Page 77 of The Way Back Home
“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 wordsI never knew about youhit 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. Buttrust 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 butinclined 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.
Herfather.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.
