The City Girl Blues

by Lubrican

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Chapter Three

It's quite possible that the first step on Mandy's journey to healing after being left at the altar was that shopping trip. She'd already decided she wasn't going back to her apartment, at least for the foreseeable future. She planned on calling her landlady and arranging to continue paying the rent, but she honestly didn't know when she'd return. Bob's offer of "diversion" was the island she had swum to after this particular ship wreck and all she could think about at the moment was catching her breath.

And provisioning the island.

To that end, she started making a list of what she'd need to replace that was currently in her apartment back east. It included, quite literally, everything she would need to live for at least a month and possibly longer. Bob helped, but only by pushing the cart she filled up with toiletries, a new hair dryer, a jar of Noxzema, and so on. When she stopped at the toothpaste display Bob said, "I have toothpaste, Mandy."

"I know, but I'm not going to leech off of you. Do I need to get more towels?"

"I think I'm okay on towels," he said, laughing.

She got five pair of jeans of a different style than she would have if she were still back at school. Bob said they needed to be wide at the ankle, to go down over the boots she'd be wearing. Also, on Bob's recommendation, she got western style long sleeved shirts in checkered patterns of different colors. When Bob stopped at a store that sold primarily boots, he made more recommendations.

"You'll need a pair of traditional cowboy boots with pointed toes," he said.

"Why?"

"Makes it easier to get your feet in the stirrups," he said.

"I'm going to ride a horse?" Her eyebrows went up.

"A lot," he said, grinning.

"I don't know, Bob," she said, uncomfortably.

"You'll do fine," he said. "You also need a pair of Wellingtons for regular work. They're easier to get into, and waterproof."

"Do you wear boots in the house?" she asked.

"Slippers, usually," he said. "I have some tennis shoes too."

"Running shoes!" she said. "I have to have good running shoes."

"We normally chase critters on horseback," said Bob, grinning.

"It's just for running," she said. "That's how I keep in shape."

"Well it's working," said Bob, raking his eyes up and down her body with no shame at all. He did grin again to lessen the temerity of his visual assault.

"Thank you," said Mandy, pinking up. "I think. Are you dangerous, Bob?"

"Gentle as a lamb," said the bearded man with all the muscles. "No threat at all."

"Said the wolf." Mandy fixed her eyes on his and unconsciously assumed a defensive posture.

"Well," said Bob, amiably, "you're no Little Red Riding Hood, so I don't think you have to worry a whole lot. I tend to take my aggression out on coyotes for the most part. Let's get you socks first so we can fit the boots to them. Socks are important, so we want good ones."

The boot-fitting was performed by a girl who couldn't have been older than sixteen, but she knew her stuff and half an hour later Mandy owned two sets of boots of a type she never thought she'd ever be interested in. The cowboy boots were beautiful, though, with intricate stitching on them, made of ostrich skin. Mandy thought it was awful to make boots out of a poor bird's skin, but they were so beautiful that she stifled that objection.

"Anything else?" asked Bob as the girl rang up the purchases.

"Undies," said Mandy.

"You want to go to Richardson's for that," said the girl, as if a stranger talking about buying underwear in a boot store was the most normal thing in the world.

"How about running shoes?" asked Mandy.

"We have some, but based on your calves, you're probably a serious runner."

"I am," said Mandy, unsure how to feel about the strange intimacy of the girl's comment.

"For that, Jenner's shoe emporium, over in Ridley," said the girl. "That's where the guys on the track team get their shoes. We're a little too small to have a specialty shoe store." She grinned. "Other than boots."

"Thanks," said Mandy.

"No problem," said the girl. "Thank you for your business."

They went to Richardson's next and Mandy told Bob to stay in the truck.

"I think I can buy underwear on my own," she said, sardonically.

"Get black," he said, with a smile.

"Why?"

"I like black," he said, grinning.

"Said the wolf," growled Mandy.

Once inside she understood why the girl at the boot store had recommended the place. They had high end merchandise and it was all beautiful. Thinking about riding horses, she asked the saleswoman to recommend something for that. Even their sports bras were pretty and she decided a selection of those was all she'd need. She had some slinky undies in her suitcase, chosen to wear on her honeymoon, but she didn't even plan to take those out of her bag. Perhaps if she went to a party or some other gathering she might wear some of it, but she had no reason to believe that would happen. On the way out, though, she walked by a manikin wearing a demi bra and matching thong panties that made her stop in her tracks.

It was gorgeous. The part of the bra that would cover the inner slopes of the breasts was transparent and shaped like a butterfly's wings. The outside edges were scalloped delicately. The panties didn't cover a lot, but the back wasn't just a cord, and looked comfortable.

And ... they were black.

On impulse, she told the sales lady she wanted a set. She'd already been measured. She wasn't sure why she was doing this. It was partly because it was so beautiful, and partly because she was going to tease the wolf. Not by wearing it for him, but she was going to let him see what she'd bought. She didn't understand that urge, but also didn't think about it a lot. She just wanted to do it. She might not wear that ensemble anywhere but in her bedroom, but she wanted it.

As she was paying for her purchase, she suddenly thought about Harold. "He" was back east and even though she hadn't felt anything close to an amorous nature, she knew that would someday return.

"Can I ask you a strange question?" she asked the saleswoman.

"Go ahead," said the forty-year-old mother of two.

"Is there a store around here that sells ... um ... things of an ... uh ... adult nature?" She blushed.

The forty-year-old mother of two didn't blink an eye.

"Nope. We have to get that sort of thing from the internet."

"Thank you," said Mandy.

"Pay attention to the tracking information if you order something," said the woman. "You need to get to the mailbox before your man or children do."

"Oh!" said Mandy, smiling.

The woman smiled back.

"Good luck, honey."

"Thanks."

"Come back and see us," said the woman.

"I will," said Mandy, and took her bag out to the truck.

Ridley was forty miles away, but Bob said he didn't mind going there. "I prefer you stay in the wonderful shape you're currently in," he said, grinning. The running shoes, once they got there, were easy. They had the brand she preferred and she knew what size to get.

Then they were back on a narrow two lane road and headed to what Mandy thought of as her temporary new life.

Mandy was reminded at least a hundred times during the next day that she was a city girl, who had no business even being on a ranch, much less trying to work there. She had a stubborn streak, however, and tried to convince herself it wasn't really much worse than working in a fire-charred environment.

Bob dove into the work that had been put on hold because of the wedding. The first thing was inspecting the stock, to discover any problems that might have developed while he was gone. Mandy's new Wellingtons were soon covered with "ick" but she learned a lot about animals.

The one she liked most was Jasper, Bob's Australian cattle dog. She was sweet and looked different than any dog Mandy had ever seen. Her head was black but the rest of her body looked like somebody had thrown a bag of ashes on her, which had stuck in clumps, to a black coat underneath. She was inordinately happy to see Bob, who leaned down to rough her ears and said, "Hi, waggy tail. Did you miss me?"

"Waggy Tail" had definitely missed him, but soon abandoned him to explore this new person.

"Hi, pretty," said Mandy, reaching to fondle the dog's ears like Bob had.

"Careful," said Bob. "She doesn't much like strangers."

"Oh!" said Mandy, standing up. The dog stood on her back legs, her paws on Mandy's thighs. Her tail wagged.

"Get down," scoffed Bob. The dog did, sitting and looking up at Mandy. Her tail was still going.

"Well how about that," said Bob. "You have apparently passed the Jasper test."

"Jasper?" said Mandy.

The dog instantly stood back up, her paws on Mandy's thighs again.

"My watchdog," said Bob. "I've never seen her warm up to a stranger like that."

"She's a girl and you named her Jasper?"

Jasper whined. Mandy reached to smooth her hand over the dog's head by instinct. Jasper leaned into her hand and her tail wagged faster.

"I always give my female dogs male names," said Bob.

Mandy knelt and Jasper curled her body to lean into Mandy. Mandy stroked her back and the dog lay down, rolling over and spreading her rear legs, exposing her mottled belly.

"Good grief," snorted Bob. "She's showing obeisance. I've never seen her do that to anybody but me!"

"You poor girl," cooed Mandy, stroking the dog's belly. The skin there was soft and smooth. Jasper whined again. "Did the bad man give you a boy's name? No wonder you're confused," she continued.

"I've seen that 'poor girl' take on three coyotes at the same time," said Bob. "I hope you haven't ruined my dog."

"I haven't ruined anything," said Mandy, still stroking her new friend. "She just likes me, that's all."

"That's obvious," snorted Bob.

That had been her introduction to Jasper, and Jasper had been within fifty feet of her ever since. Whether they were indoors or out, Jasper stayed close enough that she could call her name and the dog came running.

The horses didn't mind Jasper at all. It was obvious they knew she was no threat. Mandy, on the other hand, was a stranger, and some of them shied away from her touch. Touching them at all seemed incredible to Mandy. They seemed huge, and their moving feet made her nervous. But once she'd touched a forehead, sliding her hand down to the smooth skin on the nose, Mandy was hooked. That nose felt just like Jasper's belly.

Then it was time to go find and inspect the fifty head of cattle Bob currently owned. That required Mandy to mount a horse for the first time in her life. She was terrified at first and gripped the saddle horn with both hands, the reins slack in her grip. Eventually Bob had to take the reins and lead her horse. They didn't go far, maybe half a mile, before Jasper announced with a bark that she'd found what they were looking for.

The cattle, unlike the horses, didn't care for Jasper at all. Jasper's natural instincts were to herd cattle, and she did that expertly, running back and forth, making them move toward Bob and Mandy, who sat on the horses and just waited. Eventually Jasper had herded them into a group and Bob gave a whistle, whereupon Jasper just sat down. The cattle began to wander again, away from the dog, but Bob was able to inspect them as they did so.

"Ten missing," he said.

"What does that mean?" asked Mandy, still gripping the saddle horn for dear life.

"Means we have to find them," said Bob, shrugging his shoulders. "I can't lead you and make any time. Lucy's a sweet mount and she'll behave herself. Just let her follow me and take your weight with your legs. It's going to get bumpy, but try to feel the horse's movements under you and you'll find a rhythm. Once you get that, riding will be easy."

"I don't know," moaned Mandy. "I'm scared I'll fall off."

"You might," said Bob, shrugging again. "But it won't kill you. Just get back on and try again."

"I shouldn't have done this," whined Mandy.

"Well you did, so get used to it," said Bob. "We're going to trot a bit. It's a two beat rhythm. Learn that and you'll do fine. Ready to give it a go?"

"No," complained Mandy.

"Too bad," grinned Bob through his beard.

He clicked to his horse which started off. Mandy's horse followed automatically and suddenly all she could think about was not falling off.

It seemed like she was on a carnival ride that was bouncing her up and down. She stood up instinctively and that made it a little better. Had anyone asked her where Bob was, she couldn't have said. All her attention was on the horse. Her analytical engineer's mind centered on Bob's comment about a rhythm and she identified the two beat pattern to the horse's movements. It took her a while, but she finally figured out how to flex her knees in time with the horse's gait so that she didn't bounce so much. Her butt felt sore and she could feel the tension in her abdomen and thighs as her legs got a workout. It felt like all day, but was really only ten minutes before she lifted her head to look around.

Bob was right in front of her, about thirty feet away. Jasper was nowhere to be seen.

She wanted to stop to rest and catch her breath, but she bit her lip. She wasn't going to give up that easily. Besides, now that she wasn't bouncing so much it wasn't so bad.

She heard a bark and Bob's horse suddenly veered off to the right. Her horse followed without any command from her. She looked down to see the reins lying across the horse's mane. If they hadn't been tied together, they'd be hanging to the ground. Gathering her courage, she reached for the reins with one hand while maintaining her grip on the saddle horn with the other. That was awkward and, gingerly, she let go of the saddle horn for a few seconds.

The change was startling. Now that she was sitting up, instead of leaning forward, she was better able to match the two beats of the horse's hooves. She felt wobbly and leaned back a little, pushing her butt into the wide cantle of the saddle. That gave her a feeling of stability, even though her butt slid up and down the smooth leather there.

Bob disappeared over the horizon and a few seconds later Mandy saw the ground drop away. She leaned back automatically as Lucy started down the incline and was amazed as the ride seemed to smooth out. She saw Jasper's black and white coat flicker between some bushes and saw two cows trotting away from the dog. Two more rushed out of the brush and then a group of three followed, Jasper at their heels.

Bob's horse stopped and Lucy slowed to a walk. It was amazing how stable Mandy felt in the saddle, now that the horse was walking. She released the tension on her legs and just sat, feeling relieved. Bob turned to look at her.

"Still on?" he asked.

"If I wasn't I'd be lying on the ground a mile away," groused Mandy. "You didn't look at me once!"

"I looked at you a dozen times," he said, easily. "You were doing fine."

"I don't feel like I was doing fine," she groaned. "My butt is killing me."

"I have a salve at home," he said. "I'd be happy to rub some on for you."

"I bet you would," she growled. "No thank you, Beast."

"Your call," he said, grinning. "This is all but three and I bet those are close. You want to stay here while I have a little look-see?"

"Maybe I should," she said, relieved at the thought of not bouncing for a while.

"Be back in a few," he said. "Just put a little pressure rearward on the reins when I leave. That will keep Lucy where she is."

He whistled again and his horse jumped forward, breaking into what Mandy would later learn was a canter. He rode into the brush which was high enough to hide the horse. It looked like Bob had impossibly long legs and was running away from her. Lucy started to move and Mandy pulled back on the reins. Suddenly she was moving backwards. It took her a few seconds to realize Lucy was responding to the pressure and she eased it. The horse stopped instantly, stamped a hoof, and seemed to blow air out of its mouth loudly.

He was gone ten minutes. She saw Jasper first, who ran up to her horse and sat down, her tongue lolling.

"Hey girl," said Mandy, getting a tail-wag in response. "Where's Bob?"

The dog seemed to understand the question and turned her head. Mandy saw Bob's levitating body again and then he broke out of the brush. He slowed to a trot and then a walk as he approached her.

"Found them all," he said. "No problems. We can head back now or, if you want a longer ride, go inspect some fences."

"I think I've had enough for one day," she said. "I told you I'm a city girl." She grinned. "That said, I can't believe I chased cows on a horse. If my butt didn't hurt so much I'd say it was almost fun."

"Okay. We can get to the fences later. I've got some things to do around the barn that will give you a rest."

By the time they got back to the barn Mandy's legs were burning. That was because she "stood" in the stirrups as much as possible to protect her aching backside. Not only that, the insides of her thighs felt like they'd been rubbed raw. As she got down off the horse she groaned. She suddenly understood why cowboys walked bowlegged.

"You okay?" asked Bob.

"No," sighed Mandy. "I don't think I have any skin left on the insides of my thighs, and I'm not going to sit down for a week."

He laughed, which she thought was rude, but then followed that up with obvious concern for her situation.

"A good, hot soak will help," he said. "And I have a salve that will make the pain go away."

"Really?" Mandy firmly believed she'd be out of commission for a week.

"You'll get used to it," he said. "All novice riders suffer the same malady, but your body will adapt as you get more experience."

"I'm not sure I want more experience," she moaned.

"You'll be fine after a hot bath," he assured her.

Twenty minutes later Mandy had decided he knew what he was talking about. Lying back in the old claw-foot tub with hot water up to her neck did feel wonderful. Most of the aches and pains she'd felt while easing down into the hot water were gone. Now only her glutes and the inside of her thighs still announced they were unhappy.

She stayed in the water until it had cooled and then, feeling years older than she was, climbed out of the tub.

There was a full length mirror hung on the back of the door and, as she toweled off, she looked critically at her image in it.

"You rode a horse today," she said to her reflection. "You chased cows!"

She turned, looking over her shoulder, expecting to see bruised ass cheeks, but they looked completely normal. Bending, she spread her legs apart and examined the insides of her thighs. They were as red and raw looking as they felt. She touched one inflamed patch of skin and the pain was instant.

Standing up, she took a look at her form again. Her breasts were full and tight, with almost no sag in them. In the cooler air of the bathroom her nipples had spiked. She had always loved it when a man touched them ... squeezed them ... sucked them. Well, that wasn't going to be happening any time soon. She'd have to take care of herself for the foreseeable future. She reached to give each a little squeeze and remembered the woman at the store telling her that, if she wanted something to help with that little problem, she'd have to order it online.

A little vision appeared in her mind of Bob coming in from getting the mail, holding a long, thin box with a return address on it that was something like "Monster Dildos 4 You". She giggled at the imagined look on his face as he held it out, saying, "Uh ... I'm guessing this is for you."

Her mind came back to the present and she roughed the towel over her wet hair. She was too tired to do anything other than just comb it out. She shouldn't have messed it up with the towel but she hadn't brought her new hair dryer into the bathroom with her. With a groan she realized she hadn't brought a comb or brush with her either.

She looked at the clean sports bra she'd brought with her and decided to forgo that. She put on one of the western shirts she'd bought and turned to look at herself again in the mirror. It fell to cover her below her hips, but was short enough she couldn't just go to her bedroom in that alone. She pulled on panties and then winced at the thought of putting clean jeans on. The next time they went to town she was going to have to invest in some sweat pants with nice, soft fleece inside the legs.

She turned and the stiff fabric of the new shirt scraped across her nipples. She made a mental note to wash all her new clothes before she wore them.

Looking at the jeans, she groaned again. Putting them on would be painful.

Going to the door she opened it a foot and looked out.

"Bob?" she yelled.

Nothing.

"Are you out there?" she called out.

When there was no answer she assumed he was still doing whatever out in the barn. She opened the door fully and tiptoed out.

"Stupid," she sighed as she realized she was trying to be quiet. There was nobody in the house to hear her!

She padded to her room and tossed the jeans on the chair sitting against the wall. When she'd first seen the room she'd wondered why there was a chair in it. Who put a chair in a bedroom? Now, though, it made a handy place to put the things she planned to put through the washer and dryer before wearing them.

The shirt scraped over her nipples again and reminded her that it needed to go on that pile, too. She unbuttoned it and shrugged out of it and flipped it on top of the jeans. In the process of doing that the muscles in her abdomen, shoulders and arms complained. All those aches and pains the hot water had taken away were returning.

She sighed and, dressed only in the pantieds, went to gather up all the other things that needed to be washed. She had a bundle clutched to her chest and was walking the few feet toward the chair when the door she'd left open a few inches swung wide and Bob stepped in. There was a mason jar in his hand.

"Here's the stuff I was talking about," he said, before his head swiveled and he actually saw her.

She saw his eyes widen and knew that it must appear she was naked behind the bundle of clothing that was all that obstructed his sight.

"Sorry," he said, not averting his eyes in the slightest. "I'm not used to there being privacy issues."

"Uh ..." That was all that came out of Mandy's throat. That was because her heart was pounding and she was almost panting.

"I'll just leave it here," he said, reaching to put the jar on top of the dresser, his eyes still on her. "Don't use a lot. It doesn't take much to do the job and if you put on a lot it makes a mess. It doesn't soak in, I mean. Just spread it everywhere something hurts. It does need to be rubbed in firmly, though. And I'm babbling. If you need anything I'll be out there." His head nodded toward the door.

He closed the door firmly behind him and Mandy felt the tension in her body ease. She thought about that, examining her reaction to him barging in like that. She decided her angst was normal, under the circumstances. She wasn't frightened, not of this man. She had just been startled.

She dumped the bundle of clothes on the chair and then jumped as there came a knock on the door. She felt silly at how her body had reacted.

"Yes?" she said.

"You decent yet?"

"No," she answered.

"I have some running shorts," he said. "I thought you might want to wear them. They're made of cotton and they're soft."

"Thank you," she said. "I would like something like that."

The door opened and his hand reached inside, holding a pair of dark blue shorts.

"They might be a little big for you," came his disembodied voice as she reached to pluck the garment from his fingers.

"That's okay," she said. "It looks like there's a string in them I can tighten them up with."

His hand disappeared and the door closed again.

She tossed the shorts on the bed and pulled on a T shirt. Contemplating rubbing the ointment between her legs, she removed her panties before examining the jar of ointment he'd left behind. The lid was on tight, but she managed to loosen it. Sniffing the now open jar, her head jerked back automatically as she felt her nasal cavities react to the pungent odor. The paste was dark, almost black, and about the consistency of peanut butter. It felt tingly on the end of her finger when she scooped out a little.

Bending over she dabbed the stuff onto the raw skin between her spread legs. It tingled there, too, feeling colder than the ambient temperature of the room. The jar didn't feel cold, though, as if it had been in a refrigerator.

Scooping out three fingers of stuff, she winced as she spread it across the skin of her inner right thigh. The sensation of coolness and relief was instant and almost shocked her. This stuff was amazing.

Ignoring the pain of touching the complaining skin, she smoothed her hand through what was already there and spread it around, trying to reach every place that was raw. She felt blood rushing to her head as she stayed bent over and felt a little light-headed as she stood up to get more salve.

Using her left hand she spread more salve on her inner left thigh. It was awkward because she was right-handed and her left didn't want to cooperate. She managed to reach everywhere, but it hurt more, initially, because her movements weren't smooth or coordinated.

Standing, she was amazed at how good her thighs felt. Well, perhaps "good" wasn't the right word. It was more of a numbness. But it felt much better. She wondered if it would work as well on her butt. That pain wasn't on the surface.

She decided to use both hands at the same time to rub her aching buttocks. It worked okay, but it was difficult to reach everywhere. In the process of trying to do that two fingers of her left hand came into contact with her vaginal lips, briefly. The tingle there startled her and she automatically bent over to look at her sexual core. Also automatically, her fingers came to touch that area, spreading her tingling lips. All that did was get more of the salve on them and she felt them go "dead."

"Well," she said under her breath. "I suppose that's one way to get rid of any feelings that come along."

She stood, holding still, trying to decide if the stuff helped with her backside or not. She couldn't tell.

She went to the bed and, gingerly, sat on it. She jerked to her feet instantly, not because of pain, but because it occurred to her she might be staining the quilt that was on top of the bed. She turned to look and relaxed when she saw nothing there. She still didn't want to put her naked butt cheeks on the bed so she pulled on the shorts he'd given her. She was pleased when the insides of her thighs didn't complain. Sitting on the bed again, she felt nothing. Apparently the stuff worked on deep tissue pain as well as surface discomfort.

She looked at the bed, thinking of taking a nap. But she wasn't really tired. She could feel all the sore muscles in her upper body now that issues below her waist had been dealt with. It was amazing how many muscles had apparently been used in just sitting on a horse.

Feeling suddenly hungry, she went to the door and opened it. She paused, wondering if she should put on shoes, but all she had were boots, running shoes, and the high heels she'd worn to get married in. She added slippers to her mental shopping list. It wasn't cold, though, so she just stayed barefoot as she went to the kitchen.

Bob was sitting at the table, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, going through a stack of papers. He looked up over the glasses as she entered the room.

"Bills," he grunted. "Pain in the ass."

"Well at least they're only a pain in your ass," she quipped. "That stuff is amazing."

"It is," he agreed. "I got the recipe from an old Indian who worked for me for a while."

"A real Indian?" she queried. "Like in cowboys and Indians?"

"Yup. He was Arapaho. Had to be at least eighty."

"And he worked for you?"

"He showed up one day and said the spirits had brought him to my ranch. He stayed for three years before he said the spirits were leading him somewhere else. He was a wizard with horses," said Bob. "Taught me a lot of what I know about them. That stuff, in fact, is actually intended to treat injured horses."

"You gave me horse goo?!" yipped Mandy.

"Relax," laughed Bob. "I've used it for years. Besides, it's fitting. After all, you're a pretty little filly." He grinned.

She saw his eyes fall to her breasts and felt her gut tighten. Why did men always ogle women? She looked down to see that her nipples were poking through the material of the T shirt.

"Obviously I should have put on a bra," she said, her voice tight.

"Your choice," he said, shrugging. "Can't blame a man for appreciating a pretty woman."

"I'm not here to be a pretty woman," she groused.

"Well, I suppose you could cover your face with mud and wear baggy clothes," said Bob. "That's the only way I can think of that you could hide your ... assets." He smiled. "Besides, remember? My intentions are entirely honorable."

"Said the man who walked into my room while I was naked, without knocking," said Mandy.

"That was an accident," he said. "Won't happen again."

"Okay," she said. "I suppose it didn't really hurt anything."

"Almost gave me a heart attack," said Bob, grinning. "The women I see in that kind of situation are a bit homely."

"Oh?" Mandy's curiosity demanded she get more information. "You have a bevy of women at your beck and call?"

"I wouldn't call it a bevy," he said, easily. "There's one widow and her sister."

"You can't be serious," said Mandy.

"Why not?" said Bob. "They have needs, just like everybody else."

"But two sisters?"

"Well, not at the same time, of course." said Bob. "I'm good, but not that good."

"I guess I just can't imagine sharing a man with my sister," said Mandy.

"You have a sister?" Bob grinned.

"You're awful!" said Mandy, recognizing the innuendo in his voice.

"I'm just teasing," said Bob. "I know you're down on men. But your sister might not be."

"Stop!" said Mandy. "You are a beast!"

"It's your fault," said Bob, still grinning. "It's your beauty that brings out the beast in me."

"Just awful," mumbled Mandy, going to the counter. She realized she had no idea where any food was. She turned. "I'm hungry."

"You want me to feed you?" His teeth, so white amidst the bush of his dark beard, made her want to yell at him.

"Since I don't know where anything is, I don't think that's too much to ask," she said, through teeth that touched.

"Okay," he said, standing up. "Rest your bones. I'll whip something up."

"I'm not sure I want to sit down," she said, looking at the chair. The seat looked very firm.

"If you put that stuff on right you should be fine," said Bob, opening the refrigerator.

She gingerly sat and was both surprised and happy that she felt no pain.

"Apparently I put it on right," she said.

"Too bad," he said, looking into the depths of the fridge.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I was hoping you'd need help," he said, looking over his shoulder and grinning at her.

"Just awful," she said, looking right at him.

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