Page 69 of The Way Back Home
When Alex said nothing, Noah added, “She’s alone, Alex. She needs to know someone cares.”
Surprisingly, the doctor agreed. “Teagan could use the support,” he said, looking around at the sea of worried faces with approval in his eyes. “Even in this state, the subconscious picks up things the consciousmind doesn’t. Familiar voices. Gentle tones and touches. Words of encouragement.”
“I want to see her too.” Kinsey stood, her face tear-streaked and blotchy. Brandon was by her side. “It’s my fault,” she said, choking back another sob. “Josh knew about Teagan because of me.”
“Shh, Kinsey, it’s okay,” Brandon said, putting his arms around her and rubbing her back.
“How the hell could this possibly be your fault?” asked Alex.
“When we visited my parents on Christmas Eve, I told them about Noah and Teagan,” Kinsey explained through sniffles and tears. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to. I thought you knew. I called my parents to tell them not to say anything, but by then it was too late.”
Kinsey paused to accept a tissue. “I’m sure that’s how he knew to use us against her. I’m so sorry.” The rest of her words were lost in more sobs.
Brandon looked helplessly at his brothers.
“I’m sure Teagan doesn’t blame you, Kinsey,” Brandon said soothingly. “She’ll tell you that herself as soon as she’s able.”
They all knew what Josh had threatened in the diner, thanks to a tiny receiver Alex had planted in Teagan’s coat before she left. It was instrumental in getting the warrant for Josh’s property. Unfortunately for Teagan, the coat was left downstairs, and Alex’s bug didn’t pick up any of the violence on the second floor. If it had, nothing would have stopped Alex frombusting his way in sooner, with or without the sheriff’s approval.
Only two people at a time were permitted in the ICU area where Teagan was being kept. Noah went in first, accompanied by Alex, who remained a sentinel presence at the door.
Noah was forced to call upon every ounce of self-control he had as he approached the bed. Too many IVs dripped into her. One eye was completely covered by bandages, the other a shocking blackish purple against the unnatural whiteness of her skin. The ventilator hissed softly, rhythmically, Teagan’s chest moving in sync with the sounds under the sheets.
“Hey, tiger,” Noah greeted softly, sliding into a chair as he took Teagan’s hand into his own.
The monitors blipped for an instant, as if she knew he was there, before settling back into a steady pace.
He remembered sitting beside a bed, staring at her like this once before. Had it only been a week? It seemed like he’d lived an entire lifetime between finding her unconscious in the woods and now.
He wasn’t the same person he’d been then either. In one week, Teagan had unknowingly accomplished what he hadn’t been able to do in years—get him to focus on someone besides himself. He was finally ready to climb out of his pit of self-doubt. To realize, in an ironic twist, that he wasn’t alone. He had the unconditional support of his family.
For the first time since he’d left the Army, he was truly on the path of healing.
Most amazingly, he had fallen for a woman who soothed him on a soul-deep level. Who knew what it was like to be broken. To be betrayed by those she’d trusted.
Did she feel the same about him? He didn’t know. He knew only that he couldn’t imagine a future without her in it.
Noah was a near-constant presence at Teagan’s bedside. On those occasions when he left briefly, her heart rate and blood pressure increased, and she seemed to fight against the machines. When he was there, touching her, talking softly or humming, she relaxed and let her body begin to heal.
After the second day, they took Teagan off the ventilator and moved her to a private room on a med-surg floor. His family remained close, providing support and keeping the media at bay. As big as Teagan’s disappearance had been, her return was even more so. The more details that emerged, the bigger the story grew.
At night, Noah would doze off next to her bed, his head beside her arm. He took responsibility for most of Teagan’s care—something greatly appreciated by the overworked and understaffed nurses.
A week after Christmas, Mona flew in to visit as well.
“One thing I don’t understand,” Eli said after Noah filled Mona in with a brief history.
“Only one?” Adam asked, earning a glare. “There’s still a lot I don’t get. Like, how did this go on for so long? It literally took us a few minutes to put the piecestogether from those old newspaper photos. You can’t tell me no one suspected anything.”
“People see what they want to see,” Mona said sadly, “and turn a blind eye to the rest.”
Alex shrugged. “Graner is a monster, but he’s a monster with a genius-level IQ. A manipulative, fully functioning psychopath and a skilled hacker. You should have seen the shit we took out of his place.” He murmured an apology to his mother, who gave him a stern look for his choice of vocabulary. “We found a round-trip ticket to Lexington scheduled for two days after Christmas. Had Teagan not come here when she did, he’d be at the ranch right now. The authorities are still piecing things together, but it seems wherever Graner went, bad things happened.”
“Like what?” Eli asked.
“Fires, thefts, break-ins, assaults. The victims were overwhelmingly those who had helped Teagan in some way, whether it be providing shelter, giving her a ride or a job, you name it.”
“Dollars to doughnuts, Teagan knew—or at least suspected,” Eli said. “That’s why she never stayed in one place for very long.”
