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Sabrina watched Teague closely. She didn’t know much about what had happened to him overseas—only what she’d seen on television—but she knew it hadn’t been good. A former Seal, he’d been in Syria when he’d disappeared with several other men. What exactly it was they were doing over there had been speculated on but never confirmed.
Some reports had said it was some sort of secretive military mission, while others reports ranged from humanitarian to intelligence, to a film documentary.
The details were sketchy but what couldn’t be denied was that they’d been held captive for several days and all but one had been rescued and returned to American soil. What happened to the remaining man had never been revealed—at least as far as Sabrina knew.
“Guys,” Sabrina interjected. “It’s time for a nap.”
At her words, the twins turned from Teague, their protests automatic and well prepared. But Sabrina wasn’t having any of it. They were only six (though not officially for a few more weeks) and had been up at the crack of dawn. Most of that time had been spent on the beach, in the water and sun. They’d never make dinner unless they had a nap.
“Inside.” Her tone brooked no argument and after the expected second round of pleas, Morgan and Harry headed up to the cottage.
“Did you want…” Sabrina pointed to the uneaten sandwiches.
“I’m good.” Teague motioned toward the Simon gazebo on the other side of the beach. “I just thought I’d warn you that I’ve got some repairs to do so it might get noisy.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
“Maybe I should wait? I don’t want to be responsible for two cranky kids if they don’t catch some sleep.”
“No,” Sabrina answered quickly, moving to pack up the remains from lunch. “Go ahead. They’ll be out cold in ten minutes.”
“Wish it was that easy for me.”
He spoke the words more to himself and Sabrina didn’t know how to respond. She wanted to say she knew exactly what he meant but she kept quiet and gathered up the kids empty drink boxes.
“Is your family coming north for the holidays?” The Simon clan had been coming up to Gravenhurst for the Canadian/American celebrations for years. Even though she’d been a townie, she hadn’t met the family until she’d started dating Brent. He was from the city and his family owned the cottage. He came up for the summers and it wasn’t until she was in her late teens that she’d met any of them.
“Tucker was going to come up with his fiancée, but I….” Teague sighed and ripped off his aviators, rubbing his temples. He glanced out at the water and for a few moments, she was able to study him unobserved.
He looked tired. And conflicted. He also looked fed up and she knew this man was hurting. He was fighting some demons. But then, weren’t they all?
“You convinced him not to come?” she asked lightly, snapping the cooler lid into place.
“You could say that.”
“Wish I was that lucky,” Sabrina muttered.
“What was that?” Those dark eyes were settled on her once more and she shivered at the intensity there. There was nothing light or easy about this man.
“I just…” She shrugged. “My mother-in-law is insisting on a visit and no matter what I say, she won’t leave me alone. She’s coming Thursday and considering Saturday is Canada Day, she’ll be here at least until Monday.”
A ghost of a smile curved his lips. “Is she that bad?”
“No.” And she wasn’t. “Let’s just say that Morgan’s unfiltered mouth is something she comes by honestly. I love Brent’s mother, but she likes to butt in where she has no right to butt in. It was bad before, I mean this is the woman who had me in tears on my wedding day, but since Brent…”
Her gaze slid away and she shrugged. “Well, since Brent passed, she’s been worse. She thinks that it’s time for me to move on. Says that I can’t grieve forever. What she doesn’t understand is that right now, it’s all I’ve got. As crazy as that sounds, it’s better than nothing.”
He was silent for a few seconds and when he spoke, his voice was subdued. “Sometimes the pain or grief or whatever you want to call it, is the only thing that makes us remember that we’re still alive.”
“Because it hurts so damn much,” she murmured. “Enough to poke through the fog.” He got it.
Teague slipped his aviators back into place, his sculpted features hard, closed off. “I just wanted to let you know I’ll be using a hammer for the next few hours.”
He didn’t give her a chance to reply but instead turned abruptly, making his way back to the Simon side of the beach. There were more scars visible across his back—some large, some small, but all of them angry looking.
Sabrina imagined that her invisible scars—if she could see them—looked exactly like his.
The kids slept for nearly two hours during which time Sabrina did laundry and caught up on some housework. Once they were awake, she spent the afternoon on the dock, pretending to read while her twins played in the sand and the puppy happily joined in.
