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Dressed in peach spandex, Miss Marla wore a band around her gray curls and a long-sleeved zip-up jacket.
“You guys put me to shame.”
“It’s the truth we do, boy. You should be running with us.”
Mr. Goldhirsh had to be the fittest human Ted had ever met. Wiry, fit, and intelligent, nothing got past this man.
“I’m a bit large for jogging. Short workouts suit me, like treadmills.”
The man made a pfffft sound of disgust.
“You need fresh air, boy, you don’t get that inside. Exercise was meant to be conducted outside in the fresh air, not watching TV.”
“I’ll watch nature documentaries, will that help?”
“Always cheeky, these young ones,” Miss Marla said, swatting him on the backside before she and Mr. Goldhirsh ran off at a ridiculously fast pace.
Ted turned into Main Street and wandered down the sidewalk looking in shop windows. Some had people inside, and he lifted a hand to those who were starting their day early.
The sound of someone singing had him slowing. Searching for the owner of that sweet voice, he found Mandy.
She was looking in the window of the shop next to Tea Total. Earbuds were in her ears and she was singing softly and doing a little side-to-side move with her feet. Kind of like a shuffle. Her voice was nice, husky and yet in tune. Ted’s was always the opposite.
The sight did nothing to ease the awareness he already felt for this woman. Especially as today she wasn’t hiding her body behind clothes that were too big.
She wore those exercise leggings again, and a fitted T-shirt. Damn, she was fine. His eyes followed the curves of her body down to her trim ankles. Realizing what he was doing, he cleared his throat. She didn’t hear him.
He clapped his hands loudly.
Nothing.
He didn’t want to frighten her. He should walk away; instead he moved closer and tapped her shoulder.
She jumped and shrieked.
“Sorry.” Ted steadied her, gripping her arm. Her skin was warm, which told him she’d been exercising.
“Ted, you scared me.” She pulled the buds out of her ears.
“I know, sorry again. You been walking?”
She nodded.
“Really getting into the exercise then?”
“I feel better when I do some, I’ve realized.”
“You have a nice voice, Mandy.”
“Not really.”
“Yes, really. You sing in the school choir or something?”
She shook her head.
“How come? You’re obviously good enough.” Ted wasn’t sure why he was persisting when she clearly didn’t want to discuss this further, but it was just something else he didn’t know about her and wanted to.
The woman had more closed pages in her book than most people…, even him.
