Teague (The Family Simon 4)

Teague nodded, his eyes moving to their place. “I am.” Louise and Sabrina were up there preparing dinner, and his stomach growled at the thought.

“I heard that,” Morgan giggled.

“Me too,” Harry added.

Sabrina appeared on the deck. “Dinner’s almost ready,” she shouted down to them.

“Why don’t you guys head on up and tell your mother that I’ve got to take a quick shower.”

Morgan took off at a run. “Okay Tigger!”

Harry followed suit and Teague waited until they were safely to the deck before he headed back to his own place. He’d just tore off his sweat-soaked bandana and clothes when his cell phone rang. Rifling through the pockets of his shorts he grabbed his cell, and nude, paused in his bedroom.

Richard Bowen.

Instantly he tensed and rolled his shoulders, and for several moments his fingers hovered over the number as a muscle worked its way along his jaw. The guy must have a lead on a story. Why else would he reach out to Teague?

He stared down at the numbers for so long that they blurred and, with a curse, he tossed the cell phone onto his bed and headed into the shower. There was a time when he’d have returned the man’s call ASAP. A time when the thought of heading into danger and intrigue would get him pumped.

He’d call Bowen back, just not right now.

Right now the thought of spending the evening with Sabrina Campbell was all he needed. It was another, what-the-fuck moment, but like he’d told Sabrina that morning, he was going with whatever the hell this was between them. And Teague was, if nothing, a man of his word.

Twenty minutes later he left his cottage, a bottle of red wine in one hand and Bingo in the other. The damn dog thought he belonged at Teague’s place and had been waiting for him, scratching at the patio doors when he finished showering.

“I wondered where he went.”

Teague had just stepped into the Campbell cottage and paused in the doorway, eyes on the woman before him. Sabrina wore a simple white dress that sure as hell covered more than it showed, but there was something sexy about that. Especially because he knew exactly what was wrapped up in that little package.

Her hair floated around her shoulders and those sassy new bangs of hers framed her face and emphasized her eyes in a way that made them seem luminous.

“You look amazing,” he murmured. “And you smell even better.”

A pretty blush stained her cheeks and she moved back, accepting the bottle of wine he’d brought while the dog squirmed out of his arms and headed straight for the sofa and the twins.

Louise was in the kitchen and walked over to them, a big smile on her face that she made no effort to hide. She wiped her hands on a towel and tossed it onto the counter. There was a bag waiting for her by the door and she scooped it up, looping it over her shoulder.

“You clean up real good,” she said with a wink.

“You heading somewhere, Louise?” he asked accepting a kiss on the cheek.

“Home.”

Surprised, he glanced at Sabrina, who was looking at her mother-in-law with an equally surprised expression.

“What do you mean, you’re leaving?” Sabrina asked. She gestured behind her. “You can’t leave. We’ve got steak and salad and Teague’s here and steak…”

Louise hugged her daughter-in-law. “Yes my darling, you have all of those things. But you certainly don’t need me here. I’ve already said goodbye to the children, so there’s no need to fuss.”

“But…” Sabrina stuttered.

“No buts. Enjoy your meal. Enjoy yourself or I’ll be back.” She leaned close once more and whispered something into Sabrina’s ear.

With one more wink, the older woman sailed past the two of them and disappeared down the steps before Teague or Sabrina could stop her. Less than a minute later, they heard her car start and wheel out of the driveway like a bat out of hell.

“I’m not sure what that was all about,” Sabrina said, looking anywhere but at him.

“She’s up to something.”