Cass knew the talk she and Jake were about to have was long overdue, but she didn’t want to have it here, where they might wake up their son. She gave a look to where the dog lay prone beside the crib, then glanced at Jake. “Is it all right for the dog to stay here?”
“Looks like he already figures Luke is his,” Jake told her. “Boston.”
The dog lifted his head from his paws.
“Stay.”
That heavy yellow tail thumped twice on the floor and then Boston closed his eyes for a nap.
“Good boy.” Cass bent down to pet the dog again and then stood to walk to where Jake waited. There was no more putting it off. It was well past time they said what had to be said.
Jake turned in the doorway so she could pass him and as she did, her breasts brushed against his chest. Sparks of awareness, of need, lit up her insides and she had to take a deep breath to steady herself. God, it had been so long since she’d felt that quickening of her pulse. The hot rush of desire churning through her insides.
She looked up at him and knew he’d felt that same electrical jolt—and he didn’t look any happier about it than she felt at the moment. “Jake—”
“Not here.” He took her elbow in one palm and led her to the next door down the hall, to his room. Once inside, he closed the door partially, leaving it open just wide enough that they would be able to hear the baby if he stirred.
Strangely, that small action caused her heart to ping with tenderness. Then the moment was past and she was watching him stride across the master bedroom toward the wall of windows that overlooked a wide, snow-covered forest and Whitefish Lake, its sapphire-blue surface covered in snow and ice. “Explain.”
“Jake—”
He turned to face her, his features grim, his luscious mouth tight and firm. “Explain to me why you never bothered to use a damn phone. Why you thought I wouldn’t want to know that you were carrying my son.”
Cass winced under that blow, but a part of her knew she deserved it. She looked at him and didn’t see only the righteous anger she’d been prepared for, but she also saw pain. Pain she’d caused because she’d been too much of a coward to face him with the truth.
And while she could admit to all of that, in her defense, he’d made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t interested in family. Was it wrong that she’d taken him at his word?
“You’re the one who told me you were a loner. You didn’t want family around.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t want my son,” he said, each word dropping like an ice cube between them.
“No, you didn’t,” she agreed, walking farther into the room. She tried not to look at that wide bed where they’d spent so many hours tangled together. Because the memories were already so rich, they were cluttering her mind, making it difficult to think straight. “But we agreed that what we had was temporary, Jake.”
“It was. Luke isn’t.”
“No, he’s not. He’s precious and wonderful and I don’t want him to be a burden you’re forced to pick up and carry because you’re an honorable man.” And she couldn’t risk having her son grow to count on his father, depend on him, only to be shattered if Jake suddenly decided that he wasn’t interested in a family anymore.
“So you get to decide for me? Is that it?” He turned his face from hers briefly, staring out at the sky and the blustering wind.
“I thought it would be easier. On all of us.”
He whipped his head around to glare at her. “You thought wrong.”
“Yeah. I can see that.” She walked past the bed and didn’t stop until she was standing right in front of him. “If you want to know your son, that’s great. But I’m not expecting anything from you, Jake.”
“Well, I’m expecting plenty.” His eyes were on fire with emotions. She felt his body nearly vibrating with everything that he was keeping locked down, locked away.
The room was filled with shadows. The last of the sun had faded as they talked. A half moon was rising, fighting to shine in spite of the dark storm clouds rushing across the sky. Wind rattled the windows as Jake demanded, “What’s his name? His last name.”
Cass frowned, prepared for battle. He wouldn’t like this, but it had been her decision to make, after all.
“Moore.” Before he could speak, she said, “You’re listed on his birth certificate as his father, but I thought it would be easier if my son and I had the same last name.”