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“It’s okay. I understood what you were saying last night.” She was whispering like him, both of them appearing to look out the window down to the street below.
“What did you understand?”
“Everything. Friends,” she added with a forced smile. “That sounds good.”
“You need some plants in here, Mandy,” Rory said, wandering over. “Color too, but we can get onto that tomorrow when we go shopping.”
“Sure, that sounds like a good idea.” She got to her feet and walked away from him then, and Ted should have felt a great deal better about the entire situation now that she understood. He hadn’t ruined their relationship completely last night, after all.
For some reason, he didn’t feel better at all.
Chapter 18
Mandy woke in her new bed in her new apartment and thought that it was possibly one of the best mornings of her life. After Ted had left, she’d relaxed. He was a large man to have in this small space, especially when she was so aware of him.
He’d apologized to her and said he wanted to be her friend. Mandy could do that. She wouldn’t get too close to him again, but she could be polite.
Rory and Jack had stayed behind to help her unpack. Well, Rory had. Jack sat on her sofa directing them.
Her aunts had cried when they went home, but assured her they were tears of joy. They’d then told her to call them if she needed them.
They’d eaten takeout at her little table, her first meal in her new home. After they’d gone, she’d fussed around cleaning and moving stuff.
She’d been nervous going to sleep, but that hadn’t lasted long, and soon she drifted off, tired after her busy day.
Getting out of bed, she made herself a coffee and sat in the window seat watching the town of Ryker Falls—well the bits of it she could see—come to life.
Hers,she thought. This was her place.
Today she needed to buy some colorful pillows, and yes, some plants. But her aunts had given her everything she’d need for the kitchen.
Her phone buzzed, and she read the text from Rory. They would be picking her up in an hour to go shopping. Piper, Rory added, was not happy to be excluded, but she’d given them strict instructions as to what Mandy would be buying.
Opening the front door when she was ready to go out, she nearly stepped on the large, leafy fern on her doorstep. Picking it up, she carried it inside and lowered it to the table, then opened the card that had been tucked among the fronds.
“Enjoy the next step in the journey to self-discovery, Mandy.” She read the words slowly, and stared at the black, scrawled signature at the bottom. Ted must have dropped it off early this morning, or last night.
She needed to call and thank him, but as she had to leave now or risk being late, she’d do it later. A gift from one friend to another.
Maggs pulled up in a sedan just as she arrived in front of the bookstore.
“Morning.” Mandy got in beside Bailey.
“Let’s go, I don’t want any of the menfolk to call and stop us,” Rory said. “Put your foot down, Maggs.”
They chatted and laughed, and Mandy was relaxed as they drove to Leland, a town ninety minutes from Ryker.
“Right. This is the shop Pip said had an excellent selection,” Maggs said, leading the way after they’d parked.
It was a boutique with caramel walls, pop music, and racks of clothes. One of those places that yelled style. Somewhere Mandy had never frequented.
“I’m not sure this is the place for me,” she said, thinking of her dwindling savings.
“Your aunts couldn’t come today, but they gave us some money to spend on you,” Rory said.
“They did not!” Mandy was horrified.
“They did. So shut up and do as you’re told.” Rory was already poking about in the racks.
