Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
TEAGAN
Muted sounds came from the corridor—footsteps, rolling wheels, the murmur of voices—but inside her room, it was quiet, save for the faint hiss of the air vent and the occasional rustle of fabric as Noah shifted.
He hadn’t spoken again since his declaration, but he was still there.
Her silent sentinel. Watching over her. Ready to defend her against holier-than-thou, small-minded, opinionated bigots.
She wanted to tell him not to bother. She’d been surrounded by them her whole life.
They believed what they wanted to believe, and nothing she, he, or anyone else said would make a difference.
Her heart ached for things to be different. That she could be the kind of woman he could have a future with.
She would give anything for that to be true.
Instead, she kept her eyes closed and feigned sleep. It was easier to let him think she didn’t care. Letting him go was the kindest thing she could do.
Eventually, the chair beside her creaked, followed by the soft scrape of the legs against the tiles. The sounds of him moving away. She told herself it was a relief, but it was like a blade to the heart.
It had to happen eventually. Better he face reality now rather than later.
When she finally summoned the courage to open her eyes, the room was empty.
It’s what you wanted. What you deserve.
She thought about the nurse and her vile words. Hated how they still stung, even after all these years. The woman was nothing to her. Less than nothing. And yet she served as a timely reminder that to many, Teagan would never be anything other than trash.
Noah still hadn’t returned by the time the attending physician came in. He was accompanied by a woman in a gray cardigan and a clipboard in hand, who introduced herself as a discharge planner.
“We’re releasing you tomorrow,” the doctor told her.
“You’re stable, your vitals are strong, and your labs look good.
You’ll need to take it easy for a while, of course, and come in for checkups until everything’s completely healed.
Do you have a safe place to go? Family or a friend you can stay with? ”
Teagan would laugh if her battered ribs and ravaged throat allowed it. She had none of those things, and even if she did, she wouldn’t drag the media vultures to their door like that.
“I’ll figure something out,” she rasped.
The clipboard woman smiled in a professional, polite way. “We’ll need a destination for the paperwork.”
They didn’t, not really, but Teagan supposed they had their boxes to tick.
Due diligence and all that. Before she could answer, Noah stepped into the room.
Teagan hated the way her heart leaped at the sight of him.
His hair was damp, his jaw freshly shaved, but the shadows in his eyes told her he hadn’t slept much.
“She’ll be staying with me,” he announced.
“No, I won’t,” Teagan countered.
The doctor and the discharge planner looked back and forth between the two of them.
“I’m not debating this,” Noah told her firmly.
“Good,” Teagan said. “Because I’m not going with you.”
His jaw clenched, and his amber eyes blazed with determination. She hated the way her pulse kicked up at the sight.
“I’ll come back later,” the discharge planner said, then left with the doc on her heels.
Before the door shut completely, an older man stepped inside. He looked around the room, his roaming gaze stopping when it locked on her.
Broad-shouldered but lean, his dark hair sported distinguished silver patches along the temples. It was his eyes that immediately drew her attention, however. They were clear, intense, and bluer than a tropical sea.
Like hers.
A strange tug pulled in her chest. He looked familiar. Felt familiar. But Teagan was certain she’d never seen him before.
“So, ’tis true,” the stranger said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m sorry,” Noah said, putting himself protectively between Teagan and the newcomer. “Who are you?”
“Donal O’Callaghan.” His voice carried a quiet weight, Irish through and through.
“And you’re here because …” Noah prompted.
“Because I asked him to come,” Noah’s father said, stepping into the room as well.
Teagan’s gaze flicked to Martin, trying to make sense of that. Why would Noah’s dad want this man to come see her? Was he a lawyer? A detective?
Something else?
“May I see it?” Donal asked, his eyes locked on Teagan.
“See what?” Teagan asked.
“The pendant.”
Teagan looked at Noah then, who seemed just as confused as she was.
“Show him, son,” Noah’s dad coaxed.
Noah reached beneath the collar of his shirt and pulled out the thin leather cord holding the Celtic piece, lifting it over his head before placing it in Donal’s hand.
Donal turned it over slowly, his expression unreadable as his thumb brushed over the warm metal.
“Is it yours?” Martin asked.
“Aye,” Donal murmured, his voice low and resonant. “’Tis my family crest.”
“No,” Teagan protested in a rasp. “You must be mistaken. That belonged to my mother.”
“Aye. Because I gave it to her,” Donal said, lifting his eyes to hers.
The room tilted. Her hands fisted in the thin blanket while her white noise drowned out her thundering heart.
“Wait. Are you saying that you are Teagan’s father?” Noah asked.
“Teagan,” Donal said softly, rolling the name as if tasting it. “A good Irish name. And you look so like your mother.”
Teagan blinked. Yes, she did look like her mother. It was one of the reasons Tony couldn’t stand to look at her. She was a constant reminder of what he’d lost.
If what he said was true… “You left her.”
“Aye,” he said, his eyes holding immeasurable sadness. “I was just a lad then, young and foolish. I never knew about you, lass.”
The words I never knew about you hit her hard, colliding with other things she’d told herself over the years to make sense of the gaping holes in her life. All the fantasies she’d conjured to explain the whys of things she never understood.
She wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to. But trust wasn’t something she knew how to give. Not when it only resulted in pain and betrayal.
Except for Noah. He’d been kind and compassionate. Protective. Even now, he was by her side, no matter how hard she tried to push him away.
She ruthlessly shoved those thoughts aside and hardened her heart to the stranger before her. Because that was what he was, regardless of his ridiculous claims.
“Okay, so now you know. Doesn’t change anything. You can go back to wherever you came from with a clear conscience.”
Yes, the words were cruel, but lashing out was her only defense. Well, that and running away, but that wasn’t an option yet.
Donal stood straighter. “I would never knowingly abandon my child.”
“So you say,” she said. “But you’re about twenty-five years too late.”
Noah’s father cleared his throat. “I thought perhaps you might want to meet. No one’s asking for decisions now.”
Decisions? What decisions?
Teagan’s head was spinning. She looked between Donal and Noah—the man who’d allegedly given her life, and the man who seemed determined to save it.
It was too much.
“I need—” She shook her head. “I need everyone to leave.”
Donal O’Callaghan hesitated but inclined his head when Mr. Ziegler’s hand rested on his shoulder. “As you wish.”
Noah was instantly at her side, his hand warm but light on her arm. For a moment, she almost let herself lean into him. Almost.
“You too,” she told him, though with a softer tone. “Please.”
Noah leaned down and pressed a kiss to Teagan’s head. “I’ll be right outside.”
“No, just—”
“Right. Outside,” he said firmly.
The man was a protector at heart. She didn’t even mind anymore, not really. It was who he was, and she loved him for it.
No, not loved. Appreciated. She couldn’t love Noah. She was too broken to love anyone.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Noah asked his father.
Martin flicked his gaze over to Teagan, then nodded.
The door shut behind the men, leaving Teagan alone. She sank back into the pillows, exhausted.
Her father. Ridiculously handsome with his intense bluer-than-the-sea eyes, an Irish lilt that conjured images of rolling green countrysides and cable-knit sweaters.
Assuming that he really was her father, that was.
They’d probably do a DNA test to be sure, but in her heart of hearts, Teagan felt the truth of it.
Fate was cruel to bring him into her life here, now, when she’d hit absolute rock bottom. When she had no use for him anymore.
Too little. Way, way too late.
Teagan blinked back the tears before they could fall. She would not cry.
Not for a man she’d only just met.
Not for a past she couldn’t change.
And she didn’t need Donal O’Callaghan, Noah, or anyone else trying to save her.