"No," she said sharply.
His eyebrows shot up. "You don't want to learn?"
"I do, but … you don't have to … "
"Trust me, Sabrina. I don't do anything that I don't want to. But first I have this kayak race thing." He nodded toward her cottage. "Tell the little guy I'll load the kayak onto my truck and I'll be ready to head to town in twenty minutes."
He took a step back and held up his hands in the Vulcan sign that Spock had made famous all those years ago, before heading up the stairs. She watched him until he disappeared, enjoying the view-muscular back, wide shoulders-and then smiled to herself as she headed up to her own place.
Wow. Teague Simon had just managed to surprise the hell out of her. And the thing of it was … she liked how it made her feel.
Chapter Eleven
The kayak race was an annual event and fundraiser that had been going on for decades. In fact Teague had competed it in when he was a kid. He'd done several of the races with Tucker and remembered a few times when his father had taken his sister Grace out. Hell, his mother had even done it one year, though after Beau had pulled some kind of stunt and capsized their kayak, she'd refused to do it again.
He smiled at the memory. Beau had always been a ballsy little shit.
"There's the island!"
Harry's excited squeal pulled Teague from memory lane and he glanced ahead. The sun shining off the lake made him wince. There were a good number of kayaks ahead of them but they'd made great time, and though Teague didn't think they'd place in the top ten, they'd be close.
"Teague!"
"I see it, buddy." He couldn't help but grin. The little guy was so pumped and for the first time in a long, long, time Teague felt some kind of peace. Was it the water? The sun? Or the little boy who'd told Teague that he was ‘the best man in the whole world' when they'd headed to town.
Teague decided not to think about it all that much and guided their kayak around the island (which was nothing more than a pile of rocks with a bunch of trees in the center). The deal was, they had to get onto the island without losing their kayak and then retrieve a special flag that had their number on it.
Teague knew where the best spot to climb ashore was located and a few minutes later, they pulled as close as they could. The island had no beach but there were several spots where you could climb the rocks and get onto it with ease.
"Hold on," he cautioned Harry. Teague grabbed the rope he'd secured to the kayak and jumped over with it. The water was deep and even with Harry's safety vest, Teague insisted on holding the boy as he swam the few feet to the island.
He pointed to the natural grooves in the rocks and after giving Harry a boost, he followed him up, dangling a rope behind him. There were others attempting the same maneuver, but Teague paid them no mind. All of his focus was on the little boy waiting for him. Once he secured their kayak, they hiked over the rocks and he let Harry lead the way.
"The flags are in the trees! I remember!"
"I think you might be right," Teague replied, just as he spied the colorful flags waving in the breeze off the water. "Now we have to find ours."
"What's the number again?" Harry asked, diving into the thick of it. His blond hair was slick with sweat and he worried his bottom lip with his tongue.
"Seventy-five."
"I know what that looks like. I learned it in school!"
The entire exercise took about five minutes and then they were back in the water heading toward town. By Teague's estimation, there were now twelve kayaks ahead of them, with the majority still making their way to the island.
He settled in, eyes on the little head in front of him as they powered their way home.
"There's my friend David!" Harry shouted excitedly. "We're beating them!" Teague nodded at the man and his son as they passed them-David was still on his way to the island.
The rest of the trip took about an hour and by the time they reached the dock, Harry was slowing down. Teague had pretty much powered them through, but still, it was a lot for such a young boy and he admired the little guy's spunk.
"You did great," he said as they climbed from their kayak.
"So did you," Harry shot back. "Wait until I tell Morgan that we beat David and his dad."
Teague felt the need to say something. "It's not just about winning." Christ, he was starting to sound like his father.
"It is when you never win."
Can 't argue with that logic.
The two of them made their way over to the registration table and Harry proudly handed in their flag. The woman who took it-Darlene according to her name tag-checked her notes and smiled.
"You boys did well. Placed thirteenth out of nearly two hundred racers."
"Did you hear that?" Harry's shiny eyes gazed up at him and then his thin little arms flew around Teague.
For a moment it startled him-this intimate contact with a child-but then something inside him sort of shifted. What that something was exactly he didn't know, but it was warm and he cradled Harry's head for a few seconds before clearing his throat.
"What do you say about grabbing a couple burgers?"
"That sounds great. I'm hungry," Harry replied, yanking on Teague's hand.
Darlene laughed. "Here are your vouchers. They're barbecuing over by the park. It's on the other side of the dock and participants eat for free."
"Thanks." Teague accepted the vouchers and led Harry to the park where they waited in line with several other kayakers.
He'd caught a few lingering looks from some of the people gathered nearby and pulled his ball cap a bit lower. He was in another country altogether, but that didn't mean folks weren't interested in the Simon clan. Between Beau and Cooper it was damn hard to keep things on an even keel-they were always in the news. But considering his own headlines a few months back, it wasn't surprising that he was drawing looks.
And right now he sure as hell didn't feel like talking to anyone. The morning had been too perfect for some random stranger to ruin it.
"I have to pee."
Teague glanced down at Harry, just now noticing he was doing his own version of the rain dance. There were about six adults and their kids ahead of them.
"Can you hold it a bit longer? Shouldn't take us more than five minutes to get our burgers."
Harry shook his head. "No. I have to pee so bad my teeth are floating." He made a face. "That's what Ninny says when she has to go."
Teague was almost afraid to ask who Ninny was, but as it turned out, he didn't have to.
"She's my great-granny and she doesn't even have real teeth. She pops them out sometimes." The kid made a face and giggled. "Mommy hates it but me and Morgan think it's funny. Like a magic trick."
"That's magical all right," Teague murmured, glancing toward the head of the line again and then back at the dozen or so who'd gathered behind him. "Sure you can't wait buddy? It might be a while until we can grab our burgers."
His cell buzzed and he scooped it from his front pocket. Sabrina.
"Hey," he said, a half smile on his face.
"Hey," was the response.
Her voice was husky and warm and something about it made his heart jump. Off kilter, Teague rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at Harry who was now yanking on Teague's shorts. Shit. The little guys forehead was red, probably sunburnt. Had he put sunscreen on him?
"We finished 13th overall," he said, wincing. Could he sound any more like a damn fifteen-year-old?
"That's amazing." A pause. "Thank you."
"Anytime."
"Teague, I really have to go take a whiz." Harry yanked on his arm again and Teague nearly dropped his cellphone.
"I'm right behind you."
Teague turned around and spied Sabrina a few steps away. He took a moment to take her in.
Blue and white dress. Strapless. Lots of creamy skin. Hair that shone in the sunlight and those eyes … holy hell, her eyes were amazing.
She slipped her cell into a small white bag that hung from her bare shoulder and took those last few steps until she was inches from Teague.
"You need the washroom pumpkin?" she asked her son, ruffling his hair as the boy continued the rain dance to end all rain dances.
"So bad my teeth are swimming."
Sabrina made a face. "Well, that's pretty bad. Let's get you to the washroom pronto before you have an accident."
"But I don't want to go with you."
"Excuse me?"
"I want Teague to take me. I'm not going in the girls room."
Surprise lit up her face and those luminous blue eyes of hers widened.
"I don't mind," Teague said watching her closely. Something about Harry's request bothered Sabrina. He could tell.
"Okay," she said lightly, glancing from her son to Teague. "I'll wait in line for your burgers."
"Sounds like a plan," he replied with a smile.