Page 42 of The Way Back Home
“The bed is more comfortable.”
“It’s just … I’ve never had a tree,” Teagan confided softly, running her finger over the rim of her now-empty mug. “If I sleep in there, I won’t be able to look at it.”
He rubbed his jaw as the struggle played out across his features—his chivalrous side demanding that she take the more comfortable bed, his compassionate side wanting to make her happy. Behind both was the worry that she was going to slip away into the night.
“I won’t leave, if that’s what you’re worried about. We have a deal, remember?”
The guilty flash in his eyes gave him away. His expression softened. “Okay. It’ll be a black mark on my man card, but extenuating circumstances and all that.”
She smiled at him, something she’d done more inthe last few hours than in the last few years. “Thank you.”
A soft chime tolled midnight from the small clock on the mantel.
“Merry Christmas, Teagan,” Noah said.
“Merry Christmas, Noah.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
ALEX
It was still very early when Alex descended the stairs the next morning. He headed straight for the peace and quiet of the kitchen, knowing that soon, the rest of the house would rouse with the excitement of Christmas morning. His inability to sleep came not from the holiday, but from Noah and his mysterious companion.
After starting the coffee, he set up his laptop and began digging.
By the time others smelled the coffee and started filing in, he hadn’t found much. Hopewell Ranch had nothing for her—no employment record, no tax forms. With nothing more than a first name that might or might not be real, his options were limited.
The seats around the table filled up one by one as the morning progressed. His eyes were on the screen in front of him, but his ears were on the conversations taking place around him. Unsurprisingly, the hot topicwas Noah’s return and the woman he’d brought with him—a woman that no one had heard of until thirty-six hours ago, when Noah had called from a rest stop and said not only that he was bringing a plus-one, but that they’d be staying in the cabin.
Which raised red flags for Alex. His twin was steady, organized, and polite to a fault. He was neither impulsive nor impetuous.
Then again, Noah hadn’t been the same since that last patrol in the Helmand Province, when a routine patrol had gone tits up. They lost good men that day, and Noah had taken it hard. His twin had always had a softer heart than he did. The light to Alex’s darkness, born to heal, not to hurt.
And Teagan—if that was her real name—that woman had secrets. Noah had enough shit to deal with without adding her issues to the mix.
Alex wondered, not for the first time, if he should broach the subject of Sanctuary with Noah. The place was just over the mountain, and they did amazing things with vets who had trouble reconciling the “over there” with the “back home.” Alex knew that firsthand.Andthey’d partnered with a local hippotherapy place, which would be right up Noah’s alley.
“Are you talking about Noah and Teagan?” Kinsey asked brightly, padding into the kitchen in fuzzy slippers. She looked tired, and with her slight frame stretched to capacity, her usual graceful stride had become a waddle.
“Yes,” his sister Hannah answered. “I didn’t see that one coming.”
“I don’t think anyone did,” Daniel said, “especially not out of the blue like that.”
“Funny how Noah ended up with a local girl, isn’t it?” Kinsey let out a groan of relief as she sat down carefully at the table.
Alex glanced up from behind his laptop. Eli and Adam looked up from their plates, piled high with homemade pastries. Daniel paused in the middle of turning a page in the sports magazine he was perusing. Kinsey seemed unaware of their sudden interest, beaming at Hannah as she slid a cup of decaf and a pastry her way.
Eli was the first to speak. “What are you talking about? Teagan is from Kentucky, isn’t she?” He looked around the table, seeking confirmation.
“Yeah,” Adam said. “Mom said she worked at the same ranch as Noah.”
“Maybe that’s where they met, but she’s no more from Kentucky than he is.” Kinsey took another sip of her coffee, inhaling deeply. “I can’t wait until I can drink the real stuff again.”
“Where is she from, Kinsey?” Alex asked, his voice deceptively casual.
Kinsey’s eyes popped open.
“Saughannock, of course,” Kinsey said. At their shocked expressions, she said, “Wait. You didn’t know that?”
