flickered in her gaze before she said, “Like I told you before, I don’t know.”
A cold, hard feeling settled in his gut. “Did you know they were planning to take off?”
“Look, Jake, the kids are scared. They’re trying to do the right thing—”
“Did you know?” he asked again.
“Yes, but—”
“So they ran away?”
“That implies they don’t intend to come back.” Her gaze met his as she let out a long breath. “They didn’t run away—exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“They were making plans—find an apartment, jobs, that sort of thing. I was supposed to know where they were going. But for some reason they jumped the gun and left without telling me. At least I have something in writing from Holly giving me permission to take the baby to the doctor.” The odd expression on his face made her suspicious. “Did you do something to put pressure on them? Something that made them take off?”
He shook his head. “If I’d known they were up to something— This is completely irresponsible.”
“Not completely. Look at it from their point of view. They wanted time to see if they could take care of themselves.”
“How much time?”
“The rest of the summer.” Her hands fluttered, and she kept talking, the words tumbling out fast. “They need to think through whether or not they want to keep the baby.”
“There’s nothing to think about. She’s Dan’s responsibility.” Anger surged through him and he stood, running his hand through his hair. “It’s not like Dan to go off half-cocked like this. Sounds like some hare-brained scheme Holly would come up with.”
Her mouth compressed to a straight line. “Actually, it was sort of my idea.”
“Yours?” Jake felt as if she’d slugged him in the stomach. She was an adult who should know better. “What the hell were you thinking telling them to run off?”
“That’s not exactly what I said or how it happened.” She twisted her fingers together in her lap.
“I don’t get it. After the baby was born, I told her the two of them could stay on the ranch. As long as she wanted.”
“She wasn’t comfortable with that and asked to stay with me a little longer. I agreed. There but for the grace of God and all that. She and Dan were talking about marriage. But since Emma was born, she says they’ve been fighting a lot. He’s got a full college football scholarship.”
“That I know about.”
“Holly doesn’t want to stand in his way. She’s in a catch-22 situation. She wants to go to college, too, but she doesn’t see how that can happen with taking care of Emma. On top of that, she’s not even sure she and Dan will stay together. How can she do it on her own?”
“I told her I would help.”
Rachel’s gaze flicked to his. “She wasn’t comfortable with that, either. Look, you have to understand where she’s coming from. Holly loves her daughter and wants the best for her. We discussed the possibility of a stable adoptive home. If she’s going to give her up—”
“Not going to happen,” he said, shaking his head. “The Fletcher family takes care of its own.”
“As I was saying, in the course of our talks, I casually mentioned that no one would blame her and Dan if they took time to make their decision. Because it’s permanent. In fact, they have an obligation to Emma to do everything possible to determine what’s best. They came up with the idea to get summer jobs and an apartment to see if they can handle it.”
“Of all the irresponsible—”
“They think they are being responsible.”
“Not them. You,” he said, looking down at her.
She stood suddenly, brown eyes blazing. “How dare you judge me? You don’t even know me. I agreed to care for the baby because I’d innocently said something to put the idea in their heads. And that was only after suggesting they leave the baby with you—”
He blinked. “You did?”
“Yes. But Holly adamantly refused.”
“For crying out loud,” he snapped. “I’m family—”
She held up her hand. “I’m just telling you what she said. Don’t bite off the messenger’s head. They were upset and threatened to take off. I didn’t think that was a good alternative for anyone, especially the baby. And Dan said you knew and approved of the idea.”
“I didn’t.”
“I’m only telling you what he told me.”
“And you didn’t think to run it by me first?” he demanded.
“He’s adult enough to be a father, I figured he could make this decision on his own.” She folded her arms over her chest.
“You should have figured it was a dumb thing to do and mentioned it to someone,” he said.
“You mean ratted them out to you.”
Jake let out a long breath as he ran his fingers through his hair again. When he got his hands on that kid—
His brother had screwed up big time. Déjà vu all over again. Was the trait wired into their DNA? He’d raised Dan after their parents died and he’d done his level best to see Dan didn’t make the same mistakes Jake had. For all the good it had done. But that was a completely different issue. Jake intended to see that lightning didn’t strike the Fletcher men twice.
“You might want to cut him some slack, Jake. He’s got a lot to think about. So does Holly.” Rachel walked to the door and opened it.
Was she throwing him out? The idea of it almost made him laugh as he looked at her five-feet-nothing, one-hundred-pounds-soaking-wet frame. What made her think he was okay with any of this and would leave? Why should he believe she didn’t know where his brother was? What if she was lying? Jake had been burned in the past. He got the feeling Rachel was turning up the heat.
“I’ll say one thing for you.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
What could it hurt to bait a hook and go on a small fishing expedition? “You’re a lousy liar.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“So you’d rather be a good liar?” he asked, one eyebrow quirking up.
“That’s not what I meant.” She blew out a long breath and shook her head. “I really and truly have no idea where those kids have gone.”
“Have it your way.” He picked up
