The Baby Arrangement

After Erica was born, Faith had insisted on taking the baby home, and the doctors had reluctantly agreed. The memories of those few precious days she’d had with her daughter had enabled her to work through some of her guilt and grief, and had eventually given her strength to go on.

Through lowered lashes Faith watched Jared attempt to quiet his son’s urgent cries by gently rocking him and murmuring soft words. She admired his ability to remain calm in the face of Nicky’s cries, and was impressed that he appeared to be totally unfazed by the stares from the other patrons of the restaurant.

When he smiled down at Nicky, the look of love Faith glimpsed in his eyes stirred old longings and brought an ache to her chest. Blinking back tears stinging her eyes, Faith concentrated on the hamburger the waitress had just brought. “It isn’t too late.” Jared’s voice cut through the silence.

Frowning, she met his gaze. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“If you’re having second thoughts, I can take you into Portland and drop you at the bus station,” he said, his tone cool and indifferent.

Faith kept her voice steady. “I’m not leaving Nicky,” she said, and caught the grudging respect that flashed in his eyes.

Later, after Nicky had fallen asleep in his arms, Jared had finished his own meal. Then, bundling the still-sleeping infant into his blanket, Jared paid the waitress and headed out to the car.

They continued their journey north in silence. Soon the warmth from the car’s heater made Faith drowsy, and unable to fight off the wave of tiredness, she dozed off.

Almost an hour later the change in the car’s rhythm roused her. Opening her eyes, she realized they were no longer on the freeway.

Darkness had descended, making it impossible to see the surrounding countryside. For a fleeting second a feeling of panic gripped her, sending her heart fluttering in her breast.

She had no idea where she was going. No idea what to expect once they reached Grace Harbor. And no idea whether she could, or should, in view of the ring on Jared’s finger, go on pretending to be her twin.

Faith drew a steadying breath and turned to study his silhouette. Undoubtedly aware that she’d awakened, he cast a quick glance in her direction. Even in the shadowed darkness of the car’s interior she felt the impact of his gaze, and a ripple of sensation danced across her nerve endings.

She immediately turned her attention to the beam of headlights on the road ahead, silently acknowledging that he was indeed one of the most attractive men she’d ever encountered.

But looks could be deceiving. Glen Nelson had also been an attractive man, but behind his dynamic good looks there lurked a controlling and self-centered man.

Glen had been one of her instructors at the art college she’d attended. He was a well-known artist in his own right, so she’d been flattered by his attentions and by the compliments he’d afforded her work. Although he was twenty years her senior, she’d developed a crush on him, and when he asked her to accompany him to an art show in town, she’d eagerly accepted.

They’d had so many interests in common, or so she’d thought, and she’d felt comfortable and at ease with him. Six months later they’d had a quiet wedding, with only her parents and Glen’s sister in attendance.

Almost from the moment the ceremony was over he’d changed, and it wasn’t long before she came to the realization that having a wife much younger than himself fed his already overblown ego. He loved to show her off to his friends and colleagues as if she were a trophy, insensitive and uncaring of his wife’s feelings.

Annoyed at the route her thoughts had taken, Faith closed the door on her memories, and suddenly through a break in the trees she glimpsed an array of twinkling lights.

The trees at last thinned out to reveal a peaceful little community she guessed must be Grace Harbor. Her gaze slid beyond the lights to what appeared to be ribbons of silver shimmering and undulating in the moonlight.

The ocean! Of course! She had to be looking at the powerful and magnificent Pacific Ocean.

“Oh...how beautiful,” she exclaimed.

Her comment drew Jared’s gaze. “I thought you hated the ocean,” he said dryly.

Faith silently admonished herself for her lapse. What Jared said was true. Ever since Paula had fallen out of a sailboat during a storm when they were teens, nearly drowning in the process, she’d detested the ocean.

“Uh...I was just admiring the view,” Faith muttered, reminding herself that while she and her twin were almost identical in appearance, their preferences and personalities had often been in opposing camps.

“Admiring the view...” Jared repeated, his tone mocking. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

Faith heard the underlying skepticism in his voice and wondered at the animosity and cynicism he continually directed toward her, or more accurately toward Paula, his wife and the mother of his child.

There had been times throughout the long drive north she’d been tempted to blurt out the truth, to tell Jared she wasn’t Paula. But each time she’d glanced at his unsmiling and forbidding profile, she’d felt her courage evaporate.

She had to keep reminding herself of Jared’s plan to fight for sole custody of Nicky, and his threat to deprive Paula of her son. These were reasons enough for her to continue with the deception, at least until Paula contacted a lawyer.