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Chapter 3
Ted hadn’t really thought Mandy would turn up on his doorstep at six thirty. He’d made the offer to help her when he was several beers down, and his guard had been lowered. In the cool, clear light of day, he wasn’t convinced spending time in close proximity with that woman was a good idea.
She disturbed him. Something about her really got to him, and not in a “I want to be your friend” way. He thought pretty much everything about her was sweet and sexy. Thank God she didn’t dress in anything revealing, or he’d be lost.
“All right, no need to keep that infernal yowling on replay.” Ted glared at his cat as he walked into the kitchen. Getting out the dry food, he put a cupful into his dish. The cat shot him a look, which he loosely interpreted as flipping him the bird, or at least it would be if cats had fingers.
“It’s your fault, bud. The harsh truth is, you’re fat. Rory told you, I’ve told you, so that’s all you’re getting. You’re on lockdown, Branch. No more treats from anyone.”
The diet seemed to be working, but who could really tell under all that fur. Ted also wasn’t 100 percent sure his staff weren’t still slipping the cat treats.
The soft tap came when he was finishing his first cup of coffee while reading emails. Still sure it wasn’t her, but one of his staff, he opened it—and nearly swallowed his tongue.
“Wh-what happened to you?”
Her hair seemed to have changed color overnight. Even pulled back in its habitual band, he could tell it looked like it had streaks in it. It also looked really silky and curly. He wanted to touch it; instead he wrapped both hands around his mug.
“What do you mean?” She looked ready to retreat.
“You look different,” he made himself say slowly. “In a good way,” he added. “Not that you didn’t look good before, but you look… different,” he said, sounding like a tongue-tied teenage boy with the hots for a classmate.
Him, the man who could speak to a room of hundreds and not break a sweat, was struggling to form a coherent sentence.
She looked so hot standing there in the early morning light. She wore a lightweight black jacket open, and beneath that a lilac fitted exercise shirt. On her legs were black tights with geometric patterns down the side of each leg.
“The girls… last night. I relented, and they—”
“Attacked you with scissors.”
“Cyn….” Her words fell away. “I don’t know why I’m here.” She didn’t turn away, which made Ted feel good.
“At least you’re honest.”
“I try not to lie, although sometimes it’s unavoidable.”
“I really want to hear when it’s unavoidable.” Ted leaned on the doorjamb.
His part of the lodge was at the rear and had its own entrance. No one would see them talking.
Behind Mandy was a view he’d never tire of. His land. Trees, fields, and part of a mountain. Roxy, to be precise. Only in Ryker Falls would they name a mountain after their forefathers.
She thought about his words. Mandy always stood still when she was thinking, and how he knew that he wasn’t sure. Possibly because he’d spent a lot of time watching her.
“My aunts often cook food that isn’t to my liking, or wear something that I really don’t like either. Those are times when lying is important.”
“Or you’d hurt them?”
She nodded.
“I like your aunts.”
Her smile was like the sun on full beam. It lit her face and her eyes.
“I love them. They saved me.”
“From what?”
She realized she’d said too much as she looked down at her toes. Ted knew the gesture was a coping mechanism. He’d had a few of them in his time.
