“Mommy,” Harry shouted, trying to keep up.
“Not now,” she snapped.
The elderly man she’d seen earlier was bent over a bushel of tomatoes and a bunch of teenagers were nearby, gathered around the apples and oranges. A couple of the girls kept glancing to their right, elbowing each other and giggling. Sabrina followed their gaze and spied Teague Simon.
He’d shaved and showered—that much was obvious—was dressed in faded khaki shorts, an old Rolling Stones T-shirt, and flip flops. A Yankee ball cap kept half of his face hidden, but the generous mouth and masculine jaw was unmistakable. His height, broad shoulders, and tattoos gave him an air of danger so she got the girls interest.
But she didn’t care about any of that. All she cared about was…
The little dark-haired girl who was talking animatedly and staring up at him with a look Sabrina knew all to well. Her daughter was on a mission and what that mission happened to be, Sabrina had no idea. But Morgan was in the thick of it.
Her daughter’s hands were on her hips and her little mouth moved a mile a minute. Any other time, Sabrina would have taken a second to enjoy the spunkiness of her mini-me. But right now, the panic of nearly losing her was all too real and she moved forward, a heavy frown in place when she brought her cart to a halt.
“Morgan Anderson Campbell,” she said, the words strangled a bit because she could barely catch her breath. “How many times have I warned you never to wander away? Jesus.” Sabrina ran her hands across her forehead. “You had me scared silly.”
Morgan’s eyes widened, immediately filling with tears. “Mommy, I’m sorry. I was following Tigger and—“
“Tigger?” Sabrina asked.
Morgan nodded and pointed at Teague. “I wanted to say sorry for sneaking up on him in his underwear.”
“She’s pretty adamant about wanting to let me know how sorry she is.”
Teague’s deep, raspy voice caught her attention and she glanced up at him, a frown still firmly in place. His eyes were in shadow and she couldn’t get a read on him, but his body language was much more relaxed than it had been this morning.
“I’m sorry she bothered you again,” Sabrina said, motioning toward Morgan. “We’re done and we need to go so that I can get some dinner into you.”
“Burger Mania,” Harry shouted.
“But Mommy, I was just telling Tigger—“
For the love of Pete. Sabrina took a minute to calm herself. “His name is Teague.”
Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed and she turned back to the man in question. “But he said that I could call him Tigger. Like from Winnie the Pooh. It’s going to be his nickname and he tolded me that he doesn’t mind.”
“Morgan,” Sabrina bit out, but her daughter’s attention was on Teague.
“My great-granny says that nicknames are special. She likes hers. We call her Ninny. But I think it’s because she hates her real name.”
“And what’s that?” Teague asked, eyes on Morgan.
Morgan scrunched up her nose and giggled. “Enid.”
“Huh,” Teague replied, a small smile on his face as he tossed a bunch of bananas into his cart. “I guess that makes sense.”
He turned his attention back to Sabrina, pushing the brim of his hat up a bit. For one second their eyes met, and something strange happened. She became hyper aware as if all of her senses suddenly were on full alert. She felt the cool air circulating from the vents above her. Heard the old man rummaging through the vegetable bins. And those eyes of Teague’s were relentless. It felt as if he could see right through her and the sensation was disturbing.
Harry might have pulled on her arm. Morgan might have jumped up and down. Or maybe nothing happened at all because in that moment, a rush of something rolled through Sabrina. Whatever it was made her heart speed up. Her breathing quickened. Her stomach rolled painfully.
And she was hot.
Confused she glanced away, exhaling and trying to get her wits together. This day had been too long. She needed it to be over.
“Your daughter was just telling me that I should eat a banana every day.”
“Did she,” Sabrina managed to say, eyes on Morgan.
“I did Mommy. I told him that if he ate bananas and blueberries, he wouldn’t get the cancer because they’re good for you. Right Mommy?”