Page 30 of The Way Back Home
“Yes, but it’s been a long time,” she said quietly.
Before he could ask her more, she waved toward the big sign announcing a rest area two miles ahead. “Can we stop?”
“Sure.” Noah slid smoothly into the rightmost lane. Something told him her sudden request was about more than a bathroom break.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TEAGAN
They were headed to Sumneyville. The town just on the other side of the mountain from Saughannock.
Teagan’s heart pounded, her head swam, and her stomach threatened to send back those fries she’d had a couple of hours ago. She needed to get out of the vehicle, sooner rather than later.
Thankfully, there was a rest stop just ahead. She tucked her shaking hands in her hoodie pockets and breathed through the panic. Why the hell hadn’t she asked Noah where they were headed earlier?
Noah flipped the turn signal on and took the exit. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, summoning a weak smile. “I shouldn’t have gotten the large coffee at the last gas stop.”
He didn’t look convinced.
Teagan had the door open the moment the vehiclestopped. Without looking back, she slid out and did a lame limp slash jog toward the public restrooms. The cold air was a much-needed slap in the face, and she welcomed it.
Once inside an empty stall, she closed the door and sat down.
Holy shit. Noah’s family lived outside Sumneyville. NoahZiegler.As inZiegler’s, the biggest farmers market in the northeast. Why hadn’t she made the connection?
Maybe because Ziegler was a common name in that area. There had to be hundreds of them. Or maybe because she’d been gone for over ten years. Even when she had lived up that way, the farmers market hadn’t been a place she’d frequented often.
It might not be a bad thing. I was going that way anyway,she reminded herself.
Yes, but not with Noah.Facing Josh was something she had to do alone. Privately. Preferably not where Noah would see her name popping up on the local news in case things went south. Plus, if he knew what she was planning, he might try to stop her.
Mightwas the operative word. If he discovered the truth, he’d be more likely to walk away and wash his hands of her, protective instincts be damned.
But he didn’t know, and she would do everything she could to make sure he didn’t find out—at least not until after the holidays. By the time the new year rang in, she’d either be local front-page news or dead, and it would no longer be an issue.
But that was a future Teagan problem. She had to concentrate on the now. The past was unchangeable.The future was uncertain and subject to change. The present was the only thing she could control.
She reached deep, called forth the strength that had kept her alive thus far, and focused on small tasks. She washed her hands, splashed some cold water on her face, and used the mirror over the sink to smooth the flyaways in her hair until she looked semi-respectable.
Outwardly, she looked like anyone else trekking somewhere for the holidays. On the inside, her urge to flee was raging a fierce battle against her desire to stay. She could slip away through the woods behind the rest stop and disappear. Noah would never have to know about her truth, her past. None of it.
Except, even as the idea occurred to her, she knew that wasn’t how it would go down. Noah wouldn’t just shrug and drive away. He’d already appointed himself her protector for some inexplicable reason.
And she’d said she would spend the holidays with him. Teagan didn’t have many redeeming qualities, but she kept her word.
Decision made, she tossed the paper towel, straightened her shoulders as much as she was able, and walked out of the ladies’ room with a renewed sense of determination. Noah was waiting in the lobby, near the wall-sized map of the state and the racks of brochures for state and local attractions. The look of relief on his face when he saw her sent ribbons of warmth through her.
“Better?”
His eyes ran down and up the length of her as she approached, his gaze assessing. The genuine concern inhis eyes made her chest ache. She’d never had anyone be so invested in her well-being before. Well, maybe her mother. But that had been so long ago, and she’d been so young. She didn’t know what was real and what she’d made up in her own mind.
“Much.” She summoned a small smile. “Ready?”
He nodded. “We’re in the final stretch. Should get there right after nightfall.”
They walked out together, side by side. When they reached the truck, he reached one of those long arms out and opened the door for her, then put his hand on the small of her back. Warmth seeped through the fleece as keenly as if they were skin to skin.
