AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes.” She closed the front door and headed to her room. “Be ready to go in thirty minutes.” Once inside her pink sanctuary, she let out a breath and knew that if she was off her game, Nathan wouldn’t make a big deal of it. As much as she thought she was over yesterday’s events, she couldn’t be one hundred percent confident and expected the day would pose several challenges.
Something she didn’t need an audience for. No matter how good their intentions were.
TWENTY-TWO
Teague stood in front of the goat pin and remembered a statement he’d made about never being tempted to make himself a fool for love and realized it was no longer valid.
He would do whatever was necessary to ensure he and Tancy moved forward.
Though how that would be possible was difficult to say since he’d failed her in a big way yesterday. Cringing at the memory, he knew his reaction to her putting her life in danger reeked of self-interest.
Scraping his hand down his face, he wasn’t sure that he’d even asked how she was doing after facing down a man with a gun in his hand. “No wonder she couldn’t wait to get rid of you.”
Several goats looked up, and he decided they weren’t bad sounding boards. It was only curiosity filling their gazes, not judgment. Except for the one in the corner. He was a nasty bastard and always tried to nip him whenever he got close enough. “You can keep your opinion to yourself, Sebastian.”
When the goat threw him a disinterested look, he accepted that he wasn’t as far along as he thought. An admission that made him remember something his therapist said about the chance for real growth happening inside a relationship. A person could tell themselves all kinds of things when alone, but it wasn’t easy when you had someone you cared about telling you the truth.
Before he could get farther down the road of regret, Dolly’s loud moos filled the air. “Maybe her love interest has returned.” He double-checked the latch on the gate and then saluted the goats. Striding away, he reminded himself to check the chicken coop since the eggs hadn’t been collected in two days.
When he got closer to the barn, he saw Miles’s truck and wondered why the hell he wasn’t in court with Tancy. He quickened his pace and was surprised as hell when he stood in the barn's doorway. “What the hell?”
Jax turned. “Surprise.”
“No shit.” He met his old swim buddy in the middle of the large structure and exchanged a hearty hug. “Glad to see you alive, brother.”
“The son of a bitch retired,” Miles announced. “And somehow kept it off the SEAL grapevine.”
Teague stepped back and gave Jax a once over. “You still have all your body parts, so that’s a good sign.”
“I’m like Humpty Dumpty. They put me back together again and told me to stay away from the wall because one more fall would be the end of it.”
“You had a good run.”
“I did,” he said quietly.
Teague slapped him on the back and then turned to Miles. “Did Tancy refuse your offer?”
“Yeah, she told me it was procedural and didn’t want a shadow. Her smile was tight, and her gaze held that hard, determined glint that suggested I shouldn’t press the point. I think she wanted to deal with the day in her own way with no witnesses.”
“Damnit.” Teague kicked his boot against the ground. “I might’ve screwed up a lot worse than I imagined.”
“She told me about her handsome boyfriend within five seconds of meeting, so it may not be as bad as you think,” Jax announced.
“Do I want to know how you met Tancy and why that came up as part of a conversation?”
Jax held up his hands. “It’s all innocent.”
“It hardly ever with you,” Miles said. “You could crawl out of a swamp and belch, and the ladies still crowd around.”
“That has happened in years.” He looked out the door of the barn. “I’m a washed-up platoon leader that has seen better days.”
“That kind of comment requires some barbeque and a case of beer,” Teague announced. “Which can’t happen until I get the animals taken care of.”
“I’ll help,” Jax announced. “I grew up on a farm.”
“That’s right,” Teague responded. “You can muck a stall with the best of them.”
“Show me where the rake is.”
