Elise raised both hands. “Whoa. I didn’t mean to start a family squabble.” She sent Jared a puzzled side glance, then beamed at her hosts. “Congratulations. I’m thrilled for you. I hope to have good news of my own to announce before long.”
Michelle raised her eyebrows. “Oh? That sounds intriguing. Any hints?” She shot Jared a speculative glance. “Jared?”
Masking the frenzy of unease roiling inside him, Jared twitched a cheek. “Don’t look at me.”
Peter leaned close to his niece and asked in a stage whisper, “Izzy, do you know Elise’s big secret?”
“Ba!” Isabel held up her pea-caked hand, showing it to her uncle.
He pulled back to avoid getting smeared with green. “No thanks, honey. I have my own.”
“Let’s just say I’m hopeful that a project I recently undertook may come to fruition soon.” Elise reached over to wipe Isabel’s hand, and the motherly gesture sent Jared’s thoughts spiraling.
Isabel and Elise had a lot of physical similarities. Isabel and Grace were born on the same day. Grace was sent to Second Chance for black-market adoption.
Panic swelled in Jared’s chest, pressing on his lungs until he couldn’t breathe. He wished he could write those truths off as coincidence, ignore the facts that were screaming for his attention.
But Jared didn’t believe in coincidence.
And he had precious little time to decide what he was going to do before Elise caught the scent of his suspicions.
Chapter 11
Throughout dinner and on the ride home from his brother’s house, Jared seemed distracted, distant. Elise told herself it was just nerves over having his family meet her. Where a couple weeks ago she’d agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend, it was clear to both of them that something real and meaningful was blossoming between them. The changes in their relationship had her asking hard questions about what she wanted, where she saw their future, so she couldn’t blame him for his reticence.
After he sighed and shifted restlessly in the driver’s seat for the fifth time in ten minutes, she reached over and covered his hand on the steering wheel, giving him a comforting squeeze. “Want to talk about it?”
He jerked his gaze to hers. “About what?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Whatever has you so antsy tonight.” She tipped her head in query. “Is it me?”
Perhaps it was a trick of shadows in the dim car, but Elise could have sworn he flinched at the suggestion.
“Why would you say that?” His voice didn’t sound right to her. Was it nerves? She knew men hated talking about feelings, about relationships. Maybe pressing him for answers was putting him on the spot. She didn’t want him to think she was looking for promises or commitments he wasn’t ready to make. She wasn’t sure she was at that stage yet, either.
Sure, she cared for him. Deeply. And she’d grown attached to Isabel, as well. But if events played out as she hoped, as MysteryMom indicated they might, Elise was about to have a baby in her life, a daughter with whom she needed quality time to bond and care for. Now might not be the best time to start a romantic relationship with Jared.
Perhaps Jared had even realized that himself and was uncertain how to broach the topic with her. After all, he’d started acting odd just after she’d called him about MysteryMom’s progress in tracking Grace to the adoption agency called Second Chance.
“Well, tonight was a pretty big step,” she said. “You know, formally introducing the new girlfriend to the family. And not even the fake new girlfriend. I mean, it’s pretty obvious there’s something between us, something more than the last few nights of sex.”
He slanted another meaningful glance toward her, his jaw tight.
“Don’t get me wrong. The sex has been great.”
That earned her a quick, lopsided grin of agreement, but still he made no comment.
“The last couple nights have been…special to me,” she continued, filling the silence. “And I’ve been giving our future together a lot of thought—where we are going with this, the timing—so I understand if you’re having mixed feelings or asking yourself a lot of questions, too.”
He pulled the car into his driveway and cut the engine. With a glance in the rearview mirror, he checked on Isabel, who’d fallen asleep in her car seat on the drive home. He turned his body to face her, resting his arm on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry if I’ve been acting weird today. I…have a lot on my mind. Not just about you, although I have been thinking about us, too. Wondering if I’m really ready for another relationship.”
“Oh.” Elise withdrew her hand and sat back in the seat. She felt her protective walls slam into place. A voice in her head shouted that retreat was her best defense, and she quickly steeled herself for what was coming.
Clearly he sensed her withdrawal, and he cupped her face. “Hey, that’s not my way of breaking up with you. I would never have made love to you if I didn’t have feelings for you. I just don’t know what to do with those feelings yet.”
Her resolve slipped a bit, and the tenderness of his touch chased some of the chill from her heart.
“No matter what happens in the next few days, I want you to know what you mean to me. You’re a beautiful, strong, caring woman, and you’ve made me believe real love can happen twice in a lifetime.” He stroked her chin with his thumb, and his dark gaze burrowed to her soul. “If things were different, I know I could fall in love with you. And maybe in time I will. But—”
“Wow,” she cut in, catching his hand between hers and clasping it between her palms. “For someone who says he’s not breaking up with me, that sure sounded like a goodbye.”
“Uh, no… I just—” He lowered his eyes and sighed heavily. “Forget it. Like I said, I’m tired, and I have a lot on my mind. Ignore me. I—” He glanced to the backseat. “Let’s get Sleeping Beauty inside and settled in. Okay?”
Without waiting for a response, Jared climbed from the front seat and opened the back door to unbuckle Isabel from her car seat. Puzzling over his odd mood, Elise gathered her purse while he carefully lifted the dozing baby onto his shoulder.
“I’ll get her diaper bag. You go on in,” she offered.
Once in the house, Elise fed the hungry cats that greeted them at the door while Jared put his daughter to bed. She bent to stroke Brooke’s back while her kitty chowed down her dinner. “Are you getting along with your new friends, Brookie Wookie?”
Brooke leaned into Elise’s hand as she scratched the cat’s neck, and Elise took that as an affirmative. No hissing between the cats at dinnertime was progress.
Leaving the felines to their food, she sat down in the living room to wait for Jared. When he didn’t come back out for several minutes, she wandered down the hall in search of him. She found him standing beside Isabel’s crib, stroking her head and watching her sleep.
Tiptoeing up beside him, she whispered, “Is everything all right?”
He drew a deep breath that sounded choked with emotion. “Yeah.”
Elise smiled, touched by the sweet innocence of the slumbering child. “She’s precious.”
“She’s my world, Elise. I would never have survived losing Kelly if I hadn’t had Isabel. I poured all of my grief into taking care of Izzy and giving her all the love I had.” He raised a penetrating look to Elise. “I need her. She’s a part of me. I couldn’t bear to live without her.”
Elise frowned. His boldly direct comments frightened her. “Jared, what’s going on?”
“I just wanted you to know that.”
She nodded. “I think most parents feel that way. I know I felt it for Grace. I still feel that way about Grace.”
With a furrow in his brow, he jerked a nod and pivoted away from the crib. Elise followed him back to the living room where he flopped on the sofa and leaned his head back on the cushions. “You don’t need to wait up for me if you’re ready for bed. I’m going to stay up for a while and do some work, catch up on some bills.”
A cool
draft raised goose bumps on her skin, and she folded her arms over her chest to ward off the chill that burrowed to her heart. She was being dismissed. Jared clearly wasn’t ready to share whatever was bothering him with her. After the intimacies they shared the last couple nights and the open book she’d made of her life, especially in regard to her grief over and search for Grace, Jared’s unwillingness to open up to her felt like a snub. And the snub stung.
Elise turned without a word and left him alone and brooding. She changed out of her work clothes and slipped on an oversized T-shirt of Jared’s she’d been sleeping in the last few nights—when she’d worn anything at all.
She lay on her side staring at the glowing numbers of the alarm clock on Jared’s night stand for hours, waiting for him to join her in his big bed. A vast lonely ache filled her, and she longed to feel his arms around her. Amazing how quickly you could grow accustomed to having someone beside you, savoring his warmth and reassurance as you slept.
Eventually, despite her own restless thoughts about Jared, MysteryMom, Grace and Isabel, Elise drifted to sleep. The next thing she knew, her internal alarm woke her at 6:00 a.m., and she rolled over to find Jared’s side of his bed empty. The pillow bore no dent indicating he’d ever slept there last night.
Pain slashed through her, along with worry over what was troubling Jared and a premonition of what it might mean to their future. She smoothed a hand over his pillow, burying her nose in the sheets to inhale his lingering sandalwood scent. The hollow ache that swelled in her chest forced her to admit her feelings for Jared were deeper than she’d wanted to believe.
She was in real trouble. Just as he was pulling away, she had figured out how much she cared for him. How much she’d come to rely on his support and companionship. She’d dared to trust in him.
She was falling in love with him.
Tossing back the covers, she swung her legs to the floor and made her way to the kitchen where the mellow aroma of fresh coffee brewing told her Jared was awake.
When she found him in the kitchen, he was staring out the window over the sink, a steaming mug clutched between his hands and a forlorn expression on his face. He still wore the same clothes from the night before, and the dark smudges under his eyes spoke of his lack of sleep.
Elise’s concern for him spiked. “Jared?”
He jolted as if he hadn’t heard her come in. She stepped up behind him, circling him with her arms and laying her cheek on his back. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“I dozed a few minutes here and there.” He covered her hand and gave her fingers a squeeze before pulling away. At the door to the living room, he paused. “I made coffee. Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” She poured herself a mug and strolled into the living room to join him.
Jared sat on the couch with a laundry basket at his feet and—Elise did a double take—a half-full suitcase lying open beside him. As he folded the laundry, he put the clothes, both his and Isabel’s, in the suitcase.
A beat of apprehension made her pulse stumble. “Going somewhere?”
He looked up briefly, then returned his attention to his task. “Afraid so. Family emergency out of town. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that.” An odd combination of concern and relief tangled in her chest. Maybe Jared’s odd behavior last night had to do with the family emergency and not her. Maybe his withdrawal was the way he dealt with stress, not an indication he was regretting the physical turn in their relationship. “What kind of emergency?”
He hesitated, a pair of Isabel’s stretchy pants in his hand, but didn’t look up. “A death. In Kelly’s family.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She cradled her mug, a nervous uncertainty crawling through her. She wanted to do something to help or comfort him, but he still seemed so remote.
“You, uh…can stay here while I’m gone. It’s safer for you here.” He dumped a pile of socks on the couch and started sorting them.
Elise’s stomach see-sawed. The prospect of being alone, whether in Jared’s house or her own, unsettled her. Especially while the members of the black-market ring were being rounded up by MysteryMom’s team. She’d lived alone for years, yet she’d never felt as vulnerable and isolated as she did now facing Jared’s imminent departure. She was amazed how much she’d come to count on his reassuring presence, his strength and comfort, after just a few days with him.
She circled the sofa and sat beside him. “Why didn’t you say anything last night?”
“I, uh…just got the call a couple hours ago.”
She frowned. “I didn’t hear the phone ring.”
“I had my phone on vibrate.” He shoved a few pairs of socks into the suitcase without looking at her.
“Oh.” She sighed, the jittery sense that something wasn’t right skittering through her veins. “Jared, are you sure—”
A cry filtered down the hall from Isabel’s room. Jared jerked his head up, his body tensing. He started to rise from the couch, but she put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. “Sit. I’ll get her. It’s the least I can do to help.”
He cast her an uncertain look but finally nodded. “All right. Thanks.”
Elise put her mug on the coffee table and headed down the hall to the nursery. Isabel stood in her crib whimpering groggily and rubbing her eyes. Elise smiled at the little girl’s disheveled mop of blond curls and the faint impression of rumpled bedding still etched in her cheek. “Good morning, sunshine.”
Isabel blinked at her, appearing a bit confused, then raised an arm to Elise, asking to be picked up.
Warmth tugged Elise’s heart as she lifted Isabel into her arms and cuddled her close. But one sniff, one glance at Isabel’s diaper confirmed that the baby needed a complete change before starting her day. Elise wrinkled her nose and made a silly face for Isabel. “Eew. Stinky-poo. Someone needs a clean diaper.”
Isabel grabbed her nose and wrinkled her face, imitating Elise, then grinned broadly.
Elise chuckled and laid Isabel on the changing table. “You’re a silly goose, Izzy.”
After pulling off Isabel’s pajama bottoms and diaper, Elise carefully cleaned and rediapered her, then took out a fresh set of clothes from the drawer beneath the changing table. “How about pink stripes today? This is a cute outfit.”
Isabel squirmed, uninterested in the new clothes and clearly eager to be finished with the changing table.
“Okay, I’ll hurry, wiggle bug.” After removing the dirty pajama shirt, Elise fumbled one-handed with the new shirt while she steadied Isabel with the other hand. As she raised the pink top to pull over Isabel’s head, she glimpsed something that made her heart stop.
Isabel had a birthmark on her right shoulder.
A red, pear-shaped birthmark.
Her mind stalled for a moment, too stunned to process what she was seeing. But as a shot of adrenaline sped through her blood, her brain worked overtime, piecing together a staggering truth. She stared at Isabel. The same age her daughter would be. Blond-haired. Adopted.
“Oh, God…” she rasped, shaking to her core.
Isabel was Grace.
A joy, sweet and pure, flooded her heart, and tears pricked her eyes as she drank in the sight of her daughter as if for the first time. “Grace…oh, Grace!”
She scooped her daughter into her arms and held her close, raining kisses on her mussed hair and laughing. “Oh, my God. Oh, Grace, it’s you. I can’t believe it!”
Spinning toward the door, she hurried down the hall to the living room, eager to share the wonderful news with Jared.
“Jared! Jared, she’s Grace. Isabel is Grace! She has a birthmark on her shoulder just like Grace’s.” She laughed again, swiping happy tears from her eyes. “Isn’t it crazy and wonderful? All along, Grace was Isabel! I—”
She stopped short, realizing Jared didn’t look at all happy. He looked…stunned. No, worse. Terrified. Defensive even.
Frowning, she took a
mental step back and tried to see the news through his eyes. Of course he was scared, confused, worried. He had to be wondering what this would mean for him and his family. It was a lot to process. A lot to—
Then, like a storm cloud rolling in to spoil a picnic, more realizations clicked into place, darkening her mood.
Jared’s withdrawal after learning the name of the adoption agency.
The lies he’d told her about Isabel’s mother, her birth date, her adoption.
She stared at Jared, taking in his combative stance, his guilty expression, the bleak desperation in his eyes.
Elise’s stomach knotted, and fury flashed through her. “You knew.”
His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply and raised his chin. But he didn’t deny it.
She clutched Grace closer to her chest. “You knew, and you lied to me to throw me off track!”
When he remained silent, she aimed a finger at him. “You used Second Chance to adopt Isabel, didn’t you? Didn’t you!”
Again his silence damned him, and her hurt and anger swelled. “You knew who Isabel really was as soon as I told you about Second Chance yesterday. That’s why you were so distracted and upset last night.”
His jaw tightened. “I suspected, but I—”
She gasped as her gaze darted to the suitcase and more truths snapped into focus. “There was no death in the family. Was there?”
He said nothing.
“You were going to run with her, go into hiding—”
“Elise, listen to me…” He took a step toward her, and she took a step back, protectively wrapping both arms around the child she now knew was her flesh and blood.
“You were going to kidnap her to keep me away from her, weren’t you?” she asked, acid roiling in her gut.
“It wouldn’t be kidnapping. She’s my daughter. I have every right to—”
“You have no right!” Elise shouted, and Grace jerked, startled, then began crying. Elise stroked her daughter’s head and swayed with her, trying to calm her baby. “Shh, sweetie. It’s okay.”
Keeping her voice pitched low, she grated, “You betrayed me. I trusted you with my deepest heartache, and you betrayed me!”
Operation Baby Rescue Page 14
