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“Teddy Bear, my hero,” Fin said, with a look in his eyes that Ted didn’t like. “I just saw her and she looked okay.”
“What? Where?” Ted got to his feet and looked around. “She should still be in bed.”
“Relax, big boy, she’s fine and with her aunts and Mr. Goldhirsh,” Fin said, taking Jack’s beer and gulping down a large swallow.
“If I get sick tomorrow, honey, you know why,” Jack said.
“Jack was about to explain something.” Maggs waved them all to silence.
“You know that track we used to take home, the one that cut round behind the house?” The locals among them nodded. “Well, twice I found Mandy there, hiding in the long grass. I heard her singing softly, so went to investigate.”
“She’s got a great voice,” Rory added.
Her father was a singer. Ted remembered what Mandy had told him.
“She was sitting there eating, and I asked her why. She said she needed to. I asked why she didn’t eat at school, and she said she didn’t like to eat in the bathrooms.”
“Why was she in the bathrooms at lunchtime?” Maggs looked confused.
“Because she felt safe there.” Rory sighed. “She had no friends.”
“Surely not every lunchtime?” Ted didn’t want to contemplate that. He’d been one of the cool kids at his school. Mainly because of his father. He’d never been bullied.
“No. I saw her in the schoolyard all the time,” Luke added. “Maybe just sometimes she hid.”
“Anyone else feel sick about now?” Dylan said. He was rocking the stroller with Blake inside.
They all nodded.
“We had no right to be angry that she hadn’t told us she was a diabetic.” Rory looked upset. “Knowing how shy she is, she probably didn’t tell us because she saw it as a weakness.”
“Which it’s not,” Ted added.
“I need to find her and say sorry,” Rory said.
“You’re a good friend to her now, sweetheart.” Jack kissed her. “Don’t beat yourself up. Your reaction was because you were worried about Mandy. She’ll understand that.”
“Hi.”
Mandy was standing behind them. She looked nervous, but so goddamn cute in that mint green sundress that he had to take a mouthful of beer.
Unlike the fairy dress, it didn’t show off flesh. The neckline crossed between her breasts and tied at the waist, and the skirt stopped at her knees. Nothing at all suggestive, but it caressed her body, flattering her curves and making him want to howl in outrage over the way he instantly forgot his good intentions to put distance between himself and this woman.
He wanted to grab her hand and pull her onto his lap and mark her as his, so no other man would get close to her. Instead, he took another mouthful of beer.
“Hey, you.” Jack got to his feet and hugged her. “I hear you’ve had a rough day.”
“I’m okay now, but thanks.” She kissed his cheek. “I have to go back and get my aunts, but before I do, I need to say something.”
She was nervous. Ted knew the signs now. That line down her forehead from frowning, the hands gripped together.
“I’m not good at this kind of thing, so here goes.”
Jack stood at her side with an arm around her shoulders. Ted was not jealous; they were friends and had a bond. He was supporting her.
“I should have told you… well, some of you anyway, about my diabetes,” Mandy said. “But I’m not big on sharing things about myself, so I didn’t. And if I hurt any of you, I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better going forward.”
“Okay, I forgive you.” Rory got to her feet and hugged Mandy.
