Marriage for Her Baby. Raye Morgan

mirror, jumping every time a new man appeared anywhere near.

      But he didn’t show up. They opened the gates and let her onto the ferry, and still she didn’t see him anywhere. They started off across the bay and as time passed, she began to breathe again. Seattle lay off in the distance. Her thoughts had centered around losing themselves in the big city. As she calmed down, she began to realize how senseless that was.

      Savannah was fussing a bit and she turned to reach out for her little hand. She hadn’t thought to bring some snacks for her but she did have some fresh bottles. Once they got to the other side, she would pull over in a park she knew of and take care of that.

      Looking at her adorable child, it came to her in a flash. This was crazy. It was a fantasy—a huge leap out into the great unknown without a safety net. In the modern world there were very few places where you could hide—especially if you were taking a baby with you. You had to have a way to make a living. You had to have someone to watch the baby while you did that. You had to have a place to live in. And all those things required identification. They would be found in no time.

      It wouldn’t work. She was endangering the welfare of her baby in order to keep control—and losing all control by doing it. This was nuts. Jill had been right. She was going to have to go back.

      Her heart sank. She knew it was a sort of defeat. But at the same time, it was only recognizing reality. A thousand things could go wrong, and most of them might hurt Savannah. What had she been thinking? She couldn’t risk it.

      A sense of doom swept over her, catching in her throat, but she fought it back. There were other ways to fight this. It might take a bit of finesse, a talent for persuasion and a touch for manipulation. But she’d been there before.

      Jake Martin wasn’t domesticated. He was a wild man. He lived unconventionally. There was nothing in his background or experience that had prepared him to take care of a baby. Surely the powers in the agency would see that. Surely that would go into their decision-making. Or was biology all that mattered?

      There was one counselor who had been very helpful to her before, a Mrs. Truesdale. She’d taken a special interest in getting Savannah settled with Sara and had said to call her if there were any problems. That was the one she should have talked to. Maybe she could help.

      Her baby’s fussing got more insistent.

      “Okay, honey,” she told her, clicking open her seat belt and opening the car door. “I’m afraid we’re going to be turning around and going right back home again. But for now, let’s go look at the water. You need some good old ocean wind in your face.”

      She bundled her baby in the blanket and carried her out onto the deck. A few other passengers were scattered along the railing, watching the icy blue-green water wash by. Lifting her face to the sun, she took a deep breath of fresh air. She was glad they were turning back. She needed to be with her sister. Together, they would think of something. She was sure of it.

      She felt the large, hard hand take hold of her upper arm and she didn’t have to look to see who it was. But she did anyway, whipping her head around and gasping. Jake seemed taller, his shoulders seemed even wider, his face harder. His hand had clamped down on her flesh like a vise and she knew there was no way she could get away from him.