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“No, I need the walk. Thanks, Lenny.”
He headed down the stairs, checking things as he passed. A scuff mark that needed cleaning. Moving a painting that hung off center.
Ted was a perfectionist, and that’s what made this place one of the top tourist locations in this area.
Tripping on the last step, he nearly face planted. He needed fresh air, fast.
Heading into the kitchens, he still got a buzz out of knowing this place was his… all his. Maybe at one time it hadn’t been, but it sure as hell was now.
Each pot and implement was the property of one Ted Hosking, and he was damned proud of that fact.
As usual, the kitchens were in a state of well-organized chaos.
“Ted.”
“Kirby, can we get that food for the Hawker party now.”
Kirby had been his head chef from day one, and he’d never regretted employing her. Built like a small armored tank, she was a ball of muscle and worked out daily. She could quell an insubordinate with a look. She and Ted had an understanding. She was the boss in here, but they pretended he was.
“Right away,” she snapped out like the ex-military girl he knew she was.
He nodded, then walked through the kitchen and out the rear door. The warm, sultry air settled around him, and Ted took a deep breath in, then exhaled slowly. Nowhere smelled like Ryker Falls at dusk.
Summer held the small town in its grip, and the scents from the extensive herb garden that provided Kirby with everything she needed to create magic in the kitchen lured him that way.
He’d bought this piece of land six years ago when he’d been passing through Ryker on his way to god knew where. He’d been pretty much driving aimlessly since Emily’s death.
The minute he’d stepped foot on this place he’d known he had to have it. He’d had to ask his father for the capital, and Ted had repaid every cent with interest.
The plants brushed his legs, sharp scents filling the air. This was Ted’s favorite time of day. He’d just walked down the path and was about to head back now that his head felt steadier, when he saw her.
“Mandy?”
She was on her knees in the herbs, butt in the air, with Joe Trainer’s large shaggy dog, Buzz, at her side. A small squeak told him he’d surprised her. She leaped to her feet, shoving her hands behind her back. The dog got to his feet, showing none of her shock, and trotted up to greet Ted.
“What are you doing in my gardens?”
“Kirby said I could come here,” she said quickly.
He’d tried to understand this urgency he felt whenever he saw Mandy Robbins. She was not the type of woman he usually dated; in fact, she was so far from it, she could be another species entirely.
The top of her head would come to his chin, and she had mousey brown hair, usually pulled back in a tail. Her eyes were brown too and framed with black lashes and brows. There was absolutely nothing about this woman that should intrigue him.
Most days she tried to fade into the background. Her clothes were baggy, and she was frightened of her own shadow, and definitely his. She never spoke unless she had to and was pretty much just always there if anyone cared enough to look.
Ted cared, and that really pissed him off.
“But why are you here in my herb garden?”
“Mrs. Taft needed some herbs for her pie.”
“Which still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“She asked me to get them for her.”
He’d noticed that about her too. She tended to be the go-to girl for everyone’s errands.
“Is she sick?”
