Teague Read Free Page A

Sabrina ran her hands across her forehead. “You had me scared silly.”
    Morgan’s eyes widened, immediately filling with tears. “Mommy, I’m sorry. I was following Tigger and—“
    “Tigger?” Sabrina asked.
    Morgan nodded and pointed at Teague. “I wanted to say sorry for sneaking up on him in his underwear.”
    “She’s pretty adamant about wanting to let me know how sorry she is.”
    Teague’s deep, raspy voice caught her attention and she glanced up at him, a frown still firmly in place. His eyes were in shadow and she couldn’t get a read on him, but his body language was much more relaxed than it had been this morning.
    “I’m sorry she bothered you again,” Sabrina said, motioning toward Morgan. “We’re done and we need to go so that I can get some dinner into you.”
    “Burger Mania,” Harry shouted.
    “But Mommy, I was just telling Tigger—“
    For the love of Pete. Sabrina took a minute to calm herself. “His name is Teague.”
    Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed and she turned back to the man in question. “But he said that I could call him Tigger. Like from Winnie the Pooh. It’s going to be his nickname and he tolded me that he doesn’t mind.”
    “Morgan,” Sabrina bit out, but her daughter’s attention was on Teague.
    “My great-granny says that nicknames are special. She likes hers. We call her Ninny. But I think it’s because she hates her real name.”
    “And what’s that?” Teague asked, eyes on Morgan.
    Morgan scrunched up her nose and giggled. “Enid.”
    “Huh,” Teague replied, a small smile on his face as he tossed a bunch of bananas into his cart. “I guess that makes sense.”
    He turned his attention back to Sabrina, pushing the brim of his hat up a bit. For one second their eyes met, and something strange happened. She became hyper aware as if all of her senses suddenly were on full alert. She felt the cool air circulating from the vents above her. Heard the old man rummaging through the vegetable bins. And those eyes of Teague’s were relentless. It felt as if he could see right through her and the sensation was disturbing.
    Harry might have pulled on her arm. Morgan might have jumped up and down. Or maybe nothing happened at all because in that
moment,
a rush of something rolled through Sabrina. Whatever it was made her heart speed up. Her breathing quickened. Her stomach rolled painfully.
    And she was hot.
    Confused she glanced away, exhaling and trying to get her wits together. This day had been too long. She needed it to be over.
    “Your daughter was just telling me that I should eat a banana every day.”
    “Did she,” Sabrina managed to say, eyes on Morgan.
    “I did Mommy. I told him that if he ate bananas and blueberries, he wouldn’t get the cancer because they’re good for you. Right Mommy?”
    And there it was. The thing that she could never get away from. The ‘C’ word. Sabrina’s heart twisted. Her children had heard and seen so much in their short lives. Things they could never un-see or un-hear.
    Their father weak from chemo and struggling just to walk. Or puking in a bowl while they watched television.
    An awkward silence fell between them and then Harry yanked on Morgan’s arm. “Come on! Mommy’s taking us to Burger Mania and then she said we could watch a movie before bed. Like the whole movie until the end and everything.”
    Morgan skipped toward Sabrina, the sweetest smile on her face when she looked over her shoulder at the man who stood watching them in silence.
    “Goodbye Tigger,” she squealed, running after her brother.
    Sabrina cleared her throat and turned the cart to follow her kids up to the cashier. “I’m sorry, she’s full of beans.”
    His eyes were dark and direct and the gold flecks made them luminous. She saw something in them. Something she recognized and she swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. She was filled with the urge to run which was ridiculous. Sabrina was an adult. But Teague Simon was much too intense