Jake

My head spun as I sat down in the hard metal chair. I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch before running over to the sheriff’s office to meet Tara.

“I’ll do much of the talking,” my lawyer said.

I agreed and stared straight ahead at the door with the tiny rectangle slot for a window. Then there was movement and Tara was brought in. She wasn’t in an orange jumpsuit like you see on TV shows. She was still dressed in the clothes they brought her in with.

But her hair looked limp and her eyes were cold. The officer connected her cuffs to a ring on the table in front of her. I was sorry to see her this way. The girl I remembered looked forward to life. The woman before me looked dead inside.

“You can go,” Tara spat over her shoulder at the guard.

My lawyer nodded.

When the door shut, she spoke to me. “Are you here to tell the truth?”

Ignoring what my lawyer told me, I said, “I did tell the truth. That’s why you’re here.”

He gave me a reproachful look. “Ms. Tara—”

“Cut the crap,” she said. “Do you have a deal to offer or what?”

So the sheriff had told her why we were coming. Most likely that had been the only way to convince her to see me.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, well, my client is willing to drop the charges if you sign over full custody to him.”

“Why should I?” she snapped.

My lawyer remained calm. “Because if you don’t, you’re going to prison.” That shut her up. “Furthermore, the child you are now carrying will likely end up in a home since it was detected that he or she isn’t developing normally.”

I whipped my head in his direction. He hadn’t told me that.

“How dare they give you that information?” She seethed.

So she knew her baby was going to be born with problems? It was another reason she’d come to me.

“Well, since you chose to speak to the cops after being read your rights, that information was not privileged. Plus, your defense to the charges was that my client was the father. Considering the fetus is six weeks along and my client didn’t see since before he left the army several years back until a few days ago, it makes it my business.”

She buttoned up and I let loose.

“You never wanted to see your daughter. You entire goal was to find a father for your child.”

Her features softened into the woman I once knew.

“You don’t understand. When he learned that our kid wasn’t going to be perfect, he kicked me out. I had nowhere to go.”

I glared at her, but I didn’t bother to ask who the mysterious he was. “You could have told me the truth.”

“Then what?” she asked with tears shimmering in her eyes. “Would you have welcomed me with open arms?”

“I would have helped you,” I bit out.

“So help me now.”

She spread her hands as wide as she could. But everything I’d once felt about her had disappeared.

There was only one way I would. I could help her.

“Sign the papers,” I declared.

I glanced down at the stack of pages in front of my lawyer.

“And then what about Jamie’s brother or sister?” she pleaded.

I spoke before I thought.

“If you have the child and still don’t want him or her, I’ll adopt him or her.”

It was my lawyer’s turn to stare at me with brows pinched together.

I clarified. “I’ll adopt with the same conditions. You will not have any contact with either child. You’ll walk away.”

“But—” she began.

“That’s my offer. Besides, if you go to jail, you won’t have a say where the child goes. I can petition for custody without you. You did go on record saying it was mine.”

I had no idea how I could take on a special needs child. The only thing I knew was that I wouldn’t let Jamie’s sibling end up lost in a system that had little care for children without needs. I couldn’t imagine what would happen to one who had them.

“So that’s my only option?” Her focus shifted between us.

I nodded.

She swallowed. “What will you tell Jamie happened to me?”

I licked my lips, not sure I should speak what I was thinking.

“You can write to her.”

“Email?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Pen and paper. And I will read every letter before I give them to her. If I don’t approve, I keep it for her until she turns eighteen.”

From my periphery, I could feel my lawyer giving me the stink eye. We hadn’t talked about any of this.

“Are you going to sign?” I asked.

If I hadn’t paid for her acting classes and seen her use those skills in action, I might have believed the defeated look on her face. But I didn’t trust a damn thing the woman did. Every move she made was calculated.

“I have to think about it,” she said.

I was about to speak, but my lawyer beat me to it. “Don’t think too long. Sheriff said after tomorrow, he can’t make the charges go away.”

We were told we weren’t being recorded. So my lawyer had given it to her straight.

“Let the sheriff know your decision and I’ll bring the paperwork back for you to sign,” he declared.

She glanced at me like she was a wounded puppy. I wasn’t affected like I used to.

“You aren’t coming back?” she asked me.

“No. This is the last time we’ll ever see each other as far as I’m concerned.”

“Jake…” Her dramatic pause only had me rolling my eyes until I met hers. “I did love you.”

I chuckled because it was utter bullshit. “Too bad I can’t say the same. The person I thought I loved never really existed, did she?”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I got to my feet. But before I could exit, the door was open enough for me to hear her say, “Rory told me once he stuttered as a child.”

Then the door closed and I tried not to think about what she said. For all I knew, she was taunting me again, pressing my buttons when she knew she had no other card to play.

I waited outside as my lawyer stayed in there a few more minutes.

Sheriff Taylor walked over. “How’d it go?”

I shrugged. “She doesn’t deserve to be set free.”

“She won’t.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued.

“I can drop the assault charges, but she was found with several illegal substances that are logged into our system. I can’t make it all go away.” He winked. “That’s why you needed to get down here today. I’ll explain things to her when we take her to court tomorrow. She’ll see she’s getting a better deal. Without the assault, the court might be more lenient on a first-timer.”

My lawyer came out and snagged my arm. “I need to talk to my client.”

Sheriff tipped his head and I was led outside.

“What the hell was that all about? Adopting a kid?”

“I didn’t think,” I said.

“You’re damn right you didn’t. She wants cash.”

I half laughed. “Of course she does.”

My lawyer looked pensive.

“It might make it easier if you give it to her.”

There was no way. “She can rot in jail before I give her anything more than lenience.”

He studied me. “There’s no guarantee she’ll be found guilty.”

I shrugged. “That’s a chance I have to take.”

“You’re being bull-headed. But I’ll do what you want.”

What I wanted was to erase Tara’s presence over the last few days. What I wanted was to bury myself deep in Honey and forget Tara existed.

“Did you hear me?”

I jerked my head up and he asked me again the question I missed.

“Are you confident Jamie is yours?”

I wanted to say yes. I wanted to believe she was biologically mine. But the truth could be far different.