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“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Morgan shoved back at her brother. “It was an accident. Even the fireman said so.”
Fire. Great.
Teague stared down into two earnest faces that looked up at him and for a moment, he didn’t know what to do. Shit. The manners he’d been brought up with told him to take the kids back to his place and feed them. Make sure they were okay. Make sure the mother was okay.
But hell, he wanted to be alone, not dance around an awkward situation. And their situation was awkward. Sabrina Campbell didn’t like him. He got it. These days not many folks did.
Morgan yanked on his hand.
Except apparently these two.
With a frown he took a few moments to think things over. Truthfully all he wanted to do was crank some Creedence Clearwater, inhale the smell of a fresh pot of coffee and have some steak and eggs.
He didn’t want to talk to anyone and he sure as hell didn’t want to listen to two chatty kids.
“Tigger.” Morgan tugged on his hand. “Can we have some bananas and blueberries too? They go good with eggs.”
“Look,” Teague finally said, letting the little imp pull him toward the path leading from the boathouse. “I’ll make you guys breakfast but then you need to clear out as soon as your bellies are full. Got it? I’ve got lots to do today.”
“Like what?” Harry shouted, running past Teague, which had Morgan letting go of his hand so that she could take off after her brother. “We can help.”
“No damn way,” he muttered, with one more glance up at the silent cottage to his left.
At the moment Teague had no idea what he was going to do with his day, but one thing was for certain…whatever it was wouldn’t involve two kids. He was many things, but babysitter wasn’t anywhere on that list.
Chapter Four
The phone rang and Sabrina woke with a start. She lay still for a few more seconds, enjoying the breeze coming in off the lake, but the phone rang again and the moment passed.
With a sigh she slid from the sofa and winced. The kink in her neck was bad, but not as bad as the wrinkled clothes she hadn’t bothered to change out of the night before; or the reflection that peered back at her from the window as she reached for the phone.
Ugh. She looked like crap.
“Hello?” she managed to say, pushing the word past the frog that was stuck at the back of her throat. What time was it? She glanced to the digital display on the oven but her blurry eyes wouldn’t focus.
“Sabrina?”
The male voice wasn’t exactly familiar but…
“Yes.”
There was a sound, like wind in a microphone and she thought whoever was on the other end of the line was outside. “It’s Josiah Duff.”
It took a moment for the fog to lift. Josiah. Big man. Big smile. Big heart. She’d known him ever since she’d been a teenager and moved to Gravenhurst with her father. In fact she’d been on a date with Josiah the night she’d met Brent.
The man was a townie for life. He had a carpentry business but also doubled as a volunteer firefighter on the side.
“I ran into Mrs. Giles from the post office and she told me you were back for the summer.”
“Wow,” Sabrina murmured. “News travels fast.”
He chuckled. “You have no idea.” A pause. “I’m out this way to quote a job for a client and thought I’d pop by to say hello. It’s been…well, it’s been a while.”
Sabrina’s eyes slammed shut. She hadn’t seen Josiah since Brent’s funeral because she’d spent most of her time in the city. It was hard coming back here. Back to the place they’d called their own slice of paradise.
“It has,” she replied softly and then frowned. “Where are you?”
“I’m parked in your driveway.”
