Teague (The Family Simon 4)

Tucker motioned with his hands. “Pass me some more of that shit.”

Teague tossed the bottle over. “Don’t go there, Tucker.”

“And where exactly would there be?”

“Sabrina Campbell is a nice girl but she’s not for me. She’s not gonna fix whatever the hell is wrong with me and I sure as hell am not interested in being a stand-in for her dead husband.”

“That’s a pretty harsh assessment considering…”

“Considering what?” he barked.

“Considering I saw the two of you dirty dancing in the parking lot. You sure as hell didn’t look like a stand-in to me.”

“Go to hell, Tucker.”

“Only if you come with me, Tigger.”

Teague would have lunged at his brother but Tucker wasn’t dumb. He was on his feet with a laugh and several feet away in seconds.

Teague glared across the deck at him. “Why do you always push me?”

Tucker shrugged. “It’s been my job since conception.”

“You’re a smartass.”

“I know. It’s part of my charm.”

“Yeah? I’d like to ask Abby’s opinion on that one.”

“She’d say the same thing.”

Teague snorted.

Tucker shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the railing. “So, what are your plans?”

Christ. Were they going to do this now? Teague shrugged. “I don’t know. Haven’t thought much past tomorrow.”

“So what are your plans tomorrow?”

“Thought we’d do some fishing.”

“I’ve only got one more day up here so spending it out on the lake sounds about right.”

Teague grunted and that was that for a few minutes. “Why the hell did you come all this way for a couple days?”

Tucker didn’t hesitate. “Because you’re my brother and even though you’ve been an absolute dick lately, I love you. Because the family is afraid we’re losing you and Mom wanted an update. Because you dropped everything for me after Marley went missing and you were the one who was there with me when they found her.”

Tucker slid the patio doors open but before disappearing inside, he cranked his head to the side. “I’ve got your back, Teague. I always will.”

“Yeah,” Teague replied, his voice low. “I know.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what the hell happened over there?”

Teague ran his hand over his temple and stared at the floor. “Maybe.”

“Okay,” Tucker replied softly. “That’s good enough for now.”

The patio doors slid shut behind his brother and Teague rested his head back against the chair. He closed his eyes and thought of the night everything had gone to shit. It’s not as if he wasn’t used to that happening—he’d been a soldier once and shit was always hitting someone or something and hitting it hard. You learned to adapt and react and hopefully if you learned it well enough, fast enough, you survived.