He turned away and looked out over the rushing water as though working hard on controlling his temper. It took him some time to get to the point where he could turn back and she wondered if he was counting to a lot more than ten. When he finally turned back, his face was calm but his eyes were flashing.
“When the DNA results arrive in my favor—which they will—you’ll have to give way. How long did you say you’ve had her?”
“Six months.”
“Six months.” He shrugged. “Yeah, that’s a good long time. But facts are facts. She’s my baby and it’s my responsibility to take care of her.”
Sara pressed her lips together. She had plenty she could say but she wasn’t going to muddy the waters right now. There would be time to make her case. Right now he had her in a corner. It looked like everything was going his way. But she was beginning to realize that she had many cards of her own that she could play. This thing wasn’t a done deal yet.
“Look, Sara,” he said impatiently. “I know you’ve checked this out with the agency. You know who I am. Let me hold her.”
She shook her head.
He raked fingers through his thick, auburn hair. His frustration was clear, but she held her ground, realizing that she’d better put it into words so he could deal with it.
“Jake, you’re a stranger right now. I don’t know if you’re who you say you are. We’re standing on a boat, right over the ocean. Anything could happen. I can’t risk it.”
He frowned and actually looked hurt. “I wouldn’t do anything that could possibly harm her.”
Sara held her ground. “I’m not letting you hold her.”
For just a moment, anger flared in his eyes. She saw it and the sense of its intensity stopped her heart for a beat. He was scary in a way she’d never known with a man before.
“All right,” he said at last, his voice raw. “I guess I can understand that.” A muscle worked at his jawline, but he smiled. “I can even commend you for taking good care of my baby.” He took a deep breath. “But we need to talk somewhere. Somewhere safe.”
She didn’t want to talk to him. What was the point? She knew what he wanted. He knew what she demanded. Neither one of them was going to budge an inch.
Mentally she shook herself. She was going to have to talk to him. That was the only way she could get him to see how crazy this was. There were so many angles to fight this from. Right now, she thought she had the strongest—he wasn’t father material.
It was true. He didn’t know the first thing about babies. She remembered how he’d been with a kitchen and she almost smiled. He wasn’t domesticated in any way at all. He was hopeless. He had to learn that somehow. And who else was going to make him face it if she didn’t?
“All right.” She sighed, letting him hear her exasperation. “Come back to my sister’s house with me. My brother-in-law should be home by now. I’d be more comfortable if he and my sister were there, too.”
“Okay. You’ve got a deal.” He seemed relieved, glancing at the rapidly approaching coastline and noting that they were almost at the end of this part of their ferry journey.
She hated that he went to the car with them for the ride back, but she knew it would be petty to insist he stay out on the deck. They got into the car and he looked around, his mouth twisted.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” he asked her.
She lifted her chin and shrugged. “I’m taking my baby for a drive. I don’t think there are any laws against that.”
“That’s not your baby,” he growled. “That’s my baby.”
She blinked quickly and kept her composure. “We don’t know that yet, do we?”
“I know it.”
They didn’t speak again for a long time. She drove the car off the ferry and then back on again. Savannah played with her fingers, made some noises that sounded like she was trying to sing, then dozed off. Jake sat twisted in his seat, watching her every minute.
Sara turned on the radio and soft music played, hiding the awkwardness of the silence. When they were about halfway back across the bay, she couldn’t resist asking him a few questions.
“So how did you get on the ferry without me seeing you?”
He shrugged. “I was already on board. I’ve been waiting since you left the café.”
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