Suddenly serious, Allie clasped her hands over Sabrina’s. “I have no idea what it feels like to lose a husband. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through since Brent passed and the many months he was sick before that. I have no idea when the right time is for you to move on. But what I do know is that there’s nothing wrong with wanting another man and there sure as hell isn’t anything wrong with taking that jump into his bed. The only way to feel truly alive again is connect with someone and he could be that for you.”
“Be what?” Sabrina found herself asking.
“Your connection. Your conduit. Your path back to the living.”
Teague laughed just then and both women watched the men as they slowly made their way back to the deck. The moment of quiet with Allie was over, but Allie, being the cheeky lady she was, had one last parting shot before the men joined them.
“You owe it to me to at least have one hot night of sex with that man.”
“I owe it to you?” Incredulous Sabrina’s eyebrows shot up.
“Damn right you do. Remember the time when Paul and I had sex behind the stage at the Summer Festival of Friends a few years ago?”
Sabrina couldn’t help but giggle. “Of course I do. We could hear you. In fact I’m pretty sure that all of Gravenhurst could hear you.”
“Well, you made me give you a play-by-play because you and Brent weren’t getting busy at the time on account of you being pregnant and sick to your stomach.”
“And?”
“Payback’s a bitch,” Allie said with a wink. “I want my own play-by-play.” She paused. “On account that I’m having another baby and I need something to get me through the nights when I’m as big as a house.”
Sabrina squealed and enfolded her friend in a hug.
“It’s about time you told her,” Paul said with a smile, sliding up to his wife and kissing her on the cheek.
After a round of congratulations and a kiss pressed to her son’s face—one he tried to wriggle out of with all his might—Sabrina decided it was time to head home.
Teague had followed her to Allie’s in his truck and he pulled in behind her on the road back to the lake. The music was on low and she drove home under a star-sprinkled night sky.
Everything out here was so big and on a night like tonight it made her feel small. Insignificant. She thought of Allie and the growing life inside her.
She’d wanted one more child, but then Brent had gotten sick and the dream was lost. Would she ever feel the thrill of a miracle inside her again? Allie was right. She was young. There were still possibilities out there. She just had to be brave enough to find them.
Or rather, she had to be brave enough to take them when she did.
Sabrina pulled into her driveway and cut the engine. She watched Teague’s truck until it came to a stop at his place. The headlights went out and she waited until he exited his vehicle before sliding from her own.
The crickets were loud tonight and in the distance, an owl hooted.
They looked at each other across the open space between them and Sabrina didn’t even know she’d stopped breathing until Teague slowly raised his hand and she heard a quiet, ‘goodnight’.
She exhaled, gasping a little to draw in another breath and turned toward her own place.
Maybe Allie was wrong and maybe Sabrina was plain old crazy.
Or maybe doing nothing about what was there between them was for the best, because the one thing that Sabrina was sure of was the fact that a connection with Teague Simon wouldn’t be easy. It would be complicated. It would be messy. Wasn’t her life complicated enough?
Or was Teague Simon worth the complication?
Chapter Thirteen
Teague Simon was restless. It had been a full day—out in the sun for more hours than he could count, and then a couple rounds of water volleyball. Add to that a basket of ribs and enough homemade pie that he should have been face down on his bed asleep.
Should have being the operative words. He closed his eyes and all he could think about was silky brown hair and blue eyes. He’d been staring at the ceiling for at least two hours and by now it was well past midnight.
“Screw it,” he said, rolling out of bed wearing nothing but his boxers. He strode out of his room and headed to the deck. He needed to clear his head and maybe some fresh air would help.
Or one of his Cuban cigars.