Chapter 14 – Teagan
It’s so damn hot in here.
I crack my eyes open and see that the digital clock next to Wilder's bed says it's only five in the morning.
Wilder’s strong, muscled arm is draped over my waist, his body curled close only intensifying the oppressive heat that’s filling the pool house that we slept in last night.
Did we lose power during the storm?
I wriggle carefully out of Wilder’s grasp, his arm heavy around my hips like he’s trying to keep me tethered to him even in sleep.
Once I’m free, I glance back at him, still sprawled out and breathing deeply, completely unaware that I’ve escaped.
Last night’s storm had been a wild one, but we’d hardly noticed, too caught up in our own storm—the kind you feel deep in your chest, the kind that changes everything.
We haven’t said the words, not yet, but I know.
He feels it too. Something had shifted, like the air between us is different now, charged with the same electricity that had lit up the sky outside.
I’ve always loved the way summer rain smells, the way it clings to your skin and feels like it’s pulling all your hidden emotions to the surface.
That’s what it felt like last night—every crash of thunder and flash of lightning matching the intensity of our bodies joining together.
Every drop of rain felt like it was washing away the walls I hadn’t realized I’d built to keep men out.
It wasn’t just sex we had last night—it was something deeper, something I don’t have the words for yet, but I know it’s there. And it’s real.
I grab one of his flannels off the floor and pull it on, wrapping myself in the soft fabric that smells like him. Then I spot the boxers he’d stripped off last night and step into them, tying the waistband tighter as I walk out to the kitchen.
The thought hits me before I can stop it: in a few days, I’ll be back in Houston.
What then? How do we end this—or do we even have to?
Could I ask him to come to Shawna’s wedding in Pennsylvania?
Keep in touch? Two hundred miles felt like a lot when I first got here, but now, it feels like something we could handle—at least, I want to believe we could.
I spot the thermostat blinking on the wall by the fridge. No power. The temperature inside reads 90 degrees, and the air feels thick and heavy.
“Shit,” I mutter, opening the fridge on instinct before remembering the power’s out. I check the cabinets for instant coffee, anything to bring me back to life, only to find an empty canister.
Great. No electricity means no coffee unless I can figure something out quick to get the power back on.
The breaker for the pool house is probably in the main house, and his parents most likely have coffee. If I’m quick and quiet, I can slip in, grab what I need, and reset the breaker without anyone noticing.
Still barefoot, I step outside and cross the damp grass, the storm still rumbling softly in the distance.
The worst of it is over, but the air still feels heavy with the lingering scent of rain.
I push open the first set of sliding glass doors that I see, stepping into a spacious living room that spills into an open kitchen.
The house is silent except for the hum of the fridge, which means the power’s working here.
I quietly open cabinet after cabinet until I find what I’m looking for—a half-full canister of coffee.
Tucking it under my arm, I scan the kitchen for the breaker box but don’t see it.
My eyes land on a side door that looks like it might lead to a garage.
I step toward it but freeze when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
In the middle of the living room stands a little girl, maybe five or six, with big, green, round eyes. Her dark brown hair is a tangled mess, and she’s wearing Paw Patrol pajamas, clutching a stuffed cat in one hand while sucking her thumb with the other.
She blinks at me, wide-eyed and curious, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m real or just some ghost who wandered into her home.
“Hi,” she says in a small, sweet voice.
“H…Hi,” I stammer, forcing a smile.
"I'm Willow."
"I'm... Teagan," I respond.
She smiles and rubs her eyes sleepily before shifting her stuffed animal from her right arm to her left and tucking it under her armpit.
I'm frozen, unsure what to do. Wilder hadn’t mentioned that he had a little sister living with his parents. Was it possible his parents were young enough to have a toddler? Maybe this is Cody's daughter he brought with him to visit while in town from Atlanta?
I’m trying to think of any logical explanation for the small child standing in front of me, watching me with sleepy eyes the same color as his and an adorable smile.
Why the hell didn't Wilder mention he had more family? And why didn’t I ask him more about himself?
Oh, that’s right, because the guy’s been like a vault so far and last night was the first time I could feel him starting to open up to me more.
“Did the storm wake you up?” I ask, breaking the silent staring competition we seem to be locked in.
She nods and yawns. “Yeah, the thunder was loud.”
I smile and chuckle softly. “It was.”
"Will you read me a story?" she asks.
I falter for a second, then try to recover. "Um... sure."
She walks towards the living room couch and hops on it before pointing to a stack of books located under the TV in an all-glass cabinet.
"Do you have a favorite?" I ask.
She nods eagerly. "The wolfy book."
I scan the stack of books, finally finding what I assume is the wolfy book that has two large dogs on the cover. One’s wearing a red, fire Marshall hat and the other in what looks like a blue police hat and the cover says, ‘Paw Patrol Adventures!’ splashed across the front.
Willow cuddles in closer to me as she strokes her stuffed animal kitten while I begin to read the words, wondering how the hell I’m going to explain this if someone walks in on us.
I'm only two pages in when suddenly, the door I came through that faces the pool slides open revealing Wilder.
His eyes scan the living room until they land on Willow and I and he freezes.
“What…what are you doing?” he demands.
I have no idea how to answer that question honestly because I still don’t know who the little girl snuggled up next to me even is.
I fumble for words, my heart pounding in my chest. “I… I was trying to find some coffee. You were asleep, and your instant coffee canister was empty. The power went out last night, and it’s so hot in the pool house.
I thought I’d find the circuit breaker and flip it so that it’d cool back down, but then…
I ran into Willow. She asked me to read her a book.
” My voice trails off as I glance at the little girl, still clutching her stuffed cat and doing me no favors to corroborate my very strange story.
Wilder stares at me, his jaw tight and his green eyes flashing with something I can’t quite place—shock, frustration, maybe even fear.
Finally, he exhales sharply, running a hand through his messy hair.
“Teagan, you… you shouldn’t be in here. You didn’t have permission to come in here,” He shakes his head, his voice strained.
“This isn’t how I wanted you to find out. ”
How he wanted me to find out? Needed permission to enter the main house? What the hell is any of that supposed to mean?
I freeze, feeling the sting of tears threatening at the corners of my eyes. I look down at the book in my lap and close it gently, turning to Willow with a soft smile. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Wilder’s eyes flick between me and Willow, and for a second, I swear I see panic behind his frustration.
I don’t know if he’s worried about her or me, but the sudden shift in his demeanor has left me completely off balance.
My chest tightens, and all I want to do is drop the stupid coffee canister and run.
But before I can move, another door opens, and Wilder’s brother Cody strolls into the living room.
His hair is sticking up in every direction and he’s wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs.
He blinks at us like he’s trying to piece together the scene that he just walked out on.
“Y’all are gonna wake up Mom and Dad with all of the noise you’re making,” he mumbles, yawning as he rubs the back of his neck.
“Willow, go back to sleep. Now,” Wilder instructs the little girl.
“But Teagan was gonna read me a book! I’m not tired anymore, Daddy. The booming is too loud.”
Daddy?!
My stomach drops, and I barely manage to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. Daddy? Wilder is her father.
Wilder lets out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose like he’s trying to hold himself together. “I’ll read you a book in your room,” he says gently to Willow, his tone soft and careful. “Come on, let’s go.”
He glances back at me, his expression unreadable. “We’ll talk later, Teagan. Once she’s asleep, I can take you back to your sister’s.”
I’m rooted to the spot, gripping the coffee canister so tightly that my hand starts to go numb. Slowly, I set it on the counter and stretch out my fingers, trying to bring the blood flow back. My mind is spinning, trying to catch up with everything that just happened.
Wilder takes Willow’s hand and disappears down the hallway, leaving me alone in the kitchen with Cody still looking as uncomfortable as I feel. As soon as I hear the door to her room click shut, I bolt for the pool house, my bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor and then the damp grass.
Inside the pool house, I pace back and forth, my thoughts swirling in a chaotic mess.
He has a daughter.
A little girl.
Why didn’t he tell me about her?
Why did he look so mad that I was reading to her?
And then the biggest question of all crashes into me like a freight train.
Where the hell is Willow’s mother?
I pull out my phone and dial Shawna’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail. Of course—it’s barely five in the morning and I guarantee her, and her friends are hungover or still asleep. I groan in frustration and start leaving a message, but a voice behind me cuts through my rambling thoughts.
“Come on, Teagan. I’ll give you a ride home,” Cody says softly, standing in the doorway of the pool house. He’s fully dressed now, his truck keys dangling from his hand in an invitation.
I glance at him, hesitating for a moment before nodding. Right now, all I want is to get out of here and clear my head.
“Okay…”