“This is my fault,” Abby said, holding up a plain brown paper bag. “Don’t get mad at your brother.”
Teague’s eyes shifted from Abby to Tucker. His brother was dressed in faded jeans, Birkenstocks, and a Foo Fighters T-shirt that had seen better days. He hadn’t shaved in a while (though Teague couldn’t fault him for that since he was sporting pretty much the same look) and his hair was longer than normal.
Tucker Simon was also pissed.
“Don’t start,” Teague warned.
“Start? As far as I’m concerned, we never finished our last conversation on account of you hanging up on me. Which honestly is pretty damn immature.” Tucker’s eyes narrowed. “So technically I’m not starting anything and don’t pull that crap with me.”
“Really?” Abby took a step forward so that she was between the two men. “We’re going to do this now?” She poked her fiancé in the shoulder. “You told me you weren’t going to get into it with your brother. It was the only reason I let you tag along.”
Score one for the fiancée, Teague thought to himself.
“You let me tag along?”
“I was fully prepared to come up here by myself.”
“You wouldn’t come up here without me.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Tucker, but yes I would have. I don’t need you to navigate my way out of the United States into Canada. Any moron with a passport and a GPS can get here.”
Any other time and Teague would have been amused by the expression on his brother’s face, but as it was, he was just plain irritated by it all.
“Unbelievable,” Tucker growled. “Since when did this become about me?”
“I told you that if you didn’t behave, there would be consequences.”
“Consequences.”
“Damn right,” Abby said, turning to Teague with a smile. The bag was still in her hand. She offered it to Teague, though her words were for his brother. “Keep that up and no sex for a week.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Tucker’s brows were furrowed and the look he gave Teague was ferocious.
“Muffin?” Abby asked.
“Sure,” Teague replied. “I’ll take one.” He grabbed the bag and rooted through the contents until he found a banana nut—his favorite. He took a bite and savored the flavor—it was still warm so he knew it was from the bakery in town.
Abby took a step toward Teague. She reached up and kissed his cheek, cradling his head between her hands. She leaned in and whispered. “He loves you and you’re going to have to let him in because he’s driving me crazy.” She took a step back. “Trust me Teague, you don’t want to deal with crazy Abby.”
She glanced back at Tucker. “We’re good?”
The boys didn’t answer and with a look of exasperation, she disappeared inside the cottage.
Tucker sighed and walked over to the railing. He leaned against it and gazed out at the water.
“You might want to give Mom a call. You know how she gets.”
Teague opened his mouth but closed it just as fast. What could he say? His brother was right.
“I’ll call her later today.”
Tucker turned around. He cleared his throat. “You don’t look as bad as I thought you would.”
“That’s a half-ass compliment.”
“Wasn’t meant as a compliment.”
“Good to know.”