Only Just Begun

by Vella, Wendy

  How did Ted’s sister die?

  Chapter 10

  Ted closed his eyes and slowed his movements as the door closed behind Mandy. Getting off the rowing machine, he moved to the window and watched her until she’d disappeared from his sight.

  Anytime someone asked him about Emily, he lost it. It wasn’t rational, and she’d been gone ten years now, but it was still a raw, open wound inside him.

  They’d failed her, and Ted had been trying to outrun the pain ever since he and his family had buried her.

  His phone rang. Grateful for the reprieve from his ugly thoughts, Ted answered it, and soon he was immersed in lodge business. He then finished his workout and went to his apartment.

  Mandy had tried today; she’d done everything he’d shown her and never complained. The problem, Ted had quickly realized as he’d moved her into position several times, was that touching her was not a good idea. The woman got to him. So now that she was sorted and knew how everything worked, he’d leave her alone to do her own workouts.

  “You in there, Teddy Bear!” This was followed by a hammering on his front door.

  “Come in if you have food, coffee, or breasts; otherwise, piss off!” he called back as was expected of him. He’d learned this guy talk late in life, but he was getting the hang of it now.

  “Jeez, man, you need to work out more.” Jack Trainer ambled inside.

  “We can’t all be weaklings like you Trainers.”

  “You tycoons wouldn’t last a day on the ranch.”

  “You know that’s not true, right? Why the hell are you here anyway?” He looked at Jack. Dressed in his uniform of faded jeans and a worn T-shirt, he looked fit and vital like he always did.

  “I just saw Mandy raiding your herb garden. I asked her where you were, and she said she heard grunting coming from up here and loud music. She was wearing exercise clothes. It’s weird, but who knew she had a body like that.”

  “Like what?” Ted played along.

  “Well she’s like my sister, so I’m not really going with hot. But she’s, well… she’s….” Jack looked uncomfortable.

  “Hot?”

  “That.” Jack waved a hand at him.

  Ted knew Mandy would never mention his sister or what she’d learned. Just as she wouldn’t mention she was working out with him. She was a secret keeper, a rare breed of people.

  “I need your help, Ted. You’ve taken this week off, right, so you’re not needed here.”

  Ted had foolishly in a weak moment said he’d take some time off to spend with the bachelor party. He was now regretting it. He didn’t even know these guys from Howling well, but somehow he’d got roped in.

  “I really need to go in—”

  “You struggling to let go of those reins, bud?”

  “Some.” He could do this; his doctor had told him he needed to take some time out as his blood pressure was too high, and if he didn’t get it down he’d have to take pills. That shouldn’t be an option at his age.

  “Jeans,” Jack said.

  “Why jeans?”

  “We’re building floats.”

  “What? Why am I building your float?”

  “And yours. I was speaking with Lenny, who as you know is one of your—”

  “I know who Lenny is.”

  “Don’t get testy I was just checking. Anyway, he said you never had a float and it pisses some of your staff off, but as they’re all too frightened of you to mention it, I am. So this year Falls Lodge is participating in the parade.”

  “I didn’t know it pissed them off. No one ever said anything to me.” Ted was surprised by Jack’s revelation. “And they’re not all scared of me.” He thought he had a fairly good handle on his staff and what went on with them. He’d always had an open-door policy. Okay, not many people walked through it, but still it was open. Why was he suddenly doubting the way he ran his staff?

  Jack gave him a pitying look that made him want to punch him.

  “You’re the boss, bud.”

  “And therefore, don’t know shit?”

  “Not exactly, but there’s some stuff that will slide by you.”

  “Excellent. There I was living in the land of delusion thinking I had my finger on the pulse of everything, but I seem to have missed this.”

  “Don’t feel bad, not all great men have their shit together,” Jack said, wandering out the door. “Now hustle it along, we’re eating first. Your treat.”

  “I’m sweaty and need a shower.”

  “You’re going to get sweatier. Throw on some deodorant, we’re all good.”

  “Why am I paying… again?” Ted said twenty minutes later, he’d insisted on a shower, as they parked outside Phil’s.

  “You’re rich, I’m not.”

  “Such a mercenary, and I happen to know you do all right,” Ted said, getting out of the car. “All that share trading and investment property portfolio shit you Trainers have going on. You’re just really good at playing dumb.”

  Jack just smiled that wide, women-love-me smile and slapped Ted on the back.

  His cousin Piper ran and owned Phil’s Cafe along with the other Trainers. She and Ted had once had an uneasy relationship, but it was better now that she was married with a child and another on the way.

  He liked Phil’s, it was all clean lines and serviceable spaces. Yet the decor worked. Mostly white with plenty of plants, it had a counter and stools, which was where they headed.

  Piper was behind it, tall, elegant, a woman who had beauty etched deep in her bones. She was confident and loud, pretty much the anti-Mandy. She also had a seriously large stomach.

  “Hey you,” she said to Jack, then came to hug him hard.

  And maybe that was part of the reason he’d struggled with Piper too. She was a sister to his friends, and he often wondered what his life would have been like if Emily was still in it.

  She’d softened him once. Being a brother to Emily had pretty much been the best thing Ted could lay claim to in his life.

  “Hey there, Teddy Bear.” She kissed his cheek, which was a first. He took it in his stride and gave her a gentle hug.

  He’d tried to keep his distance from them, the people he now called friends. They hadn’t allowed it.

  “Not you too? Any chance we can settle on Ted?”

  “I like it. Teddy Bears are big and cuddly. You have the big part… we’ll work on the cuddly,” Piper added.

  “Like hell,” he said, taking a seat at the counter next to Jack.

  “And here’s my man and baby! Hey, sweetie.” She kissed Dylan and Grace, their little girl.

  “Waffles, Mama. Daddy burned mine.”

  “We talked about this, sweetheart. You don’t tell tattle to Mom.” Dylan kissed a soft cheek. “But yes, I burned lunch.”

  Grace would be about four now. Her hair was blonde ringlets, and she had bright eyes and an inquisitive personality. He’d watched her grow since the day her mother had brought her home. She was the daughter of Piper’s friend, and Piper had been given custody when the woman died. They’d then adopted her.

  Hers had been a rough start in life, but unlike many, she’d found a home and people who cherished her.

  “Do you want the works breakfast, Ted?” Piper called to him.

  “Sure, why not. It’s lunch time, but I can handle that.”

  Ted remembered Emily when she was Grace’s age; she’d had this thing for dolls and the same movie on repeat.

  “Here’s your coffee.”

  “Thanks, Piper.”

  Swallowing a mouthful, he wondered why he was thinking about his sister so much all of sudden. Maybe because Anthony had shown up here in Ryker. He’d gone; Ted had checked.

  He tested around inside him to see if he felt any guilt over the fact that he wanted nothing to do with his brother, and there was some. They were different people, but they were blood. Each of the Hoskings had coped with Emily’s death differently. Ted had run and not looked back.

  �
�Hi.”

  Looking down, he found Grace, dressed in purple shorts with some kind of fairy logo and matching top that he guessed were the latest “in thing” for small people.

  “Hi.”

  “I’m Grace.”

  “I know that, we’ve met heaps before. I’m Ted.” He held out his hand, and she shook it solemnly.

  “But you don’t talk to me much like others.”

  “Sure, I do.” Ted felt like the neck of his T-shirt had suddenly tightened. Those little eyes were staring intently at him like he’d committed some kind of crime like kicking her puppy.

  “Don’t you like me?”

  “Of course, I’ve just been kind of busy.” How was he having this conversation with a four-year-old?

  “Can I sit next to you?”

  He looked at the adults, but they all seemed busy doing other stuff.

  “Sure.” He got off his stool and lifted her up onto the one next to him. Her little body had baby fat, and a memory rose of Emily snuggling in bed with him.

  “You all good up there on your own?” Ted held his hand behind her in case she fell.

  “I’ve been sitting here for years.”

  “You being four, I guess that’s quite a few.”

  His meal arrived first. The works. Bacon, eggs, hash browns, sausage, and tomatoes, with toast. He loved the food here. The hash browns were made out back and the best he’d tasted. You’d have to pull that out of him with a tow truck if Kirby was around, however.

  “I like hash browns.”

  Ted took one of his and wrapped it in a napkin.

  “You have to blow on it, Grace, because it’s hot. You want ketchup?”

  She nodded, so he dipped and handed it to her.

  “Mrs. Drew told me I did the best sandcastle yesterday at preschool.”

  “No kidding. You build it by yourself, or cheat?”

  She got a little smile on her face, then looked to where her parents were. Ted did too, and saw they were in a discussion with Jack.

  “They can’t hear, so lay it on me.”

  “I cheated. I told Melissa that if she helped, I’d share my cookies with her.”

  “So you got all the glory, and she got the cookies. Nice work.” Ted high-fived her. “I like someone who thinks about a project from all angles.”

  “I like sausage too.”

  He wrapped one in another napkin and dipped it in ketchup. Emily had loved ketchup too.

  “Do you have sisters or brothers, Ted?”

  Grace swung her legs back and forth, her little pink sparkly sandals making small tapping sounds on the counter.

  “I have two brothers, and… well, I had a sister.”

  “Is she in heaven like my mummy?”

  The innocence of kids was something he’d forgotten about. They said what they thought and had no filter.

  “She is.”

  “That’s good, because my mummy will look out for her.”

  “I hope so.” Ted felt like he was choking.

  “I’m having a unicorn cake for my birthday. I’m going to be five, and I’m not inviting that sneak Louise Galloway.”

  “Why?” Ted swallowed a mouthful of coffee and was able to breathe again. “What’d she do? You want me to go sort her out or something?”

  “Uncle Luke asked me that, but I sorted her myself. She said I wasn’t her friend, and now wants to be one because I’m having a unicorn birthday. I told her that wasn’t nice.”

  “She sounds like a sneak all right,” he said, handing her another sausage. “You stick to your guns there, Gracie.”

  “But if she comes she’ll bring me a present.”

  Ted laughed.

  “My girl entertaining you there, Teddy Bear?”

  He looked at Piper, and an understanding passed between them. Her love for the little girl reached out and touched him.

  “We’re all good, Piper. She’s helping me eat my lunch and telling me about that sneak, Louise Galloway.”

  “Right?” Piper braced a hand on her belly. “That girl, she’s trouble. How dare she try and make friends with Gracie just to go to a birthday party.” Piper’s eyes twinkled. “I mean, my baby would never do that.”

  Gracie sighed.

  “I did it once, Mama, and to be fair, Ben deserved it for putting that slime in my hair.”

  “Excuse me, I need to get that phone. You behave yourself… both of you.” Piper shot Ted and Gracie a look.

  “She’s tough, your mom.”

  “She is, but she’s really good at storytelling and hugs. She kisses me all the time, and I kind of like that too.”

  “Sound like a pretty sweet deal to me, Grace.”

  “You want a hug and a kiss, Teddy Bear? I find it makes you feel happy.”

  Shit.

  He leaned over, and two little arms wrapped around his neck. He knew the hand on his back was smearing ketchup everywhere, but it didn’t matter. She kissed his cheek, and his throat choked up.

  Ted wasn’t sure the last time he’d felt so much emotion but thought it could possibly have something to do with Mandy.

  “Miss Marla has had a fall,” Piper said, coming out of the back room. “Mandy needs someone to get over there now and watch the shop. I’m down one, so I can’t.”

  “I’ll do it.” Ted got to his feet without giving himself time to think.

  “What about the floats?” Jack asked.

  “You work out what you think we need as a lodge float, and I’ll take a look.”

  “Well, fuck,” Jack muttered. “I live to serve you after all.”

  “Uncle Jack said fuck.”

  “No he didn’t, honey,” Ted said to Grace. “He said fudge, it just sounds the same.” He then pushed the rest of his food in front of her. “Knock yourself out.”

  Running out the door, he made it to Tea Total in a minute. Buster Griffin was there behind the counter, looking like he’d been there all his life.

  “I thought you and the guys were doing stuff this afternoon?”

  “We are, were, but I want to learn how to make the lemon and blueberry scones and just arrived for my lesson. Mandy’s aunt is hurt, and she’s freaking out, so I told her to go to the hospital now. I’ll cope and try not to ruin her business.”

  “I came to help.”

  “You?” Buster looked skeptical.

  “Why not me?”

  “This is a Tea Shop, not a lodge. And from what I hear, you’re all about numbers and not actual people contact.”

  “I do people contact! I’ve worked in hotels and cafes on and off for years,” Ted said, heading to the kitchen. “And I’m not sure why I’m justifying myself to you,” he muttered.

  Buster was whistling as he walked into the kitchen.

  People were constantly winding him up these days.

  “Mandy?”

  She was staring down at a book on the counter before her. When she turned, he saw her face had zero color and she looked about ready to faint.

  “What’s going on?” He moved closer. “How’s your aunt?”

  “I-I don’t know. Aunt Sarah went home because she needed to get something. The handrail on the stairs had come loose and w-we hadn’t noticed. Aunt Marla fell. I-I need to go now and see.”

  “Okay, so why are you looking at a recipe book?”

  “I’m just waiting for someone to arrive to help Buster.”

  “I’m here for that. But you can’t drive in this condition.” Pulling out his phone, he called Jake. As luck would have it, his aunt Jess answered.

  “Aunt Jess, it’s Ted from the lodge.” He told her what had happened, and she said she’d come to Tea Total at once to watch the shop with Buster.

  “Aunt Jess is coming. Let’s go, Buster will do okay until she gets here. He owns a cafe in New York, I’m sure Ryker Falls won’t challenge him too much.”

  “But it’s the busy time.”

  “He’s got it. Now move your feet.”

  She did, holding the h
and he held out to her. Gripping it actually.

  “Buster, Joe and Jake Trainer’s aunt is coming in to help you out,” Ted said. “I’ll be in touch when we know what’s happening.”

  The man was on a stool looking at something on a shelf.

  “Sure, no problem. You okay there, sweet cheeks?”

  Mandy managed a nod. “I should tell you things,” she said.

  “Sure, but I know everything. You’ve seen one café, you’ve seen them all. You go on now and give my love to your aunt.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I may move a few things, Mandy. Nothing major. Just going on aesthetics here.”

  “Knock yourself out,” Ted muttered, heading for the door with Mandy.

  Minutes later, they were in his car heading to the hospital.

  Chapter 11

  Mandy got into Ted’s big, expensive black car with a tight chest.

  “Okay, you need to slow that breathing down.”

  A large hand on the back of her neck propelled her forward until her head was between her knees. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on calming down. It took a minute, but she got there.

  Mandy’s phone rang as she sat upright.

  “Aunt Sarah, is she okay?” She gripped the phone tight.

  She listened and then cut the call after saying they were on their way to the hospital.

  “What’s the deal?” Ted asked as he headed down Main Street.

  “Aunt Sarah said the doctors think her leg is broken and she has a concussion. She’s in X-ray now.”

  She’d had these two women in her life forever. They had been the only people she’d ever really loved, and the only people who made her feel safe. It was an irrational panic that she may lose them. Mandy knew it and hated herself for yet again being weak.

  “So, she’s not going to die then?”

  “What? No. Why would you say something like that?” She shot him a look. So competent and in control. She hated him for that.

  “Well, you’re acting like she is. You’re pale and your hands are shaking. I get that you’re worried, but this reaction is way more than that.”