For a moment it startled him—this intimate contact with a child—but then something inside him sort of shifted. What that something was exactly he didn’t know, but it was warm and he cradled Harry’s head for a few seconds before clearing his throat.
“What do you say about grabbing a couple burgers?”
“That sounds great. I’m hungry,” Harry replied, yanking on Teague’s hand.
Darlene laughed. “Here are your vouchers. They’re barbecuing over by the park. It’s on the other side of the dock and participants eat for free.”
“Thanks.” Teague accepted the vouchers and led Harry to the park where they waited in line with several other kayakers.
He’d caught a few lingering looks from some of the people gathered nearby and pulled his ball cap a bit lower. He was in another country altogether, but that didn’t mean folks weren’t interested in the Simon clan. Between Beau and Cooper it was damn hard to keep things on an even keel—they were always in the news. But considering his own headlines a few months back, it wasn’t surprising that he was drawing looks.
And right now he sure as hell didn’t feel like talking to anyone. The morning had been too perfect for some random stranger to ruin it.
“I have to pee.”
Teague glanced down at Harry, just now noticing he was doing his own version of the rain dance. There were about six adults and their kids ahead of them.
“Can you hold it a bit longer? Shouldn’t take us more than five minutes to get our burgers.”
Harry shook his head. “No. I have to pee so bad my teeth are floating.” He made a face. “That’s what Ninny says when she has to go.”
Teague was almost afraid to ask who Ninny was, but as it turned out, he didn’t have to.
“She’s my great-granny and she doesn’t even have real teeth. She pops them out sometimes.” The kid made a face and giggled. “Mommy hates it but me and Morgan think it’s funny. Like a magic trick.”
“That’s magical all right,” Teague murmured, glancing toward the head of the line again and then back at the dozen or so who’d gathered behind him. “Sure you can’t wait buddy? It might be a while until we can grab our burgers.”
His cell buzzed and he scooped it from his front pocket. Sabrina.
“Hey,” he said, a half smile on his face.
“Hey,” was the response.
Her voice was husky and warm and something about it made his heart jump. Off kilter, Teague rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at Harry who was now yanking on Teague’s shorts. Shit. The little guys forehead was red, probably sunburnt. Had he put sunscreen on him?
“We finished 13th overall,” he said, wincing. Could he sound any more like a damn fifteen-year-old?
“That’s amazing.” A pause. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“Teague, I really have to go take a whiz.” Harry yanked on his arm again and Teague nearly dropped his cellphone.
“I’m right behind you.”
Teague turned around and spied Sabrina a few steps away. He took a moment to take her in.
Blue and white dress. Strapless. Lots of creamy skin. Hair that shone in the sunlight and those eyes…holy hell, her eyes were amazing.
She slipped her cell into a small white bag that hung from her bare shoulder and took those last few steps until she was inches from Teague.
“You need the washroom pumpkin?” she asked her son, ruffling his hair as the boy continued the rain dance to end all rain dances.
“So bad my teeth are swimming.”
Sabrina made a face. “Well, that’s pretty bad. Let’s get you to the washroom pronto before you have an accident.”
“But I don’t want to go with you.”