exposing an expanse of skin. Ted swallowed. He was seriously regretting handing over that key right about now. He’d thought after what she’d said at the hospital, about relieving him of responsibility for helping her change, she may not turn up again, yet here she was.
“Don’t mind me, I won’t listen.”
“What?” He stopped rowing to glare at her.
She was standing with a weight in each hand now, facing him. Ted didn’t think she looked sexy, not at all. That sweat on her chest was not a turn-on… no way, he lied to himself.
“You’re muttering loudly.”
“It’s my gym, and I like to mutter—”
“If I don’t like it, then leave?”
“Something like that.” He got off the rower.
Surprisingly, she didn’t. The old Mandy would have run for cover if anyone had spoken to her the way he just did. This Mandy stayed and worked out.
She did squats, and he tried to concentrate on the weights he was now lifting. When he lost count of how many reps he’d done, he went to the fridge and got out a water.
“Do you want one?”
“Thank you, that would be nice.”
Just thanks would have done, Ted thought, being picky for no other reason than he wasn’t in control. Not at work, and now here. It was enough to send a man crazy.
She took the water, drank deep, then went back to the hand weights she’d just picked up.
“Want to talk about it?” She turned away as she spoke and started doing bicep curls. “It’s the least I can do, considering everything you’ve done for me.”
“I thought yesterday I was just pissing you off and you were relieving me of duty.” Ted sat on the rowing machine again.
She shrugged.
Why did he find everything about this woman sexy? It made no sense to Ted. He had his pick of women, and most would be happy to spend time with him, so why did shy little Mandy Robbins intrigue him?
“No, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.”
She didn’t push or pry. Just got on with her workout. For that reason, he found himself talking.
“I have staff problems.” Ted started rowing again.
“I’m sure it’s not the first time, right? It must come with the territory.”
“Something like that, but I don’t usually get too involved.”
“But?”
“But one of my staff is causing problems, and now the other staff are getting annoyed, and things are escalating and there’s a whole bunch of disgruntled people walking about wearing Falls Lodge uniforms. It’s not a good look.”
“That has to be hard.” She faced him again. “But I guess after this long you’re used to these kinds of problems.”
“I don’t like firing people.”
“But you’ve had to, surely?” He watched as she did five more curls.
“Not where I can help it. I get my managers to do it.”
Mandy carefully lowered the weights.
“So get them to do it again.”
“She’s a manager.”
He watched as she sat on the exercise cycle beside him and started turning the peddles.
“She must have interviewed well?”
“She did, and her references were impeccable. The problem is, she’s abrasive and rude to the other staff. They’re
not happy.”
He could tell she was thinking about his words, because she was frowning.
“You don’t have to answer me, but is she a local?”
“You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”
“I think so. Niki Leigh.”
“Yes.” Ted sighed.
“Have you tried talking to her?”
“What’s there to discuss? She’s annoying the others, so she has to go. I’m just not keen on the firing part,” Ted conceded. “Especially as I have to bump into her on the streets.”
“But most of your staff are locals so that happens surely?”
“Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“So the great Ted Hosking has a weakness,” Mandy teased him.
“I’m not great, and I have plenty.”
“What else you got?”
He snorted. Ted didn’t think many people saw this side of Mandy Robbins. She was funny, he’d just never taken the time to notice before.
“I’m not big on crowds or needles.” Ted wasn’t sure why he’d told her that. Weaknesses were not something to celebrate to his mind.
“I hate small spaces and public speaking.” She shot him a look, and he thought she was about as comfortable as him in sharing those things.
“Public speaking isn’t all that hard, you just have to practice it,” Ted said.
She shuddered. “My dad was an extrovert who could talk in front of anyone. I didn’t get any of that confidence.”
“I’m guessing by the way you talk about him he’s no longer around?”
“No. He died when I was young.”
Her voice hadn’t changed noticeably, but he still felt her tension. She gave him little windows into her past, small snapshots that only served to increase his curiosity.
“So getting back to Niki Leigh,” Mandy said. “Do you know what’s going on with her?”
“Going on in what way?”
“Her mother and father separated six months ago and then her father had a stroke. Niki is looking after her two brothers and her father.”
Ted stopped rowing.
“Her income pretty much supports the family.”
“How do you know this?”
“Her little brother Sydney does some work for us at Tea Total. It’s been a tough few months.”
Ted rowed a few strokes while he processed what Mandy had just told him.