Page 91 of The Way Back Home
A throat cleared behind them. “So, I guess you two know each other,” Tori said, amusement in her eyes.
Noah loosened his hold on Teagan but didn’t let go as he turned to face their audience and narrowed his eyes. “You knew. How?”
Tori shrugged unrepentantly. “Friend of a friend.”
“Alex and Heff are good friends,” Brian said by way of explanation, speaking of another Sanctuary guy who was heavily involved with Happy Trails. “Alex told uswhat Teagan was able to do with Chester. I believe his exact words were ‘horse whisperer,’” he said with a laugh. “Tori couldn’t help but reach out.”
“Uh-huh. And you didn’t think to mention it?”
“Didn’t want to get your hopes up, man,” Brian said, only slightly apologetic. “But we shouldn’t have doubted. Thatcroieshit is real.”
“Croieshit?” Noah asked.
“It’s a Callaghan thing,” Teagan said, squeezing his hip. “I’ll explain it to you later.”
That sounded good to him. He had other things in mind that took priority. Turning to Brian and Tori, he said, “You don’t need her any more today, right?”
“No,” they agreed in unison. “Go on. Get settled. Take as much time as you need. We’ll be here.”
Noah didn’t have to be told twice. And Teagan was right there with him.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
TEAGAN
Noah kept turning his head to look at her, as if he expected her to disappear at any moment. She understood. After months away with an ocean between them, sitting next to him in his truck felt both familiar and surreal.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m not dreaming, right?” he asked, shooting another glance her way. “You’re really here.”
Her smile came easy. “Yes, I’m really here.”
His response was a smile that had warmth blooming deep in her chest and spreading outward. She hadn’t known how her sudden surprise return would be received. If Noah had missed her as much as she had missed him, or if her extended absence had been a relief.
When she’d left, there had been that awkward tension between them. The more she thought about it,the more she began to suspect Noah had developed feelings for her, but either wasn’t happy about that or didn’t know how to handle it. That was one of the primary reasons she went with Donal. She needed time to heal, and Noah needed time to figure things out. After months of introspection, she knew that she couldn’t make the same mistake Donal had—namely, walking away from the one person who mattered most. She’d had to come back to see if there was a chance.
Noah’s fingers interlaced with hers and squeezed lightly. “Good,” he said simply. “Saves me a trip.”
She gawked, then laughed. “Planning on going to Ireland, were you?”
“Damn straight,” he said, his lips quirking at the corner.
“Why?”
“Don’t you know?”
She shook her head, refusing to let the fragile hope break free.
“Because that’s where you were,” Noah said, repeating her earlier sentiment at the ranch.
They continued driving in silence, holding hands. She didn’t ask where he was taking her. She didn’t care. She was just enjoying the time with him. A sense of peace settled into her, a rightness she hadn’t felt since leaving.
Once they arrived at his cabin, he held the door open for her, and she stepped inside. The place looked different than she remembered it. More lived in. MoreNoah.
A sudden frisson of nerves hit her. It wasn’t the firsttime she’d been alone with him, but this time felt different. She wasn’t the same scared, injured woman she had been, and Noah seemed stronger too. Calmer. Self-assured in a way that made her chest ache.
“I went to Hopewell first, you know,” she said as he removed her jacket. Even the light, incidental brush of his fingers over her arm was enough to send sparks ghosting along her skin. The air was charged, a sense of destiny heavy in the air. “I thought you were going back after the holidays.”
