Instant Daddy

Reaching the sidewalk, she heard Dr. Sheridan holler her name.

Chapter Two

Heart pounding, Peter caught up with Jessie just as she swung around to face him, her hand flying to the little boy’s head as if to protect him. Peter’s blood pressure shot up a few more points. She, obviously, thought he was a threat.

He was acting a little crazy. The idea that this child could be his son was crazy. Clarissa would have told him she was pregnant after their night together, wouldn’t she?

But if Jessie had nothing to hide, why did she run away? Did she think he wouldn’t pursue her? That he wouldn’t have to know? “Jessie, is this Clarissa’s child?”

She took a step back.

Peter studied the baby’s hair so much like Peter’s mother’s. The nose and chin cleft like his father’s. “He looks like me. He even has the Sheridan birthmark.”

Jessie stared at him as if he’d sprouted an extra eye in the middle of his forehead. “He’s my son.”

Peter stared her down. Shiny, luminous eyes…wide…with fear? Her breaths were fast and shallow. Her soft lips clenched tight as if guarding a secret.

He wanted to reassure her, tell her everything would be okay. Dragging a breath, he struggled to regain his focus.

The timing. Ever since he’d spotted the child’s birthmark, his mind had been spinning to figure out the timing. If he was right, Clarissa would have been two months pregnant when she’d transferred to the New York lab. “He’s about eighteen months old, isn’t he?”

Jessie’s eyes flinched.

Enough of a reaction to confirm he was right on the money.

Thunder rumbled low. He could smell the ozone in the air.

“I’m in a huge hurry.” Jessie glanced away as if she couldn’t wait to make a break for it. “I have to take care of something at my diner.”

He shook his head. “Don’t you think I have a right to know for sure that I have a son?”

She shuttered her gaze. “I…I don’t have time to talk right now.”

Attempting to tone down his frustration, he studied the lines puckering the creamy skin between her eyes. “I need to know if he’s Clarissa’s son. How much time can a simple yes or no take?”

Finally, she looked at him as if she’d made up her mind. “My diner’s on Main Street. If you need to talk to me, stop in in a half hour or so.” She turned, intent on leaving.

He couldn’t let her go…not yet. Somehow, he had to make her trust him enough to give him an answer. “Jessie…if he is Clarissa’s…”

Pausing, Jessie gave him a nervous glance.

Good. He had her attention. But if the baby was Clarissa’s…what? He clenched his jaw. “I would have taken responsibility for him…if she’d told me she was pregnant.”

Swinging around to face him, Jessie shot him a questioning scowl.

“She didn’t tell me,” he repeated.

The boy murmured.

Peter watched the child’s tiny nose crinkle as if chasing a laugh in his dreams. Unexplainable warmth welled inside until he thought he’d choke on it. He reached to touch a chubby finger.

Jessie jerked out of his reach as if his touch would contaminate the kid.

Peter met her eyes. Sad eyes brimming with indescribable pain and fear. He felt like a heel for making her feel so threatened. But her actions gave him his answer. “The boy is Clarissa’s. And mine.”

She shifted her stance, biting her lip rather than confirming or rejecting his words.

Her silence was all the confirmation he needed.

“Mama?” The little guy raised his head and stretched, his back arching, his little butt jutting out.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Jessie said softly. “You had a nice nap, didn’t you?” Wary eyes on Peter, she kissed the baby’s forehead.

The child gave her a smile that would make the sun seem dim in comparison. Then the boy turned his deep brown, Sheridan eyes on Peter.

A grin traveled through him like a beacon of light, and he wondered if the buttons on his shirt would pop with the pride swelling his chest. Odd, considering how little he’d had to do with the child’s existence. “What’s his name?”

“His name?” Jessie swallowed. “His name is Jacob Maxwell Chandler.”

Peter couldn’t miss the challenge in her tone. “An honorable name,” he admitted. Too bad he’d had no part in choosing it. “Hi, Jacob.”

The boy studied him almost as if sizing up their similarities.

Maybe Peter should introduce himself. Should he tell him he was his father? Maybe not. It was too soon for that. For the boy…for the woman holding him…and for himself. “My name is Peter.”

“Pedo?”

“Close enough.”

Another low rumble of thunder. Closer now.

“You need to understand how things are, Dr. Sheridan.” Jessie’s soft voice crackled with tension.

Peter raised his gaze from the child to meet her engaging eyes.

“I am Jake’s mother.” She straightened her shoulders. “Clarissa gave him to me before he was born. I was the first one to hold him, to give him a bath, to feed him. I’m the only mother he’s known, and I couldn’t love him more if I’d given him life.”

Peter’s jaw clenched. “She had no right to give him away.”

Jessie’s gaze darted to the ground as if she didn’t want to see the truth, even with Peter standing right in front of her. Turning to face him, she lifted her chin. “He’s my son. I adopted him. And I’ll do whatever I have to do because there’s no way I’ll let you take him away from me. None.” Chin high, she turned and limped away.

Throat tight, he watched her go, a mixture of feelings completely confusing him. She was so gentle and vulnerable…with a core of sheer determination. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted.

But it looked like he had a son he didn’t know existed until now. Even if his life was his research. What in the world was he going to do with a kid?

He turned and strode for the parking lot, dodging a petite redhead who was jogging down the sidewalk in a dress and high heels. He’d better call his attorney and find out just what his rights and responsibilities were. Because before he met Jessie at the diner, he needed to gain some control of this situation.

Walking as fast as she could, Jessie glared straight ahead. What is going on, God? You can’t possibly expect me to give up Jake. Haven’t I already lost enough?