Page 3 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

THREE

TEDDY

I didn’t know how long I sat in the parking lot, staring at the school and wondering how Bear was doing, but when I decided enough was enough and turned the engine on, the clock on my dashboard told me I’d been there too fucking long .

I drove back to the B&B without consulting my GPS, and even I was impressed with my ability to find it right away. Then again, I hadn’t spent the last decade and some change of my life going through hell for nothing.

Whatever good that would do me now. I was officially out of the Navy. Silver Legend no more. Just Teddy.

I had no idea where I would go from here, but it didn’t matter. Bear needed me. And for him, I’d figure it all out, one way or the other.

I parked in front of the lodge, fished my earbuds out of my pocket, looked to either side of the road, and started running.

The houses on this street were all prettier than the next: picturesque, as if out of a storybook with their shingled fronts, huge front yards, and pretty gardens along the cobbled streets.

It almost looked like England, but not the real England.

More like the Canadian type of England that shows up on TV shows, posing as the real England when it’s pretty obvious it’s North America.

But it was still cozy and cute. It had a magic to it I hadn’t seen anywhere else, definitely not in West Virginia, although I imagined my experience growing up with the shittiest parents in the world might have something to do with my inability to see the magic in my home state or town.

After a while, I turned left, then right, weaving through the streets of Mayberry Holm, becoming more and more intoxicated with this island. By the time I stopped to catch my breath and drink some water, I felt… It was odd, but I felt right at home.

I looked around me at the people on the streets—far and few between in the middle of a workday—who glanced and waved at me, smiled, or let their dogs approach to sniff me. And I embraced it all. It made me feel, even if for a second, as if everything would be okay.

I parked myself in front of a tree and used it for my stretches, running through this morning in my head.

To say it had been overwhelming was an understatement, but all in all, it had been a successful drop-off, so perhaps I could use it as a blueprint for Bear’s and my morning routine, though preferably without all the unnecessary waffling and oversharing with Mr. Crawford.

I dreaded to think what he must have made of me.

Hopefully, I hadn’t made a complete fool of myself and he would forgive my flustered state.

I needed Bear’s teacher as an ally and friend.

He looked the part, but one could never be sure with people.

I mean, my parents looked cute and normal at first glance, but that didn’t mean they were anything close to that first impression.

I shook my head, ridding it of thoughts of those toxic monsters, and focused on my workout.

There was no use lingering. It wouldn’t bring Josie back, and they didn’t deserve a brain cell wasted thinking about them.

I was ready to run again, but I stopped in my tracks when I looked at the house across the street.

It was as if a forest had been dropped in the middle of the suburbs.

Hedges and trees covered the house from top to bottom, almost concealing it.

The white fence and small driveway to the side were the only giveaways of it being more than just an overgrown garden with blue, pink, and purple hydrangeas, and when I crossed the road to inspect it closer, a sweet herbal scent invaded my nostrils, washing me with warmth and joy.

Lavender bushes lined the walkway onto the porch, which was decorated with several potted flowers and a purple rocking chair.

Of all the places I’d passed, this house looked the most glorious and gorgeous, like a little slice of heaven in the middle of paradise island. I couldn’t imagine anything going wrong in a house that looked so tucked away from the rest of the world. That stood so serene and secretive.

“One day,” I told the house, “one day, we’ll live in a place like this.”

I felt silly saying it, but one of the things that had helped me all my life was visualizing my goals when I set them. I’d drawn a sketch of myself in camo and hung it over my bed, keeping it there until I got into BUD/S.

When I stressed about Evals, I’d pin a printed image of the next rank to help me fight for it harder.

And when faced with difficult situations out in the field, I’d close my eyes and picture the victims, the survivors, the people we were there to save.

It didn’t have to be all of them. Just one.

I’d conjure the image of one person, and then there was nothing I wouldn’t do to succeed in rescuing them.

And when my parents wanted to take custody of Bear, I only had to imagine my nephew turning into a Bible-thumping whack job before the decision to retire to look after him became as easy as breathing.

So it only made sense to do the same now. I took a mental, and digital, picture of the beautiful dream home and resumed my run with renewed enthusiasm.

“Oh, Teddy, you’re here!” Autumn exclaimed as soon as I walked through the front door of Luna’s Lodge. She was coming in from the breakfast room with a plate full of cinnamon buns.

“Hey,” I said and looked down at her plate. “Are you feeding an army?”

She followed my gaze and chuckled.

“Oh. No. Just got a sweet tooth, although these so don’t hit the spot.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Really? They look delicious.” I reached for one and took a bite, then rocked my head from side to side. “It’s…inoffensive.”

“That’s one way to put it. More sugar than cinnamon, but poor Mr. Rogers can only handle so much at his age. So frozen buns it is.”

Frozen or not, after the run I’d just had, I wolfed it down while Autumn returned the plate to the room.

I started to go upstairs, but she reappeared and stopped me in my tracks.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“Um…my room?” I turned around slowly and looked at this stranger who treated me as if we’d already been friends for years, and smiled.

I would take all the friends I could get in this new town and life, and Autumn wasn’t a bad person to have on my side.

“You’re coming with me,” she said.

“Where?” I asked.

“You need a job, don’t you?”

“Y…yes?” I answered.

“Are you not sure? Do you need to ask the audience?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I’m just…not sure what you’re talking about.”

She put her hands on her hips and stared me down as if she were about to scold a child. I shrank a few inches despite her being smaller than me.

“Didn’t Wyatt tell you he’d take care of you and Bear?”

I nodded.

“So…do you need a job or not?”

“I do.”

“So you’re coming with me.” She marched toward the front door and only turned around when she’d already crossed the threshold. “Hello?”

“I…I need a shower first. I just went running.”

“You’re fine. You smell like a bouquet of roses,” she said with an eye roll.

“Okay, but can I change first? I’m not sure a tracksuit is appropriate job-interview apparel.”

Autumn groaned.

“Trust me. Your new boss won’t care. Let’s go. Time is a-wasting.” She threw both hands in the air, beckoning me to follow her, and went down the porch steps and toward my car.

I stood there watching her, weighing my options. I really, really wanted to have a shower. I could feel my sweat drying in not too pleasant places, and I really didn’t think anyone would hire a guy in a tracksuit, but then again, I had no idea what kind of job interview this even was.

In the end, I decided to trust my new friend’s judgment and followed her outside. We got into my car and she guided me through the town center to the waterfront.

We parked in front of a three-story shingled gray building with pink doors and a round pink sign that read Bubble Bubble under a pair of bubble tea cups with eyes and mouths.

“What is this?” I asked as we got out.

“Your new job,” she said. “Why? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of pink?”

“Why would I be afraid of pink?”

She shrugged.

“I don’t know. You big, macho men have an unnatural fear of the color pink. And purple. And red, sometimes.”

I chuckled and followed her to the door, which she opened for me, but I stood outside.

“What is it now?”

I grimaced. “I just…I don’t know anything about bubble tea. In fact, I don’t know anything about anything. The only thing I’m good at is…well…guns.”

Autumn rolled her eyes and swallowed a snore before she glared at me and crossed her arms.

“My brother didn’t know anything other than guns either, and you should see him now. He’s a pro bubble tea barista. You’ll be fine. Unless you think it’s a girly job or something, in which case…I might have a few choice words.”

I buried my face in my hands, and when I recovered, Autumn was still staring.

“No. I don’t have a problem with the job. I…it’s…never mind,” I said.

“Hm…good. Now come on.”

“Wait,” I said.

She didn’t respond. She simply turned around and gave me a very judgmental stare-down.

“You said your brother. Who’s your brother?”

Her expression dropped and her eyebrows knotted in confusion.

“Really? I thought everyone knew about Parker at the base? I thought that tea was hot?”

“Huh? What tea?”

“The gossip. The tea. The dirt.”

“Oh. I…I don’t really pay attention to that stuff.”

Autumn pouted. “That’s a shame. I love a good gossip. Anyway, yeah, my brother is Parker. He came here last year, and he’s now in a relationship with the owner of this establishment, a.k.a., your new boss. His name is Hwan.”

“Parker? Parker Hawkins? You’re his sister?”

“I see you catch on quick,” she said with a chuckle.

“Hey! Give me a break. The last few weeks have been a mess.”

Autumn opened her mouth but closed it before she said anything. Instead, she dropped her shoulders, took a couple of steps, and put her hands on my arms.