Teague by Juliana Stone Read Free Book Online Page A

“Morgan!” Her eyes flew to Teague. “I’m sorry, she’s always saying the first thing that pops into her head.”
    Mirrored aviators covered his eyes so she couldn’t gage his reaction, but he shrugged and shoved his hands into his front pockets, turning to her daughter.
    “They’re scars.”
    “Oh,” Harry said, getting to his feet and walking toward Teague. “Do they hurt?”
    Teague shook his head. “Not anymore.”
    “How did you get them?” Morgan asked.
    “I…” Teague paused. “I was doing my job and there was…an accident.”
    “What’s your job?” Harry asked.
    A heartbeat passed.
    “Harry, my line of work isn’t exactly easy to explain.”
    Sabrina watched Teague closely. She didn’t know much about what had happened to him overseas—only what she’d seen on television—but she knew it hadn’t been good. A former Seal, he’d been in Syria when he’d disappeared with several other men. What exactly it was they were doing over there had been speculated on but never confirmed.
    Some reports had said it was some sort of secretive military mission, while others reports ranged from humanitarian to intelligence, to a film documentary.
    The details were sketchy but what couldn’t be denied was that they’d been held captive for several days and all but one had been rescued and returned to American soil. What happened to the remaining man had never been revealed—at least as far as Sabrina knew.
    “Guys,” Sabrina interjected. “It’s time for a nap.”
    At her words, the twins turned from Teague, their protests automatic and well prepared. But Sabrina wasn’t having any of it. They were only six (though not officially for a few more weeks) and had been up at the crack of dawn. Most of that time had been spent on the beach, in the water and sun. They’d never make dinner unless they had a nap.
    “Inside.” Her tone brooked no argument and after the expected second round of pleas, Morgan and Harry headed up to the cottage.
    “Did you want…” Sabrina pointed to the uneaten sandwiches.
    “I’m good.” Teague motioned toward the Simon gazebo on the other side of the beach. “I just thought I’d warn you that I’ve got some repairs to do so it might get noisy.”
    “Thanks for the heads up.”
    “Maybe I should wait? I don’t want to be responsible for two cranky kids if they don’t catch some sleep.”
    “No,” Sabrina answered quickly, moving to pack up the remains from lunch. “Go ahead. They’ll be out cold in ten minutes.”
    “Wish it was that easy for me.”
    He spoke the words more to himself and Sabrina didn’t know how to respond. She wanted to say she knew exactly what he meant but she kept quiet and gathered up the kids empty drink boxes.
    “Is your family coming north for the holidays?” The Simon clan had been coming up to Gravenhurst for the Canadian/American celebrations for years. Even though she’d been a townie, she hadn’t met the family until she’d started dating Brent. He was from the city and his family owned the cottage. He came up for the summers and it wasn’t until she was in her late teens that she’d met any of them.
    “Tucker was going to come up with his fiancée, but I….” Teague sighed and ripped off his aviators, rubbing his temples. He glanced out at the water and for a few moments, she was able to study him unobserved.
    He looked tired. And conflicted. He also looked fed up and she knew this man was hurting. He was fighting some demons. But then, weren’t they all?
    “You convinced him not to come?” she asked lightly, snapping the cooler lid into place.
    “You could say that.”
    “Wish I was that lucky,” Sabrina muttered.
    “What was that?” Those dark eyes were settled on her once more and she shivered at the intensity there. There was nothing light or easy about this man.
    “I just…” She shrugged. “My mother-in-law is insisting on a visit and no matter what I say, she won’t leave me alone. She’s