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What the hell had he just done?
Chapter 4
The heat settled around Mandy as she climbed into the front seat of her car. It would be a warm day. Summer temperatures rose pretty high here, but with them came the tourists.
Pulling out of the lodge, she headed toward town.
“Did I really just do that? Work out with Ted Hosking?”
It was hard to believe. Her, timid Mandy Robbins, spending time alone with the owner of Falls Lodge.
Running a finger over her forehead, she looked at the sweat.
“This has to be the start of it,” she vowed. She had to grow as a person and find her backbone or she’d be living in the shadows forever.
Driving past the entrance to Main Street, Mandy headed into the residential part of town, then turned into her aunts’ street. Pulling in the driveway, she parked in her spot in the garage. Mary Howard was waiting for Mandy when she got out.
“I wanted to ask you something, Mandy.”
“Hello, Mrs. Howard.”
This woman had been intimidating people for years. She was on the town council and thought she was better than almost everyone else. It seemed to Mandy the only people who stood up to her were Dylan and Piper, her son and daughter-in-law.
“I need some scones for my women’s league meeting. We’re discussing the color theme for this year’s summer parade.”
Big-boned and usually dressed in a suit or something equally intimidating, unless she was exercising, one would think she was the First Lady of the United States the way she carried on.
“How many people will it be for, Mrs. Howard?”
“Fifteen. We’d like sweet and savory, and you can drop them to my house next Wednesday at 10:25 a.m. I will expect you to be on time.”
You’re strong in here.
“I’ll send you a quote to make sure you’re happy before I book your job into my schedule, Mrs. Howard.”
The woman’s chins quivered as her shoulders shot back. She glared down at Mandy.
“I beg your pardon?”
“It will be a job, won’t it? I mean, I’m not part of the women’s league, therefore I won’t be in attendance, therefore I will expect you to p-pay for the scones.” Mandy squeezed her knees together tight to stop them shaking.
Mrs. Howard sniffed.
“Very well, but I will know if you overcharge me!” She stormed away, leaving Mandy feeling wrung out like a dishcloth.
Lord, being brave is hard work.
“That you, Mandy?” a voice called when she let herself into the house she shared with her aunts.
“Yes, Aunt Sarah. I’m going to take a shower, I’ll be down soon.”
She hurried to her room, grabbed clothes, then headed for the bathroom. Once she was under the hot, steamy water she let herself think about what she’d just done.
Ted Hosking was helping her get fit. The thought seemed almost unbelievable. He was the man who had given her her first kiss, and the man who made her feel strange.
Mandy could find no other words for how she felt about him. When he was near she felt both scared and elated. No one but him had ever made her feel that way. It was a revelation, because until he’d come into her life, she’d thought she was destined not to experience what others did. That urgency to be close to someone, to want them to kiss and touch her.
Of course, she’d never act on what she felt, but it was good to know that in this she was normal.
