Teague(24)

Harry and Morgan were wide eyed as they gazed out over the once calm lake. No longer serene, the water was rough and by the looks of it, the storm wasn't letting up anytime soon.

Teague slid his hand over Sabrina's. She was as white as a ghost. "You all right?"

"Right as rain," she said slowly, her eyes on the water.

"Hey." His voice was gentle and she dragged her gaze from the water. "We'll sleep in the boat. It's protected here in the harbor. We can go home in the morning. Or if that doesn't work, I'll look into renting a vehicle to get us home."

"Sleep on the boat?" Harry piped in, slapping the table. "Did you hear that Morgan?"

"I want to sleep on the boat too!" Morgan's big blue eyes flashed. "We could pretend it's like that boat from the movie."

"What boat is that?" Teague asked.

"Titanic," they shouted together.

Sabrina sat back in her seat. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Because the Titanic sank."

"Our boat won't sink, Mommy," Morgan said. "We have the best captain in the whole world. Tigger won't let that happen."

Teague flashed a grin at Sabrina. "Can't argue with that logic. I gotta agree with the kids."

"Is that so," Sabrina replied, a little more relaxed than a few minutes ago. "Are you telling me that your boat is unsinkable?"

He leaned forward. "I'm telling you that I'm the best captain in the whole world and I'd never let anything happen to you."

She opened her mouth but didn't say a word. Instead she blew out a small breath and looked down at his large hand overtop hers. After a few moments she offered up a small, hesitant smile. "Okay, Captain, our lives are in your hands."

It was a simple sentence. Almost teasing in its delivery. But Teague liked the words and how they made him feel. It was sobering because after all the crap he'd seen over the years and then the shit storm that had been Syria, he swore he'd never be responsible for another human being again.

Yet here he was, doing just that. Wanting to protect this young mother and her children. Jesus. H. Christ. What the hell was happening to him?

As they dashed out into the rain, heading to his boat for shelter, he realized that he was about as far away from his past as he could get. And maybe that was a good thing.

At least he hoped it was.





Chapter Eighteen





If Sabrina thought sleeping on a boat with Teague only a few feet away and not being able to touch him was hard, she apparently didn't know what hard was. Because sleeping in a cottage when he was in another one, several hundred feet away was even harder.                       
       
           



       

She thought about him more than she cared to admit, and she fantasized about him even more. As if that wasn't enough, her kids were all over him whenever they could be. He'd taken Harry out fishing one day and then the two of them had cleaned the pike and cooked it up for dinner. He'd also helped Morgan build the biggest sand castle the world had ever seen (according to her daughter) and then he'd let Morgan serve him tea on the beach.

Tea on the beach .

Just this morning he'd insisted that he finish Sabrina's swimming lesson (to the delight of the twins) and she'd lost all ability to think straight with his hands on her. Especially with the inappropriate touching going on underneath the water.

When Teague smiled at Sabrina, her stomach dipped and her heart turned over. And though it took her a bit, probably because she was in denial, she soon realized that it was too much. All of this was too much. What the hell was she doing? She had kids to think about.

The thought hit her like a sledgehammer and she'd taken a step back, withdrawing from the beach and herding her children up to the cottage. When Teague asked her about dinner, she said she had plans. When he pressed her, she flat out told him she needed some time to herself. He'd gotten quiet and without another word, he'd left her alone.

She was scared and confused and …

"Keep that up and you'll have permanent frown lines."

Sabrina jerked her head to the side and attempted a smile, but what was the point? Allie could read her like a book. It was early evening, the sun was just starting to set and Sabrina had brought the kids into town to watch Caleb play baseball. It was the only excuse she had to be away from the cottage. Away from Teague.

"I think I made a huge mistake," Sabrina admitted.

Allie's eyes widened and she reached for her bag of popcorn. "Does this mistake have a name?" She paused. "Never mind. That was a stupid question. What happened?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Allie nearly choked on her popcorn and she sputtered. "You have to tell me everything and I mean everything."

"I slept with him."

"And?"

"Only once."

"And?"

"It can't happen again."

"Why not?"

"Because it can't."

"You're going to have to be much more specific than that if you want my opinion. Was the sex bad?"

"What? No. It was hot and so good, but … " She blushed thinking about the things she'd let him do to her. "It's just … it's not right."

Allie was silent for a few moments, munching on her popcorn. "Do you feel guilty because you're having sex with someone other than Brent? Like you've betrayed him in some way?"

Sabrina shook her head slowly, thinking about Allie's question. "No," she whispered. "I feel a lot of things but I don't feel guilty because we had sex. I don't even feel guilty that it was amazing sex. I do feel that somehow I lost a piece of Brent by giving myself to another man, if that makes sense."

Allie's eyes softened. "Totally makes sense, but Hon, you've got to realize that you'll always carry a piece of Brent with you. He's in your children and he's still in your heart and soul. But the thing is, your heart has room for someone else. That's the cool thing about life. There's always room for more love."

"Oh God, we're so not there," Sabrina said in a rush.

Allie's eyes narrowed a bit and she offered Sabrina the popcorn bag. "Is that the problem? You want more from Teague than a summer fling?"

"My problem is that it doesn't really matter what I want, does it? I have two kids to think about. They've already lost so much. I can't let them get attached to a man who has no intention of sticking around, especially a man who doesn't even live in this country. Hell … " She threw her hands up into the air. "I don't know when he's leaving. I don't know where he lives. Florida maybe? New York? Boston? I have no idea what his plans are. And I sure as hell don't know what he thinks about our situation."

"Then ask him."

Sabrina's mouth dropped open but no words came out.

"Ask him," Allie repeated with a grin. "You guys need to have the fuck-buddy conversation."

An elderly woman a few rows down glanced over her shoulder and cleared her throat.

"The what?" Sabrina whispered hoarsely.

Allie waved at the older lady and leaned closer to Sabrina. "The fuck-buddy conversation. You need to know what his intentions are and you need to figure out what it is that you want from him. If you want some sort of relationship, he's either in or out and if Teague's not into the R-word, then cut him off at the knees. Like right now. See ya later. Because that will not be good for you or the kids." Allie crumpled the now empty bag.                       
       
           



       

"But if each of you just want to explore the whole sex thing and there sure as hell isn't anything wrong with that, then do it but keep it on the down low. Stop doing family friendly things together and just screw like crazy once the kids are in bed."

"Jesus, Allie. You make it sound so … so … "

"Dirty?" she replied with a wide grin. "I hope so. Because backseat loving should be down and dirty." She winked. "And really, really, hot."

Sabrina picked at the edge of her dress. "What if my problem is the fact that I have no idea what I want? Or maybe … " She bit her bottom lip and sighed.

"Maybe?" Allie prodded.

"Maybe I'm afraid to ask Teague where exactly his head is at, because maybe I'm afraid his head isn't anywhere near where mine is."

"Well, my darling, there's only one way to find out. You need to talk about this. Communication is always the best option when there are doubts."

Sabrina poked her friend. "You know you'd give Doctor Phil a run for his money."

She winked. "It's the pregnancy hormones. They make women smarter than they already are." She giggled. "Or maybe dumber. Who knows!"

Allie jumped up just then and shouted. "Caleb! Glove on the ground for those balls!"

When she sat back down, she cocked her head to the side. "Why don't you go home now and have your fuck-buddy conversation. I'll take the kids back to my house for ice cream and a movie. If you want them to come home tonight Paul will bring them out. But if I don't hear from you by eleven then I'm going to assume the conversation is going well and I'll keep them overnight."