Teague

by Juliana Stone

  Teague opened his mouth to let his brother have it. He wanted to tell him that in no way did this potential career change have anything to do with Sabrina. Hell, it’s not as if he’d gone looking for it. It had landed in his lap and after his initial reluctance, he’d run with it. He’d negotiated a job that would let him work from home. A job that would require him to travel to New York City once a month for three days of taping.

  It was a job that had stability and would challenge him. It was a job that meant a normal life.

  All he had to do was sign the contract. And up until this very moment, he hadn’t realized how badly he wanted this. Normal. Him. Teague Simon

  But only if he could do it with Sabrina.

  “Shit,” he muttered.

  “Guess you’ve got some work to do brother,” Tucker said with a grin.

  That, Teague thought, was an understatement.

  He grabbed his cellphone once more, and there was no hesitation. He waited and swore when her damn voicemail came on, but this time he didn’t hang up. He left a message.

  “I’m back and coming for you.”

  It was simple and direct. And God help anyone who got in his way.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  The doorbell rang out, its shrill sound waking the dog, which immediately jumped to his feet and ran toward the house.

  Oh God. Here we go.

  “Good Lord, Bingo,” Sabrina said, wiping her hands on the front of her jeans. “Can we tone it down please?”

  The dog was now thirty-five pounds of golden brown and white fur. But its bark belonged on a ninety-five pound dog. At least.

  Sabrina rubbed Bingo’s head as she hopped onto the deck and headed into the century-old house she now called home. By the time she reached the foyer, the door was opening and she smiled when she spied Allie.

  “You have to finish these because I already ate a carton.”

  Allie shoved a half-eaten takeout container of poutine into Sabrina’s hands and sailed past her. The French Canadian dish wasn’t exactly healthy, but who could resist the best French fries in town, smothered in cheese curds and hot gravy?

  Sabrina popped one into her mouth and followed her friend back outside into the yard.

  “Oh my God, your fall mums are gorgeous.”

  Allie walked over to the array of bronze, orange, and red mums. “You have a green thumb, that’s for sure.”

  Sabrina came up beside her and shrugged. “I’m not responsible for these guys. They came with the house.”

  “True,” Allie with a laugh, “but imagine how amazing this is going to look next year when you dig in and add your own stuff to the mix.”

  “What’s up?” Sabrina asked, shoving a few more fries into her mouth and pointing to the chair.

  “Oh nothing.” Allie sat on the edge of the chair. “I just wanted to check in. You know, see how you’re doing.”

  “Huh.” Sabrina frowned, and poked a fry into the gravy-logged cheese. “I’m good.”

  “You do seem good.”

  Okay. This was a weird response.

  “And that surprises you because…”

  Allie opened her mouth to say something and then must have thought better of it because she snapped it closed just as fast.

  “Allie, what’s up?”

  “Well, you know, there’s the whole Beau Simon being in town thing.”

  “Old news, Allie. Beau’s been in Gravenhurst for two days. You’ll have to do better than that.” Growing a little concerned, Sabrina swallowed a rather large chunk of cheese and almost choked on it. She kept her eyes on her friend as she worked to clear her throat.

  “Is everything all right with you, Al? With the baby?”

  “Baby’s fine.” Allie’s eyes slid away and that triggered all sorts of alarms inside Sabrina.

  “If it’s not the baby, then what?”

  Allie hesitated and then sighed. “I was in the grocery store buying my weekly supply of Laura Secord French Mint chocolate bars, which really, if I don’t stop eating one every day, I’m going to end up the size of a small house.” She laughed, but it was a nervous laugh and Allie’s concern tripled.

  “You were in the grocery store,” she prodded.

  Allie nodded. “Right. I was in the grocery store and I heard something that I thought you might know, but now that I’m here I’m pretty sure that you don’t. Because if you knew what I know, I don’t think you’d be so, you know…okay with things.”

  “And what exactly would that be?”

  “Kendra Coles was ahead of me in the check-out and I heard her on her phone talking to a girlfriend and she said that the soldier guy was in town. At first I didn’t know what she meant, but then she launched into this big discussion on who was hotter Cooper Simon or Beau Simon and I figured that the soldier guy was—”

  “Teague.”

  Suddenly cold, Sabrina shivered and tossed aside the leftover poutine.

  “I’m sorry, honey. Are you all right?” Allie asked quietly.

  “I don’t know.”

  And Lord, was that ever the truth. Jack had stopped by the day before with Donovan and the baby and he hadn’t said one word about Teague. Not. One. Word. She hadn’t asked and she figured if there was any news, Jack would tell her.

  Sabrina sank into the chair beside her friend. She picked at the frayed pockets of her worn work jeans and exhaled slowly.

  “Sabrina, you don’t look so good.”

  “Just give me a second.”

  The two women sat there for a long time. Much longer than a few seconds.

  “Are you sure that’s what Kendra said?”

  Allie nodded. “Sorry sweetie. I can see that this isn’t what you wanted to hear. I guess I thought…I don’t know, I thought that maybe you’d be happy to hear that he came back.”

  “He didn’t come back for me, Allie.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Sabrina glanced at her friend with a sigh. Allie was such a hopeless romantic. “I know because I haven’t heard from him in ages. I know because he’s been gone for nearly two months and I know because he sure as hell didn’t call me to let me know he’s back.”

  Damn, that was a headache coming on. “Maybe if…maybe if he’d come back here after Syria, maybe then things would be different. But he didn’t. He headed to Paris and that was that.”

  “I hear what you’re saying. But sometimes it takes a man more time than we’d like to figure things out.”

  “Time isn’t a luxury that I have, Allie. Not really. A person can be happy and fulfilled and in love and within a heartbeat, it can all change. I’m not interested in anyone who needs time to figure things out. I’ve got two kids to think about and…”

  She stopped herself just in time, biting her bottom lip as a wave of hot emotion rolled over her. Just how much was the universe going to throw her way? How much was she expected to deal with?

  “Even if he’s back here for me, I don’t think that Teague and I are a good fit. He’s not the kind of man to stay in one place for very long. I don’t think that would make him happy.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Sabrina got to her feet and did what she’d been doing for the last few years. She put one foot in front of the other. She gathered up the messy poutine box and decided that she’d work on the side gardens after she was done on the mums.

  “I’ll finish up out here and then get ready for the baptism tonight.”

  Allie hugged her. “Everything is going to work out,” she whispered into Sabrina’s ear.

  Sabrina didn’t know how to respond to that statement, so she remained silent. Things working out hadn’t exactly been her life experience so far. And she didn’t hold out much hope that the situation would change anytime soon. All she could do was face the shitstorm coming her way head on, and deal with the fall out as best as she could.

  “If you need to talk later, after the baptism,” Allie said, pulling away. “I’m home alone tonight.
Paul’s away for work.”

  “Thank you.”

  It was nearly two o’clock and Harry and Morgan would be home from school in an hour. She glanced around the gardens and got to work.

  She just had to get through the evening and she had to figure out how to deal with Teague.

  She could do this. Who was she kidding? She had no choice.

  She had to do this.

  * * *

  Sabrina had never seen this much activity in Gravenhurst. The streets were crawling with folks hoping to catch sight of any one of the Simons and it took her at least forty-five minutes to get out of town and then to Lake Road, which led to the cottage. She tried calling Jack, just to let him know that they might be late, but discovered not only was her cell phone dead, but that the charger was missing as well.

  “Mommy, I have to pee,” Harry whined, for the tenth time and that headache that had been threatening all day pinched just behind her eyes.

  “Just hold it. We’re almost there.”

  They’d just passed a security check point at the top of Lake Road and should arrive at their place in less than five minutes.

  “It’s really bad,” Harry said.

  She glanced into her rearview mirror and a little piece of her heart melted at the sight of her children. Morgan had insisted on wearing her princess dress, and after a few tears and more arguments than Sabrina would like to admit, she finally gave in. She wished that Morgan had left the magical fairy stick at home, but she’d learned to pick her battles with this one, and truthfully, Morgan looked adorable.

  Harry, on the other hand, had presented no problems when Sabrina had laid out his cargoes, a white button down shirt and a tie. With his freshly scrubbed face he looked handsome. Even with the cowlick that couldn’t be tamed.

  “Mommy, what’s that?” Morgan asked, her face pressed against the window of the car.

  Shit. She’d totally forgot.

  Sabrina pulled into her driveway, ignoring the Simon place to her left and cut the engine. Just breathe. You can do this.

  Harry was out of the car like a rocket and disappeared behind the giant hostas that bordered the back of her cottage. One guess as to what he was doing back there.

  She cleared her throat. “It’s a sign.”

  “What kind of sign?”

  Sabrina slid from the car, her back ramrod straight, and kept her gaze focused on her children. She wasn’t ready to face Teague yet. Hell, at this point she wasn’t sure she should have come out here.

  She slipped her arm around Morgan’s shoulders. “Why don’t we talk about the sign later, okay?”

  Harry came running around the corner and he barely managed to avoid barreling into Morgan and Sabrina.

  “I saw the biggest snake ever, Morgan!” he shouted.

  “Can I see?”

  “No,” Sabrina said, glancing out over the lake. There were a large number of boats out there and she heard voices coming from the upper deck of the Simon home, as well as from near the beach. Her time was up.

  “Let’s go say hello to a new baby boy,” she said, shooing her children toward the cottage.

  “Is Tigger going to be here?” Morgan asked, her little face so earnest it made Sabrina’s heart turn over.

  With a tight smile, she shrugged. “He might be. Let’s go find out.”

  They crossed the driveway and had barely made it to the back door when it flew open and Jack strode out. He held his daughter in one arm, but the look on his face was one of concern.

  “Sabrina, I’ve been trying to call you but your cellphone goes straight to voicemail.”

  “I know, Jack.” Three simple words but they carried some weight and Jack Simon looked flustered. He’d always had a good heart and he could read a situation like no tomorrow. He knew that this was hard for her. And it was obvious that he didn’t like it.

  “He got in a few hours ago.”

  “Tigger?” Morgan shouted, jumping up and down. “He’s here Uncle Jack?”

  She didn’t wait for an answer and bolted past Jack, but instead of running into the house she headed for the stairs that led to the upper deck, with Harry fast on her heels.

  “Dammit,” Sabrina muttered, scrambling to catch them and not doing a good job of it in her heels.

  “Morgan, you’re going to trip in that dress and break your neck,” Sabrina shouted after her.

  The kids disappeared from sight and Sabrina almost made it to the top of the stairs when a man appeared, with both of her kids in his arms. Harry and Morgan were babbling crazily, asking a million questions about everything and anything that they could think of. Their voices melted into one and Sabrina couldn’t understand a word they said.

  All she could think about was holding herself back, because in that one moment when her eyes met Teague’s, she wanted to do nothing more than launch herself into his embrace and never let go.

  “Isn’t that right, Mommy?”

  Wait. What? “Sorry, what was that Harry?”

  “I just told Teague about the biggest snake in the world. The one I saw when I was peeing behind that sign.”

  “Right,” she murmured, glancing behind her at the large For Sale sign.

  “I told Mommy to wear her princess dress but she didn’t,” Morgan said. “I wore mine.”

  “I see that,” Teague replied with a smile.

  He took a step back, but he didn’t give up her children. He studied her intently with his dark eyes and, more than a little flustered, she looked away. If given the chance, this man saw too much.

  And there were some secrets she wasn’t so sure she was ready to share—like

  the whole love thing. No way in hell was she letting that slip.

  “Are you coming up?” Teague asked, taking another step back so that she could pass.

  Sabrina squared her shoulders. She pasted a soft smile onto her face and cleared all thoughts from her mind but those about celebrating a new baby boy’s baptism. She cleared the top stair and moved past Teague, careful not to touch him.

  It was seven o’clock. She would leave at nine.

  She could do this.

  She had to do this.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Sabrina was being cool with him.

  He got it. Of course he did. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. For the past two hours, she’d avoided him like the plague. Her kids, on the other hand, were the exact opposite, and God love ‘em, but they were part of the problem. How in hell was he supposed to get Sabrina alone when Harry and Morgan had pretty much attached themselves to him like little Koala bears with their legs and arms?

  They’d just been lured away to the kitchen by the promise of cake and ice cream, (he’d have to thank Abby later) but Sabrina was nowhere in sight. Pissed off, Teague shoved his hands into the front pockets of his slacks and headed outdoors. Maybe she needed some air and was outside.

  Good luck with that, he thought as he stepped out onto the deck. With a scowl he moved through the crowd and grabbed a cold beer from the bartender before finally finding a quiet spot where he could relax. The weather was gorgeous and they’d been blessed with an Indian summer of sorts—warm days with above average temperatures. The air was chilled this time of the night though, and he hunched his shoulders against the damp.

  Leaning against the railing, his gaze moved over those gathered on the grounds and farther down the beach. Where the hell was she?

  “There you are.”

  Teague turned as his mother appeared, and as always, his heart swelled at the sight of her. Sure, there were a few more lines around her eyes, a few more grays that glistened in her hair, and maybe she was moving a bit slower. But she’d always had this ethereal beauty and to him she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  Eden Simon handed off an empty wine glass to one of the waiters and slid up alongside her son. She slipped an arm around his waist and Teague pulled her in for a hug.

  “You look good, Mom,” he said pressing a kiss
to her cheek.

  “I’m happy. For the first time in ages, every single one of my children is gathered under the same roof. We’ve got grand-babies here and our closest friends…I can’t ask for much more than that.”

  Teague was silent, his eyes on the beach, and for a few minutes mother and son enjoyed the relative silence in their corner of the deck.

  “Sabrina’s twins seem awfully fond of you.”

  Teague didn’t take his eyes from the beach. Damn, his mother’s radar was still top notch.

  “They’re great kids.”

  “They are. It surprises me.”

  He tore his gaze from the beach and glanced down at his mother, noting the direct look in her eyes and the way her chin was set. Something was on her mind and whatever that something was wouldn’t be held back. As delicate and fragile as his mother appeared, she was the backbone of the Simon family and was probably stronger than all of them put together.

  He could play dumb and do his best to avoid whatever it was that was on her mind, but what was the point?

  “What are you getting at?” he asked.

  She turned and faced him fully. “It surprises me that those children look to you with love and affection in their eyes.”

  Teague remained silent because, hell, what did he say to that? He took a long pull from his beer and leaned his elbows onto the railing.

  “It’s surprising but nice. Yet it pains me to see their mother look at you with hurt in her heart.” Eden was quiet for a few moments. “Is there something you want to share with me?”

  Teague blew out a long breath and shook his head, searching for the right words. But there was no right or wrong. There was only the truth.

  “I screwed up.”

  “Hmmm,” Eden said softly. “I thought you might have.”

  “I’ve never been good at the relationship thing. You know that.”

  “Well, the fact that you actually said, ‘relationship’ gives me hope. What happened?” she gently prodded.

  “Syria was something that I had to do. You know that. But I should have come home when it was done. I should have flown straight here to Sabrina and made things right but…”