Page 38 of The Way Back Home
Alex joined them noiselessly, watching with interest.
“You can’t ride him, Teagan. The vet said his back can’t take it anymore,” Daniel told her regretfully.
“Maybe you can’t,” she told him, taking in his huge frame, “but I can.” She scooted higher so that most of her weight rested on the roan’s shoulders instead of his back.
“Trust her, Daniel,” Noah said, thinking of what Teagan had been able to accomplish with that hellion back at Hopewell. “Open the gate.”
“What about a saddle?” Eli asked.
Noah smiled. “She doesn’t need one.”
His brothers were going to see some of the magic he’d seen on Mona’s ranch.
Daniel shook his head and opened the gate reluctantly. “Fine, but he’s not going anywhere. The vet wants us to do therapy, but we haven’t been able to get him out of his stall for days.”
The moment the gate swung open, Chester stepped out and walked calmly toward the double doors leading outside.
“We won’t be long,” Teagan said matter-of-factly. “He just wants to see the snow.”
Teagan and Chester went out into the night. The moment he was outside, the horse neighed loudly and lifted his head to the sky. Teagan laughed and patted his neck.
“I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes,” Eli said from the open doorway as Chester cantered around.
“I swear that horse is prancing,” Adam said.
“He is,” Daniel agreed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“What do you know about her?” Alex asked quietly, standing beside his twin as they watched Chester take Teagan around.
“I know she’s damn good with horses.”
“Clearly, if Mona hired her. What else? What’s her last name? Where’s she from?” Alex asked.
“Why?”
Alex shrugged, his eyes following Teagan’s every movement. “I’m concerned. You haven’t been in a good place since you came back.”
“You’re questioning my judgment now?”
“You’re hiding out at a ranch in Kentucky, avoiding everyone, and suddenly, you show up at Christmas with a woman you’ve never mentioned. You knew there would be questions.”
Noah said nothing.
Long moments passed in silence before Alex sighed and said quietly, “She’s hiding something.”
Yeah, no shit.“Aren’t we all?”
“You don’t know anything about her, do you?”Another sigh, this one tinged with frustration. “Damn it, Noah. You’re too trusting.”
Noah felt the words like a stab to the gut. “I know she’s running, but not what she’s running from,” he admitted. “Only that it must be pretty bad. She nearly killed herself trying to get away when the local sheriff came to the ranch, asking about her.”
“Seriously?” Alex asked in disbelief. “This didn’t ring any warning bells for you?”
Not the kind Alex was talking about. Noah had been doubting himself since that fuckup in Afghanistan, but every instinct he possessed told him Teagan was a victim, not an offender.
“Let it go, Alex.”
“She’s haunted,” Alex pressed. “What’s got her spooked? And is it going to come back and bite you—us—on the ass?”
