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“That dent in my trash can.”
“I’ll replace it.”
“It’s a trash can, I don’t think it felt that kick.”
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he looked up at the sky.
“You ever just want to run and not look back, Mandy?”
“Ha ha, that’s funny. I’m scared of most things. No way am I brave enough to leave my aunts.”
“That’s bullshit, but you know that, right?” He looked at her. She stood her ground, and he couldn’t see any fear in her eyes. “Nobody in Ryker would hurt you, and you’ve been here long enough to figure that out by now.”
“I can’t help how I feel, Ted.”
“Of course you can. You’ve allowed what happened in your past to define you.”
“You don’t know anything about me. How could you know anything about my past?”
The green dress she wore was loose and covered in daisies.
“That’s an ugly dress.” He was still riled. Clearly kicking the trash can had not done its job.
“I like it.” She folded her arms, now looking pissed off. At least it was a real emotion.
“Because it hangs on you like a sack. You have a nice body, why hide it?”
He was looking for a fight and shouldn’t have chosen her, but she was close.
“Don’t be mean.”
“Go back inside, Mandy. As you can see, I’m not in the mood to play nice.”
“What happened? Who was the man?”
“No questions, remember?”
She studied him in a way that made his toes clench inside his shoes.
“I’m sorry that man upset you.”
She walked away, leaving him even more unsettled than he’d already been, but in a different way.
Disgusted with himself and pretty much the world as a whole, Ted thought about leaving, but as he’d brought McBride and the smarmy Texan with him. He couldn’t.
“You doing okay there, Teddy Bear?”
The name didn’t bother him; he’d even admitted to liking it—silently—because when he first heard it, it meant they’d accepted him as one of theirs here in Ryker.
“Sure, Fin. How you doing?”
“Been better. Body feels like it’s been run over by a large earthmoving vehicle, but that too will pass, Yoda.”
Ted liked Fin Hudson. Like him, he’d grown up away from Ryker but made it his home. Fin was one of those rare breeds of people who actually said what they meant and rarely rubbed anyone up the wrong way. Except the fiery redhead, Maggie Winters. Ted had noticed Fin and she were usually arguing.
“I just happened to overhear you and Mandy—”
“Just happened to overhear? What were you doing, hiding behind one of the cars?”
