Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TEAGAN
Teagan blinked back tears as she followed Daniel into the stable.
Clearly, the pain and lack of sleep were catching up to her.
She wouldn’t cry simply because someone thought the worst of her.
People had been doing that her whole life, and she’d learned a long time ago that what they thought didn’t matter.
She knew who she was. What she was capable of.
But this wasn’t about just her. She’d accepted Noah’s invitation—at least in part—to help him, even if she wasn’t sure why he needed someone to “take some of the heat off him.” His family seemed like the type to support him no matter what.
As for Alex? He was right to be concerned. She couldn’t fault him for looking out for his twin, especially when Noah was doing nothing to dissuade them from thinking she and Noah were a couple.
Perception was reality. What were they supposed to infer when he showed up at a family celebration with her in tow, the two of them staying in his cozy little cabin on the property?
Short of breaking her word and slipping away, there wasn’t much she could do about that. She’d suck it up, play her part in whatever game Noah was playing for the next two days, and then move on as planned.
Having reached the stall, Teagan pulled the apple out of her pocket and gave it to Chester.
“Chester’s depressed because no one rides him anymore, and controlled exercise is good for an arthritic spine,” she said to Daniel.
“Don’t use full saddle gear; limit riders to those who don’t weigh much, like your sisters and the older kids.
Tell them to keep their weight centered toward the front.
Chester needs human contact. If riding’s not an option, then just sit on the half wall like this”—Teagan hoisted herself up—“so that he can lean against you.”
“You really are a horse whisperer, aren’t you?” Daniel asked with an upward tilt of his lips.
“No.” Teagan stroked the roan’s nose and gave his neck a pat. “Just good at reading body language, I guess.”
“Sleigh’s good to go,” Eli called.
“Thanks.”
Teagan eased back down to the ground, then moved to the side of the barn, where Adam waited with a stunning white Percheron.
“This is Aspen,” Adam said as Teagan stepped up to the horse and was instantly rewarded with a nuzzle.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. You okay?” Adam asked with a smile that seemed almost shy. “Alex can be intense sometimes.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” she lied, even though her fight-or-flight instinct was urging her to disappear into the night and not look back.
She glanced back to where Noah and Alex were still facing off. Hated that she was the source of it. Though, deep down, she suspected that she wasn’t really the issue.
“Hey,” she called out to Noah. “Were you serious about getting that tree tonight?”
“Absolutely,” Noah called back.
Turning on his heel, he walked away from Alex. Alex cast a final glare her way before he disappeared into the shadows.
“I’m sorry about that,” Noah apologized.
“Don’t be. And I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight. I just want to enjoy the moment, okay?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
She reached up to pull herself onto the sleigh but paused when she felt a sharp pain shoot across her back and side.
The bench seat was higher than it looked, and she’d already strained her shoulder with the half-wall stunt she’d pulled earlier.
It had hurt more than she’d let on, but she’d had lots of practice hiding injuries.
Noah’s hands were on her waist a moment later. “Here, let me.”
Without waiting for a response, he easily lifted her into the sleigh, then climbed in himself.
“You don’t have to do everything alone, you know,” he murmured.
Noah took the reins, and they glided forward smoothly.
“I could say the same to you,” she replied.
“Fair.”
Teagan was content to lose herself in the lazy descent of the flakes still coming down, blanketing everything. The farther they got away from the house, the easier she breathed. It seemed that he did too.
Eventually, they reached a dense forest of evergreens in neat rows and columns, too orderly to have been created by nature alone. When she looked closer, she saw that the trees were arranged in patches, like city blocks, with pathways between them.
“You have your own Christmas tree farm?” Teagan asked.
“In a manner of speaking. When we were kids, each of us would get a pine tree sapling to plant every spring. Dad told us that they were ours to care for and do with as we pleased. We could save some to use as our own personal Christmas trees someday or sell them to earn extra cash. The only catch was that for every tree we felled, we had to plant two more.” He spread his hand out and grinned.
“So, with ten of us over the past thirty years or so, we’ve got ourselves a nice selection to choose from. ”
He helped Teagan out of the sleigh and led her to his section, the one that contained all the trees he’d planted since he had been a boy. The trees were much larger at one end, growing consistently smaller toward the other.
“Have you ever cut one down?” she asked.
“No,” he admitted. “This will be my first.”
“Why not?”
“Never had a good enough reason to, I guess.”
“So what’s changed?”
He looked at her and smiled. “Now, you’re here.”
Her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment—just a moment—warmth flooded through her. That he would share this first with her was both unexpected and humbling.
Pulling a double-bladed axe from the back of the sleigh, he said, “Go on. Pick one.”
“Me? Are you sure?”
“Positive. Find one that calls to you.”
Feeling a giddiness she refused to analyze, Teagan began walking through the trees. She carefully examined each one, giving the task the attention it deserved. Considered height, shape, fullness. It had to be perfect. Who knew if she’d ever have the chance again?
Noah waited patiently, a perpetual smile playing about his lips as he leaned against the sleigh, holding a battery-powered spotlight.
Finally, she selected one that was about seven feet high, full, and almost perfectly symmetrical. “This one,” she said proudly.
Noah nodded in approval. “That one? You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Good choice.”
He handed her the spotlight and made quick work of the tree. Once felled, they wrapped it loosely with some netting and cord and fastened it to the back of the sleigh.
Working together, they were able to maneuver the tree into Noah’s cabin, though he did the heavy lifting. The place was already warm, with a fire blazing in the hearth and boxes of lights and decorations sitting just inside the door.
“Looks like some elves came by while we were gone,” he said. “Why don’t you make us hot chocolate while I take the sleigh back to the barn?”
“I can do that,” she agreed. Bonus—it would give her a few much-needed minutes to patch up some of those cracks he’d unwittingly made in her defenses.
She reminded herself that none of this meant anything.
That this was just how normal people celebrated the holidays.
Most importantly, that this would all be over in another day and a half.
By the time he returned with his truck and their bags, Teagan had her head on straight again and two steaming mugs of cocoa waiting.
Together, they strung lights onto the tree while they sipped the chocolate and munched on the goodies his mom had given them. When they were done, they turned off all but the tree lights and sat down to enjoy their handiwork.
The fire had burned down to glowing embers. All was quiet, except for the occasional crackle of a log and the faint, barely audible Christmas music streaming from Noah’s phone in the background.
“It’s so beautiful,” Teagan whispered.
“Yes, it is,” Noah agreed.
Except when Teagan turned around, he wasn’t looking at the tree. He quickly averted his eyes, but not before Teagan saw him. That warmth she’d felt earlier returned, though she told herself it was the result of the hot cocoa, a full belly, and tiredness that came from travel and fresh mountain air.
He cleared his throat. “You should get some rest. You can have the bed. Let me just grab an extra blanket and pillow from the closet first.”
“Noah, wait. I’d like to sleep on the couch.”
“The bed is more comfortable.”
“It’s just … I’ve never had a tree,” Teagan confided softly, running her finger over the rim of her now-empty mug. “If I sleep in there, I won’t be able to look at it.”
He rubbed his jaw as the struggle played out across his features—his chivalrous side demanding that she take the more comfortable bed, his compassionate side wanting to make her happy. Behind both was the worry that she was going to slip away into the night.
“I won’t leave, if that’s what you’re worried about. We have a deal, remember?”
The guilty flash in his eyes gave him away. His expression softened. “Okay. It’ll be a black mark on my man card, but extenuating circumstances and all that.”
She smiled at him, something she’d done more in the last few hours than in the last few years. “Thank you.”
A soft chime tolled midnight from the small clock on the mantel.
“Merry Christmas, Teagan,” Noah said.
“Merry Christmas, Noah.”