“Let me talk to them.”
“I’ll meet you in the apartment.”
Inside? Out of her sight?
“No!” The mere thought of being away from her baby paralyzed her.
The muscles in Clay’s jaw were clenching with anger or impatience or frustration, she didn’t know which. “I won’t take off with him.”
She exhaled slowly. How to explain her crippling separation anxiety? She barely understood it herself.
“I’ll go with you to Ethan’s apartment. Anywhere you want. Just stay where I can see Jamie until I’m done talking to the family. Please.”
“Fine, I’ll wait for you on the porch.”
Sierra mentally measured the distance. Thirty yards, give or take. It felt more like ten miles.
“You have about three seconds to decide.”
Or what? He would go back on his word and run off with Jamie? Her temples throbbed. This day, her entire life, was unraveling at lightning speed.
“Okay.”
As soon as Clay walked away, Sierra regretted her decision. He would be alone with her son. Never once had she imagined Clay would walk into her family’s house and steal Jamie from her like an eagle snatching prey.
With one eye trained on Clay and Jamie, she braced herself for the confrontation with her father and brothers.
“Are you all right?” Wayne Powell demanded the instant he reached her. “What’s going on?”
Gavin zoomed past without so much as a glance in her direction.
“Come back!” she called. When he ignored her, she hollered, “Gavin, don’t make this worse than it already is.”
That did the trick. Fists clenched at his sides, he returned, each step an obvious effort.
Sierra closed her eyes and sighed. Where to begin?
“Is he Jamie’s father?”
She nodded.
“Son of a bitch,” Gavin grumbled. “I’ll kill him.”
“Don’t overreact. He didn’t—” Sierra squeezed her eyes shut. “It was mutual. I knew what I was doing.”
“If you loved him, why didn’t you tell us?” Ethan asked.
How had he guessed? “You despised Clay at the time. Can you imagine your reaction?”
“Damn straight I can,” Gavin agreed.
“Is that why you stayed away so long?” her father asked.
“Dad, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was confused. I came home for the wedding because I thought Clay was in Texas.”
“He moved back a year or so ago. After his divorce.”
“He’s divorced?” She swayed slightly. “I didn’t know.”
Not that it made any difference.
Or did it?
No difference at all, she assured herself. There was nothing between her and Clay, now or ever again.
Except for Jamie.
“If you thought he was in Texas, why didn’t you come home sooner?” her father asked, his eyes filled with sadness.
Guilt burned a brand-new hole in Sierra, bigger than all the other ones combined.
“It’s complicated. And I’ll tell you as soon as I finish with Clay.”
He’d begun pacing on the porch. From this distance, Sierra couldn’t tell if it was because he’d become restless or Jamie had or perhaps a combination of both. Neither man nor child possessed much patience, and both were prone to impulsiveness. They were also both charming to distraction when it suited them.
“You going to be okay?” Ethan squeezed her upper arm.
“With Clay? Of course. He’s mad right at the moment, but he won’t do anything drastic.”
“I wasn’t referring to Clay.”
“Thank you for caring.” She smiled tenderly at all three men. “I can’t tell you how much I regret the way I treated you the last two years.”
“Don’t worry, honey.” Her father gathered her into a hug and patted her head, much as he’d done when she was a little girl. “Everything will work out.”
She wished she shared his optimism.
“We’ll be right here if you need us.” Gavin stared menacingly at Clay.
“Watch him for me, will you?” Sierra asked Ethan. “I don’t want him going all big-brother on me.”
“Don’t be so hard on Gavin,” her father said. “It’s going to take us a while to get used to all this.”
To say the least.
The walk to the apartment took forever and yet was over in an instant. Sierra climbed the three porch steps with leaden feet and a racing heart.
Clay stood by the door with one hand on the knob, his expression guarded and grave.
Her son’s, on the other hand, lit up at the sight of her, and he babbled excitedly, just as he had three weeks ago when he’d seen her for the first time since the day he was born.
Giving Jamie up for adoption was the hardest thing she’d ever done.
Facing Clay, telling him about it, was coming in a very close second.
* * *
“HE WANTS DOWN.” Sierra sat on the couch, assuming, hoping that Clay would sit there, too, and Jamie would crawl across the cushions to her.
Only Clay had chosen the chair, a hand-me-down that used to reside in the living room long before she’d left for college.
Jamie squirmed and wriggled and whined, pushing ruthlessly at Clay’s chest in a bid for freedom. The resemblance between them, same hazel eyes and blond hair, same disarming smile, was striking enough for Sierra realize she wouldn’t have gotten away with lying about her child’s father’s identity for long.
“I won’t take off with him,” she repeated his earlier promise.
Clay released Jamie, reluctantly depositing him on the hardwood floor. He immediately scrambled over to Sierra, then abandoned her just as quickly to explore the cozy apartment. The two-person breakfast set fascinated him. He squeezed between a chair and the table legs, then plopped on the floor beneath the table, cooing with satisfaction.
