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“It’s none of your business what went on in my life.”
“It is, because you made it my business that night when you were frolicking in my basil.”
“I relieve you of all responsibility. In fact, it was a mistake.”
“Mistake to want to change, or mistake to tell me you wanted to?”
She rounded on him. “You’re really annoying. I thought you were like this strong silent type of hotshot tycoon. But you’ve been messing around with the Trainers too long. You’ve picked up some of their annoying traits.”
His smile reached all the way to his eyes, and Mandy refused to acknowledge how hot it made him look. The man didn’t smile anywhere near enough.
“Maybe I realized I needed to change too.”
“Do you?”
“No. I’m pretty damn near perfect.” The look on his face told Mandy he knew how much he was annoying her.
She muttered something unflattering and entered the emergency room. She could hear her aunts laughing.
“Sounds all good in there, so I’ll leave you, Mandy.”
“Look, Ted. I’m sorry, okay? It’s not like me to be rude, and you’ve done a lot for me, but—”
“I’ve been insulted by five-year-olds who pack more of a punch than you,” he said. “Don’t sweat it. Besides, I’ve been provoking you.”
“Why?”
He studied her silently. Around them were beeps and noises. The hum of medical staff and the sound of her aunts still laughing.
“Because you need to stop hiding from yourself and whatever happened to put you in there.”
“It’s not your job to make that happen.”
He shrugged. “Someone has to do it.”
He touched her cheek and then he was gone, and Mandy exhaled.
Opening the curtain, she found her aunts. Marla on the bed and Sarah in a chair at her side.
“She’s been given something for the pain, Mandy, and is high as a kite,” Aunt Sarah said out of the side of her mouth. “Mandy’s here, Marla.”
“Hello, darllllling.”
“Hello, Aunt Marla.” She moved to the other side of the bed. Her aunt’s leg was in a brace, and she looked older lying there, and fragile. “How are you feeling?”
“Well it did hurt, dear, but it is a great deal better now!”
“Don’t yell, Marla,” Aunt Sarah said.
After more X-rays, they put her in a cast and they were able to take her home. Once there, she was set up on the downstairs sofa.
“And now you need to get back to Tea Total and relieve Buster and Aunt Jess, Mandy, dear.”
“I just phoned and Buster said everything is going fine, and not to rush back, Aunt Sarah.”
“But you’ll need to go in and close up, so you get going. There’s no need for both of us to watch Marla.”
Someone knocked on the door, and Mandy rushed to answer it. Dylan Howard stood outside with a tool box in one hand.
