The men shook hands goodbye, and Noah eased onto a bench. He had an arm thrown over the back, and he tossed a lazy wave for her to come closer. "You can join me if you like."
"I didn't expect to see you."
"I could tell. I'm not sure you expected to see anyone." He tapped the empty space to his side. "And you look confused, which is my look, considering Bella spent thirty minutes explaining a toy she hopes Santa brings her."
Teagan stepped closer. "Why's that confusing?"
"Because the things are named after text speak or emojis. The entire time I thought she was trying to sound like a big kid." The corners of his mouth curved and his lips pinched as though he knew how ridiculous the situation sounded. "I was translating in my head. Laugh out loud. Be right back, or something. I don't know, but it turns out that's what these things are called."
"You win the day." Teagan slapped a hand over her mouth and still giggled. "Oh, man."
"Like she's getting a smiling pile of poop." Noah scowled. "How about these two letters-N. O."
Teagan couldn't find him any more endearing. "Okay, you've got to let it go. Emojis aren't going anywhere." She leaned closer and whispered, "But you don't have to buy smiling piles of anything."
"Fair enough." He half grinned. "Tell me a funny story from your day."
"I had a kid in fourth grade sent to my office today about a money tree."
His brow pinched. "What's a money tree? Other than, man, I wish I had a money tree."
"Close." She tilted her head. "Apparently, if you nag your mom long enough for something, she will shake the money tree and it will arrive."
"What?"
Teagan nodded. "Yeah. Needless to say, I have a kicking headache."
"And how was this your problem?"
"His science teacher wasn't making progress, talked to the parents, who wouldn't correct their kid, who doesn't believe in Santa, but does believe in the money tree." Teagan rubbed her temples. "Maybe one of my top ten most-interesting-and-frustrating parent-teacher-child conferences ever."
"You don't get paid enough." He pursed his lips, failing to hide his laughter. "Whatever you make, that's not enough."
"I don't know how we ended up here. I just wanted a little quiet." She finally perched on the edge of the bench, putting far too much thought into how far-or close-she should sit. "We've never been to this program before."
"Me, either."
Teagan laughed and massaged the headache at the base of her neck. The fresh air and good company would help.
"There's a pressure point that might help. If that's a tension headache." He pointed below and then in between his eyebrows. "Take two fingers, like this. Press for a minute then give it a break. You can also do the base of your skull and neck."
"Really? Thanks. I rarely get headaches."
He shrugged. "It's handy to know if you're in the middle of nowhere and one pops up."
Wow, he could play down his heroics. She switched to her neck. "Middle of nowhere with a headache, huh?"
"No, try more like … " Noah scooted over, brushing her hair away. His hands covered hers, holding her fingers still and pressing her thumbs deeper. "Do you feel that?"
"Maybe." The reaction sparkling through her was more about his touch than headache mitigation, and she didn't want him to think she was so shallow a touch could make her flustered. "I think so, thanks."
"No, that's not it, then." He brushed her hands away. "You would know."
Noah ran his hands down her shoulder, twisting her on the bench to position her for better access, then he put his hands on her neck again. They were warm and still. Strong. His thumbs pressed the top of her hairline then slid down her spinal column. Teagan's insides fluttered, same as before when his hands covered hers, then he stilled again. The pads of his thumbs moved away from her spine with a steady pressure until he stopped again.
"Right here," he said, kneading her neck then increasing the strength of his touch with a steady push.
Her head dipped back, and Teagan's breath left as her eyes fluttered shut. A rush of bliss made her mouth taste sweet, and she inhaled deeply, rolling her head up as he carefully released her neck.
"Like that." Noah kept a hand at the back of her head.
Teagan took account of her body. The headache had dulled significantly. Was it even there? But better, her muscles had relaxed. She eased to face him again, not wanting to break the trance he'd cast over her loose muscles. "How did you do that?"
"Pressure points." He shrugged.
"Magic."
"In martial arts, you can use pressure points to immobilize a person, right?"
She nodded.
"Same concept. Pressure points can be applied to basic human reactions. Pain, pleasure. It opens or closes blood flow, releases natural chemicals that can hurt or heal." Noah didn't scoot back, and their chemistry didn't care what barriers they'd erected after they'd kissed. The connection was still there. "All useful things to have in the field if you can't pop ibuprofen for a headache."
Her headache had gone, but her interest in his hands had not. "That really helped."
This was the awkward moment, those few minutes that would define whether they could really be friends, and Teagan didn't want to lose him. She couldn't. Noah had an indescribable quality that made her smile in a way that she hadn't smiled all day. Shifting her purse into her lap, she brought their attention back to the kids. "Will isn't at Bella's reading level. I'm surprised he knew about this."
Noah watched her a second longer than was comfortable and eased back against the bench, not sliding away, and cast a long glance onto the field. "She's been doing this for a few months now. Maybe they talked about it."
Maybe they did, but that was a lot of excitement coming from her backseat for a passing mention. How else would Will know where to go? "Do you think … "
What if the kids had planned their get-together? But that was a stretch. Wasn't it? Had Bella seen something? Or heard? Were they really asleep the other night? Teagan's mind began to race, and she worried that she and Noah had already messed up. Even now, did friends share pressure points? Her cheeks flamed.
"Do I think what?" he asked.
"Nothing." Teagan batted away her crazy idea. They successfully handled a post-kiss meetup where they had touched, but it didn't seem awkward now. That was a huge success! They were friends! She couldn't ask for anything more.
The wind picked up fall leaves, and they watched the kids read to animals, occasionally straying to roll away and blow dandelions seeds then rush back to their blankets and dogs.
Noah turned, tilting his head. "What do you think they're doing?"
"Blowing the dandelions?" She turned back to Noah. "Didn't you do that when you were a kid?"
"Create a weed problem for my parents?"
"No!" She rolled her eyes. "They're making wishes!"
"Oh, right." He quieted. "Lainey used to do that."
How was he handling losing Lainey? Was he a talker or someone who bottled up tighter if asked? "Are you okay?"
Noah lifted a thick shoulder. "Not really."
"That was unexpectedly honest."
His smile cracked, and he turned, seemingly amused. "That's me."
"So I'm learning. A SEAL with a soft side."
"Whoa, hey now." He tossed his hands in the air but winked. "I wouldn't go that far." After he dropped his hands and the joking subsided, he shrugged. "That's life. Maybe that's what they're out there wishing for. A great life."
"A fairy-tale happily ever after."
He studied the kids for a second longer. "Yeah, maybe. Who wouldn't want that?"
Teagan watched him relax. Even if she couldn't read his mind, it looked as though it was the first time Noah wasn't worried about raising Bella. "I'm happy you're back in Eagle's Ridge."
And she bit her tongue to keep from admitting how glad she was to sit next to him too.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The wind picked up, howling. The cloudy day had been scattered with storms, but the worst of the weather had passed. Teagan nestled under an afghan on her couch with a pile of notes from the third-grade homerooms. She reached for her mug that had the bright red block print I'M NOT JUDGING YOU, the more delicate script underneath reading I'M PROFESSIONALLY DIAGNOSING YOU, and took a long sip of the decaf mint tea.
Maybe she should've opted for the taller mug that rah-rahed her when she was on a roll with teacher notes. She could quote her favorite mug and made a point to bring it to certain meetings with parents or teachers on the off chance they'd read her mug and have an epiphany.